Blurry text on external monitor using DP

[peterfc]

I'm hooking up my new MBA 13" to a Dell Ultrasharp U2311H with a 1920x1080 resolution but text appear rather blurred/fuzzy. Using a no-name mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable is yielding poorer results than connecting the MBA via the VGA connecter and VGA cable. And my Windows7 PC via the VGA is also looking better. Any suggestions as what to do? Should I get a new brand name mini DP -> DP cable? Thanks in advance.
Peter

 

[LeakedDave]

I'm hooking up my new MBA 13" to a Dell Ultrasharp U2311H with a 1920x1080 resolution but text appear rather blurred/fuzzy. Using a no-name mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable is yielding poorer results than connecting the MBA via the VGA connecter and VGA cable. And my Windows7 PC via the VGA is also looking better. Any suggestions as what to do? Should I get a new brand name mini DP -> DP cable? Thanks in advance.
Peter

Does it take DVI or HDMI? Try one of those.

I use a Apple Cinema display so I don't have this problem... Good luck.

It does look crisp on my 1080p phillips HDTV though with an HDMI adapter...

 

[deeddawg]

Are you driving the monitor at native resolution, i.e. not mirroring your desktop?

Shouldn't be fuzzy given that it's a digital signal.

Also, have a look at:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/whats-wrong-with-apples-font-rendering.html
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/06/font-rendering-respecting-the-pixel-grid.html

 

[tokyovigilante]

This is a problem with the MBA seeing Dell monitors as TVs (check System Profiler) then outputting a YUV signal rather than RGB. A DP->DVI adaptor works. You'll only need a cheap passive one for 1080p.

 

[peterfc]

No it does have DVI or HDMI only DP and VGA. But it could be that it is simply Apple's font rendering that is more blurry than Windows as suggested. The difference is sharpest between Mac using Mini DP -> DP compared to Windows (using VGA). Pics and videos look great but I do send a lot of time typing and reading which makes me a bit disappointed. Anyone thinks it can be the cable?

 

[tokyovigilante]

I just told you what the problem is. Did you check to see whether the monitor is identified as a TV? The U2311H has a DVI-D input.

 

[peterfc]

Sorry we cross-posted, but you are right that it does indeed have DVI-D, but how do I find out if it is recognised as a TV. The system profiler does not have any info on this all it says is:
DELL U2311H:
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
Pixeldepth: 32 bit farve (ARGB8888)
serialnumber: HV8XP1673YDL
Main screen: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Support
Connection: DisplayPort

 

[tokyovigilante]

Hmm, mine always said Television: Yes with my U2410 connected. A mini-DP to DVI adaptor might be a cheap way to check. Are you able to post a photo of the distortion?

 

[peterfc]

Hi I'm trying to attach a screen dump (but this is my first Mac in 15 years, System 7 was somewhat different!) and I have fiddled with the LCD font smoothening setting which seems to have helped somewhat. So it may be down to font rendering, but I will try the mini DP -> DVI-D cable. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions until now!