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

Do you guys think this will help? It's a firmware update. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1551?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

How do you know if you need this or not? What happens if you install it and you don't need it? or if it's a step backwards, would your computer reject it or install it and set you back? There are not instructions there.

folks, repeating an earlier post for more recent visitors to this forum - if you want Apple to take note, go to

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

and fill in as much as you can - I included this thread/discussion so they could see it wasn't just me.

I suggest EVERYONE do this - the more bug reports that get posted, the more likely it is that Apple will take heed, so EVERYONE reading this thread with the poor HDMI video issue, post a bug report as soon as you can!!!

I too am having the same issue. Macbook Air Mid 2012 running 10.8.2. I was looking into getting one of the new mac minis, but I will not buy one until Apple resolves the hdmi output issue. I have also submitted feedback and linked to this thread.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Hello everyone,

as the Apple engineers are not reading these forums usually/regulary, the most effective way to change this issue is to call their support hotline: Call them and talk with them until you get someone who is able to send a report to the engineers (http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57). The more users are doing this the faster something will be changed. 🙂

Letterus

Hello, guys!

I can't read all 27 pages, but i found temporary solution for this problem in neighboring topic https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4480354?start=30&tstart=0 .

It's helpful for me and my Mac Mini late 2012 with AOC i2757Fm.

Press like and excuse for poor english ))

Unfortunately, I am unable to spend the time to hunt this issue down and I'm going to make certain assumptions and active measures:

1. Making a call to Apple to register complaint and notify them of the issue as I bought the MBA to use occassionally as a portable machine; primarily to be used with a monitor
2. Bring to an Apple store to confirm the Apple monitor works properly
3. Bring to Best Buy (or whatever) to test likewise on various monitors

I am not investing any more time connecting to various monitors and testing quality. I will of course report back findings.

Anyone else find anything out?

This is a BIG issue for me too. 6 new airs (11 & 13") and sales team are FUBAR! Here's what I've found:

• This is for the latest 2012 thunderbolt air
• Tried on 2 projectors, 2 screens
• ALL work perfectly on other airs and pro's in the office
• When connecting, I have to test loads of different res/Hz combinations and none work 100%, but 1024/75Hz works to show around 75% of the screen
• Software update (screen patch) didn;t make a difference
• Rebooting (full shut down!) with VGA connected DOES work! On all 4 screens, all 6 airs. This IS a solution for some, but NOT for me; my reps pre-load their browser with 20 screens, and then demo in areas with no 3G coverage. So a reboot kills them.

The encouraging part is that it CAN work, which I think means Apple can patch this. For me I have 6 brand new top of the range Air's that I may as well throw away if this isn't solved soon 😠

Hey all... has anyone tried to see if the MBA will work on Apple's display? Not that it's a solution, but it might shed some light on trobleshooting. Here are my next steps (since I had the chance to return my AOC monitor):

1. Try MBA on my work monitor, a work projector and finally a work monitor with cinema display ratio.
2. If any of them fail, I'm going to the Apple Store to investigate
3. If they all work, I'm going to bring my MBA to Best Buy and try out a higher quality (like Dell) monitor and see if I'm ok.
4. If I find a monitor that works, I'm buying it.
5. If any of the tests fail, I'm going to the Apple Store (I've started a case). Not sure if they'll have a monitor to test.

I'll report back my findings.

I finally finished with the Apple store last night; here is the update with a little background:

• Like everyone else, I am having the same contrast issues using HDMI. I THOUGHT I was having the same issues with VGA; never was able to try DVI until last night.
• Had been to to Apple store; they tried the Apple monitor and it worked fine with my MBA. Tried the Sony Bravia using DVI (I THINK). That worked fine as well. At this point I was sure it was the monitor.
• I purchased a second monitor; returning the AOC for a Dell 24". An upgrade in size and quality I think.
• Tried HDMI on the Dell with the same awful results. Went back to the Apple store yesterday and a different guy started fussing with the Apple display settings and got the grays and whites to look acceptable. Problem was, a cherry-red Porsche desktop picture now looked hot-pink.
• I begged him to try the DVI connection; he was hesitant as he said DVI renders the same video quality (contrary to what I've read here). Guess what? Worked fine.

I am out of this game now. I don't have the time to do any more troubleshooting. It works with DVI fine (it's not Apple Cinema quality of course), but the greys are grey and the colors are fine. Video isn't stellar, but acceptable. I am justifying this result in that the monitor cost me 1/5 of Apple's price, and I'm not likely to be required to use HDMI. I can use with VGA and DVI and will watch this topic for updates.

Thanks to ALL that posted; it was collectively helpful and narrowed my focus saving me time.

David

Okay, folks... I finally made it to an Apple store. I showed up there with:

1. My Mid 2012 MBA
2. My 27" Monitor (with DVI, HDMI, and VGA ports)
3. An HDMI / DisplayPort Adapter
4. An HDMI -> cable
5. A HDMI -> DVI cable

The Genius was able to reproduce my problem: When the HDMI cable was connected, the colors were washed out. When the DVI connection was used, the color was definitely better, but not the best.

After trying a number of settings and reconfigurations, the Genius pulled out a mid-2011 MBA, and the problem could not be recreated. (The screen looked fine.) We then went to two mid 2012 MBAs, and the problem came right back. (On one it was fairly washed out, and on the other, it was significantly washed out.

At this point, I'm thinking: "Okay, now they'll get engineering involved, and they'll get either a HW or SW fix out to me." Unfortunately, what the Genius actually said was something like: "Well, we'll send a message to engineering, but they're not required to send us a response." As you can imagine, my jaw dropped. This is my first Mac, and I was convinced that I'd be treated much better. Unfortunately, I basically got a "too bad, so sad" response. (To be clear, the Genius guy looked like he felt sorry for me, but that doesn't fix the issue.)

I think I'm going to wait a day to see if, by some miracle, engineering comes back with a fix. If not, then this box is going back to Apple. With the premium cost associated with a Mac, I think it's ridiculous that a true problem gets ignored.

Here's hoping someone gets a better response

Update:

I tried the above steps to remedy the handshake issue (mini display port to DVI adapter --> DVI cable connected to the monitor). Nothing worked - screen not detected.

Then, I connected the following configuration for the final test: mini display port to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable --> HDMI to DVI adapter connected to the screen. The screen was detected and it worked perfectly. The remaining problem is that I don't have a DVI input on my home monitor - I would have to buy a new one, which would be ridiculous.

If I knew how to get the Macbook Pro to detect screens connected via mini display port to DVI adapter, then I could have a fix to the problem (the said adapter + DVI to HDMI + HDMI cable connected to my home monitor) and avoid the need to buy a new monitor...

To sum up:

• MDP to DVI adapter --> DVI cable to the monitor: screen not detected;
• MDP to VGA adapter --> VGA cable to the monitor: screen not detected;
• MDP to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable to the monitor: washed out colours;
• MDP to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable --> HDMI to DVI adapter to the monitor: works perfectly (but my home monitor doesn't have a DVI input);
• all the adapters and cables work perfectly with the same screens but an older Macbook.

If someone confirms that the Macbooks Pro 13" or Macbook Air bought in September don't have the washed out colours issue, then this would be ground for asking for a replacement.

Marcinetti, I've got a 13" MBP built in September 2012 that does have the washed-out colours issue on HDMI. I'll copy and paste my results in your format so that you can draw your own conclusions.

To sum up:

• MDP to DVI adapter --> DVI cable to the monitor: works fine (occassional cut-outs, but I think that this is due to my crappy cable. I'm also using a straight MDP to DVI cable, rather than through Apple's adapter)
• MDP to VGA adapter --> VGA cable to the monitor: works fine
• MDP to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable to the monitor: washed out colours;
• MDP to HDMI adapter --> HDMI cable --> HDMI to DVI adapter to the monitor: fails after a few seconds (again, could be due to cheap HDMI to DVI adapter)
• all the adapters and cables work perfectly with the same screens but an older Macbook (Shankie-san: same here. My 2010 MBP works perfectly in all situations)

I don't have BootCamp installed, but if you do, perhaps try booting to Windows to see if it's a hardware or software problem. Many people have suggested that it's fine in Windows.

My monitor (Dell U2410) also has DisplayPort input, so I'm going to try ordering a MDP-->DisplayPort cable and see how that fares

Unfortunately I have the same problem over a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable from Purelink:

• horrible colors
• no resolution-support for my external monitor (have to use 1080p and it always overscans!)
• it works fine using an DVI adaptor or the HDMI cable with Windows 7/8

My system:

• MacBook Air 2012 / 2,0 GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7 / 8 GB RAM (bought in July 2012)
• 10.8.2 Mountain Lion with the latests updates
• Monitor: HP 2710m

Today I bougt a MacBook Air 2012 / 1,8 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 / 4 GB for my mother – and it works perfectly with the same HDMI cable! Additionally, this cable worked with my old MacBook pro (early 2010) and the same monitor like a charm (Mac OSX Lion).

The guys in the Apple Store don't know this bug and can't (don't want to?) help me. Bug report already filed...

Same here. Checked with my Samsung Syncmaster 27" and an older Philipps 37" TV.

Color, fonts, nearly everything looks like crap on external devices.

However I'm using this adapter http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003ORJOX0/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00 and this one might cause the trouble, I don't know. I'll try to check another adapter and another cable and will report back then.