Studio Display XDR Impressions

[calvinchan.hkg]

How many displays can be connected to MacBook Pro - Apple Support (HK)

The number of external displays that you can use at the same time depends on your Mac model and the resolution and refresh rate of each display.

support.apple.com

All of these "How many displays can be connected to Mac_____" Apple support articles are the most reliable sources that we know.

M2 Max MBP cannot do 5k120, not even just one display.

I have just checked by myself. I think you are WRONG.

According to Studio Display XDR spec page, it says:
"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."
(https://www.apple.com/hk/en/studio-display-xdr/specs/)

M2 Max SHOULD support 120Hz

So, does anyone (M2 Max owner) here works at 120Hz when connecting to ASD XDR?

 

[ElGrandisimo]

OK, took some direct comparison shots.

Here are two captures with the default "Apple XDR Display (P3-2000 nits)" profile at 100% brightness in a very dark room. (Night time, all lights off, the SDXDR is the only light source.) The first is the screenshot I posted above (which is SDR). The second is an HDR video of HotD S01E04, paused at 18:17. The backlight blobs are plainly visible and the overall image has a grey sheen. Details that are very dim are smeared out of existence.

View attachment 2640332
View attachment 2640333

And here are two captures of the same content, but with a cloned version of the default preset. This preset uses CIE 1931 and does not support adjustable brightness. These images look more or less correct and no backlight blobs are visible.

View attachment 2640334
View attachment 2640335

Cloning the preset is simple: go to display settings, click on the Preset dropdown, click on Customize Presets, select the "Apple XDR Display (P3-2000 nits)" profile, click the + button, and Save Preset. That's it.

Someone please repro this!

While I haven’t reproduced this (I’m on vacation right now), I did have an issue that I think could be related. In a very dark room with brightness turned all the way up, I tried playing a YouTube video of pure black. Instead of continuous black screen, I would see the screen go grey, sometimes flickering into black. The screen essentially looked like a standard Studio Display playing black, not the XDR’s level of black (photo attached). Oddly, it would sometimes cycle into a complete black screen, but if I moved my mouse and the YouTube video’s title and play bar appeared, the screen would go grey again with major light bleed. I think there is a problem with local dimming zones on high brightness in dark rooms.

My MacBook Pro’s screen would be completely black for this test, though. Here’s the YouTube link I used to test this:

I ended up swapping out my XDR for a new one. It does appear to handle this test better but it’s not perfect, unfortunately.

 

[thenewepic]

How about M2 Max Macbook Pro? Also support XDR at 120Hz? Thanks for your info

Even M2 Pro does support XDR at 120Hz.

M2 Max MBP cannot do 5k120, not even just one display

please, don't mislead others. Of course it can. Yes, Apple didn't update support page for older models but on the page dedicated to the Studio XDR you can see a list of unsupported devices. And M2 Max isn't among them.

 

[archagon]

I think there is a problem with local dimming zones on high brightness in dark rooms.

I'll take a look at this video later and see what happens. I *suspect* that the display's default preset is tuned assuming that you won't be using it in a pitch-black room. When I watching HDR content yesterday evening with some lights on, the artifacts I noted were not visible anymore. The lights have to be fully off to see them (and then they're quite obvious).

 

[ElGrandisimo]

I'll take a look at this video later and see what happens. I *suspect* that the display's default preset is tuned assuming that you won't be using it in a pitch-black room. When I watching HDR content yesterday evening with some lights on, the artifacts I noted were not visible anymore. The lights have to be fully off to see them (and then they're quite obvious).

That sounds like my experience as well. When I brought it into the Apple Store to show them the YouTube video, it looked perfectly black, but of course we were in the middle of a well-lit room. It really only seems to happen in very dark settings where the backlight seems to turn on across the entire display. Curious to know what happens for you with the YouTube video!

 

[Chancha]

Even M2 Pro does support XDR at 120Hz.

please, don't mislead others. Of course it can. Yes, Apple didn't update support page for older models but on the page dedicated to the Studio XDR you can see a list of unsupported devices. And M2 Max isn't among them.

Sorry for being wrong. But I must say it is on Apple's part that this is so confusing. The support docs have been conflicting each other, or that the wordings are ambiguous at times.

 

[Chancha]

I have just checked by myself. I think you are WRONG.

According to Studio Display XDR spec page, it says:
"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."
(https://www.apple.com/hk/en/studio-display-xdr/specs/)

M2 Max SHOULD support 120Hz

So, does anyone (M2 Max owner) here works at 120Hz when connecting to ASD XDR?

I drew the wrong conclusion from that Apple support doc whereas when 5k120 is not explicitly listed, then the model doesn't support it (this is the case for other models on that list, namely the M1 Max which is too old to even be listed).

I was just trying to be helpful, but probably shouldn't have chimed in without actually owning and testing the M2 Max. (I do have access to M1 Max and M3 Max to know they don't and do support, respectively)

 

[archagon]

That sounds like my experience as well. When I brought it into the Apple Store to show them the YouTube video, it looked perfectly black, but of course we were in the middle of a well-lit room. It really only seems to happen in very dark settings where the backlight seems to turn on across the entire display. Curious to know what happens for you with the YouTube video!

Just tested this out with the default XDR preset. On my machine, playing the 100% black video fullscreen in Safari does indeed leave the backlight on a bit. And yes, it sometimes goes to full black, but very unpredictably. However, in Chrome, the backlight turns off as expected. Same in VLC using the webm video downloaded via yt-dlp, and in QuickTime for the mp4.

So maybe this particular thing is just a Safari bug? (Note: I've had other weird FALD-related issues with Youtube in Safari, such as a video occasionally going full black for a split second when rapidly moving the cursor over it. Does not happen in Chrome.)

 

[calvinchan.hkg]

Even M2 Pro does support XDR at 120Hz.

please, don't mislead others. Of course it can. Yes, Apple didn't update support page for older models but on the page dedicated to the Studio XDR you can see a list of unsupported devices. And M2 Max isn't among them.

Thanks, I just read from Studio Display XDR spec page and then know it should be compatible with M2 Max, BUT...
BUT one apple user reported that M2 Max has encountered Kernel Panic issue when setting 120Hz on this XDR monitor:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256264616?sortBy=rank&page=4

Is this problem fixed already after updating to latest firmware? I would like to know if anyone has solved this issue?

If this issue has been solved. I decide to buy XDR monitor.

Besides, my M2 Max MBP is using Thunderbolt 4, not 5. So Thunderbolt 4 can also be used for 120Hz?

Thanks a lot guys.