Unibody MacBook & Samsung LCD TV Resolution Problems

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Hey everyone,

Ok so I've done quite a bit of research and I'm aware that there are a lot of MacBook/Samsung incompatibility threads out there. However, I haven't been able to find anything that addresses the issue(s) I am having.

My setup is the following:
Unibody MacBook running 10.5.6
Samsung LN22A450 22 inch LCD TV (capable of 1680x1050 resolution at 60Hz)
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Cable (not Apple's but rather Monoprice's)
Standard SVGA cable (also from Monoprice)

Onto the issue: When I connect the TV, it is recognized without any problem. In Preferences --> Displays, a certain (somewhat limited) number of resolutions are offered for the Samsung. Among these (at least initially...more on this later) is 1680x1050. The next highest is 1360x768. The latter actually works but is less than ideal because it is accompanied by a black bar on the bottom which appears to "push" my screen out on top (i.e. the Apple status bar or whatever would be in that area is not visible) and, not to mention, this resolution simply does not look as good.

When I attempt to switch into 1680x1050, things really get interesting. Sometimes, it will actually work and I will get the full resolution on the Sammy BUT with vertical green, red (and black in between) lines covering most of the screen. Other times, it won't even work and the Sammy will go black, though it does seem I am able to drag my mouse onto that screen real estate nonetheless. Furthermore, the 1680x1050 setting will sometimes disappear altogether and I will have to restart to see it again.

I've played around with both DisplayConfigX and SwitchResX but nothing seems to help. I have played around with the Mirror Displays setting and the color settings. Also, I've tried playing with my TV settings, but that didn't help either. Finally, I tried putting the MacBook in "PC mode", i.e. making it go to sleep and then waking it with my Wireless Mighty Mouse, but, while this is often successful in outputting the 1680x1050 resolution, the red/green lines are still there.

Any help or suggestions at this point would be greatly appreciated!
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
I don't know what to tell you except that my Samsung works fine every time and brings up the correct resolution. (1680 x 1050 x 60 Hz) However, my machine is a previous generation MacBook and I'm using an Apple mini DVI adapter to a DVI cable input to the Samsung.

What I suggest is to use the mini display port adapter from your unibody MacBook to HDMI and use the HDMI input on the Samsung. The Samsung should detect the HDMI input and will display the HDMI menu which offers vertical and horizontal centering. That might also resolve the resolution settings.

Without being able to display the native resolution of the TV\Monitor the picture will always be less than satisfactory. And as you've found out, software solutions such as SwitchResX do not always work.

Regards.
 
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Thanks. I want to try avoid going the HDMI route as that would require buying another adapter and, more importantly, my TV only has one HDMI input which I use for my PS3. I'll consider it as a last option though.
 

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