This is where Apples "we want to make things simple for the user" policy goes too far, IMHO. Why on earth aren't there controls for changing display settings like gamma, brightness and contrast in OS X? The nVidia cards have had this in hardware for years and every Windows driver lets you define that and more. I really think my display settings are too bright with too little contrast. Yes, I ran the calibration tool several times, but I never end up in a place I like and never with a darker overall look. Is there no 3rd party utility or anything that lets me change my display settings in OS X?
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Why on earth no brightness/contrast settings?
- Thread starter Simon R.
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F14 and F15 allow me to control the brightness. Not that I ever feel the need to change it from the 'turned up full' default setting.
I have never had an issue, but I ran the calibration thingie for my CRT anyway everything looks sweet to me. If yours looks 'washed out' then maybe you need to run it again and tweak it from there.
I have never had an issue, but I ran the calibration thingie for my CRT anyway everything looks sweet to me. If yours looks 'washed out' then maybe you need to run it again and tweak it from there.
Eh, just one of those things
[EDIT]: I think the Calibration Tool works pretty well. Maybe there is a 3rd party hack to mess with the Card, but I"m not too sure.
[EDIT]: I think the Calibration Tool works pretty well. Maybe there is a 3rd party hack to mess with the Card, but I"m not too sure.
And everything else is subsumed by calibration in system preferences -> displays -> color. This is really what everyone, Mac or not, *should* probably be doing -- calibrating their screens to be faithful, not adjusting contrast, etc, individually. However, you'll note that gamma is individually adjustable through the display profile.
This is just a mini-rant associated with that above should, but.... the only reason I ever use the display controls on a Windows PC is because other users of the computer seem to constantly insist on messing them up, so that the display is letterboxed on all sides, set to 800x600 on a 17" LCD, or all trapezoided out on a CRT... le
This is just a mini-rant associated with that above should, but.... the only reason I ever use the display controls on a Windows PC is because other users of the computer seem to constantly insist on messing them up, so that the display is letterboxed on all sides, set to 800x600 on a 17" LCD, or all trapezoided out on a CRT... le
They do on mine: F14 turns down brightness, F15 turns it up. Perhaps only when using with an ACD?
wow, this is so useful at night time.
I recommend this to anyone who wants to dim without the hum on their imac 24"!!!
First of all, you complain about Gamma adjustment yet the Calibration assistant, which you said you used, has one. Boom. The Brightness settings are in the Displays control panel if your display supports it. Normally, brightness/contrast settings are on the monitor itself. I've never seen these options under Windows (but, nor have I ever looked, because I've had no need).
Really, using a calibrated profile is the way to get the adjustments you want. if Apple's isn't doing it for you, try SuperCal. I've used it and it works wonders.
As someone pointed out, Supercal is a pretty good third-party app for calibration if you're not getting the results you like with Apple's calibrator. At the gamma step, try 1.8 (PC gamma) and see if that gives you the darker look you want.
Also, is it possible you're used to low-quality displays that show everything too dark? Most PCs I've seen are too dark and anything below 90% black looks completely black.
I don't care if it is "the way to get the adjustments I want". The bottom line is, I don't have the flexibility to turn down the gamma and brightness as I can on my PC. With the calibration tool, you don't get the same flexibility. You go through a series of steps and end up with... something. Just give me a frikkin slider for brightness, one for gamma and one for contrast when it is all done. How hard can it be?
Too dark? No, rather the opposite. I like my display to be on the dark side, but with Apples tool it's almost impossible to get there. I am using Dell displays, which are by any standard as good as Apple's Cinema Displays. I looked at both of them, decided to go for the 24" Dell instead of 23" Apple.
Welcome to the Mac world. If that's what you want, prepare to be unhappy about many, many things.
Well, generally I am happy about most things in OS X so far. I just think that this is so basic, and I thought there might at least be some 3rd party software to take care of it.
I did some googling and didn't see too much. I know there are programs like SuperCal that are even more advanced calibrators. But everything I have seen is built on the calibration model and not on the individual parameter adjustment model. Probably because of the graphic design heritage -- from their standpoint, as I said before, there's really no good reason to adjust these parameters individually. But there might be something. You might even try SuperCal and see if it does anything closer to what you want than the built-in calibration engine does.
http://www.bergdesign.com/supercal/
I'll check that later, but I don't think those (like F14+F15) work on (my) Mac Pro.
Can't you control those things on the monitor itself? Might be easier than trying to do it in OS X...
My ACD has the brightness controls on the side, and is automatically and optimally configured for everything else by OS X
My ACD has the brightness controls on the side, and is automatically and optimally configured for everything else by OS X
No, these should work... they're not "notebook" shortcuts -- if you go hunting for them in system preferences, they're actually found in universal access, as a means of making the screen more visible to those with vision issues. And they only go one way -- more contrast than the "normal" display. But they do appear to basically adjust contrast.
Can't you control those things on the monitor itself? Might be easier than trying to do it in OS X...
My ACD has the brightness controls on the side, and is automatically and optimally configured for everything else by OS X
No, not in a way that makes it look darker but still retaining the high contrast. I think I need to fiddle with gamma to do that.
Thanks this actually worked. Will see if that will be enough
As saturation rises with contrast, it would be nice to turn down saturation as well though