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

Hydrofire... I'm not sure that the HDMI is the only problem here, Many posters (including myself) are having the same problem with VGA as I am. I have tried both HDMI and VGA with the same results. As I use other monitors and projectors where VGA is the only option, this is unacceptable. As I recall, the original poster was having trouble with VGA/adapter as well.

I am unclear about DVI at this point.

Quite right @LTMacUser. The MBA 2012 is not working with MANY VGA projectors and screens I have tried. It's not the awful colours issue, it's a disasterous sync issue. Utterly unusable. Extremely bad for professionals who expect to go to clients and present - ie surely the target market for such a light portable. I have tried 6 2012 airs, across 7 different screens, admitedly all using mini displayport to VGA adapters. Not ONE works. Yet every screen works with every MBP and MBA prior to 2012.

Another +1 here. Thank you for starting this thread, because I was losing my mind! :-)

Brand new MBA - special ordered - and it looks *horrible* on an external monitor. Since the closest Apple store is 70+ miles away, I think I'm going to try a DVI cable. I'll eventually make it to the store, and I will show up with my monitor. :-D

-Tim

I'm having the same problem. Bought my new 13" MBA about 3 weeks ago in Germany. I suppose it's a 2012 model.

I recently bought two displays (Asus VS228 and some LG 22"). I'm using a pretty cheap Kanaan HDMI-to-Display-Port adapter (http://www.amazon.de/KanaaN-mini-Displayport-Adapter-Audio-%C3%9Cbertragung/dp/B 003ORJOX0/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1342955989&sr=8-9). Both monitors give a horrible picture. Fonts are unsharp, dark colours and black are way too dark, bright colors are too bright. Tried only HDMI so far, but will go to the apple store to get a DVI adapter.

This ***** and i find it ridiculous that i have to waste more money on this diva of a laptop!

Okay, just got back from the apple store. Bought a DVI -> Display Port adapter. The picture is crystal clear. No adjustments necessary. Love it!

Had to pay $30 for the adapter. I want this money back from Apple. No Sh*t!

Did you try a VGA adapter first? Just to verify if DVI is really better than VGA...

Even though I know very little about these things, I feel more comfortable with a digital solution. So I went for DVI. VGA feels like 1996 to me.

Edit: No, haven't tried VGA.

I haven't seen a post from jtehlert in a *while* so I'mnot sure where all this stands. Their original post was an issue surrounding poor color on external monitors, then more specifically with the gray/white differentiation. This is exactly the problem I have. Although I have only duplicated it using both the HDMI and VGA adapters, DVI will not help me as I NEED VGA compatability.

It does seem that there are other external monitor issues that may or may not be related. My resolution (no pun), is going to be slow due to the time it will take me. I am curious as to jtehlert's resolve (or anyone else for that matter). This is most concerning given Apple's normally stellar quality. I know; I have been uding macs since the 1985 "fat" mac.

I will post all updates and the solution as I find them. I encourage all to reach out to Apple and not accept mediocre solutions. The MBA should work flawlessly on any external monitor. Nothing else is acceptable.

😠

Hey,

i have exactly the same problem with gray/wihte differiation. I went to the Apple Store and they reproduce the problem, but cant help me. I dont know what to do. Switching to an DVI adapter isnt a solution for me, because i want to have sound via HDMI.

I got a response from Moshi technical support:

Thank you for your e-mail.

Our HDMI Adapter is a passthrough device and has no control over the color gradients/contrast/etc. This particular issue seems to be related to the HDMI driver on the Mac. We suggest you can bring this issue up with Apple directly.

I hope this information helps but if you have any more questions feel free to ask. We’re here to help.

Best regards,

Joyce

It seems like it is an HDMI driver problem...

Joyce,

Thanks for the post. For those of us who have the same/similar problems with VGA and DVI, it's not a consolation. Seems like it's more than just the HDMI driver. Anyone else have a solution from Apple (or anywhere)?

David

Well... just installed Mountain Lion and it didn't fix the issue with my external monitor... really disapointed. 😟

add me to the list. spent the last hour trying to calibrate my monitor thinking it was the culprit but it's obviously not. this is my first mac so i can't compare with another...i hope they find a solution for this problem. is there anything i should do to help apple take a look at this?

cracky_aces, so mini display port to dvi fixed your issues? i might try this.