macbook mini-dvi to dvi (external 22" lcd grainy and blurry)

[104294]

Hello,

I am a switcher and love the macbook (and I am a hardcore pc builder).

I connect my 22" lcd to my macbook with the mini dvi to dvi cable. I get the correct resolution on it ( 1680 x 1050). The image though is very blurry / grainy. The LCD looks far superior via my PC. The LCD on the macbook looks fine, clear, everything is good.

Any ideas on what I should do?

My LCD is a Sceptre brand. Note, it is nothing wrong with the LCD, since it looks great and clear on my PC desktop.

Maybe I need a driver?

 

[Maxx Power]

I think I heard of this somewhere before, not sure now...

You may be out of luck, either that, or try using a DVI-VGA converter, if that also doesn't work, then you can be sure your mini-dvi out is screwed.

 

[island]

Try it with another monitor to test and make sure it works correctly.

 

[Helianthus]

I just bought one of these connectors yesterday so reading this just freaked me out. It gave me the motivation to actually test it, and I think it looks fine. I also have a 22" LCD although mine is an Acer.

 

[Maxx Power]

I just bought one of these connectors yesterday so reading this just freaked me out. It gave me the motivation to actually test it, and I think it looks fine. I also have a 22" LCD although mine is an Acer.

I wouldn't actually freak out, remember, you have apple's warranty, if something inside breaks then you can always use your consumer rights. I remember the Mini had a list of compatible and incompatible monitors when it first came out, and the Macbook Pro's had a problem with the transmitter chip dithering incorrectly on the internal display causing colour banding and fringing.

 

[shabba]

I have also purchased one of these and it works amazing, with my Glass Fronted Ag-neovo 19inch DVI monitor

 

[zaphod987]

Same issue!

I'm having the same problem with my mini: text in web pages looks blurry. I've tried changing font smoothing settings, etc, but pages just don't look as crisp as do on my pc (using same monitor at same res). At this stage i can only think it's a hardware fault, or else Mac's just aren't all they're cracked up to be!

 

[pip11]

I had this problem with my MacBook, but only when using my Dell 2005FPW through VGA. Through DVI, it looks great. The resolution is the same as your screen, 1680x1050. Core Image effects and OpenGL are sluggish, but overall it works well.
The only advice I can give is to test out everything separately--use the same cable, and test your MacBook with another monitor. Maybe even try installing Windows or Linux on the MB to make sure it isn't an OS X problem. I have had odd problems with DVI cables in the past(groups of pixels turning different colors, refusing to work on certain monitors), so trying a different one of those could be useful also.

 

[Jouten]

Me too!

Me too! I had the same problem with blurry/fuzzy fonts and just a really poor picture overall. I was using the VGA adapter and not the DVI one.

Other than that, everything else works perfectly and I would sure hate to have to send back my Macbook just because it can't display properly on an external monitor.

 

[hidehide]

I just hook up my macbook with the mini-dvi to dvi to my new 22" widescreen lcd. And I also uses the vga cable to connect my pc laptop to the lcd.
Both looks great... very clear..

 

[Arty Lex]

Mini-dvi to LCD tv grainy and blurry

With my Macbook, I use a SAMSUNG TV and just changing the image mode to film worked great.