DisplayConfigX + VNC = Perfectly Sized Screen
Ever since I plugged my Mini into our Phillips 32″ LCD’s HDMI port, I’ve been 99% loving the combination. Instant recognition…zero configuration…excellent HD picture…you get the idea.
The only itch I couldn’t scratch was the cropping on the edges of my screen. Not really noticeable when watching a fullscreen movie, but irritating in some situations. Like when I wanted to see the menu bar or dock. Every search and post I read talked about two things:
1. This is a common problem
2. It is going to be painful to fix. And your screen may go blank (leaving one effectively blind on OS X) during the process.
While the former provided me a modicum of comfort, I was intimidated by the latter. And, after fooling around with SwitchResX, I ended up with a black screen once and that was enough to send me packing. My reasoning was: If so many people know about this, the Mac community will come up with an easy solution. I’ll just wait a few months and let this kink work itself out.
And when I checked back, there were indeed new posts. From frustrated people who still seemed no closer to having a step-by-step list of instructions that I could follow (and use successfully). But in the interim, I had added a new weapon to my arsenal: Chicken of the VNC. This allowed me to control the Mini remotely over our network, even if the screen output went wonky and shut down.
A program I read about on the AVS forums called DisplayConfigX offered a simple (albeit cruder) route to success. Basically, the program allowed me to experiment manually with resolution sizes until I found the sweet spot (1210×676) for my set. Then I installed it, rebooted the computer and it was available in my Display Preferences pane. Disco.
Along the way, there were times when testing a new resolution caused the screen to go black. But using Chicken of the VNC, I was still able to see the desktop and make adjustments to get the picture back. While there’s no real elegance to this approach, it delivered for me and sometimes that’s all that matters.
Hey this is really clever. This is a silly reason, but I’ve been looking for a reason to try and use VNC. Nice.
For my setup, I’ve got the Mini as home theater machine and a PowerMac as an office desktop. The two share a common iTunes library. Unfortunately, iTunes isn’t really great for this arrangement. Especially if both computers also share the database files (*.xml). In fact, iTunes won’t run on both machines simultaneously if these files are shared.
I can see now how VNC would let me shut down iTunes on one computer from within the other.
Rob,
VNC is the a lifesaver/efficiency expert in so many situations. I use it on my office machine to set up EyeTV on my Mini before turning the HDTV on…it essentially removed the necessity of having a keyboard in the living room.
Just one more example!
Ah, cool. I actually love having a keyboard in the living room. I use a Belkin MediaPilot. It doesn’t work natively, but with Controller Mate, it’s a dream. Plus, Controller Mate is soooo much fun to set up. I’ve got all kinds of neat application-specific shortcuts programmed into the extra media keys. Very fun.
Say, slightly off topic… have you had any issues with your Mini waking up and not going back to sleep? For a time, I tried using the NMS Sleep Agent, but that was actually too aggressive. Kept putting the Mini asleep during EyeTV recordings.
“Say, slightly off topic… have you had any issues with your Mini waking up and not going back to sleep? For a time, I tried using the NMS Sleep Agent, but that was actually too aggressive. Kept putting the Mini asleep during EyeTV recordings.”
Sorry…my Mini has been freakishly stable ever since I bought it last year.
I will now go knock on wood!