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Bought external monitor for rMBP - question

M

macNewbie02

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2012
185
0
Hey.

I bought myself a new external monitor to be used with my rMBP, a new Dell 2412M.

My question is: How can I know if the monitor is working well?

I have connected it with an HDMI cable and HDMI-to-DVI-converter into the monitor(it doesn't have HDMI input only DVI and DisplayPort).

Yes, the resolution is set to the max which is 1920x1200 and under color section in System Preferences->Displays it shows 'Display Profile: Dell u2412M'

Is there anything else I can check to make sure it's working as it should?

Also, should there be any problems with the HDMI-to-DVI-adapter I'm using? Maybe I should use something else to increase the quality?

Here's the link of the adapter I'm using: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DVI-Male-to...V-/220650032623?forcev4exp=true&forceRpt=true

Thanks!
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,478
43,399
macNewbie02 said:
Is there anything else I can check to make sure it's working as it should?
Click to expand...

If everything appears to render fine, then I'd say it works. Why did you opt for a HDMI to DVI adapter instead of a Thunderbolt / Mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter?
 
M

macNewbie02

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2012
185
0
maflynn said:
If everything appears to render fine, then I'd say it works. Why did you opt for a HDMI to DVI adapter instead of a Thunderbolt / Mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter?
Click to expand...

Good question I should have mentioned it when I wrote the question.
That's because I wanted to try another monitor with it so it was the cheapest way to check it. I must admit I'm not too happy with both of the displays quality but it could be that I'm too picky, or it's something to do with the cable and adapter I use.

Should I try and buy Mini-DisplayPort to DVI adapter and use the DVI cable that I got with the monitor just to make sure that it's working as it should?
 
Rhyalus

Rhyalus

macrumors 6502
Mar 4, 2011
423
40
Actually, you should be using the monitor at its native resolution for the best results.

I did not do a search for you... Just check the monitor manual.

R
 
M

macNewbie02

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2012
185
0
Rhyalus said:
Actually, you should be using the monitor at its native resolution for the best results.

I did not do a search for you... Just check the monitor manual.

R
Click to expand...

I'm using the native resolution of the screen already, it' s 1920x1200.
 
S

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
Are you using both of your Thunderbolt ports already? If not I think you might get the best results with a mini-Displayport to Displayport or mini-Displayport to DVI adapter.

There have also been a few threads in this section about issues with external display quality with the RMBP that may be worth searching for.
 
hallux

hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,437
1,005
No sense getting a converter, the display has a DisplayPort input on it, just need something like this http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2 to connect to the mini-DP on the Mac. A word of caution, I'm not sure how the mini-DP plug on the Mac is set up, but DisplayPort CAN carry sound, so you may lose sound from the Mac if the Mac mini-DP plug carries it for this configuration. It may be configurable, I haven't been in a situation to test it out.
 
zepman

zepman

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2010
195
14
Sweden
Rhyalus said:
Actually, you should be using the monitor at its native resolution for the best results.

I did not do a search for you... Just check the monitor manual.

R
Click to expand...

He is using it at 1920x1200 witch is the monitors native resolution.

I have the same monitor and had some problem with pinstripes in some colors. That turned out to be a problem with the graphics driver on my 2009 MBP. I don't think new Macs are affected of that though.

Now when it works well I'm very happy with the monitor. Btw, I use a MDP to DVI adapter.
It's sharp and makes text easy to read. I don't have a Retina MBP so I mostly compare it to the cMBP screen. If you compare it with a glossy screen it will look a bit grainy because of the Anti-glare coating. It might take some time to get used to that. There's also some IPS glow visible.

For what it cost, I don't think you will find a better screen.
 
M

macNewbie02

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2012
185
0
Stetrain said:
Are you using both of your Thunderbolt ports already? If not I think you might get the best results with a mini-Displayport to Displayport or mini-Displayport to DVI adapter.

There have also been a few threads in this section about issues with external display quality with the RMBP that may be worth searching for.
Click to expand...

No, I'm not using the Thunderbolt port. I'm seriously considering buying an adapter, thanks for answering. Does it matter which adapter I'll go with, mini-Displayport to Displayport or mini-Displayport to DVI?

----------
hallux said:
No sense getting a converter, the display has a DisplayPort input on it, just need something like this http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2 to connect to the mini-DP on the Mac. A word of caution, I'm not sure how the mini-DP plug on the Mac is set up, but DisplayPort CAN carry sound, so you may lose sound from the Mac if the Mac mini-DP plug carries it for this configuration. It may be configurable, I haven't been in a situation to test it out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for answering and the link, I could actually use a mini DP to DP cable instead of an adapter.

----------
zepman said:
He is using it at 1920x1200 witch is the monitors native resolution.

I have the same monitor and had some problem with pinstripes in some colors. That turned out to be a problem with the graphics driver on my 2009 MBP. I don't think new Macs are affected of that though.

Now when it works well I'm very happy with the monitor. Btw, I use a MDP to DVI adapter.
It's sharp and makes text easy to read. I don't have a Retina MBP so I mostly compare it to the cMBP screen. If you compare it with a glossy screen it will look a bit grainy because of the Anti-glare coating. It might take some time to get used to that. There's also some IPS glow visible.

For what it cost, I don't think you will find a better screen.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input . Do you use Apple's MDP to DVI adapter?http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570Z/B/mini-displayport-to-dvi-adapter

For me it's the easiest way (not the cheapest maybe) as it's 5 min drive from here to get it. Would you recommend simply buying this and giving it a try?
 
S

stevelam

macrumors 65816
Nov 4, 2010
1,215
3
Um you're not gonna see any noticeable difference going from hdmi->whatever adapter to mdp adapter.
 
thekev

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
macNewbie02 said:
Thanks for answering and the link, I could actually use a mini DP to DP cable instead of an adapter.
Click to expand...

Cables typically have fewer issues than adapters anyway.

MCAsan said:
Use Spyder or Munki to color calibrate it. Setting the resolution is only part of the story.
Click to expand...

That's a possible solution if the color feels off, but it will cost roughly half what he spent on the display, and basic profiling is still somewhat limited.
 
MCAsan

MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
That's a possible solution if the color feels off, but it will cost roughly half what he spent on the display, and basic profiling is still somewhat limited.
Click to expand...


So it depends on the requirements. Either color calibration is needed...or not. If users are photographers or graphic artists...color calibration can be very important. For others, maybe not so much unless the monitor looks like a horror story.
 
M

macNewbie02

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 4, 2012
185
0
MCAsan said:
So it depends on the requirements. Either color calibration is needed...or not. If users are photographers or graphic artists...color calibration can be very important. For others, maybe not so much unless the monitor looks like a horror story.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input.

For my needs, basic color calibration is enough. I more worried about quality loss from the cable/adapter.
 
S

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
macNewbie02 said:
Thanks for the input.

For my needs, basic color calibration is enough. I more worried about quality loss from the cable/adapter.
Click to expand...

It's a digital signal, either it gets through, or it doesn't. If the display works, then you're getting all the quality you can get.
 
MCAsan

MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
If the digital signal is received, the quality you perceive is then what the monitor does with the signal it gets. So of those things you can control depend ing the monitor (resolution, brightness, overscan,...etc.)
 
thekev

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
MCAsan said:
So it depends on the requirements. Either color calibration is needed...or not. If users are photographers or graphic artists...color calibration can be very important. For others, maybe not so much unless the monitor looks like a horror story.
Click to expand...

He didn't mention that kind of workflow. I just noted it was a generic IPS display, and he didn't mention uses. If the monitor is a horror story, buying one of those devices will not change that. You have to remember that you're still locked into the hardware behavior of the display. Colorimeters measure and assign a new profile. This profile describes an approximation of display gamut and a set of output curves to modify the instructions fed to the display in an attempt to better match the target values. If it's a horror story, you will be left with weird behavior and potentially banding at the end of it. It's more like just a piece of the puzzle if you're trying to manage such a workflow.

Take it for what it is. I'm really really nerdy, so I can go on about this stuff:p.
 
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