External monitor looks horrible

I've connected my Samsung SyncMaster 171v LCD monitor to my new Macbook with a mini DVI to VGA connector and get terrible results. I've tried setting to the native resolution of 1280 x 1024 as well as 1024 x 768(stretched) and 800 x 600 (stretched), but get a somewhat fuzzy picture. Nothing like what I get when I use my windows box with an old ATI 7500.
Can anyone give me some suggestions as it is totally unusable as a viable external monitor at this rate?

As Attila mentions, if you are mirroring the displays then that will explain the poor image quality. By the way, the native resolution of the MacBook is 1280 x 800 and not 1280 x 960.
With regards to DVI vs VGA, at resolutions of 1280 x 1024 you won't notice a difference.
EDIT : By the way, the normal cause for "fuzzy" looking displays is an incorrect resolution setting which is mismatched to the native resolution. Can you confirm the native is 1280 x 1024?

Similar Messages

Monitor has weird, pixelated colors, but external monitor looks fine

I have a MacBook Pro. It is a couple of years old. Recently the monitor started fritzing out. At first it would happen only happen when I ran windows through boot camp. A couple of days later, it began happening in os x too.The screen seems to be operating on a reduced amount of colors, a preponderance of green and everything is pixelated. There are blobby shaped circles of rainbow all over the desktop. Windows on top of the desktop look better, but still way too green and pixelated. All parts of the screen are equally bad. I tried changing all the settings in display. Also ran disc utility. The display on the external monitor looks fine. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

Some MBP have bad nVidea graphics chips that can do wheat you describe, except it usually affects an external monitor as well. It's covered by a warranty extension program here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

Carbon X1 - External Monitor Looks Awful

I have a carbon x1 and using it with an external monitor has been a huge headache for me. The colors look so extremely washed out on an external monitor that it's essentially unusable. I've tested this with multiple monitors and dongles which all work perfectly with other laptops so I can say with a high level of confidence that the issue is with the carbon x1. I've spent a lot of time modifying the gamma and brightness settings but can't get anywhere close to what it should look like. I also have the same issue in both Linux and Windows. Is this a known problem with the X1's graphic card? Are others having the same issue?
As a sidenote: I have to say that this issue combined with the broken Windows updates and the wireless card that won't connect to ad-hoc networks or stream audio over bluetooth has left me extremely disappointed with this laptop. I've bought exclusively thinkpad laptops since the ibm days but will be switching brands for my next purchase.

at least it is working for you !

My new Retina iMac not looking great and my companion monitors look horrible !

I have been running late 2013 iMac i7 27" and loving it for the last 8 months. I decided to upgrade and went and bought the Retina iMac yesterday and upgraded the ram to 16Gb.. 2699 not too bad.
Excited as can be I got it home and hooked it up only to be dumbfounded and disappointed that the 2 Samsung 21" 1600X1200 monitors that I have been running for years and years as my companion monitors with my iMac do not look right. They look fuzzy and almost like the res is wrong. Its finding them fine and showing them at 1600X1200 no problem but they look horrid.
They looked fantastic on the 2013 iMac 27 I have been using.. They are hooked up with Thunderbolt to DVI adapters and I have one on the left and one on the right of the 27" screen. I have been using this config for years and years and now I can't ..
I think not only is it the new GPU and the way its handling the external monitors I think Yosemite is causing some of this as well.
When I go into Accessibility and turn on enhanced contrast it gets a little better but still not good..
I also notice that sitting at a few feet from the screen in my normal position reading text on the Retina is not good for my 49 year old eyes. The text is smaller and just not as punchy as it was on the 2013 iMac. Is this a case of too new to jump on technology ?
I really don't want to return it and go back to a standard 27 but i might have to.
Funny some of the articles i have been reading say for graphics editors and photo people its great but for text users its not that great and I am seeing this might be the case.
I unfortunately got rid of the 2013 iMac already and I can't get it back..
Any help would be appreciated
Craig

You have a brand new Mac with AppleCare support.
If you can't bring your entire system into an Apple store, if you live within 50 miles of an Apple store, you can call Apple an make an appointment to have a tech come to your location and help you sort out the issues with your setup.
You, also, have free phone support for 90 days, also.
1-800-MYAPPLE
Good Luck!

External Monitor looks terrible

I recently got ahold of two monitors, both DVI, to hook up to my 12 inch PowerBook for my setup at work.
On both of them I attempted to run as a mirrored displays as well as an extended desktop. I can verify that at least one of the monitors is high-quality and gives a nice crisp picture when attached to any other machine.
However the image coming from the PowerBook is pretty abysmal. The edges are dull, the colors are washed out and I'm really unimpressed with the picture.
I bought the 12" PowerBook because of the portability and because evetually I knew I would want to use it with a larger screen. Is this not the case?
Any ideas?

I've tried different profiles as well as calibrating.
They all look terrible.
It isn't an issue of the colors being off, it primarily has to do with the clarity of the picture. Both of these monitors I KNOW are capable of a better picture than they have with the PowerBook.

External monitor view looks stretched

Over the weekend, I ventured into the world of Mac ownership with a new macbook pro. At my office, I've connected it to a 23" external monitor just to make it easier on my eyes. When I first set it up last night, the view on the external monitor looked stretched or a like blown up version of what's on my computer screen. (FTR, I have mirror display turned on because I'm keeping the macbook on a shelf under my desk and just want to work from the one screen.) I messed with the resolution size of the external monitor but that didn't fix the problem.
Today, when I came in and hooked everything up, the screen looked like how I originally expected it to look - not stretched or any of that junk. Just very crisp and clean - exactly the way I wanted it. Then a bit ago, I tried to mess with clamshell mode and for some reason, that made the external monitor go back to being stretched. I've tried restarting several times and unplugging the DVI->mini display port converter but it's not fixing it.
I have no idea what I did right this morning, but can anyone help me? It's a stupid problem, for sure but it's annoying staring at this stretched screen.

Try this instead, hit CMD F1 to place the monitor in extended desktop mode, It should look good again.
Go to System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement tab > notice the grey "menubar" at the top of the left display. Move it to your other monitor display. This will control which monitor has the dock and menubar. If the external monitor is not available, it moves back to the MBpro.
Regards,
Captfred

Windows 8 on boot camp on MacBook Pro retina w/external monitors = screen resolution not correct

how do i calibrate external monitors resolutions individually in windows 8 (like can be done in OS X) so that my MacBook Pro retina text isn't teeny tiny and my external monitors look normal? Is there a way to set the resolution and text size for each monitor separate from one another in Windows 8? Thanks for the help.

In Windows 8 use the help menu and search for external display.

External monitor on MacBook Air looks terrible, recommendations?

I'm a software developer and I want to be able to connect an external monitor to my MacBook Air 11". The Apple store guy recommended a Belkin adaptor so I can connect my HDMI input devices. The connection works, but even at 1080p resolution, there are jagged edges and the text looks horrible. I tried an ASUS monitor and also my Samsung TV. It looks fine when using my Windows 7 computer. Is the adaptor no good? Is there a setting to turn on? What am I doing wrong?

+1
Laptop: MacBook Pro 11", Mid 2012 128Gb/8Gb
External Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster T260 (HDMI input)
Generic Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter that came with ATI graphics card I have in my PC

What to look for in an external monitor

I am in the process of changing my editing system to handle hd. I am using a 24" imac 2.4 Intel Core 2 Duo. With my sd set up I used a Sony dv/dvcam deck and a JVC professional 13" Monitor. I am purchasing the new JVC gy-hm100u camcorder when it is released in April. I am somewhat confused about having an external monitor hooked up to my system for viewing my FCP projects. (1) What should I look for in the external monitor. Do I want a computer monitor or an HD TV? Once I purchase the external monitor/tv can I get rid of my SD JVC monitor all together. I don't want to spend a lot but I want to make sure I get a monitor with the right specs. (2) What happens if I want to use past dv footage in a new project shot in hd. I do a lot of corporate projects which require the use of old interviews as part of the new productions. Am I going to have an issue doing this? Thanks in advance for any help.
Message was edited by: Erik Seel

To view HD variants, you'll need a 3rd party card.
You are severely limited with an iMac. Your only real choice is a Matrox MXO driving a 24" Dell or older 23" Apple Cinema Display.
While you can use an AJA ioHD to drive a HDTV, you'll need to connect it via FW800. This is a problem as no other devices can be on the same bus and, since all firewire ports on an iMac are on the same bus, it won't work.
I would not dispose of the Standard Def monitor. If you work with SD material, you'll still need it. HDtvs are lousy devices for monitoring SD.
x

External Monitor Aspect Ratio Looks Wrong

I'm having trouble using my TV as another monitor with my new MacBook Pro. I don't really care whether it is mirrored or as a second monitor, but no matter what I do I can't get the aspect ratios right. I want to play videos on my TV, but when I put them fullscreen there, no matter what aspect ratio I've chosen, it ends up cropping the screen, as if instead of actually changing the aspect ratio, it has just blown up the screen from the wrong aspect ratio and let the edges get cut off. The (oldish) TV has a 1024x768 ratio, my laptop a 1280x800. They're connected by VGA cable. When I just leave them like that as separate monitors, the TV acts as if it's the same size as the computer and ends up cutting off the bottom and left side of the window. I've tried setting my laptop to 1024x768 as well as having them as separate monitors, and that changes the laptop screen, but still when I fullscreen a video it's cropped instead of resized, now on both laptop and TV. When I mirror them my laptop gets all stretched looking, presumably because it's taking on the TV's aspect ratio and then just stretching it out. It's like the only way it knows how to handle anything properly is if it's in its native 1280x800 setting. My old PC handles this without a problem (I think it ends up putting black bars top and bottom on my TV to make the ratio work for videos that aren't fullscreen, and in any case it doesn't do any of the weird cropping), and I thought Macs were for graphics people!

Hi
> Should I install the external monitor samsung driver (I do have the disc) or might it upset the Toshiba's own screen...
First of all the graphic driver is necessary and important to run and to use the graphic card with full performance and NOT the external monitor!!!
I'm sure that the external monitor software was not designed to run the graphic card but to enable and to control some external monitor options.
Anyway, you could try to install this delivered software but please understand that this software will not replace the installed Toshiba nVidia graphic driver.

Looking for a good FHD external monitor

What are people using for external monitors? I'm looking for a FHD (1920x1080) monitor to connect to my W520 system. I'm interested in something between 22 and 24". Suggestions.
Thanks
W520, i7-2820QM, BIOS 1.42, 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 2000M NVIDIA GPU, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD, Crucial M550 mSata 512GB, WD 2TB USB 3.0, eSata Plextor PX-LB950UE BluRay
W520, i7-2760QM, BIOS 1.42 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 1000M NVIDIA GPU, Crucial M500 480GB mSata SSD, Hitachi 500GB HDD, WD 2TB USB 3.0

I use a pair of Dell U2211H monitors, and would suggest anything in the Dell's UltraSharp range. My monitors are 21.5" IPS and cover close to 100% of sRGB. This monitor has display port, VGA, and DVI connections, and a built in 4 port USB 2.0 hub. The current version is the U2212HM is very similar and runs $219. It comes with a 3 year limited warranty and a 0 bright pixel warranty (Premium Panel Guarantee). I choose this panel due to warranty, price, and pixel density (I love dense panels).
If you choose to go larger, the 24" U2410 ($499) has a better gamut, and gives you a 16x10 resolution of 1920 x 1200.
If you want to stay with Lenovo, they offer the 23" IPS LT2323z ($399.99) it comes with 2 microphones and a full HD webcam. It also has 3 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports. Gamut is not specified.
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My TPs: Twist 2HU: i5-3317U Win 8 Pro, 4GB RAM 250GB Samsung 840 | T420 4177CTO: i5-2520M, HD+, Win 7 Pro x64, 8GB RAM, Optimus, 160GB Intel 320 SSD, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT 3.0 | T400 2764CTO: P8700, WXGA, Win 7 Ult x64, AMD 3470, 8GB RAM, 64GB Samsung SSD, BT, Intel 5300 WiFi | A20m 14.1" PIII 500 (retired). Monitors: 2x Dell U2211h IPS 100% sRGB calibrated w/ Spyder3.

GT70 20C Kubuntu looking for bios option to disable optimus for external monitor

I have a GT70 20C with Kubuntu installed looking for a bios option to disable optimus for linux to support an external monitor. Linux will not detect any connected monitor with or without the latest nvidia drivers.

optimus and onboard GPU can't be disabled,
they are need to be able to see anything on the screen.
only dedicated nvidia card can be turned off

New External Monitor for Logic on MacBook Pro - Suggestions

I'm in the painful process of updating my studio and now my large screen external monitor has started failing.
I know if this a pretty general question more suited to the MacBook Pro forum but I'd like some input from folks used to working with an application like Logic in a home studio environment.
I guess the issue for me is that I'm not getting any younger and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. One of the things specific to Logic and music software in general is that there are LOTS of very detailed dialog boxes with text that is not always height adjustable (yes I know about zooming and indeed I do lots of that but it gets quite distracting). The other factor is that I'm often recording and engineering myself which means I'll be sitting with a guitar in my lap or at a keyboard and can't always lean in too close to the monitor.
I solved this by buying a large 26" Acer which sits on my desk behind the Mackie MCU. To my left I've got the MacBook 15.4" Pro on a keyboard stand above my MIDI controller at a 45 degree angle to the desk.
It's worked quite well until the Acer seems to have become haunted. It will mysteriously reboot itself intermittently, going blank for a second, then showing the Acer logo and going back to picture. It will also turn itself on spontaneously when the computer is off (the status light is off and then turns itself on). It seems to detect when I'm in the middle of a really good session and starts resetting itself every 30 seconds or so. Then it will work fine sometimes for days or weeks at a time. I've checked it on 4 different computers, it malfunctions on all. I believe in may be a problem with one of the capacitors or the inverter, I'm not sure, but it's driving CRAZY at this point.
And of course now it's 3 months out of warranty and may be more expensive to fix than buying a new one.
So my issue is what monitor to replace it with. I've considered buying an Apple monitor, since the display is lovely to look at but there are a couple things that are deal breakers.
It's expensive. Very expensive.
Oddly you have to choose between a 24" and a 30", with nothing in between. Don't want to sound like Goldilocks here, but the 24 is tooooo small and the 30 is tooooo big.
Yeah I know bigger is usually better but since they bumped the native resolution of the 30" up to 2560x1600 it's really sharp but things like the menu text get really quite small. Yes you can reset to a lower non native resolution, but then you loose the sharpness. I tested Logic in the store on the 30" and it did look great but I found I actually had to move my whole body around to see things at the top and bottom of the screen.
Oh and did I mention that it's expensive? Jeez.
The 24" now seems to look a bit small to me after using the same resolution (1920x1200) on the Acer's 26" screen. (Ok, I think it's actually 25.5 but hey that half an inch can make a big difference and I will avoid making any bad jokes here).
And did I mention the Apple monitors are expensive? The 24" is almost 3 times as expensive as a cheaper alternative.
I also still have a PC here that I use (sorry) and the Apple monitors have very limited connectivity. So I think unfortunately the Apple monitors are out for me.
So I;m down to a couple other non Apple options. I will not buy an Acer again since I believe now that their quality control is not good and their support is absolutely atrocious. Shame I used to be a big fan of Acer PC's, but after owning a couple I'm steering clear.
My biggest issue right now is that most of the new budget monitors are geared toward 1080p HD uses so they are they are maxing out at 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio instead of 1920x1200's 16:10). So the tradeoff here is that HD movies will look better in 16:9, but 16:10 gives you "squarer" pixels and more vertical resolution for screen hungry apps like Logic.
Any opinions on this? I'm a bit new to the Mac so I don't know if I'm really better off going with a 1920x1200 screen like the Apple monitors.
Also, I know this may just be a bug in the Acer's scaling, but if I switch to 1920x1080, I lose the menus off the top of the screen or if I adjust the vpos I lose the dock at the bottom. Downscaling to 1600x1050 or even 1024x768 works fine. If I get a 1080 screen and set the resolution appropriately will it work correctly and without too much distortion?
I'm also curious what is the best way to hook up the monitor? I'm currently using the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the MacBook. My Pro is the slighter older silver keyboard model so it has the standard DVI out. Will I see any real improvement by going over to using DVI directly?
Also I'm wondering how people feel about glossy vs matte for music. My current displays are the non-glossy and I do think I prefer them for detail work.
The candidates right now are
Hanns-G HH-281HPB 28" @300$. It's one of the only budget monitors that uses 1920x1200. All the right inputs (DVI, VGA). I'm just afraid this might be a bit too good to be true. It's really cheap and after having problems with a "cheap" Acer (although it wasn't so cheap 3 years ago!) I don't want similar problems. Stand has no swivel or tilt (a big problem for my use). Also that resolution on such a big screen might be good for me or it might look grainy I don't know I haven't seen it. Anybody have any experience with these?
Samsung P2770H 27" @339 Looks nice, good color. Sadly only 1080 native resolution. Stand doesn't swivel, but does tilt. No VGA input, so won't work with my old PC (although strangely it says it comes with a VGA cable). They get generally good reviews and I know Samsung makes very good flat panel TV's.
ViewSonic X Series VX2739WM 27" @350. Once again maxes out at 1080. It's fast (1ms), has VGA input. I've never been a big fan of ViewSonic but they do seem to have gotten better color-wise. Tilt no swivel and it's anti-glare (not sure this is a plus).
There are also similar options from HP, Asus, LG and Sceptre but they are all 1080. In fact outside of the Apples, the Hanns-G and a few expensive monitors from NEC they all seem to be 1080. So if I really want the 1200 the Hanns-G seems like the only way to go.
Any input here would be greatly appreciated.

No doubt, the Apple displays are gorgeous. The first time I saw the 30" display wow, I wanted one BAD and it's actually what prompted me to buy a "big" monitor. The colors are great with a rich wonderful saturation level and as usual for Apple the form factor design is stunning. You know for that picture quality I could even get over the sticker shock and save up for one.
Which is why I was so disappointed when I actually sat down in the store and started to use Logic on one. I imagine for doing video work, graphic design or darn near anything else, it would be great. But for Logic I just found myself bending and twisting trying to look at toolbar at the bottom and then up to look at the menus. And instrument or plugin displays that were hard coded to look OK at lower resolutions looked really, really tiny to me. For me and particularly using Logic having 2 slightly smaller displays at a 45 degree angle makes more sense.
And once again the 24 seems just a bit small. I don't understand why they have a 27" iMac but you can't buy a 27" display. So iMac 27" starting at 1699, subtract out the cost of the CPU and drive ie the Mini and I'd really buy one. Strangely you can buy a 21.5" or a 27" iMac. Or you can buy a 24" or 30" display. Hmmmm.
So don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Apple for being expensive. They put a lot of money into R&D and into really thinking about the form and the function of their products. As a recent convert from being a PC developer for 25+ years, hey I've more than sipped the Kool-Aid here, I've guzzled it. They make great products and yeah they're more expensive, because they ARE better! I've now got 2 MBP's, 2 iPods, I'm about to get an iPhone (silly "death grip" or not) and I really want an iPad. Heck I'd really love an 8 core MacPro if I could afford one (alas I can't).
I guess my only gripe here is that there always seems to be a little less choice in the Apple world. Yeah, I know they do a lot less volume than the PC clone world I just think that they always seem to have a big gap between the high end and low end with not enough in between. So you can choose between the lower end and one piece units with no expansion boards (the mini or the iMac) or go straight to monster tower MacPro (way over 3K with display). You can get a MacBook but then you have to put up with a small screen or go with MacBook Pro, which let's face it is a lot of computing power for someone who just wants to web surf and write some email without squinting.
So here I am stuck in the middle. I don't want to buy a HannspreeQG or another piece of junk that's going to last 3 years and 3 months because of a crappy $2 capacitor that no seems to able to fix or care about fixing. I'd like to buy a really nice Apple monitor, I just want a big monitor, not a huge one and not a "medium" one (I know I'm spoiled but 24" seems "medium" these days).
Sorry about the rant here but my monitor is shutting down every 30 seconds and I'm about to go completely insane and toss it out the window!!!
Really glad to hear about that 84' VGA cable. I never imagined such a thing existed or would work without some sort of signal boost on the way. Very cool for me. My electronic drum kit is in another room and I would love to have a small cheap monitor next to it for sequencing. I had my laptop on a stand next to it for a while but I began to get terrified that I'd let a drumstick slip and destroy my laptop screen. That would be a very bad thing. Thanks for the tip.

Possible to connect an external monitor to HP Pavilion dv4t-4200 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC

I have a HP Pavilion dv4t-4200 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC model # A1M02AV and it has a VGA port, one that looks like a phone/broadband cable port, and one that looks like a USB port but indented on either side at the bottom. Can I even connect an external monitor? How do I find out if I have more than 1 video card? Besides the usual USB/headphone ports, I don't have any other ports. It says my drivers are up to date...but I don't even know what I should be looking for. Do I need to install something or buy some sort of adapter?
I am trying to connect a Dell external montitor via the VGA port with a VGA cable. The monitor has power but my notebook does not recognize/detect it. However, when I first plugged it in, my notebook display shrank into a square (vs the whole screen) so it recognized something...but nothing happened on the external monitor.
I tried detecting it via my display settings, but I accidentally changed some dispaly setting so that the home desktop only shows on monitor 1, but unselected my actual notebook display or something or changed it to be monitor 2 (even though monitor 1 does not exist), so when I plug the cable in to my notebook, all of a sudden my desktop goes away and it's a just a blank background screen - and I cannot access the computer display settings or anything.... when the cable is unplugged this setting looks normal, so I can't figure out how to fix it.
Sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing here - please help!
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
All Dell monitors come with CD's for drivers. Your laptop may not know the monitor w/o its driver, it won't install automatically. Please check:
Ringht click a blank space on desktop,
Click Personalize
Click Display
Click Change display settings
Can you see BOTH laptop screen and external monitor in there as shown on the following image:
For testing, I put my Dell monitor is my main display. If I can't see 2 monitor, you need its driver first and then check the cable.
Regards.
BH
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Use an external monitor with my MacBook Pro

I have my MacBook Pro (13" Spring 2010) and I would like to extend my desktop over to my Gateway FH2300 however Lion is giving me some issues.
For one after I make my external monitor my primary monitor in the appearnce tab in Settings some apps appear on my MacBook Pro but I can't drag it over to my other dektop because my mouse cursor is confined to that monitor. In Windows 7 my 2 monitors work flaulsly and I can easily drag and work with apps in between both windows.
What can I do to fix this?
Thanks in advance.

Remember that your monitors probably aren't the same size. Look at the placement in System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement tab. Your mouse will only move over the section that overlaps. Places like the bottom of this sample it won't.

External monitor looks horrible

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