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Studio Display XDR Impressions

Can anybody check the edges of the display and tell me if they see graininess on a full white screen when looking up close? Is this normal?

Edit: I checked the regular Studio Display doesn’t have this at the Apple Store however the XDR model does similar to the one I have at home. I’m guessing it’s the way it’s constructed/miniled tech. The MacBooks don’t have this though.
 
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Was anybody able to get mpv to have MacOS trigger a display refresh rate change to the correct fps of a movie file, f.e. change the display refresh to 47.95 Hz for a 23.976 fps movie.

Hitting the i or I keys shows 60Hz for both the specified and estimated values, unless I change the refresh manually in the Display settings. I can do a display-fps-override to 47.95 which is then shown in specified, but the estimated refresh remains at 60Hz.

I'd really like to use the Adaptive mode instead of switching manually each time as I tend to forget changing it back.

The following (very basic) command works perfectly to display movies in their full HDR glory but doesn't trigger a refresh rate change:

mpv --no-config --video-sync=display-resample --target-colorspace-hint=yes --target-peak=2000 <path/to/moviefile>

I've tried a lot of the options linked to display-sync, gpu-api etc yet nothing works.

It happens on both the official as well as the homebrew version. I'm using a M1 MacBook Pro (soon to be replaced) with Tahoe 26.4. My Studio Display XDR has the latest firmware installed yesterday.

Any help in figuring this out would be greatly appreciated.
 
v654321 said:
Was anybody able to get mpv to have MacOS trigger a display refresh rate change to the correct fps of a movie file, f.e. change the display refresh to 47.95 Hz for a 23.976 fps movie.

Hitting the i or I keys shows 60Hz for both the specified and estimated values, unless I change the refresh manually in the Display settings. I can do a display-fps-override to 47.95 which is then shown in specified, but the estimated refresh remains at 60Hz.

I'd really like to use the Adaptive mode instead of switching manually each time as I tend to forget changing it back.

The following (very basic) command works perfectly to display movies in their full HDR glory but doesn't trigger a refresh rate change:

mpv --no-config --video-sync=display-resample --target-colorspace-hint=yes --target-peak=2000 <path/to/moviefile>

I've tried a lot of the options linked to display-sync, gpu-api etc yet nothing works.

It happens on both the official as well as the homebrew version. I'm using a M1 MacBook Pro (soon to be replaced) with Tahoe 26.4. My Studio Display XDR has the latest firmware installed yesterday.

Any help in figuring this out would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Have you tried the --drm-vrr-enabled=<no|yes|auto> flag?
 
It doesn't recognise this as an option.

Code: 
Error parsing option drm-vrr-enabled (option not found)
Setting commandline option --drm-vrr-enabled=yes failed.

Does it work for you?
 
Guys whats the reason windows is so much smoother on 120 hz comparing to mac ? (tried lg, studio xdr etc) displays
 
v654321 said:
It doesn't recognise this as an option.

Code: 
Error parsing option drm-vrr-enabled (option not found)
Setting commandline option --drm-vrr-enabled=yes failed.

Does it work for you?
Click to expand...
At the moment I only have access to a 48-165Hz VRR OLED display but it should be similar to when using XDR. No, on my mpv / IINA returned errors as well. This part in the mpv documentation specifically talks about adaptive sync so I figured maybe you can try.

This feels like there is some Apple API in the way of things.
 
LoopsOfFury said:
Based on Intel's specifications, that chip maxes out with 8K at 60Hz, so probably can't do 5K at 120Hz
Click to expand...
8K@60 requires more bandwidth than 5K@120 so no, that's not an answer.
ColdestOfStones said:
but can't get 3 external 5k Studio XDR displays to work at 60Hz. All 3 appear in System Information>Thunderbolt/USB4, but only 2 show up under Displays and have an image visible
Click to expand...
ascender said:
My case with Apple Engineering is looking into why a MacBook Pro M5 (not Pro or Max) chip can't support two of these at 60Hz
Click to expand...
phoenixbt said:
Same issue/behavior in my case with the M4 mba
Click to expand...
even if you force Studio XDR display to 60 Hz it won't yield its taken full bandwidth for some reason. I think every owner that doesn't like such behavior should create a ticket in Apple's support desk.
 
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ascender said:
So this sounds like the exact same issue I'm having but a "step down"... My case with Apple Engineering is looking into why a MacBook Pro M5 (not Pro or Max) chip can't support two of these at 60Hz.
Click to expand...
Have you tried this? Unplug both monitors from power. Plug in both monitors TB cable to MBP while MBP is on. Plug in power for both monitors simultaneously. That was the only reliable way I could get 2 displays to work at 60Hz with my M4 Pro MBP.

To me it looks like a software/firmware glitch. MacOS and the 2 displays won't automatically switch both to 60Hz, instead one stays at 120Hz and the other can't connect.
 
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LoopsOfFury said:
I'm using this cable, which I bought several years ago:

[edit] Scratch that - I didn't realize Windows was automatically downgrading the resolution to 4K without telling me when I changed the refresh rate to 120Hz.
Click to expand...
LOL, you're not alone there, Studio is sharp enough that even 4k fooled me on Windows.

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to force the system into accepting DSC mode to supporting 5k@120hz out of the port there. So, we're SOL until we upgrade our GPU or an Intel mobo with TB5 support.

Delarock said:
Guys whats the reason windows is so much smoother on 120 hz comparing to mac ? (tried lg, studio xdr etc) displays
Click to expand...
Windows doesn't require upscaling + downscaling, it's straight drawing to the native resolution. On macOS, it's constantly upscaling and downscaling for that pixel perfect 2x image. In exchange for smoother animations, you get slightly blurrier image on Windows.

That's why WindowsServer process on macOS is constantly at 10%+ on macs or lower the more modern the GPU you have.
 
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thenewepic said:
8K@60 requires more bandwidth than 5K@120 so no, that's not an answer.
Click to expand...

Well, my 4090 (which supports 8K@60Hz) and cable (which supports 8K@60Hz) can't go any faster than 60Hz at 5K with the Studio XDR, so I wouldn't bet on his laptop being able to either. I suppose it could be some kind of driver issue, but wouldn't expect anything better from Intel's drivers.
 
AbeLincoln1984 said:
You sir have quite a ticket on your hands.

Just wanted that based on my reading as well, you should be capable of all three of your 5K @120Hz studio displays up and going maxxed out the way God intended.

You're the first person here with the finances to load up on three with a capable mac, and possibly one of several cases worldwide. You're special! And you owe us follow-ups but yeah whatever's wrong is on Apple's end.
Click to expand...
Minor update, still no luck with 3 x Studio Display XDRs, but the following configurations work with MBP M5 Max running 26.4, all monitors running firmware 24.4 and every cable is TB5:

Setup 1 - Direct Connections
  • Pro Display XDR 6K@60Hz
  • Studio Display XDR 5K@120Hz (adaptive)
  • Studio Display XDR 5K@60Hz (adaptive)
Setup 2 - Sabrent TB4 KVM Switch (all 3 displays via KVM)
  • Pro Display XDR 6K@60Hz
  • Studio Display XDR 5K@60Hz (adaptive)
  • Studio Display XDR 5K@60Hz (adaptive)
Daisy chaining MBP->SDXDR->SDXDR->PDXDR did not work. First attempt crashed the laptop. Second attempt showed images on the SDXDR but no image on PDXDR.

Given that these setups work automatically (no manual refresh rate adjustments required) with zero issues yet require more bandwidth than the desired setup (5K@120|60Hz, 5K@60Hz, 5K@60Hz), this seems like a bug.

Genius bar employee at the store was eager to help but unsurprisingly out of his depth. I'll be reaching out to Apple Support tomorrow to open a ticket directly. Will follow-up if they are able to resolve it, but I'm guessing a firmware update is needed.

Hopefully this information is helpful to the other 10 people in the world facing this problem.
 
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thenewepic said:
8K@60 requires more bandwidth than 5K@120 so no, that's not an answer.



even if you force Studio XDR display to 60 Hz it won't yield its taken full bandwidth for some reason. I think every owner that doesn't like such behavior should create a ticket in Apple's support desk.
Click to expand...
I agree that this is likely the issue. I tried connecting one of the Studio XDRs with a TB4 cable instead of TB5 and it still reported a port speed of 80Gb/s (down from 120Gb/s, but should be 40Gb/s), which isn't possible on TB4.
 
thenewepic said:
in your case Pro Display XDR should not be the last connected. If you connect two Studio XDRs first they will take all the bandwidth and Pro Display wouldn't work.
Click to expand...
I think he is saying the above setup is working, only when daisy chained after 2 SDXDR 27", the Pro Display 32" needs to be at the tail end where it does not work (I am not even sure if a single TB5 connection even has enough bandwidth for such a chain)

Ultimately what he is trying to do is to get 3 x SDXDR 27" running at 5k120, so using 2x SDXDR + a 32" is just a test to eliminate certain possibilities. From what I am reading off of those Apple docs, the wording seems to suggest the only Mac that can do this as of now is M3 Ultra Mac Studio. But for his M5 Max MBP, he should be able to do 5k120, 5k60, 5k60, but the 3rd one refuses to show image at all, which I agree is a bugged scenario that needs fixing.
 
Chancha said:
I am thinking the Mac needs Tahoe to have installed necessary "drivers" or system settings related updates to properly access the correct tonal curve of the SDR mode. Since what you are describing is similar to what would happen when plugging a 3rd party HDR display to a (Sequoia) Mac, when HDR toggle is engaged, SDR content reduces its brightness proportionally to the max HDR peak brightness. What Apple's XDR screen does is different, they employ a method called EDR, where it automatically detects if only SDR content is on screen or when HDR content is present, to adjust on the fly the peak displayed brightness of the screen element.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. I checked the display information in BetterDisplay under both OS and the two are very different. The display does indeed seem to be treated as a third party HDR display by Sequoia. Well, I guess i'll have to put up with it for a few months until macOS 27 is out. It can't be worse than Tahoe. (right?)
 
itsboi said:
Can anybody check the edges of the display and tell me if they see graininess on a full white screen when looking up close? Is this normal?

Edit: I checked the regular Studio Display doesn’t have this at the Apple Store however the XDR model does similar to the one I have at home. I’m guessing it’s the way it’s constructed/miniled tech. The MacBooks don’t have this though.
Click to expand...
You were probably looking at the nano texture version.
 
itsboi said:
Can anybody check the edges of the display and tell me if they see graininess on a full white screen when looking up close? Is this normal?

Edit: I checked the regular Studio Display doesn’t have this at the Apple Store however the XDR model does similar to the one I have at home. I’m guessing it’s the way it’s constructed/miniled tech. The MacBooks don’t have this though.
Click to expand...
Yes I have some tiny bit of graininess on the <0.5cm border on parts of the the screen. I can't see it unless my eye is 2 inches away from the screen.
 
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taphil said:
Have you tried this? Unplug both monitors from power. Plug in both monitors TB cable to MBP while MBP is on. Plug in power for both monitors simultaneously. That was the only reliable way I could get 2 displays to work at 60Hz with my M4 Pro MBP.

To me it looks like a software/firmware glitch. MacOS and the 2 displays won't automatically switch both to 60Hz, instead one stays at 120Hz and the other can't connect.
Click to expand...
Yes, that doesn't work for me.

I think its to do with the laptop display also being in the mix.

Two XDRs worked reliably on my Mac mini M4 Pro.
 
And like a few others have said, the Mac can see both XDRs connected, its just there's no actual signal being displayed on one of them.
 
thenewepic said:
this GPU is definitely able to drive 5K@120: https://rog.asus.com/support/faq/1056320/
But why doesn't this resolution work with Studio XDR is another question. It's most likely some issue with GPU drivers. Let's hope major GPU vendors update their drivers soon.
Click to expand...
Nvidia has drivers problems right now where the latest drivers hard resets the resolution to 640p. I had to use Jan 2026 drivers to make it work with 4k@120hz. I’ve already reported it to them via their form.

The issue could be anything:

1. Wrong edid data or corruption in their studio display firmware
2. Gpu driver is misreading the edid data
3. Apple did something custom with its DSC algorithm/dual pipes that Windows or drivers doesn’t support
4. Studio Display xdr didn’t initially work on nvidia spark arm computers either, they had to debug and come up with a custom fix with canonical at nvidia forums.
 
@ Windows/Nvidia GPU users: If you currently have the display working on Windows (with or without adapter, even at 4K120), it would be really useful if you could dump its EDID (using a tool like CRU) to a .bin or base64 file.

It might not solve the driver issues, but it could clarify which modes and capabilities are exposed over DP Alt Mode.
 
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