Late 2018 Mac Mini vs. DVI (not Display Port) 27" Apple Cinema Display

[Mr. Protocol]

I just took delivery of a new-in-box late 2018 Mac Mini from B&H. My display is an older 27" Apple Cinema Display with DVI (not DisplayPort). On my older Mac Minis this display works just fine, using the included HDMI-to-DVI connector from Apple that used to come with all Mac Minis. On the new 2018 Mac Mini it's terrible. There's a purple line down the left side of the display, and terrible ghosting. The ghosting is immediate, not a case of burn-in. When you boot the Mini, the Apple logo shows as a strong ghost against the sign-in page. After signing in, any window leaves a ghost no matter how little time it spends on screen. The ghosts very gradually fade.

I tried the Mac Mini connected to a 4K LG TV, via straight HDMI, and it works just fine.

I do NOT want to buy a new display! Any idea what the heck is going on???

 

[for this]

There has long been an old bug about the mac thinking the connected external monitor needs other color mode than RGB. In this case, you can force it to send out only RGB color to the monitor.

The symptoms you described don't completely fit the bug. But the solution is free, so I would try this first.

https://www.mathewinkson.com/2013/03/force-rgb-mode-in-mac-os-x-to-fix-the-picture-quality-of-an-external-monitor

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250732856

If the problem still persists, I will try TB or USB C to DVI adapter.

PS. Apple never made a 27" monitor with DVI. So I think yours is probably either the 23" or 30" Cinema Display.

 

[joevt]

30" Cinema Display requires dual link DVI for 2560x1600. It supports single link DVI at 1280x800.
ghosting seems like a really strange problem. ghosting that fades is doubly strange. I would certainly like to see a video or picture of that.

 

[mikehalloran]

We don’t know what you have since the monitor you ask about never existed. Here’s a list of the Cinema Displays:
Cinema Display models

I do NOT want to buy a new display!

So what?

Since you can now get a truly decent, backlit display with better resolution for so little, you may want to rethink that. They run so cool nowadays that the energy savings alone will pay for it.

 

[tabletop0]

Hello.

I have the exact same problem with a 23" Apple Cinema Display on a 2018 Mac mini with a DVI to HDMI adapter on Catalina: thin purple line at the left edge of the screen and terrible image ghosting / image persistence

Mr. Protocol, did you find a solution?

I've tried to force it into RGB by following the above steps, but the problem remains...

EDIT POST: If I connect the display after the system is booted, the problem is gone. Including the pink/purple line at the edge of the screen. However, there seems to be gentle flickering across the entire screen. But then after about 30 minutes of use, the flickering disappears and all is well until I reboot...

This is all very strange.

And apparently Catalina creates a new display profile every time I boot. (See second picture)

Is this an issue with Catalina?

 

[Mr. Protocol]

Hello.

I have the exact same problem with a 23" Apple Cinema Display on a 2018 Mac mini with a DVI to HDMI adapter on Catalina: thin purple line at the left edge of the screen and terrible image ghosting / image persistence

Mr. Protocol, did you find a solution?

I've tried to force it into RGB by following the above steps, but the problem remains...

EDIT POST: If I connect the display after the system is booted, the problem is gone. Including the pink/purple line at the edge of the screen. However, there seems to be gentle flickering across the entire screen. But then after about 30 minutes of use, the flickering disappears and all is well until I reboot...

This is all very strange.

And apparently Catalina creates a new display profile every time I boot. (See second picture)

Is this an issue with Catalina?

I never did find a solution. I gave up and bought a new display that connects via HDMI. It works fine. The Apple Cinema Display is now hooked up to my wife's older Mac Mini, where it also works fine.

 

[tabletop0]

Did you try an USB-C to DVI adapter? Instead of the HDMI adapter. Because if not, I might try that (if I can find one online)

It works perfectly fine, though, when connecting the HDMI after turning on the Mac Mini...

 

[joevt]

30" Cinema Display requires dual link DVI for 2560x1600. It supports single link DVI at 1280x800.
ghosting seems like a really strange problem. ghosting that fades is doubly strange. I would certainly like to see a video or picture of that.

I tested this on my Mac mini 2018 with HDMI to DVI adapter and Apple Cinema HD Display (23 inch, 1920x1200). It booted ok with purple vertical line all along most left edge of display.

When it got to Catalina, it turned static (like wrong channel on a TV but more colourful and smaller pixels).

I did screen sharing from another Mac so I could see what was going on. SwitchResX shows the current resolution is the correct 1920x1200 60Hz mode but all I see is static.

I can drag the mouse to the corner of the display and it will go to sleep (I have hot corners enabled). When I wake it up, the image is visible for a couple seconds but then it turns static again. Same thing happens when I power off the display and power it on again using the power button on the display.

I can disconnect the display and reconnect it. The image is visible and clear but the back light is flickering or something. The image remains visible - it does not turn static again. The flickering eventually goes away after a few minutes.

Maybe the problem is caused by HDCP or lack of HDCP or HDCP version? Then a possible workaround is to use an adapter that removes HDCP.

Club 3D has USB-C to dual link DVI adapters which also work with single link displays.
They make two versions of the adapter: CAC-1510 HDCP ON and CAC-1510A HDCP OFF
The Apple 30" Cinema Display only works with the CAC-1510A HDCP OFF version. With the HDCP ON version, the image appears for a second then goes black.
The Apple 23" Cinema HD Display seems to work with either USB-C adapter: it boots without purple vertical line and the image does not turn black or into static and there's no flickering or ghosting.

 

[tabletop0]

The Club 3D adapters are nowhere to be found unfortunately...
Eventually I somewhat fixed the problem. What you need to do is unplug and replug in your Cinema Display after it is booted; when on the login screen. After that it performs normally. You can sleep, reboot and do everything without issues. If you power down your mac, you will need to unplug en replug your cinema display again for a second.
I believe OSX doesnt recognise it as an old Cinema Display until you unplug-replug. If you replug, OSX will output the correct stuff to the display.
It is only a problem when you want to (re)install Catalina. Or when you boot into recovery mode (CMD + R)