MBA 2011 13" WITH 24" dell

[macmba]

Hi,

I connected my 24" Dell display without issues (through VGA), and while everything works fine, the text on the dell display does is far from clear, its a little fuzzy and hard to read. The LCD itself works perfectly fine with other machines, crisp and clear. Is there anything I could try? I tried the advanced display option, nothing helped. Maybe a display driver issue?

 

[minnus]

I actually experienced the same issue (fuzzy) when connecting the MBA via Thunderbolt with a Mini-Display to HDMI on the Dell U2410. When I connected it to my projected (Benq W600+), it looked normal.

I did not troubleshoot as to why the U2410 was fuzzy - I bought a cheapo converter and blamed that originally.

 

[ZBoater]

Hi,

I connected my 24" Dell display without issues (through VGA), and while everything works fine, the text on the dell display does is far from clear, its a little fuzzy and hard to read. The LCD itself works perfectly fine with other machines, crisp and clear. Is there anything I could try? I tried the advanced display option, nothing helped. Maybe a display driver issue?

Could be. I'll ask the obvious - are you using the native resolution of the Dell display? When I connected my MBA to my Viewsonic, it automatically recognized the display and set the correct resolution, but its worth checking just to be sure.

 

[macmba]

Could be. I'll ask the obvious - are you using the native resolution of the Dell display? When I connected my MBA to my Viewsonic, it automatically recognized the display and set the correct resolution, but its worth checking just to be sure.

yes! I did. I am using the Apple mini-display connector, so its not like I went with a cheapo solution, and I dont think its defective, otherwise it wont work at all. So am leaning towards a driver issue... I might try other displays since I have another Samsung LCD...

 

[macmba]

Well, I should ask: is there alternate video/display drivers for the MBA?

I tried the same monitor with another MBA 13" 2011, same thing.

 

[DarwinOSX]

I have an HP zr24 and text is excellent on it.

 

[deeddawg]

What is the text fuzzy in comparison to? a PC?

If so, then I'm wondering if you're seeing the effect of the different way OSX and Windows render fonts. Do some google searches on the topic, but generally speaking Windows will mush up the font to fit the pixels and OSX will alias the pixels to retain the font characteristics. The result is that OSX can look a little "fuzzy" in comparison. Not sure one way is right or wrong, just different philosophies of what's more important.

 

[minnus]

What is the text fuzzy in comparison to? a PC?

If so, then I'm wondering if you're seeing the effect of the different way OSX and Windows render fonts. Do some google searches on the topic, but generally speaking Windows will mush up the font to fit the pixels and OSX will alias the pixels to retain the font characteristics. The result is that OSX can look a little "fuzzy" in comparison. Not sure one way is right or wrong, just different philosophies of what's more important.

Fuzzy like...the screen has a blur filter on it. Nothing is clear/crisp. Not limited to text. Well, I'll post a picture of it tomorrow if I remember to after I get my Air from Amazon.

 

[jpl6]

I have two monitors, one Dell (24 inch, VGA) & one Asus (25 inch, HDMI).

The Asus monitor w/ my MBA looks sharper/clearer. I'm not too sure whether this is entirely due to one being mini-display-to-HDMI versus the other being mini-display-to-VGA, or if it's partially due to the actual monitors themselves.

Personally, I think while the HDMI/VGA does have a slight difference, my experience with monitors (Asus, Dell, LG, Viewsonic) have left me preferring Asus monitors. I think Asus/LG have better looking/sharper monitors out of the four brands I've used (of comparable prices), with Asus giving me less problems in pairing/usage than the LG ones.

EDIT: By the way, my Dell monitor still displays text/everything else decently. I can "feel"/"notice" a difference in monitor clarity, but I can also use the Dell monitor just fine.

 

[misterbig]

(through VGA)

This is most likely the problem. VGA will usually appear blurry compared to digital connections like HDMI or DVI. Try connecting using DVI and see if it's better.

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I'm not too sure whether this is entirely due to one being mini-display-to-HDMI versus the other being mini-display-to-VGA, or if it's partially due to the actual monitors themselves.

I have several monitors from Philips, Samsung and Acer and they all have VGA and DVI inputs. Using DVI produces a much sharper screen on all of them compared to VGA, so I would say there is absolutely a big and very noticeable difference between VGA and DVI/HDMI.

 

[GrendelsBane]

You say you connected via VGA? If so, that's the problem. VGA is an old analog signal. You must connect via DVI, HDMI or Display Port to get a true digital signal. I have a mini connected to a Dell U2412M via a mini Display Port to Display port cable, and occasionally I hook up my Air to it via the same, and it works brilliantly.

 

[windows4ever]

I actually experienced the same issue (fuzzy) when connecting the MBA via Thunderbolt with a Mini-Display to HDMI on the Dell U2410. When I connected it to my projected (Benq W600+), it looked normal.

I did not troubleshoot as to why the U2410 was fuzzy - I bought a cheapo converter and blamed that originally.

I had the exact same problem connecting to a U2410 via HDMI and thought it was the adapter. The images and text on the screen were ghosted. There is an adjustment for "sharpness" that cures the problem, but switching back to another computer (in my case a PC) requires the adjustment back again. Arghh.

For the OP, the solution is probably similar.

 

[macmba]

I had the exact same problem connecting to a U2410 via HDMI and thought it was the adapter. The images and text on the screen were ghosted. There is an adjustment for "sharpness" that cures the problem, but switching back to another computer (in my case a PC) requires the adjustment back again. Arghh.

For the OP, the solution is probably similar.

I will try that, thanks.

I doubt its the VGA, because when I connect it to a different PC, with the same VGA cable it looks fine.