2012 MBA | External display problem

[japanime]

I recently purchased two MBAs for my company. One is a 2011 11-inch, the other a 2012 11-inch.

They are running side-by-side in our office, and are connected via HDMI to identical Mitsubishi external monitors.

The monitor connected to the 2011 model looks great — the contrast, colors and everything seem perfect.

The monitor connected to the 2012 model looks terrible — washed out colors, brightness and contrast levels that seem "flat." Also, sometimes when awaking from sleep, the external screen is completely blown out — practically white (even though the desktop "picture" that we use is a solid dark gray color).

At first, I figured it was the external monitors (or perhaps the HDMI cables). So, I swapped monitors and cables between the two MBAs.

Same result.

Has anyone here noticed the same thing between the video output of a 2011 model vs the 2012? Or do I have a bad 2012 on my hands?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[japanime]

I probably should have checked the forums on the Apple website first. There is a 22-page (and counting) thread on this very problem.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4080525?start=0&tstart=0

 

[nnynas]

You could check also another thread, it has some suggestions to cope with this problem, like:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/20220107#20220107#20220107

They're talking about mac mini, but it has a similar problem while it has the same GPU (Intel HD 4000).

 

[japanime]

You could check also another thread, it has some suggestions to cope with this problem, like:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/20220107#20220107#20220107

They're talking about mac mini, but it has a similar problem while it has the same GPU (Intel HD 4000).

Thanks! I'll check it out...

 

[NutsNGum]

Is this an issue just with HDMI output? I haven't noticed anything on the 2012 11" using a mini display port to DVI adaptor.

 

[Skoopman]

Is this an issue just with HDMI output? I haven't noticed anything on the 2012 11" using a mini display port to DVI adaptor.

No problems here either, it seems to be a HDMI issue. The thing is, HDMI was not developed for monitor use, but for media content.

 

[thekev]

No problems here either, it seems to be a HDMI issue. The thing is, HDMI was not developed for monitor use, but for media content.

Displayport was really the standard developed for use as a computer display, but obviously HDMI has a lot of popularity at the lower end of desktop displays. I was somewhat surprised when it appeared on the rMBP. Apple doesn't typically offer redundant port types.