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Fuzzy External Monitor

C

cultivate

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 8, 2009
26
0
I just got a 23" Philips 230E monitor home and have hooked it up to my 15" mac book pro.

I'm not sure whats going on or how to fix it but it's appearing fuzzy and flickers (pixels seem to be moving) a little in the standard resolution of 1920x1080.

If I change the resolution to the next setting 1680x1050 the pixels don't move and but the screen still doesn't look crisp. I don't have any options to change the refresh rate either.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem with external monitor's and how I should go about fixing it...

thanks!
 
melterx12 said:
vga is an analog signal. try using a digital signal cable, such as dvi or hdmi
Click to expand...

Can anyone confirm that this will fix the problem? Because I'll have to go and order a mini display port to dvi and I don't want to waste my money.
 
I do not think that VGA can push 1080p, which would explain your dilemma. DVI should fix your problem.

EDIT: Seems that I was incorrect about the resolution.
 
VGA can easily go up to 1920x1200, but you should check your cable and that your monitor is set up correctly. It may be possible that the AUTO function of your display does not get the correct values.

Go here: http://www.heise.de/ct/ctscreen/

Then click on "Auflösung" and switch to the 4th screen via right-click and choosing "Andere Variante". Then first use the AUTO function on your display and the the manual fine-controls to get a picture that is as stable as possible (may not get perfect).
 
Timur said:
VGA can easily go up to 1920x1200, but you should check your cable and that your monitor is set up correctly. It may be possible that the AUTO function of your display does not get the correct values.

Go here: http://www.heise.de/ct/ctscreen/

Then click on "Auflösung" and switch to the 4th screen via right-click and choosing "Andere Variante". Then first use the AUTO function on your display and the the manual fine-controls to get a picture that is as stable as possible (may not get perfect).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion but it didn't seem to change anything...

I've tried a couple of other thinks all with not luck. I don't think its a VGA issue anymore. I connect the monitor to my GF's 17" Dell and it worked fine without any problems. I've also connected it to my MBP with a different vga cable and it still had not effect.

There has got to be other MBP owners running an external monitor 1920x1080 or larger via VGA without problems.

Does anyone know how to fix this issue?
 
cultivate said:
Thanks for the suggestion but it didn't seem to change anything...

I've tried a couple of other thinks all with not luck. I don't think its a VGA issue anymore. I connect the monitor to my GF's 17" Dell and it worked fine without any problems. I've also connected it to my MBP with a different vga cable and it still had not effect.

There has got to be other MBP owners running an external monitor 1920x1080 or larger via VGA without problems.

Does anyone know how to fix this issue?
Click to expand...

Is the 17" Dell also 1920x1080?

EDIT: Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I went down into my basement and found a VGA cord. Hooked it up to the MiniDP to VGA with my Alu MacBook (2.4Ghz, 9400GM) and compared it to the quality of the MiniDP to DVI. With the VGA cord, the display (1920x1080) looks blurry and fuzzy. With the DVI cord the display is crisp and clear. It is because you are using VGA.
 
VGA will always look fuzzy. It's just part of using that standard. DVI will solve your issue.
 
cultivate said:
There has got to be other MBP owners running an external monitor 1920x1080 or larger via VGA without problems.
Click to expand...
Yes, I can run 1920x1200 via VGA without issues. I'd say that your mDP-VAG adapter is probably broken and you should try another. But going DVI is the best option in any case (though you still can get a faulty adapter).

Another possible source is the Macbook itself. It's well possible that it delivers a somewhat weaker output signal (especially via the adapter) than what your display needs. I have this issue only with active (99$) Dual-Link DVI adapters though, not with the passive ones (DVI, VGA, HDMI).
 
Fixed!

Thanks everyone for the help, I've seemed to resolve the issues I was having.

Seems it was my MiniDP to VGA adaptor.

I had a cheap one that I got of ebay for a couple of bucks almost a year ago, I never had any problems but I only ever used it on my 32" LCD TV. Seems my new monitor with the high resolution (1920x1080) was to much for it.

Lucky for me I just got a new imac at work last week that's hooked up to a 22" external monitor with via a genuine apple mini DP to VGA. I tried my ebay adaptor today at work and it seemed to work fine (the monitor has a lower resolution somewhere in the 1600's). Now I've got the genuine apple mini DP to VGA adapter here at home and all is well.

Anyone facing a similar problem should keep this in mind.
 
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