Not happy with Dell U2711 monitor

[mw360]

I've seen lots of happy U2711 users posting here, so perhaps somebody can give me some tips on setting this up. My problem is, I can't get good colour - how is anybody else doing it?

My best results are by setting monitor to sRGB, gamma (on the monitor) to Mac and display profile (in sys prefs) to sRGB IEC61966-2.1...

Colours look fine in most apps, including web browsing, but dock icons, desktop icons coverflow images and the red/yellow/green window buttons look supersaturated and distracting. Surely when the monitor is in sRGB mode, only sRGB colours should be possible? sRGB mode doesn't seem any different to standard mode.

By setting the display profile to DELL U2711 I can get better colour on the Dock icons etc, but blues look distinctly off colour, for example standard osx scrollbars look lilac colour instead of slightly turquoise. And web browsing looks bad (I'm using news.bbc.co.uk as a test site - the banners should be a nice warm red, not a laser eyeburning pinky-red.)

Setting the monitor to PC gamma instead of Mac gamma seems to make it behave as an sRGB monitor throughout, but the off-colour blues are more evident.

Currently using a late 2008 MBP via DVI, 10.6.4. I'd rather sort this out than send it back & wait for an Apple 27". If you've got one, what settings are you using and how does it look?

 

[mw360]

I've seen lots of happy U2711 users posting here, so perhaps somebody can give me some tips on setting this up. My problem is, I can't get good colour - how is anybody else doing it?

My best results are by setting monitor to sRGB, gamma (on the monitor) to Mac and display profile (in sys prefs) to sRGB IEC61966-2.1...

Colours look fine in most apps, including web browsing, but dock icons, desktop icons coverflow images and the red/yellow/green window buttons look supersaturated and distracting. Surely when the monitor is in sRGB mode, only sRGB colours should be possible? sRGB mode doesn't seem any different to standard mode.

By setting the display profile to DELL U2711 I can get better colour on the Dock icons etc, but blues look distinctly off colour, for example standard osx scrollbars look lilac colour instead of slightly turquoise. And web browsing looks bad (I'm using news.bbc.co.uk as a test site - the banners should be a nice warm red, not a laser eyeburning pinky-red.)

Setting the monitor to PC gamma instead of Mac gamma seems to make it behave as an sRGB monitor throughout, but the off-colour blues are more evident.

Currently using a late 2008 MBP via DVI, 10.6.4. I'd rather sort this out than send it back & wait for an Apple 27". If you've got one, what settings are you using and how does it look?

Nobody has got a U2711 working properly with a Mac?

 

[dimme]

It sounds like you need a monitor calibrator. Using the profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1 is a bad idea. That is not a monitor profile but a working space profile.

 

[mw360]

It sounds like you need a monitor calibrator. Using the profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1 is a bad idea. That is not a monitor profile but a working space profile.

Thanks for the reply, but I've borrowed a Spyder 3 and run it several times but it just makes matters worse. It doesn't seem able to recognise the nature of the hue shift.

I think I need to get the basics right first because it just completely baffling. It's not an overall tint, it's hue/sat problems per app, per UI element, per image. If anybody can tell me that they're running one with a Mac, and are able to get to look roughly the same as an Apple display I'd be interested to hear about it. I just want to figure out if the thing's faulty.

Edit: I understand the sRGB profile isn't recommended (don't entirely know why) but its the only one that gives correct hues in colour managed apps. Except possibly AppleRGB, but I doubt that is recommended either.

 

[Superman07]

I believe there is an entire thread on the U2711 in this section. I think 2-3 people in there have them and have talked about their experiences. Maybe there is some useful information in there?

 

[imax05]

Hi, I have the same problem!
Someone can help me?
I use a new mac pro 8 core, with ati 5770 and Dell U2711.
The display is very amazing but I do not know why the dock and the system UI have a color (like washed/ not brillant) and in the application like safari, crome, final cut, photoshop ecc... the color is more shiny, the red is oversaturated ecc..

I bought a colorimeter and next week a try to calibrate the monitor but the different from dock and OSX UI is very strange...

Someone have the same problem? Can u help me!?

Sorry for my bad bad bad english!

Ciao

 

[mathagat]

Same color issue here...

Hi, I have the same problem!
Someone can help me?
I use a new mac pro 8 core, with ati 5770 and Dell U2711.
The display is very amazing but I do not know why the dock and the system UI have a color (like washed/ not brillant) and in the application like safari, crome, final cut, photoshop ecc... the color is more shiny, the red is oversaturated ecc..

I bought a colorimeter and next week a try to calibrate the monitor but the different from dock and OSX UI is very strange...

Someone have the same problem? Can u help me!?

Sorry for my bad bad bad english!

Ciao

Did you find a solution to this issue? I just got a new Mac Pro 8 core w/ the ATI 5770 and 2 Dell U2711s. I'm having the same problem. About to reach out to Dell's support. If I can't get this resolved I might have to send them back and get ACDs.

Matt