2021 Mac mini

Hello, more sensible than me:

I have occasionally used my 4K TV as a monitor with my M1 Mac-Mini. This setup however was with an HDMI cable connected to the Mac-Mini and the Television. It works well however the resolution and refresh rates can cause blurry fonts etc.

You also asked whether this can be done wirelessly. It can through the Screen Mirroring (AirPlay) feature. Your TV has to be AirPlay compatible. If you are not sure then it probably is not. You can check its manual. If the TV is not AirPlay compatible then there has to be the AppleTV device connected to it. There is one big catch. Your Mac-Mini will not automatically connect / Screen Mirror to your TV without being connected to an external Display. This is because you will have to input your password at boot up. Once the Mac Mini has booted then you have to manually select Screen Mirror and the Television.

Best bet for you is to use the HDMI to HDMI cable between the Mac Mini and your TV.

Axel F.

Hi Pat,

The menu bar should not be hidden unless you set it that way in System Preferences. Let's double check something-

Open the System Preferences app ➔ Dock & Menu Bar ➔ Menu Bar (All the way in the bottom in right column) ➔ Automatically Hide and Show the Menu Bar: Ensure that this option is UNCHECKED.

Hope that you are enjoying your new monitor (TV) and that it is not hard on the eyes and everything is displayed clearly.

Axel F.

Some TVs have overscan, so you don't see the edges of the image. This can blur the image a bit, and hide the Menu bar. The Underscan option in Displays system preference can compensate for this, but you get a better picture if you can fix it on the TV. Look for picture size setting on the TV. The correct setting may be called 100%, Pixel-to-Pixel, Full-Size ...

Hi Pat,

I am curious to see how you make out with your setup. Please keep me posted. Thanks.

Axel F.