Horrible colors on external monitor using macbook air(2012) with mini dp to hdmi

I have the exact same problem with my 2012 13" MBA.

I tired 3 different Displays with both, HDMI an DVI Adapters.

Interestingly I discoverd that Mountain Lion doesnt even give my a custom display color profile when connected via HDMI. VGA seems to work better but still isn't satisfying.

I hope that this problem will be fixed soon!

Just wanted to report back with what I finally got to work on my monitor with my rMBP:

HDMI => DVI adapter

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041902 &p_id=2029&seq=1&format=2

HDMI Cable

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10255&cs_id=1025503 &p_id=9427&seq=1&format=2

You could probably get away with a cheaper HDMI cable but I wanted something that looked nice because I'm obsessive about those sorts of things.

Yesterday bought MiniDisplay -> VGA adapter and now testing my Philips 23" external monitor with MBA. What a relief for my eyes 😉

Will stay on VGA adapter, while checking HDMI output after every major Apple MBA update - hope the Apple will fix it some day (not the year 😟)

The only thing I can imagine is going on here is some subset of monitors on the market aren't following some standard that Apple hardware is upholding strictly. When you switch to DVI, there is some digital conversion that alleviates the funk.

My rMBP actually works fine whenever I plug it into an HDMI TV. It's just this one monitor that it seems to have a problem with.

JiveMasterT, I don't think you are right.

It would be funny if Apple are following "some strict standard" now but with previous MacBook models they decided not to follow them and just make them work with any monitor 🙂

Same problem. Mac Air mid 11, belkin thunderbolt-hdmi cable, samsung lcd hd display, bad image.

I've send a feedback to apple, but they just replied "thanks for feedback" without any obligations...

I don't have a DVI input in the display. What to do? (I've read almost all discussion)

Someone told about success using parallels, but i've tried - no result (

@pdashko

I can't imagine the male / female position of the DVI should matter.

Re: Parallels, this won't help as OSX is still the underlying operating system.

But log out of OSX and log into Windows using bootcamp and it should work fine. Not that this is necessarily much help of course as I'm sure using OSX was the objective having made a mac purcahse..

Hi,

I bought a mini display port to DVI adapter, then connected this to a DVI to HDMI adapter and then HDMI cable to my screen and guess what... it doesn't work. The Macbook does not see the external screen at all with this set up. I need to test the adapters with a PC at work to establish whether they are working all right, but I am really becoming pessimistic about all this. Has anyone got an idea how to make this work using the adapters and cables mentioned above? (I don't care about the sound coming through to the screen)

Thank you in advance.

I've got good colors using mini display port to DVI adaptor.

However, here's the kicker. If you ever want to watch HD movies or TV on your external monitor, it won't work, because DVI doesn't support HDCP which is the content protection built into HDMI and that all computers are required to support. PS: I haven't tried this but have seen it happen in other situations.

pdashko, do you mean on the dvi version? Everything's perfectly fine, except my concern about playing HD movies, which I haven't tried to do yet.

On the HDMI version, it's all bad...though fonts that aren't washed out are probably sharp enough.

Update:

At home I tried connect the Macbook via mini display port to DVI adapter --> DVI to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable connected to my monitor which only has HDMI inputs. No signal, the monitor was not detected. Then I tested the DVI adapter at work with two different monitors (Dell and Samsung) connecting it to them with a simple DVI cable. It didn't work - no signal in both cases. Now the really frustrating part - my colleague connected his older white Macbook 13" to those monitors using the same adapter and cable and it worked perfectly. Therefore, my adapter works, it is just the Macbook that has a problem. It is really annoying because it worked via DVI before when I brought my Macbook to an Apple Service Provider and we tested it - I suspect that it is the result of the update to 10.8.2 which I did in between those two tests.

I was hoping that since via HDMI the colours are terrible and some of you reported that connecting through DVI works fine, I could use DVI instead and in the worst case scenario just buy a screen that has DVI input, but now for some reason the Macbook does not detect any screens via DVI.

Would you have any suggestions on how to get the Macbook to detect an external screen via DVI adapter? I would really appreciate if someone could give me a solution to this.

I tried pressing alt/option key in 'Displays' to make the Detect displays button visible. Pressed it, the screen on the macbook went blue for a second, but then nothing happens, the external screen gets no signal. I also tried numerous times unplugging the screen from the power supply, from macbook, then replugging all in. None of that helped.

I should add that:

- the Macbook also stopped detecting external displays via mini display port to VGA adapter (it worked before the update);

- detection of my screen still works using my previous mini display port to HDMI adapter, but, obviously with the same washed out colours.

In sum, three months of battle to get the Macbook to work correctly with an external screen - still no luck. What a piece of junk!

Thanks.

I've also had no luck with an HDMI to DVI adapter. When I used it, I'd have the image flash on the screen for about 2 seconds before disappearing.

I've had luck with the VGA adapter (colours look fine). I also have a straight Mini DisplayPort to DVI cable on order due to be delivered today. I'll let you know how I get on with that.

A further observation...

The MBA I purchased in early July has this problem.

However, a brand new MBA I purchased last week does not. It works fine on the same monitor with the same config - MiniDisplayport to DVI adaptor connected to a Male DVI to Male HDMI cable.

(For the record, these are corporate purchases, so no, I do not carry TWO Airs around with me...)

Consequently, this appears to be a hardware issue with a particular vintage of system. Recall anyone?

Marcinetti, my DVI cable arrived and it works perfectly. I suspect the problem with the HDMI-DVI adapter was something to do with the HDMI handshake.

So, in summary, on my Macbook Pro 13" (not an air, but the same graphics card) purchased in September 2012 works fine using a Mini DisplayPort to DVI cable.

nordsw did you try with a mini display to HDMI connector?

I have the problem only with the HDMI connector, while the DVI is working.

If the problem is related to some hardware issue maybe I could have my Air replaced at the apple store