rMBP looks awful over HDMI, but totally acceptable over minidisplayport > dvi

[demodulatorad]

Hello!

I just got the rMBP a few weeks ago. I plugged it into my external monitor, a Samsung p2570HD via HDMI. It looked awful.
It looks it has very high contrast. The text is barely legible and there are thick white halos around text on menubars, the apple logo on the upper left..etc.

(I can take a picture if it is helpful)

I called Apple, they weren't sure and suggested I try it on another display.
I checked it out on a friend's tv and also another hdmi monitor at school.
They all looked bad.

So I called Samsung to have them walk me through tweaking the display.
The woman basically stalled after I explained to her that there is not an option to change resolution to 1920x1080, that I could change between different scaled resolutions like "larger text...best..more space.." and tried to explain they are roughly equivalent to...
this confused her she explained that Samsung monitors are essentially plug and play and that there are not really any settings to tweak and that Samsung doesn't advertise they work with Apple products.

So...I called Apple back and explained what was going on. It looks totally fine over DVI but not HDMI. They said the computer should be able to detect the display and look fine and that it is a 3rd Party Issue but they could capture my information and send it to engineering to possibly look into it.

Advice?
Walk-Through?
Am I crazy, am I missing an obvious setting?

Thank you!

 

[benthewraith]

Hello!

I just got the rMBP a few weeks ago. I plugged it into my external monitor, a Samsung p2570HD via HDMI. It looked awful.
It looks it has very high contrast. The text is barely legible and there are thick white halos around text on menubars, the apple logo on the upper left..etc.

(I can take a picture if it is helpful)

I called Apple, they weren't sure and suggested I try it on another display.
I checked it out on a friend's tv and also another hdmi monitor at school.
They all looked bad.

So I called Samsung to have them walk me through tweaking the display.
The woman basically stalled after I explained to her that there is not an option to change resolution to 1920x1080, that I could change between different scaled resolutions like "larger text...best..more space.." and tried to explain they are roughly equivalent to...
this confused her she explained that Samsung monitors are essentially plug and play and that there are not really any settings to tweak and that Samsung doesn't advertise they work with Apple products.

So...I called Apple back and explained what was going on. It looks totally fine over DVI but not HDMI. They said the computer should be able to detect the display and look fine and that it is a 3rd Party Issue but they could capture my information and send it to engineering to possibly look into it.

Advice?
Walk-Through?
Am I crazy, am I missing an obvious setting?

Thank you!

Looks like driver issues. Should be fixed soon.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1460607/

 

[tmanto02]

Hello!

I just got the rMBP a few weeks ago. I plugged it into my external monitor, a Samsung p2570HD via HDMI. It looked awful.
It looks it has very high contrast. The text is barely legible and there are thick white halos around text on menubars, the apple logo on the upper left..etc.

(I can take a picture if it is helpful)

I called Apple, they weren't sure and suggested I try it on another display.
I checked it out on a friend's tv and also another hdmi monitor at school.
They all looked bad.

So I called Samsung to have them walk me through tweaking the display.
The woman basically stalled after I explained to her that there is not an option to change resolution to 1920x1080, that I could change between different scaled resolutions like "larger text...best..more space.." and tried to explain they are roughly equivalent to...
this confused her she explained that Samsung monitors are essentially plug and play and that there are not really any settings to tweak and that Samsung doesn't advertise they work with Apple products.

So...I called Apple back and explained what was going on. It looks totally fine over DVI but not HDMI. They said the computer should be able to detect the display and look fine and that it is a 3rd Party Issue but they could capture my information and send it to engineering to possibly look into it.

Advice?
Walk-Through?
Am I crazy, am I missing an obvious setting?

Thank you!

I don't think you're crazy, mine does the same thing over HDMI, however I noticed that it is only when displaying the user interface, cause when watching a movie it is perfect. It is strange though cause my mac mini doesn't do it at all (plugged in via hdmi)

 

[Snowcake]

That is because you are using the Intel HD4000.

The mac mini forum has a lot of threads about it.

Problems:

Screen goes to black/snow for 1 or 2 seconds. Sometimes more or never go back to normal screen.
Colors and text look bad, very bad.
Light shades are displayed as pure white. OSX has a lot light shades.
Etc etc.


It can happen with TB to hdmi, hdmi to hdmi, hdmi to dvi etc. Thunderbolt to thunderbolt/dvi seems non-afected.

Since users of windows and linux are also reporting the same problems as the mac owners, the fault lies in the firmware or hardware.
Intel has new firmware versions who should fix it. But people are still reporting issues.

There was recent also a firmware fix for macbook pro and macbook air to fix displays problems. Maybe you can do that? Link: https://www.macrumors.com/2012/11/08/apple-releases-macbook-air-and-macbook-pro-update-2-0/

 

[demodulatorad]

[fixed]

via: "http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/samsung-syncmaster-p2770hd/4864-3174_7-33912090.html"

"Updated on Jun 11, 2010

At long last, I found someone with the same problem AND a solution to the problem associated with the HDMI interface between a PC/MAC and the P2770HD. With the PC/MAC plugged into the P2770HD via HDMI, use the remote to select the following:

- Hit "Source" button on remote
- Arrow up/down to "HDMI' on the list, hit "Tools" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "Edit Name" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "HDMI" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "DVI PC" or "PC" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote (Monitor should automatically adjust picture so that text does not look terrible)
- Hit "Exit" button on remote and WALA!

Updated on Jun 11, 2010

One of the things I forgot to mention, there are 3 different "Picture Mode" settings with the HDMI interface: 1) Movie (for viewing under low lighting), 2) Standard (for viewing under standard lighting), and 3) Dynamic (for viewing under bright lighting). Under "Dynamic" the whites are very bright and text viewing is very easy on the eyes, but this setting should be adjusted to suit the needs of each individual / environment.

Also if you use the HDMI port for more than 2 different devices, remember to follow the instructions in the first update... except choose the "Game" or "Blu-Ray" or "DVD" option instead of the "DVI PC" or "PC" option in the final list. That way the P2770HD can adjust the screen image for the right input source."

 

[Radeax]

via: "http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/samsung-syncmaster-p2770hd/4864-3174_7-33912090.html"

"Updated on Jun 11, 2010

At long last, I found someone with the same problem AND a solution to the problem associated with the HDMI interface between a PC/MAC and the P2770HD. With the PC/MAC plugged into the P2770HD via HDMI, use the remote to select the following:

- Hit "Source" button on remote
- Arrow up/down to "HDMI' on the list, hit "Tools" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "Edit Name" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "HDMI" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote
- Arrow up/down to "DVI PC" or "PC" on the next list, hit "Enter" button on the remote (Monitor should automatically adjust picture so that text does not look terrible)
- Hit "Exit" button on remote and WALA!

Updated on Jun 11, 2010

One of the things I forgot to mention, there are 3 different "Picture Mode" settings with the HDMI interface: 1) Movie (for viewing under low lighting), 2) Standard (for viewing under standard lighting), and 3) Dynamic (for viewing under bright lighting). Under "Dynamic" the whites are very bright and text viewing is very easy on the eyes, but this setting should be adjusted to suit the needs of each individual / environment.

Also if you use the HDMI port for more than 2 different devices, remember to follow the instructions in the first update... except choose the "Game" or "Blu-Ray" or "DVD" option instead of the "DVI PC" or "PC" option in the final list. That way the P2770HD can adjust the screen image for the right input source."

Old post but I have to thank you for this. I originally had a HDMI > Mini DisplayPort but ended up getting a DVI > Mini DisplayPort, which I had recently misplaced. Wish I knew about this years ago!