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

Same here.

MBA 13" i7. Moshi HDMI adapter.

Samsung syncmaster t240 (24"). Colors are horrible. Tried calibrating with the expert mode. It feels almost as before, expect some colors and specific places comes off realy bad. Like the casted shadows from a window to another if terribly rendered.

You are not alone !

Same here: mid-2012 MBA 120G/8G RAM

WhenI connect my Air to external BenQ 24" HD screen [GL2440 HD] with Apple HDMI cable - picture quality is poor (being kind here) but when connected using DVI cable, picture is crisp - NO comparison in picture quality - HDMI image quality ex Air is garbage. Text is soft/fuzzy and colours washed out, colour profiles make minimal to nil difference to picture quality. Swapped to DVI cable and image is HD crisp and colours spot on.

Firmware issue re HDMI calibration perhaps?

I have also noticed problem when logging into from locked screensaver option that wallpaper dissapears on external display over hdmi always. Its just grey, even if i change the wallpaper over change desktop wallpaper it remains grey until i reconnect hdmi...

Yup, I also have the same problem. So glad I found this post! Was searching a fews days back to see if others had similar issues and found nothing. Slightly schadenfreude, but I'm glad this is happening across a range of monitors. Definitely implies and internal calibration issue......

MacBook Air 13", Mid 2012, Core i7

External monitor: BenQ VW 2420h

The problem is particularly bad with whites and greys - in gmail for example with the standard theme it is impossible to discern the greys of the read and undread messages, nor the action buttons across the top.

Tried the apple calibration tool that helped a slightly, but in no way solved the problem. Also tried various other online calibration tools. No good.

My monitor worked fine and looked stunning on my old mid 2009 15inch MacBook pro. Simply plugged it in and bang, perfect image with the standard calibration settings.

Going in to the Apple store nect week to dusciss a separate issue, so will raise this issue and show them this thread and see what advice, if any, they can offer. If it can't be resolved somehow.

I'll report back what they say.

Similar experience, I am using my old D-Sub VGA connector. No problem. The monitor looks excellent. Seems to be an issue with the HDMI. Not particularly happy with the idea of forking out a load of cash for a laptop with a poorly functioning HDMI interface. Will see what Apple say.

As there are not many discussion threads on this topic I get the impression that maybe not all units are demonstrating this problem.......

jtehlert, you did you get any responde from Apple?

I notice if I boot in Windows then the external display runs fine running through the mini display port to HDMI.

Makes me think it might be a driver issue? But then why are more people not experiencing it? Also makes me wonder if the Mountain Lion upgrade may solve the issue.........

Well, I'm completely frustrated. I am having the same issue as all of you: grays and whites almost indistinguishable. Signing on to this forum was difficult because I can't see the boxed shadows in the frame to enter my name. I have tried HDMI and now VGA on my Acer S230 23" monitor. This is simply unexceptable! I have been using Mac products since 1985 and I can't tell you how much time I've spent on this!

I would appreciate any updates. I will also bring my Macbook Air into the Apple store WITH my monitor. Now I will toss you all a real curve ball... sitting next to me is my wife's 2 year old MacBook Pro. I wanted to PROVE it was the Air at fault (or some settings), but when I simply hooked up her computer, it does the same thing!! This would have suggested it's the monitor save all these posts!

Temporary fixes are appreciated too (like the Ctrl/Opt/Cmd ,/. solution - it helps)... but ultimately I want this fixed! I will respond back with whatever I find out. BTW, I'm going to try the Air on her old ProView and see if it works, it's the old "TV" ratio, not the big screen ratio of the Acer. Hang on and I'll post...

Although the Acer is not the best quality monitor (by a long shot), it does look better with the Dell laptop. Now I really don't know what to do. I am inclined to see if I can return it and purchase another one. THIS time I'me bringing my MBA with me!

I may just have to break down and get the Apple monitor... fooey!

I installed Mountain Lion on the 2012 MBA and I can confirm that the issue still exists.

The same combination of monitor/cable/adaptor but with a 2011 MBA running either Lion or Mountain Lion does not have the issue.

Hmm, disappointing that Mountain Lion didn't fix issue......by the way, how come you have a copy of Mountain Lion to install?

I just spoke to an Apple Technician about a seperate issue (white lines across the screen). I was due to go into an Apple Store tomorrow, but they requested they collect the device and replace it as their technicians would like to look at the problem.

I mentioned this issue about the HDMI output and the chap said it wasn't something they were aware of. It seems they are aware of the screen issue though (hence I assume the request for a recall), so maybe this is something not affecting most Air's?

At any rate, I should have a new laptop in a couple of weeks (bugger!) so will see if the new one has the same issues........hoping this doesn't turn into a long drawn-out affair with replacement after replacement!

Well, they asked me to arrange collection with DHL and that as soon as they had confirmed receipt of the old computer they would send out a new on. Hopefully it won't be as long as a couple of weeks, but I imagine it will be at least 5 or 6 days. I'll let you know if there is any joy with the replacement once it arrives.

I have been suffering with this exact problem for about a month now on my 2012 mac air. I have this color problem with all the 1080p displays I have tried: a new 2012 Samsung 55" TV, and two HP 23" monitors, the 2310m and the 2311m.

I have tried to fix this problem with the control-option-command-comma trick, but no luck. The apple calibration tool helped, but also didn't fix the problem. I even tried to mess around with command line font smoothing, but no dice. For this reason, I don't think a software fix will help, and it's a hardware issue with the Moshi mini-display port adapter to HDMI.

I really hope Apple fixes this soon!

I have a similar problem. Colors are ok, but I really find it hard to read emails and web pages and using google maps is almost impossibile, unless I zoom to the maximum level. Everything looks blurry and I'm using a 23'' monitor, not a television.

I'm using the thunderbolt to hdmi connector and I have the 11'' Air with HD 4000.

If I connect my MBP with the same adapter the image quality is way better on the same monitor and I have lion on the MBP too, so it has to be the HD 4000.

I read that someone solved with a DVI adapter instead of the HDMI but I'd like to be sure about that since I don't want to waste money on another adapter