Questions about using with HDTV I have a 53" Panasonic HDTV with DVI inputs. The TV is rear projection and I am aware of the dangers of burn-in (but I keep my brightness and contrast turned way down and I haven't had a problem so far with menus and using it with our Wii).Has anyone used a Mac Mini as a living room computer? What kind of resolution is usable on a well-aligned, non-LCD or plasma HDTV (visibility from 10-15' away)? I'm particularly interested in using it with new Bluetooth keyboard and wireless mouse from Apple. All of the rest of the computers in my house are PCs - will the Mac be able to access by iTunes shares and other media on the PCs? Finally, is the DVD playback good enough to replace my DVD player so I can ditch another component (or just replace it with a DVD recorder)? Questions about using with HDTV I have a 53" Panasonic HDTV with DVI inputs. The TV is rear projection and I am aware of the dangers of burn-in (but I keep my brightness and contrast turned... » Read More Questions about using with HDTV I have a 53" Panasonic HDTV with DVI inputs. The TV is rear projection and I am aware of the dangers of burn-in (but I keep my brightness and contrast turned way down and I haven't had a problem so far with menus and using it with our Wii).Has anyone used a Mac Mini as a living room computer? What kind of resolution is usable on a well-aligned, non-LCD or plasma HDTV (visibility from 10-15' away)? I'm particularly interested in using it with new Bluetooth keyboard and wireless mouse from Apple. All of the rest of the computers in my house are PCs - will the Mac be able to access by iTunes shares and other media on the PCs? Finally, is the DVD playback good enough to replace my DVD player so I can ditch another component (or just replace it with a DVD recorder)? « Show Less
1497839
I just submitted my review of the Mac Mini as an HTPC. Look for it in a couple of days and it will address some of your questions. The main issue is to get past the PC vs. TV greyscale gamma standard so that the blacks don't look muddy.
1497840
I've just connected it to Sony Bravia 32' LCD with HDMI; works great, reduces clutter. Also got the wireless keyboard (nice to type on and conveniently small when not in use) and the ireless mouse. Very happy so far
85535
I have a macbook pro computer with minidisplayport on computer and use cable to attach to any hdmi tv with no problems. Make sure in preferences you select to turn audio on because it also comes out of the cable. :)
1341299
Is this TV capable of "24p"? I'm not sure what that is, but it supposedly improves the picture quality, so, and Panasonic just introduced this kick-ass BD player, which I would sooo consider buying after I get a new TV, since my 3-year old LCD (Dynex) totally stopped working about a month ago...(I'm using my gramma's 14" DTV for now, would upgrade yesterday, but I'll be w/o the necessary cash probably for another 8+ months...). Thanks.
203897
Their screens do have pretty good res, and its about 100 dpi which isn't so bad either.... The computers don't have blu-ray now, and I don't think Apple's said anything about it yet, but I kind of expect Apple to start including blu-ray support next time they make new models of their computers maybe around the summer. Keep an eye on sites like AppleInsider... might tip you off about future changes to the Macs.Or here's something... http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/02/29/apple.and.dell.blu.ray/
2231844
If you look at the first review (from G. Lavery) for the TV on Amazon, a user posts cnet's suggested settings as well as their own preferred settings. I just ordered the TV and have been looking into the same thing. Good Luck!! http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Viera-TH-58PZ800U-58-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001DSYNB0/ref=pd_cp_etk_ce_av__0?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001EBEPXW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1FAQ4JWD2M00FX3N57W0
1948461
We tried and it worked. We were using a Dell E6410 and a Sharp 50inch HDTV on the other end. Audio was ok (just a very tiny bit of delay). However, we later switched to Giffen Technology and we can usethe Giffen for Mac and Windows without any drivers installation. If Windows is all you need then this is economical. If you dont want to deal with drivers and/or want to connect a mac at a later date, try Giffen.
1008400
One of the posters talks about the picture quality while using non-HDTV. I think he said he has it in a trailer, so no HDTV. Also, this unit doesn't have an S-Video connection, which is what is needed to get the best quality standard def. picture (at least that's my understanding). Which tells me that this unit is really not intended mainly for standard def viewing. Vizio, Sharp, and Philips make some units still with S-video connections. Maybe some others do, too, but so far I've found only those three brands. And if I had to guess, I would guess that eventually they'll all stop putting in S-Video connections, as more and more people start subscribing to HDTV.
400766
I had to get an HDMI to DVI connector to hook up my Regza flat panel tv to my Mac's video card. It works great, just don't change resolutions while in HDTV mode. It doesn't like it and you will lose signal. Do that with your Mac monitor instead and set it to the highest resolution that your combo will afford.
1425281
The Mac mini has what is called a mini display port and a HDMI port. This means you have lots of options for connecting a monitor as it does not come with one. Most monitors use VGA or DVI and with an adapter that will work just fine. In my case, I actually use my television as my screen so I use an HDMI cable. It's great for me because it is the only cable of the three which transmits video and audio.
230331
The Fosmon mini displayPort (MiniDP/mDp) to HDMI works well. The problem I had at first with my MacBook Pro wasthat I did not have my display option set to "Mirror" the computer's screen. Now I watch movies etc. on my HDTV.
176638
I am thinking about buying this for my mom. It would be connected to a 40" RCA HDTV via HDMI. As far as settings, just make sure it's scaling to 1080p and not 1080i. You might also want to try 720p just to see if it's actually changing. Keep your TV set to "Full" or "No Overscan" to make sure it's not zooming in at all which makes even Blu-Ray look bad! As far as the DVD-Video quality, keep in mind it's still going to be 480p (480x720 for NTSC standard) and your display is 1920x1080 which means there is quite a bit of stretching to get it to fill the screen. Also, it really depends on the source DVD you are displaying. Try something that has true 16:9 anamorphic output, and is one of the better transfers available. I suggest trying a Pixar movie (Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, are both excellent) Corpse Bride, and Star Wars I-VI. If you are playing a DVD Video upscaled that isn't in 16:9 format (usually called FULL SCREEN or FULL FRAME) then keep your RCA TV set to No Overscan. Good luck!
2264254
Here's another question for you Ron? My older TV does not have hdmi inputs. But a good friend, who's an electronics engineer, said I should use a cable converter that inputs HDMI (from the DVD player) and outputs component (into the HD component on the TV). Does that seem right?
1458014
With my Panasonic plasmas (42" and 50"), which are 2006 and 2007 models, I have found the upscaling very good. In fact, it's hard to get around them, since these plasmas have native resolutions that no DVD player can match (expect for 1080p models). 720p on both 42" and 50" models is not quite true 720p (it's acutally 768p), so no matter what, the Panasonic will be doing some upscaling. As far as medium DVD players and DVD upscalers for around $100 and below, I have seen very little difference. Even compared to my 4 year old Sony 480p player. I would say HDMI provides a smidge better detail, but it's not dramatic by any means. I haven't tried the up-market upscalers (Oppo, Reon chip), so I can't comment on them, but I doubt the difference would be dramatic--the Panasonic just has to do too much upscaling on it's own, regardless of what signal you send to it... My brother says his 700U 1080p also has very little difference with new upscaling DVD players as opposed to his older 480p player, so it looks like Panasonic's upscaling chips on these TV's are indeed rather good...
1279238
No, the video on the Panasonic is D sub 15 vga out, in which you may connect to a monitor via a vga cable for display of laptop video on the monitor via vga cable (15 pin D sub). Input of video will not fly through the 15pin D sub. as input, video modes are toggled by pressing FN and F8 simultaneously. You might even deploy a D sub 15 Converter With Svideo, and RCA OUT for use with a simple composit monitor. It looks like a nogo.ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/toughbook/specsheets/TB-18_ss.pdf
241136
I wouldn't know - I bought it to play my Wii on a computer screen. So I can't say anything about HDTVs. All I can say is that there is no lag whatsoever in my case. Sorry !
2214378
Panasonic came out with a portable DVD Burner to go along with the HDC-SD5 camcorder. The model # is VW-BN1. It just came out and so far only a few are available on Ebay from people who pre-ordered their HDC-SD5 with the burner and just received it (but don't want the burner). I haven't seen it available anywhere else, but you should see it in retail stores or Amazon in a month or two. You can transfer video directly to the DVD Burner (on a normal DVD-R disc) from the camcorder, and you can play the discs through the player on your High Definition tv (so you don't necessarily need a PS3). Panasonic came out with a portable DVD Burner to go along with the HDC-SD5 camcorder. The model # is VW-BN1. It just came out and so far only a few are available on Ebay from people who pre-ordered their HDC-SD5 with the burner and just received it (but don't want the burner). I haven't seen it available anywhere else, but you should see it in retail stores or Amazon in a month or two. You can transfer video directly to the DVD Burner (on a normal DVD-R disc) from the camcorder, and you can play the discs through the player on your High Definition tv (so you don't necessarily... » Read More Panasonic came out with a portable DVD Burner to go along with the HDC-SD5 camcorder. The model # is VW-BN1. It just came out and so far only a few are available on Ebay from people who pre-ordered their HDC-SD5 with the burner and just received it (but don't want the burner). I haven't seen it available anywhere else, but you should see it in retail stores or Amazon in a month or two. You can transfer video directly to the DVD Burner (on a normal DVD-R disc) from the camcorder, and you can play the discs through the player on your High Definition tv (so you don't necessarily need a PS3). « Show Less
465355
Hello--I just bought this TV and it was delivered on April 1st. I have it set up with a Directv HD satellite box via an hdmi cable. The picture is very good to excellent. I also have a 50" plasma and compared to this Toshiba, I think [the plasma] has a better picture, but I also have an older 20" Samsung lcd and this Toshiba blows it away. I think you'll be happy if you purchase this TV and connect it to an HD source. One drawback I can see is that viewing angles are not the best; that's something that lcd's are known for. If you watch this TV off to one side as opposed to straight on viewing, the colors get a bit washed out. The other thing I noticed is that this TV has only one antenna/cable input. My old TV that this one replaced had 2, and I was able to plug in the satellite box to one and a "rabbit ears" antenna to the other. Then I was able to switch to the antenna feed and watch our extra local over-the-air TV channels (such as 2, 5, 7, 9 in Chicago). (I can get the digital local channels with satellite, but not the extra 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, etc. channels) I suppose I could buy a splitter/diplexer to split the signal, but it might not work with satellite (I believe it will work with cable but I'm not sure). Other than that (and the viewing angles), I'm very, very pleased with this TV.