White "halo" around dark elements on screen--iMac 21.5"

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Level 1

14 points

White "halo" around dark elements on screen--iMac 21.5"

Just got a new 21.5" iMac, and when the monitor is set in 1600x900 mode there is a subtle yet noticeable white "halo" around dark elements on gray backgrounds. It's very apparent, for example, around the black type on the gray header bar at the top of windows. Setting the monitor at 1920x1080 seems to get rid of the problem, but I prefer the lower-resolution setting as it's easier on my eyes. Any ideas or corroboration?

Evan

20" iMac Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Feb 1, 2010 7:01 AM

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Answer 1

Rick Lang

Level 4

1,237 points

Feb 1, 2010 7:50 PM in response to Evan Forman

This may just be artifacts because of the dithering involved going from your native screen resolution if 1920 x 1080 pixels.

What you are doing does make all graphic elements appear larger, but they may not be clearer. The display is certainly sharpest at its native resolution. I know many times your screen content may appear too small though. Although it works on windows rather than affecting all graphic elements/text, you may fine you will be happier changing various font default display sizes in your most used programs. I think my Safari is set so the smallest font is 16 point on this 27" display. You can also set font sizes in many of the programs you use to text labels are larger. And remember, in Sarafi and many other programs' windows, you can type COMMAND + once or twice and it will increase your font sizes. You can also set whether only the text increases in size or all graphic elements including pictures etc. are also enlarger. These larger fonts and images still appear fairly sharp compared to the method you are using.

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Answer 2

Evan Forman Author

Level 1

14 points

Feb 1, 2010 8:00 PM in response to Rick Lang

Rick:

Thanks for the tips--I completely understand what you're saying, and as someone with pretty mediocre eyesight, I use a lot of them already. The odd thing is the weird white halos. More than a question of the screen image not being as sharp as it could be, there is something being displayed that shouldn't be. I have an older iMac at home--the first Intel one, I think--and cycling between screen resolutions doesn't create the same effect. There is a broad range of resolution options readily available in the pref pane; one would expect that they would all display properly. The most frustrating thing is that I can't post a screenshot to illustrate what I'm talking about!

Evan

Message was edited by: Evan Forman

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Answer 3

Rick Lang

Level 4

1,237 points

Feb 3, 2010 9:43 AM in response to Evan Forman

Are you going to want to continue setting the display at 1600 x 900 or are you going to use the other techniques to increase your text sizes? I thought the halo effect might have been the blurring due to not using the native resolution - you know everyone here has their trusty magnifying glass at there side checking these new displays! But if the halo is really a defect, you need to decide if you exchange the machine, repair the display, or use the display at the native resolution. I do strongly recommend using at the native resolution with fonts larger than the defaults- my eyes aren't great either but the second it takes to increase the font size via COMMAND + is worth it to me.

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Answer 4

Evan Forman Author

Level 1

14 points

Feb 8, 2010 7:34 AM in response to Rick Lang

Rick:

I'm going to keep using it at the lower resolution, because that's just going to make things so much simpler in the long run. It's a work machine (purchased by my employer), so I'm not too concerned about an imperfect display, despite the annoyance.

But the plot has thickened. Over the weekend, I bought a new, almost identical, iMac for personal use at home. I brought it home and checked the display very carefully, anxious about the possibility that the issue would be replicated. I'm happy to say that I tried the monitor on the new machine at several resolutions, and they all look beautiful! Now the (flawed) work machine has ATI Radeon graphics while the one at home has the (less expensive) NVIDIA GeForce, so that could explain it, I guess.

Thanks for all your tips!

Evan

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