[rednielsen]

I need help. Have the MacMini and Sharp LC-45GX6U AQUOS. Literally pulled the LCD, AVS and mini mac out of the boxes yesterday. Need help in laymen terms.


The start up screen appears on the Sharp, once logged in, The little blue box displays a resolution, then displays no resolution, and says 85hz, then I get "Signal not compatible with this input..." . Plug into standy monitor, apply new setting, switch back... same results. Even if I plug back into the AVS while the mac is on and the screen is on, I get a quick blue screen flicker then "Signal not...." UG!


Mini Mac is plugged DVI to DVI, input 5. Screen res set at 1024x768 at whatever the manual specifies. I have a feeling my mac is resetting the res for the highest possible, but can't tell because the Sharp is blank.


Yes, power is on, I can hook up a PC and see it on the screen


I have read a lot of posts, but some get into some serious jargon that just flies by me. If I need to call a guy in and connect I will, just want to exhaust my options.


I would trully appreciate the help. Thanks in advance...

 

[jeanmarc]

rednielsen,


You have a GREAT TV. Go over to the forum on this TV. It will tell you how to connect through the AVC, how to connect bypassing the AVC in 1080p. It is a long read, for sure, but it is worth it. If I have more time later on, I will post a very quick summary, but I am sure others will do it before.


Rest assured though, it works just fine. You might have to purchase a Gefen DVI switch if you decide to bypass the AVC...

 

[rednielsen]

Thanks for the info... I am going to head to Plasma and LCDs Forum and look around...

 

[rednielsen]

OK, tried the very long 64 page thread and am more confused. I see that there can be a converter involved along with some software. I don't know what an AVC is. I have an AVS. What doest the Gefen DVI switch do, and how do I find this ScreenRezX and what do I do that... What is 1080p vs 1080i. Man this is harder than golf...


Help? Anyone?

 

[NJPatch]

rednielsen,


Congrats on the excellent TV!


Go here for SwitchResX:

http://www.madrau.com/html/SRX/About.html


Or here for DisplayConfigX:

http://www.3dexpress.de/


There is some FAQ info on the above page that will be very useful no matter which software you use.


These programs allow you to create a custom resolution output from your mini to your Sharp.


What you essentially have is an LCD monitor and all the other TV components in a separate box ( the Audio Video Controller or AVC). You feed all your AV signals into the AVC which feeds those signals to the LCD monitor.


You can go two ways to get the mini signal in via DVI.


1. Plug in DVI to DVI like you have done after you have created a custom resolution in SwitchResX that you know will work for the display. This should give you a maximum possible resolution of 1920x1080i where the "i" stands for interlaced. This has to do with the way that the singal is processed and fed to your monitor. 1080i is the highest broadcast HD signal.


2. Get a DVI switch (see Gefen DVI switch info on Aquos threads). Plug the DVI cable of the switch into the monitor and then plug the AVC DVI cable and the Mac mini DVI cable into the switch. This allows you to get a 1080p signal to your display. The "p" stands for progressive and provides you the purest and sharpest HD picture possible today. Unless you plan to watch fast motion video through your Mac, this is probably unnecesary.


Before you even try SwitchResX, you may want to try the TV's PC Auto Sync function. Follow this path with your remote MENU>SETUP>AUTO SYNC>YES. It will say AUTO SYNC SUCCESFUL and hopefully you will see the screen.

You can also manually set the PC input resolution that the display is looking for. Follow this path with your remote MENU>SETUP>INPUT SIGNAL>RES.

If this doesn't work, you may need to get SwitchResX.


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PM me if you have more trouble.

 

[rednielsen]

Thanks for the clarification. My brain can wrap itself around that... Gave the last two suggestions a shot with no success, but will look into the Geffen Converter and the SwitchResX. Thanks again...

 

[MacHound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednielsen What doest the Gefen DVI switch do

Here's a link I bookmarked a while ago on the DVI Detective and its use. The first part of the article explains EDIDs (Extended Display Information Data) and their problems. Even though it's written from a Windows perspective I think you'll find it useful:

http://www.geocities.com/jgeneedid/

 

[NJPatch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rednielsen Thanks for the clarification. My brain can wrap itself around that... Gave the last two suggestions a shot with no success, but will look into the Geffen Converter and the SwitchResX. Thanks again...

What resolutions have you tried to output from your mini so far? The Sharp should support up to 1280 X 768 through the AVC. You may just need to set the display to that resolution.


Check out this post for more detailed info on this and DVI switching.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...69#post4929769


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[chavel]

IMO the PQ is twice as good direct to panel @ 1920 X1080 60P as 1280 X 768 through the avc. jeanmarc did I believe post that there is a some flickering with the minimac on the 45GX at 1080P. The video system in the mini might be a little under powered.

 

[rednielsen]

Man! Over my Head... Downloaded the ScreenResX. Not very intuitive instructions. I want it to "lock" the resolution down all the time to the right resolution to the Aquos. Any ideas? At this point I don't need super HD rez, just want it to work , then I will fiddle. So far the 1024x768 @ 60Hz works. This is when I start the MINI up in Safe mode. But how do I lock down that resolution? Thanks again for all your help. I and my brain apprecate it greatly!

 

[NJPatch]

Red,


If you set the resolution to 1024x768 when the mac is started up in regular mode, it should stay that way. That should be one of the preset res choices, so you shouldn't have to "lock" it in.


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[rednielsen]

Got the screen to work... It was set up as Digital PC input. Though the manual says that you plug your computer in that way, it actually worked in Digital AV mode. The only thing now is that the top and bottom of the screen is cut off. Don't like the Overscan look, too blurry...


Can only run in 1280x760. Is that the best I can get? all others make the screen wacky.


Never implemented ScreenResX...

 

[NJPatch]

Red,


OS X Tiger has an overscan adjustment feature built-in to the Display control panel where you can toggle on and off. Give that a try. Most people don't find that the function fixes their problem which is where SwitchResX really earns its keep. As I mentioned before, google DisplayConfigX and read the FAQ's with the rules for creating custom timings. PM me if you need more specific help.


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