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2011 2.3GHz MBP display port/thunderbolt issue with external monitor

I'm getting subtle pinstriping on certain blocks of colour with a Dell U2412M and a 2010 MacBook Pro. The display works perfectly under Windows 7 on the same machine.

Can anyone help?
 
2011 MacBook Pro running 10.7.2 Lion

At first I connected to the U2410 via the MonoPrice MDP-to-DP cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6006&seq=1&format=2

I noticed the colors were off, which is when I realized it was displaying in YPbPr. Frustrated I couldn't correct the issue, I switched to Apple's official MDP-to-DVI adapter, and used the DVI chord provided by Dell. Great picture after a bit of calibration.

But then I began to realize that when my MBP entered Display Sleep in Energy Saver settings, the U2410 wouldn't fully go to sleep. The backlight remained on.

As a test, I replaced the Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort cable and sure enough, the monitor properly powered down using this chord. But I'm still stuck in YPbPr Land.

I wonder if using MonoPrice's Mini DisplayPort Male to DisplayPort Female Adapter coupled with the Dell-provided DisplayPort cable will fix the situation?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=5714

It's only $4.50, but I'm a bit fatigued from multiple MonoPrice orders in 1 week trying to sort this cable business out...Anyone have any thoughts before I commit to a purchase?
 
all i can suggest is to shoot these issues to apple - it's obviously ignored as it's a small % of combination of mDP cable to DP on certain monitors.

I got latest U2410 rev. A04 and no problems with the mDP ->DP port cable.
2011 15" MBP 2.5GHz
 
joecool99 said:
all i can suggest is to shoot these issues to apple - it's obviously ignored as it's a small % of combination of mDP cable to DP on certain monitors.

I got latest U2410 rev. A04 and no problems with the mDP ->DP port cable.
2011 15" MBP 2.5GHz
Click to expand...

is it the monoprice cable?

your monitor displays in rgb?
 
Am having this issue on a 2408wfp out of a refurb 2010 Feb MBP I purchased from apple--grainy display. Have tried a mdp->dp cable from monoprice and a combination mdp-->HDMI/dp/DVI cable from monoprice.

Guess I will carefully read this thread and perhaps try apple-branded versions of these cables but am annoyed.

----------
EggyWeggs said:
is it the monoprice cable?

your monitor displays in rgb?
Click to expand...

Yes, Monoprice cable. Assume it is in RGB--how would I check?
 
I actually just registered so I could 'chime in' on this subject.

I have a 2011 MBA13 about a month or so old now and a Dell U2410 circa 2009.

Same thing, text is grainy, fuzzy, washed out, nasty.

I'm using a MDP to HDMI connector.

I know the Dell is in perfect operating condition. My Windows desktop, work computer (also a Dell) and 360 are all hooked up to this monitor and all is well.

Now here's a odd observation for anyone interested...

I'm have some old original Star Trek episodes i have on iTunes. For grins, I hooked up the MBA to the U2410 today and sure enough, everything is grainy, washed out, yucky.

The Trek episodes look great.... take it for what its worth. I don't mean 'okay' I mean great.

Now I'm thinking to myself. What are these episodes if nothing other than..digitized, remastered TELEVISION episodes, old-old, non-HD stuff too. Interesting given that the Mac thinks the U2410 is a TV.

Go figure...

Still, I'm as irked and irate about this as anyone else. This is my first Mac ever and I bought the Air for form factor, flash and the ability to hook it up to...you guessed it, my U2410.

What I'm reading is the MDP to DVI does "fix" the issue? But of course, no audio on DVI and I have audio pass through on my monitor going to speakers.

Very disappointing and no fix in site it seems. I wonder if there ever will be.

Anyway, just though I'd share.
 
EggyWeggs said:
On the Dell Monitor, enter the OSD:

Menu > Color Settings >

What does it say under "Input Color Format"
Click to expand...

Editing an earlier response entirely:

It seems the majority of my woes were attempting to "mirror" my 1440x resolution on my 1920x Dell Monitor. That was resulting in a nasty result.

If I let the Dell monitor serve as a *second* monitor, it looks like the MBP sorts out the resolutions and things look decent--at least through the Monoprice MDP-->DP cable (haven't retried my Monoprice MDP-->DVI setup or my newly bought Apple-branded MDP-->DVI cable).

I'd rather the desktop simply "dock" to the monitor rather than use it as a second monitor when I plug in the cable at 1920x -- but I can't seem to figure out a way to accomplish that. It seems like the desktop insists on remaining at the native MBP resolution at 1440x.

Anyway doubt this helps anyone and probably just reveals me to be an idiot--but it is what it is.
 
Last edited:
You know how I know this is a Thunderbolt issue?

I was just in Windows 7 using Bootcamp, and walked away from the Macbook for a few minutes. When I returned, the Dell U2410 didn't enter full Power Saving mode, just like it does in OS X (over DVI). Instead, the backlight was still on. So this is not isolated to OS X.

The very same monitor behaves completely differently on my older Macbook which uses a Mini-DVI port. That port successfully puts the U2410 into power saving mode.

This has to do with the Thunderbolt port. I hope Apple fixes this.
 
Asus pa238

Identical issue with Asus PA238. When connected via Displayport it is recognized as a television, connecting via DVI adapter solves the issue.

Currently running Lion 10.7.2 on a late 2010 MB Air.

How are people going about contacting Apple? Just call and complain?
 
Please help!

Hi, I have a nice new 2011 iMac 27" i5 quad core with 2 x thunderbolt/MDP ports.
I have read just about everything i can find online about connecting this to an external monitor to extend the desktop, but I am having a nightmare with it.
I bought an Acer S220HQL 21.5" LED screen, and I then bought one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-8M-6FT-...ing_Apple_Mac_Accessories&hash=item45fa5952d4

to connect from the thunderbolt/MiniDP port on iMac to the DVI-D in on the Acer screen. NOTHING?! No picture, no detection of any signal whatsoever. I checked the screen is working (its new) by plugging in a VGA cable to it from my old PC laptop and it works fine.
Does anyone have any advice for me please? I desperately need to get this working but I just can't suss it out. Hope you guys can help, thanks :)
 
rezinous said:
Been having a similar issue.

Today I purchased a 24" ASUS LED LCD (VE247H) and using the vga adapter hooked it up, but it won't let me use the resolution of 1920x1080, only 1400x900.

Did the usual went through the settings etc on both sides, and I got it to display at 1080 ... for about 1 minute, screen black and wouldn't work again.

After more tinkering around trying different settings and a program which would let me use custom timings (that i entered from the manual), still didn't work.

Probably going to purchase a DVI adapter, but seems a bit BS that it showed up for about a minute then went away.


Going to install windows 7 just to see if the adapter works fine there.
Click to expand...



The monitor does not support 1080 resolution through VGA, u need to get a DVI.
 
Reports on U2410f A05

Back to topic/Summary.

Zatravka is right on target. However, I regard the inability to send RGB over DP to certain monitors as a bug.

I have tried both the Dell U2410f rev A00 and rev A05 (both made in Czech), and they are both affected by this bug. However, as some posters pointed out, the default sharpening scheme employed by later revisions does not show the same heavy artifacts. The same result can be achieved for the A00 by setting the sharpness (Menu|Display settings|Sharpness) to 0.

While the mDP-DP can thus be made usable, the incompatibility between the U2410f (and other monitors detected as TVs) and MacOS X on newer hardware persists.

Buying this monitor with a 2011 Mac and connecting it via DP (and HDMI, according to posters in this thread) is a waste of money. As the colors will be off in the YPbPr mode anyway, you should a get cheap TN monitor OR connect via DVI until Apple fixes this (not done in 10.7.2 at least).

Please report this bug to Apple: "My IPS monitor is detected as a TV and produces the wrong colors". This is the core problem. The image processing by Dell is a secondary effect (and you can adjust it).
 
EggyWeggs said:
That's a good point. I'd encourage everyone to do this.

Here is how to log a bug, it's fairly straight-forward and quick:

https://developer.apple.com/bugreporter/
Click to expand...

Update:

I opened a ticket March 3rd, and it was closed within days as a duplicate. However, the related ticket was still listed as open. Now the related ticket is closed. Hopefully they fixed the problem and can roll it out in an update.
 
Bringing back an old thread, but wanted to report that bad display issue still persists with OS X 10.8. Dell 2408 with Early 2011 MBP 15 inch running via mDP to DP. Cable from monoprice.

Helps with to bring the sharpness down to zero on the Dell 2408, but still has very fuzzy text.

Anyone else still have issues? :mad:
 
Same issue with a rMBP using a Dell 2408wfp with a HDMI cable. The monitor is detected as a TV :'( so the colors are WAY off
 
I have been running a Matrox DualHead2Go (with two U2410's) for about 8 months now, and everything works great over DisplayPort; needless to say the main device is the adaptor which isn't detected as a TV.
 
Retina MBP same problem with ASUS

I have an ASUS VE276Q that also shows up as a TV with really bad image quality when connected with a Mini Displayport to Displayport cable. The Apple mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter remedies the problem, but obviously isn't as good as a digital connection would be. I guess I'll have to buy another adapter to fix this. I'm running 10.8.2. It's disappointing that there is no way to just tell the damn thing that it isn't a TV!
 
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