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Studio Display XDR Impressions
- Thread starter gsilver
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Lol someone has read a certain reddit post.. good luck with that!
I've read so many posts over the past weeks that I can't even remember which one you are referring to 🙂
But yes, the EDIDs could help clarify the Windows & adaptor mess, especially when the monitor should work based on the spec sheets alone, but somehow doesn't.
I read a post about it on REDDIT, bit of a workaround but apparently it does work. I would say wait for Apple to fix it, but, if the monitor works with Macs there is no promise they will sadly.
Yeap that is the one I read, bit of a workaround and you need a Studio Display as well as the XDR. But they claim it works.
I actually hadn't seen this thread yet, so thanks for sharing!
My understanding is that you don't actually need a physical copy of the previous Studio Display, but just its EDID file. Which is why I am trying to gather a collection of those 🙂 (already got the one when connected to a Mac through Thunderbolt, but not through DP Alt Mode or adapters, where the EDID can in principle differ)
Yesterday I finally received my piece and it took few weeks (and now the waiting time goes into May at least).
It might be it is overpriced and it's not flawless.. but in comparison to Benq PD3220U 4K this is at least one level up, easily more, in every way - except the size 🙂 of course.
One does not even need to be a designer or photographer to take advantages from the difference, just regular daily work is suddenly much more pleasant 🙂. And that black is just amazing. Also I think this particular piece has literally no issues or anything I'd be able to recognize (and I did various tests and detailed observations for bleed, uniformity, etc), to me it looks just perfect.
It is strange that if I want to connect both XDR and Benq into Macbook Pro 16'' M4, I need to connect the Benq first and only after it is recognized, XDR can be plugged in. If done otherwise, only the XDR works, even if set to 60Hz.
Also, I can't daisy chain XDR and Benq (I guess the same reason, if XDR is first, then Benq has bad luck), so I need to plug them separately into Macbook. Obviously, if connected both, XDR works only up to 60Hz.
And if (once both are connected) I want to disconnect Benq and use only XDR, this is probably unresolved issue - by turning off and disconnecting the Benq, whole Macbook Pro will suddenly restart without any warning. After the restart and log in everything works fine and XDR is again on 120Hz by itself, but any unsaved work I'd have would be lost every time I do this. All is on latests updates everywhere.
Otherwise didn't run yet to any other issues.
It might be it is overpriced and it's not flawless.. but in comparison to Benq PD3220U 4K this is at least one level up, easily more, in every way - except the size 🙂 of course.
One does not even need to be a designer or photographer to take advantages from the difference, just regular daily work is suddenly much more pleasant 🙂. And that black is just amazing. Also I think this particular piece has literally no issues or anything I'd be able to recognize (and I did various tests and detailed observations for bleed, uniformity, etc), to me it looks just perfect.
It is strange that if I want to connect both XDR and Benq into Macbook Pro 16'' M4, I need to connect the Benq first and only after it is recognized, XDR can be plugged in. If done otherwise, only the XDR works, even if set to 60Hz.
Also, I can't daisy chain XDR and Benq (I guess the same reason, if XDR is first, then Benq has bad luck), so I need to plug them separately into Macbook. Obviously, if connected both, XDR works only up to 60Hz.
And if (once both are connected) I want to disconnect Benq and use only XDR, this is probably unresolved issue - by turning off and disconnecting the Benq, whole Macbook Pro will suddenly restart without any warning. After the restart and log in everything works fine and XDR is again on 120Hz by itself, but any unsaved work I'd have would be lost every time I do this. All is on latests updates everywhere.
Otherwise didn't run yet to any other issues.
Has anyone noticed a strong vignetting effect around the edges? Honestly, I’m not sure whether to roll the dice on a replacement or just stick with the one I’ve got
Vignette is not supposed to be very different across copies, this is not like tinting or uniforminity issues which can be a lottery. Go to Apple Store to see their demo unit if it’s the same as yours.
miniLED tech is kind of known for having more vignette than other backlight types, this is quite apparent on the 14” 16” MBP.
Yeah, I know, but it’s much stronger than on my 14” MBP. I even checked at my local Apple Store, but the lighting there is too bright to notice anything.
ascender
macrumors 603
Apple engineering have got back to me now to say that the MacBook Pro M5 (non Pro chip) cannot support two XDRs at 120hz. Which I knew.
They’re saying there’s no way to force XDRs to less than 120Hz despite what the settings say, so it won’t support two XDRs full stop.
They didn’t give any more information than that, so I’m wondering if there’s something in the handshake/connection process which just fails due to lack of bandwidth.
So I’m stuck with a laptop and display which won’t work together.
They’re saying there’s no way to force XDRs to less than 120Hz despite what the settings say, so it won’t support two XDRs full stop.
They didn’t give any more information than that, so I’m wondering if there’s something in the handshake/connection process which just fails due to lack of bandwidth.
So I’m stuck with a laptop and display which won’t work together.
alfogator
macrumors regular
I think this is an OS problem because it happens to me with other monitors: when I have two plugged in and I disconnect one the macbook will kernel panic and reboot. So it might not be tied to the XDR specifically.
That sucks 🙁 guess that’ll be the same answer for me then with an M4 non pro.
Thanks for the update though
To my eyes, I think across the 14" 16" 27" 32" XDR screens, what may be a perceived difference is the "width" of which the shadow extends from the edge into the center of the screens, the bigger the panel it seems the shadow reaches further. This may have to do with how deep the gap between front glass and the backlight panel is, on the MBP this gap looks visibly shallower.
To the best of my knowledge this is simply a feature of the Mini-LED technology. No manufacturer can get round it. You have to either accept it or move to OLED or something which doesn't have it. The only 'workaround' I can think of is to avoid having light content at the edges - dark, or coloured material will mask it to a good extent.
My MBP 16 M1 Pro has it too, and I would say its more than the 14" I had seen previously. I agree with other comments that the larger the screen, the more pronounced it could be.
This does not make sense, because the Studio Display XDR tech specs say that certain processors can only drive the display at 60hz. "Mac models with M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, and M3 support Studio Display XDR at up to 60Hz. All other Studio Display XDR features are supported." The response by Apple Support seems to contradict the tech specs page.
So you can't run two XDRs displays on the M5 (base). It could be caused by dual-pipe display operation. If true, each XDR requires two display inputs, and the M5 only supports two external displays.
People have reported problems daisy chaining two Studio Display XDRs, even at 60hz. Multiple people in this thread have issues with the M4 Pro but not M4 Max. The M4 Max supports four displays at 6k 60hz. The M4 Pro supports three 6k 60hz. The M5 (base) supports two 6k 60hz. And the M1 (base) supports only one. Source: external display support M1-M5 base
People have reported instability with single XDRs, not just daisy chaining. It seems like 26.4 did not fix the issue. I experienced my first crash after I installed 26.4. When it happened half of the screen glitched out.
Dual-pipe operation could explain why two XDRs do not work on the M5 (base), and potentially why the M4 Pro has issues as well. Each screen requires two display inputs, and neither chip has four. Dual-pipe operation should not be necessary for 5k 60hz, yet here we are. However, it does not explain why the M1 base can drive one XDR at 60hz. The way the M1 (base) is achieving this may benefit other setups.
If this analysis with Claude Code is to be believed, it is an issue with the thunderbolt controller, not display profiles.
It's kind of disappointing yeah. I've checked out about 3 of them and they all have the vignetting particularly if I nod my head, I can see it on the top and bottom so I have to use the monitor slightly tilted upwards. That + the grain on the edges (even the standard displays don't have this) and viewing angles seem to be its biggest weakness, much more noticeable to me than blooming. I'm still choosing it over an OLED though for long term use.
ascender
macrumors 603
Before my Mac Mini (M4 Pro) died, it worked with two XDRs, daisy chained, without any issues or crashes at all.
I think it's related to the bandwidth needed for 120Hz and it gets even more complicated when the machine in question has an internal display to run too. Hence all the issues we're seeing with laptops.
And yes, the Apple Support response contradicts their own pages.
I can't believe this wasn't caught during testing though?
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Why should it be believed? It's just typical AI BS. Claude Code (or other LLM) can't know the real cause of the issue because Studio XDR is a very new device.
I also don't believe the issue is related to "dual-pipe operation" (whatever it is) because in some rare cases two Studio XDRs work at 60Hz each with mentioned chips.
I think the real cause is somehow related to display negotiation process. After manual switching from 120 to 60 Hz renegotiation is not happening so macOS still considers the monitor to be using all the bandwidth and so doesn't allow connecting another monitors.
Can anyone actually feel the difference between 120Hz and 60Hz on the XDR? I couldn't tell the difference during my tests at the Apple Store. Tomorrow is the last day to return the SDR Studio Display I just bought. I'm torn on whether I should return it and get the XDR instead. Just a heads up—I don't do any HDR photo or video editing.
@thenewepic "I also don't believe the issue is related to "dual-pipe operation" (whatever it is)..."
That's the Kernal Panic report:
Quote:
"DCPEXT1 PANIC — apt firmware : dual_pipe.c:180 sync_pipe_end_of_config()-- - iomfb_mailbox (71)..."
"The crash is in the Display Coprocessor (DCP) firmware running on the RTKit RTOS — specifically in the dual-pipe synchronisation code path.
The 5K panel at 120Hz requires the DCP to split the display into two pipes, and the sync between them fails.
The faulting task is always task 71 (iomfb_mailbox)."
That's the Kernal Panic report:
Quote:
"DCPEXT1 PANIC — apt firmware : dual_pipe.c:180 sync_pipe_end_of_config()-- - iomfb_mailbox (71)..."
"The crash is in the Display Coprocessor (DCP) firmware running on the RTKit RTOS — specifically in the dual-pipe synchronisation code path.
The 5K panel at 120Hz requires the DCP to split the display into two pipes, and the sync between them fails.
The faulting task is always task 71 (iomfb_mailbox)."
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thanks, this is very useful link. Now I know what "dual-pipe operation" means.
Also interesting info - in reality Studio Display XDR supports only DP 1.4:
Indeed it looks like older M-chips can't handle demanding displays in single-pipe mode, but this doesn't relate to the new M-chips:
So it seems the issue is actually related to display negotiation process rather than dual-pipe operations.
ascender
macrumors 603
So, does anyone have two XDRs running (presumably one at 120Hz and one at 60Hz) without issues on an M4 Max chip?
I've had it working on an M4 Pro chip so I'm assuming there's no issues with this setup.
Its not great with the MacBook Pro M5 either... Since the new version of Tahoe (26.4), I'm getting a proper macOS crash - resulting in the laptop being turned off - at least once a day. Initial look at the crash dumps is suggesting its display related.
I've had it working on an M4 Pro chip so I'm assuming there's no issues with this setup.
Its not great with the MacBook Pro M5 either... Since the new version of Tahoe (26.4), I'm getting a proper macOS crash - resulting in the laptop being turned off - at least once a day. Initial look at the crash dumps is suggesting its display related.
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M4 Max supports 2 XDR both at 120Hz. Works fine with my MBP.
So tried today M5 Pro Macbook pro and 2x XDR 120 hz works with daisy chaining (one cable to macbook)