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.

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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

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?

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 !

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.
When asking for help, post your question in the forum. Remember to include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
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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

How do I get Preview Slideshow to appear in external monitor/projector

In Preview in Snow Leopard, I could set up a slideshow and use it for presentations through an external monitor or on a screen using a projector. I did this by dragging the Preview window onto the external monitor and then clicking on View/Slideshow. A kind of poor man's PowerPoint presentation, but very quick to set up. Now, unless the displays are mirrored, as soon as I click on View/Slideshow, the slideshow is "sucked" back onto the screen on my MacBook, leaving the external screen blank.
I have found that there are alternatives to Preview available, like Xee, but with the Preview slideshow feature, only the pictures appear on the screen, with all the background being black, which looks more "professional".
Does anyone know if there's anything I can do to stop the Preview slideshow ending up back on the MacBook?
David

There is something terribly wrong with Lion's support for two monitors, compared to previous Mac OSes, and it looks like you have found another instance of that fact. Oddly enough it seems like QuickLook may work where Preview doesn't. Anyway, I have two monitors and if I move a folder full of images to the secondary monitor, then select the images and right click and then click QuickLook in the Contextual Menu, then click the full screen arrows and the play button, the slideshow will play on the second monitor. If I open the pix in Preview, move the Preview window to the second monitor, and select "Play Slideshow" it promptly moves everything to the main screen, ditto for clicking the full screen arrows within Preview--moves to main monitor and in effect turns off secondary monitor. So give QuickLook a try and see if that will work for your purposes.
Francine

Ultra dock + three external monitors not working

Hardware:
W540 + Ultra Dock (170W)
2x 24" LCDs @ 1920X1200 (DVI only)
1x 30" LCD @ 2560x1600 (DVI only)
1x Display Port to DVI Active Converter (for the 30" LCD)
What I want to have is four displays: W540 LCD + 3 external monitors as described above. However, I can only get two of the external displays to turn on regardless of how many chickens I sacrifice. Note: I've searched extensively to see if others have had this problem, which they obviously have, but none of the solutions worked.
I think the issue is the 'advanced' mode, but I already turned it on in the BIOS. The laptop LCD works correctly (2880x1620), the 30" LCD works correctly with the display port to DVI active adapter (2560x1600), and one of the 24" LCDs works correctly (1920x1200). However, the other 24" LCD isn't available in Windows as a detected display unless I start swapping cables, which will then enable it while disabling the other 24" LCD.
For reference, the connections are as follows:
Laptop LCD (built-in)
30" LCD: DisplayPort to DVI (active); Ultra Dock DisplayPort 0
24" LCD number 1: DisplayPort to DVI cable (passive); Ultra Dock DisplayPort 1
24" LCD number 2: DVI to DVI; Ultra Dock DVI Port 0
It's my understanding that the K1100M discrete graphics card should be driving all three of the external displays, but that isn't the case right now. I see one 24" and the 30" displays in the Nvidia Control Panel and I see all three working monitors (including the laptop LCD) in botht he Nvidia Control Panel and the Windows Display area.
Things I've tried:
Uninstalled + reinstalled Nvidia Quadro drivers
Uninstalled + reinstalled Intel 4600 drivers
Enabled Advanced mode in BIOS
Restarted 5,000 times
Swapped cables until my fingers started to bleed
Updated the firmware of the Ultra Dock (it was already fully updated)
According to this page, I should be able to connect six displays including the built-in LCD. When I first looked at it, I thought I could use both Ultra Dock DisplayPort ports as well as the Ultra Dock DVI port, but it's very unclear if that's actually the case. What does it mean by DP or HDMI and DP or DVI? Does that mean I can use both DisplayPorts (which I'm currently doing and it works) only? Does it mean I can use both DisplayPorts as well as HDMI and DVI? Does it mean if I want to use HDMI and DVI that I can't use either DisplayPort? Does it mean DVI and HDMI both share an output with one of the DisplayPorts so only one of each can be used at a time? TERRIBLE DOCUMENTATION.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as this has been extremely frustrating. I have a feeing the solution is going to be a disappointment as well because it's probably going to involve buying yet another adapter and/or using the Mini-DP output on the laptop instead of, you know, actually being able to use the expensive Ultra Dock...
[rant]
I have no idea how to tell if everything is working because the graphics card situation is extremely confusing. I didn't realize when I bought the laptop that the discrete card couldn't drive the laptop's built-in LCD, which is very annoying. Or, maybe that's not true, but the documentation is so confusing that I can't be sure either way. Also, and this really pissed me off, the Ultra Dock DVI connector can't drive a dual link display. What the hell??? Why was this not clearly annotated somewhere? I really hated needing to purchase a DisplayPort to DVI active adapter to make my brand new laptop dock work as advertised. UGH.
[/rant]

I'm struggling with a very similar problem. (Thinkpad W540, K2100, Ultradock 170W)
I am using 2 external monitors right now in bios display standard mode - it's the only way they work at all for me right now. I have tried uninstalling graphics drivers, enabling advanced mode, and restarting, but none of the external displays are detected. I've also tried updating the dock's firmware, but it doesn't seem to be updating (this may have already been updated).
Current working setup:
- 2 x 22" external LCDs connected to Ultradock via DP -> DVI cables
- Laptop integrated LCD
Related but not quite as equally frustrating, the integrated LCD does not resume when waking the computer from a sleep state. Only a reboot brings the display back.
I'd like to connect another 24" display over HDMI, but don't have any confidence of it working since advanced mode is utterly worthless for me at the moment. I'm quite dissatisfied especially since I purchased an extended warranty and last time I called for support Lenovo tried to sell me an additional support plan claiming that software was not covered under my current warranty.

On external monitor: GOOD. after render & dvd: BAAAAD. help, please!

Hi, I edited a 60i NTSC video from a canon XL2, and it looks fine on the external monitor (TV), the FCP preview and everything. It even looks good when I export a QT mov with no compression.
But as soon as I burn it on iDVD and play it on a DVD player, the whole interlacing business goes terribly, terribly wrong.
I've tried all possible exporting settings, but it doesn't work. Should I de-interlace the clips? I've gathered from reading the forums that it might help, but it sounds like a desperate solution, since the text should be interlaced but not the video?
I mean... what did I do wrong? Isn't ot supposed to just work straight-through with the NTSC DV Easy Setup and changing only to "None" on the compressing settings at export?
Any help, please? Anybody?

oh, OK.
For exporting, I used the Export>Quicktime movie, just like you said, using the current setting (i.e. Compression:None)
The DVD player was connected to a PAL TV, but it's OK because the DVD player can read anything. I know because I've watched NTSC as well as PAL dvd movies before.
The Canon XL2 the Mac is connected to, via Firewire, is NTSC, connected via RCA to the PAL TV. Which means the signal I'm watching is Black & White... (I know this sounds WEIRD)... but it's O.K. because what I'm really checking as I edit is the interlacing problem that I got when playing the DVD on the dvd player.... : the BAD problem.
How bad? Really bad. Any sudden movement, or panning of objects with vertical lines, like a painting or a building looks all wobbly and curvey and blurry and wrong, which is unnacceptable for the project I'm doing, as it is a professional work (Meaning that I'm charging money for it, despite the crazy assemble of different products and formats I'm using).
I've gotten things that look good before, but never on Final Cut Pro.. I'm new to the program, and to Mac, and this is the first video I'm exporting to a DVD on this platform.

Color Correction problems on external monitor

Ok.
So, I am using some video filters to enhance the look of my video project. I am very happy with the way everything looks on my computer monitor.
However, when I play the video through my camcorder to my monitor, the color is WAY off and everything is flickering.
I tried playing the video out through external monitor with the filters turned OFF in FCP and everything looks fine.
I have played the same video out through monitor with one of the filters turned OFF while the others are still ON and the image looks fine. Here is the list of filters in order from top to bottom:
RGB Balance
HSV Adjust
Vignette
It seems that the combination of these filters is causing a playback problem on my external monitor. This is an issue b/c I need to see how the color filters will look on my end project as it is played on a TV.
One other interesting wrinkle....the applied filters if left UN-RENDERED and in the green PREVIEW render state, will play through to the monitor fine.
I even tried to print the video to tape in an effort to then re-capture the video that would by my assumption be "off color" but this is what happened....
The video while being printed to tape looked awful on my camcorder monitor AND awful on my computer monitor as it was printing to tape. So, I then rewound the tape and attempted to RE-CAPTURE the video which I thought would now have the wrong colors. But, once the video was re-captured and I played it....it looked FINE on my computer monitor, but AWFUL on my camcorder monitor.
This was the same tape that I saw being recorded in the AWFUL color state yet, it was now playing back fine on my computer monitor.
What is going on???
One last test on my own tonight. I am going to burn a DVD with this video. I assume that the video on the DVD when played back through my TV will look AWFUL however, If I preview the video on my computer monitor through iDVD it will look fine.
Does anyone have any idea what may be going on here?
Thanks,
Pete

David,
I did a test. I burned a DVD of my video. And..the colors were off, the image was flickering...generally terrible.
But, then I paused the DVD and.....color was perfect!
Just as I wanted.
So, there is something going on with the interlaced video fields on TV monitors maybe???
I don't know.
But, the problem is definitely with the NTSC monitor side of things...but a problem generating from the use of thes filters in FCP.
Still not solved.

External Monitor looks terrible

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