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I think my MacBook Pro M1 Max is forcing YCbCr for external Dell 4K monitor

M

matteuk

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2013
70
30
Hey guys and gals,

Having an absolute nightmare here I have this gorgeous Dell G3223Q monitor connected to my MacBook Pro M1 Max using a usb c to DP 1.4 cable and I can’t get it to use RGB. My Mac is outputting YCbCr. I’m quite disappointed that there is no option to change the pixel format on a MacBook it seems like an option that a “pro” would really need. Is there a way to force my MacBook to output only RGB at all times?

If anyone can help me get the full potential out of my monitor I would be really grateful.
 
Fishrrman said:
OP:

This is a long shot, but might be worth trying:
gist.github.com

Dual-cable method to Force RGB Color on M1 Mac

Dual-cable method to Force RGB Color on M1 Mac. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
gist.github.com gist.github.com
Click to expand...
Thanks guys I have tried this. I have actually got it to display RGB problem is… I can’t select anything over 60hz now. Weird. Really need to talk to someone else with a G3223Q anyone?
 
"I have actually got it to display RGB problem is… I can’t select anything over 60hz now."

My advice:
Learn to accept the "60hz" part, and live with it.
I will say no more.
 
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Reactions: TechnoMonk
Fishrrman said:
"I have actually got it to display RGB problem is… I can’t select anything over 60hz now."

My advice:
Learn to accept the "60hz" part, and live with it.
I will say no more.
Click to expand...
What do you mean. Does M1 Max not support it?
 
It is not supposed to be this way. 4k 120hz at 8 bit RGB should be able to achieved via a type-c to dp 1.4a cable via your M1 Max chip. And MAC usually prefers output RGB via thunderbolt 3/4 ports.
 
FK9896 said:
It is not supposed to be this way. 4k 120hz at 8 bit RGB should be able to achieved via a type-c to dp 1.4a cable via your M1 Max chip. And MAC usually prefers output RGB via thunderbolt 3/4 ports.
Click to expand...
Tell me about it brother it’s really boggling my mind
 
matteuk said:
Tell me about it brother it’s really boggling my mind
Click to expand...

macOS is a bit picky with monitors, and that is a gaming monitor - so I can imagine that there are strange things happening. With that said, DisplayPort 1.4 supports 4K 120Hz 24-bit color maximum, so if your color is set to 30-bit or if HDR is turned on, you'll be limited to 60Hz - unless you use something like YCbCr. I could be mistaken, of course, I'm not an expert or anything.

My guess, macOS is picky about monitors. I suggest not caring about it that much, I personally barely see any difference between RGB and YCbCr.
 
aevan said:
macOS is a bit picky with monitors, and that is a gaming monitor - so I can imagine that there are strange things happening. With that said, DisplayPort 1.4 supports 4K 120Hz 24-bit color maximum, so if your color is set to 30-bit or if HDR is turned on, you'll be limited to 60Hz - unless you use something like YCbCr. I could be mistaken, of course, I'm not an expert or anything.

My guess, macOS is picky about monitors. I suggest not caring about it that much, I personally barely see any difference between RGB and YCbCr.
Click to expand...
How do I know what my colour is set to on macOS? All it says on better display is 10bpc and that goes down to 8bpc when I turn on HDR. I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth keeping this monitor or retuning it. The U2723 I returned for this one didn’t have any of these problems but it was only 60hz.

I’m just surprised non of this was mentioned in the ratings.com review
 
MacProFCP said:
Try Thunderbolt to HDMI. I’ve had some issues connecting my MacPro monitors with USB-C. Going direct from the computer to HDMI solved most problems. Try that and let me know.
Click to expand...
Ok I’ll order a cable now. Would it be a usb c to HDMI cable?
 
aevan said:
macOS is a bit picky with monitors, and that is a gaming monitor - so I can imagine that there are strange things happening. With that said, DisplayPort 1.4 supports 4K 120Hz 24-bit color maximum, so if your color is set to 30-bit or if HDR is turned on, you'll be limited to 60Hz - unless you use something like YCbCr. I could be mistaken, of course, I'm not an expert or anything.

My guess, macOS is picky about monitors. I suggest not caring about it that much, I personally barely see any difference between RGB and YCbCr.
Click to expand...
Am I right in thinking YCbCr takes up less bandwidth than RGB. It’s confusing because in the rating.com review they have it plugged into a MacBook Pro and it’s set to 144hz, not sure what cable they are using though.

Another strange think is if I use HDMI - HDMI i can only get 60hz but I can do 10bit with hdr on but when I connect with a DP cable I can only get 8bit with HDR on.
 
I have the same issue with my Macbook Pro. My Dell U3223QE is showing only YCBCR and when I switch to RGB the colors are fuzzy.

Tried the video tutorial but still the same issue:

Any ideas?
 
Last edited:
I just picked up a G3223Q and love it. I have it hooked up through HDMI 2.1 on my M2 Max Studio and get 144hz, variable refresh rate, 10bpc, and brightness control on my keyboard through Better Display. No flickering or ghosting, but it does identify as a Television in system report and defaults to YCbCr. Changing it to RGB gives me the magenta screen like others have discussed. I don't do color-critical work, but the display looks great to me for my purposes. I did try a Thunderbolt to Display Port high quality cord but still got the magenta-tinted screen, so I'll just go with YCbCr for now instead of mucking around in the terminal. If others have success with a thunderbolt to HDMI connection, I'll try that. Early reports are that Sonoma may handle display management better for external monitors. But I'm not holding my breath.
 
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