Unacceptable monitor performance

[MacInWin]

There appears to be some "backlighting" of the text presumably to make it more visible against the gray menu background, but at this low resolution it actually seems to be making things worse. (see the screenshot below).

I think what you are referring to is the "Transparency" of the menu. Basically, the coloring is whatever is on the screen "under" the menu so that you can still see it in context of the rest of the screen. That is adjustable. I think it's under Settings (or System Preferences) and then Accessibility. You can just search in Settings or System Preferences for "transparency" and find it.

 

[SteveSawyer]

Please excuse my post if I'm way off base and not understanding your problem properly.

You're not understanding my problem properly!

I've been running at 1920x1080. The issue of other resolutions only came up because there were some suggestions above asking whether changing the resolution to something other than what is native for this monitor. I don't argue with folks when I'm asking for assistance, I dutifully go off and try the experiment. Unfortunately that just muddies things unless you go back and see my OP. It's becoming obvious that the real issue here is that I'm sitting too close to this monitor.

To further clarify (but probably confuse folks coming into this mid-thread) is that I designed this room and designed and built the desk I'm sitting at for a 17" laptop. I then got the bright idea to leave the Dark Side behind and go with a Mac, but then came up against a dearth of monitors to use with a Mac Mini. I can't move back - I have a full keyboard immediately behind me. I can't make the desk any deeper, because the space on the other side of this desk is taken up by a full drum kit, an electronic hand-drum mounted on top of a powered PA speaker. If I tear out this desk I made to make one deeper, something is going to have to get removed from this room!

I don't need other (lower) resolutions. If I'm going to sit this close to the monitor I need a higher resolution (without getting a still larger monitor) to get an acceptable display quality, OR find some way to knock out a wall to give myself more space!

 

[SteveSawyer]

If I were you, I would measure how far from the monitor you have to sit to be happy with the display (hopefully not the full 38 inches) and then see what the monitor options are based on a PPI value.

As I explained to @Patrick above, I've realized (through discussing this with y'all here) that this space simply wasn't designed for this monitor. It was designed for a 17" laptop. That's the problem.

I probably should have waited until I could afford a MB rather than cheaping out with a Mac Mini because they just don't make small monitors anymore, at least not with decent resolution. My 17" laptop was 1920 x 1080 and looked great. 17" 1080p monitors are scarce to non-existent. Even 1080p 19" monitors aren't easy to find. I've run across a few "portable" laptop monitors, and most are lower resolution than 1080p. I found one 1080p 17.3" model from some company I never heard of for almost $200, but that might be the way I have to go.

 

[krs]

If a 17 inch 1920x1080 screen gives you the clarity you want, then with a Mac Mini I would look for as large a monitor I can find that provides the same or better PPI value

The PPI of your 17 inch screen is 130 - the PPI of a 24 inch monitor you were trying to use is only 92 so that’s why you see the pixels sitting that close
But you know all that

If you go for a 2K monitor, a 22 inch monitor will give you a PPI of 133 and a 24 inch 2K monitor will provide a PPI of 122

“Brand name” 22 inch 1440p monitors seem to be hard to find or non-existant, but for 24 inch 1440p “Brand name” monitors there is a reasonable selection.
That would gibe you a lot larger viewing area than your old laptop and the clarity at your viewing distance should be about the same as before.

 

[pm-r]

That would gibe you a lot larger viewing area than your old laptop and the clarity at your viewing distance should be about the same as before.

Then, if more control is needed, maybe have a look or just give SwitchResX a try. They provide a free trial so one can try it out:

SwitchResX - The Most Versatile Tool For Controlling Screen Resolutions On Your Mac

By the way, thanks for your previous clarification on my misunderstanding.



- Patrick
=======

 

[SteveSawyer]

Okay – the things ya learn...

It turns out that if I want a good-quality monitor that's less than 24", I need to search for "portable" monitors. It turns out that there are quite an assortment of those available.

That 17.3" model I linked to above helped me tumble to that. And wow, you can get really high resolution small monitors ($$$). I've seen 15" and 17" "portable" monitors in 4k!!

So anyway, what I did is I ordered that 17.3" monitor and we'll see how it does. I found it someplace for $20 less than Amazon is getting for it, and verified that I can return it within 30 days if it doesn't do the trick, but I'm guessing that since I was ok with the 1080p 17" display on my laptop, that this is going to do the trick for me. The PPI comparison that @krs provided above really tells the tale. I might someday spring for a 24" 4k monitor, but right now I have other priorities, including trading in this Mini for one of the new M2 models, or at minimum swap out the mechanical HD for an SSD.

I really appreciate everyone's input on this.

 

[SteveSawyer]

To close the loop here...
The new 17.3" "portable" monitor arrived today.

Beautiful. Crisp. Brilliant. Easy to read. TBH I would have preferred to go with a higher-resolution 24" monitor (I mean really, who's going to complain about a little extra screen real estate?), but they just aren't that available, and get pretty pricey unless you're willing to "go with the flow" and go with a 29" or 30" or 32" monitor, which again, this space simply wasn't designed for. For this space, with the display no further away from me than it would be if I was running a laptop, 17.3" is perfectly serviceable.