HDMI hitch hounds Mac Mini holders
Apple owners await firmware fix
The latest generation of Mac Mini appears to be facing HDMI hiccups, with disgruntled owners complaining about poor colours, "snow-like interference" and momentary display blackouts.
While the Mini's alternative video outputs - Thunderbolt and Mini Display Port - appear unaffected, those who extend their desktop to a secondary screen through HDMI report dodgy colour fidelity, fuzzy displays and in some cases, no image at all.
Various owners have taken to the Apple Discussion forums to vent their frustration and to seek the source of the problem. While connecting the device with an HDMI to DVI adaptor eliminates the colour-quality issues, the fuzziness and random blackouts remain.
Apple's Mac Mini 2012: what's all the fuzz about?
An identical issue previously affected various Windows and Linux users whose machines were, like the Mini, equipped with CPU-integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics until a Bios update provided a fix. As Apple computers use an alternate system to control the base hardware, the company will need to provide its own firmware update to eliminate the issues.
Some users claim the company has recalled their new Minis in order for engineers to explore further, after the latest system update failed to provide a solution.
If you have a new Mac Mini and these issues sound familiar, let us know in the comments below. W'll give you an update if a fix eventually surfaces. Alternatively, you can follow the advice of several posters on the Apple forums: get a refund and wait for the 2013 Mac Mini. ®
Hat tip to Philip Tyler for bringing this to our attention.
COMMENTS
No fault in the hardware
People are just looking at it the wrong way
Re: Isn't choice grand
Some of us actually expect our overpriced luxury branded goods to actually work as advertised.
Apple fanboys make excuses for nonsense that they would eviscerate Linux or Windows over.
Re: Isn't choice grand
> better track record for production quality?
Doesn't sound like this is a production issue, more a design issue or software bug, and Apple is no more immune to them than anyone else. The trouble with a single source, as was pointed out, is that there's nowhere else to go when it screws up.
Isn't choice grand
'wait for the 2013 Mac Mini' - what a brilliant piece of advice. For us outside of Appleland who know a computer is just a tool, if our preferred manufacturer cocks up we can just get a refund and buy another brand straight away safe in the knowledge that everything will still work. Apple produce crap and the advice is wait a year til the next one and Apple don't care - they know you either can't or won't go to another brand.
