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jtehlert Author

Level 1

4 points

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

I have one of the new macbook airs (2012) hooked up to an external monitor (Dell SR2320L) using a mini display port to hdmi adapter.

The dsiplay shows up fine on the external monitor, except for the colors and contrast being terrible. Any color grey on a white background doesnt even seem to render. However if I look at that same image on the airs screen, I can see all of the grey colors perfectly. I have tested the hdmi cable and monitor on different computers and they work perfectly. I have tried three different adapters all with the same problems, leaving me to believe that there is something wrong with the macbook air itself and its ability to output a mini display port signal.

Does anyone know why I would be having a problem like this?

MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jul 4, 2012 1:55 PM

Top-ranking reply

pdan

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Jul 5, 2012 1:15 AM

I have exactly the same problem:

Laptop: MacBook Pro 13", Mid 2012

External Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster SA550 (HDMI input)

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter: Moshi Mini DP to HDMI Adapter with Audio Support (H1824ZM in the Apple Store)

Colors are generally washed out, very low contrast, very high brightness, some fonts are distorted.

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438 replies

ThiagoM.

Level 1

0 points

Jul 25, 2015 8:22 AM in response to jtehlert

Try to follow this steps, http://www.ireckon.net/2013/03/force-rgb-mode-in-mac-os-x-to-fix-the-picture-qua lity-of-an-external-monitor.

It has fixed my problems with a MB Pro Retina with an LG external monitor connected by a mini displayport to a displayport cable.

Aug 4, 2015 9:54 PM in response to jtehlert

Haha, it's not a manufacturing issue. This also isn't with old Macbook's because the same thing happens on my Macbook Pro 13" Mid 2014.

Sep 29, 2015 7:36 AM in response to sahibsahib

I started having this problem on my Macbook Pro early 2011 and Asus ProArt monitor. I found by killing the X server and restarting the problem would go away until I installed KDE desktop. KDE resets the graphics as it's starting up and always brought me to the incorrect color profile - also happened after resuming from sleep. Just stumbled on a fix in the display and monitor system settings - just selecting the gamma adjustment instantly snapped the color profile back to the correct settings, so yes points to color profile issue, not poor hardware-level connection.

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