My Dell U3219Q has been delivered to my office; I'll connect it to my MBA (via USB-C) on Friday when I return to the office and report back if it too defaults to YPrPb or if it is properly detected as RGB.
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M1 Mac External Display - Fuzzy Fonts & Colors - YPBPR vs RGB
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I've written a script to automate the plist editing. You can find the instructions for using it here: https://github.com/sudowork/fix_m1_rgb/#instructions
Nice mate, RGB works.
However, it could be my mind playing tricks on me but I feel as though my monitor is not as sharp as it was (again could just be perceiving it that way).
How would I go about removing the changes in that script and restoring what I had before? Just so I can compare.
Thanks in advance.
Mac Mini m1 + 2X Dell 32 4ks.
However, it could be my mind playing tricks on me but I feel as though my monitor is not as sharp as it was (again could just be perceiving it that way).
How would I go about removing the changes in that script and restoring what I had before? Just so I can compare.
Thanks in advance.
Mac Mini m1 + 2X Dell 32 4ks.
The script backs up the file before executing. So if you look in /Library/Preferences and/or ~/Library/Preferences, you should see a file called com.apple.windowserver.displays.plist.bak.sometimestamp.
You can replace the non-suffixed file with the backup to go back to your original state.
You can replace the non-suffixed file with the backup to go back to your original state.
Thanks for making this. Tried it on M1 MBA and Dell P2721Q in clamshell mode but still remained in YPbPr. My dry run output in Terminal is here: https://pastebin.com/TSmwAnsV
Now that RGB works all the time it would be nice to find a way to turn HiDPI on for 2K monitors too.
But not sure if HiDPI generally would be even possible in a situation where you want to have looks like resolution the same as monitor native resolution? So those who have 4K monitors what does your system show when you select 3840x2160 looks like resolution in the system information / graphics, does it say 7680 x 4320?
But not sure if HiDPI generally would be even possible in a situation where you want to have looks like resolution the same as monitor native resolution? So those who have 4K monitors what does your system show when you select 3840x2160 looks like resolution in the system information / graphics, does it say 7680 x 4320?
Thinking of getting a M1 Mac Mini myself (ans passing on my 2018 MM plus BenQ BL2420PT 2560x1440 monitor to my wife). Also thinking about pairing it with the BenQ PD2700U. You chose to connect them through USB-C to DP in stead of HDMI to HDMI - any specific reason? Wanting to use 3008x1692? ( as that doesn't seem to be possible with HDMI)
Any problem for this combo since 11.4?
Thanks for any feedback!
Right back to YPrPb this morning after connecting my MBA to my dock (Dell UP3216Q 4K display). And that's after editing the plist and forcing it to RGB over the last couple days.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Like I said before, I'm kind of giving up at this point. Fortunately I don't see much difference and I'm not using my Mac for diagnostic work, so it's not mission critical for me. Best of luck to everyone who relies on their Mac and display for a living.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Like I said before, I'm kind of giving up at this point. Fortunately I don't see much difference and I'm not using my Mac for diagnostic work, so it's not mission critical for me. Best of luck to everyone who relies on their Mac and display for a living.
Did you check what plist files read now? Tip, you can read them by going to location then one mouse click to select file and then hit space bar. That way you can read plist files without converting them. Anyway, sounds like yours restored plist files back to original. I suspect that happened because screen settings got changed after using docking.
I'm also considering this model vs Dell U2720Q and wondering how big issue BenQ only being sRGB would be? Obviously it cannot display saturated colors like U2720Q with P3 gamut but most of the content is sRGB anyway, however photos taken with iPhone and movies etc. would be suffering from lack of P3.
Possibly. But I need to be able to dock & undock my laptop. Otherwise I'd have purchased a desktop.
Oh well. Cupertino strikes again.
Yeah, I realize that is a pain in a butt doing over and over again.
Anyway, if the reason for that is what I suspected, I guess it would be pretty easy to make a script to replace edited plist back with one click or perhaps make some kind of login scrip automatically loading when using dock.Edit. On another thought, that would still require at least user log out and login to actually reload the plist file, so at least one more frustrating step. With Mini this plist thing seems very workable because screen settings can be untouched.
Also I'm not sure if editing also plist in ByHost folder would help in your case? Did you modify that already?
I did both locations but in my tests I noticed one in ByHost folder does not get automatically replaced very easily, so maybe it could work for you too.
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I had removed the windowserver plist from the ByHost filter, but it looks like it's back. And the plist file in both locations have reverted to the settings responsible for YPrPb.Yeah, I realize that is a pain in a butt doing over and over again.
Edit. On another thought, that would still require at least user log out and login to actually reload the plist file, so at least one more frustrating step. With Mini this plist thing seems very workable because screen settings can be untouched.
Also I'm not sure if editing also plist in ByHost folder would help in your case? Did you modify that already?
I did both locations but in my tests I noticed one in ByHost folder does not get automatically replaced very easily, so maybe it could work for you too.
I'll try editing both and leaving the edited one in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost instead of removing it like before.
May not have time to mess with it all, however, until the weekend.
My iPhone 7+ photos & videos look fine on my sRGB-only BenQ BL2420PT. And I find text on that 2560x1440 screen (123 ppi) OK, even with font smoothing on, but I'm still on Mojova, so wonder/worry what it'll look like in Big Sur.
Hope the PD2700U doesn't have the issue thet some PD3200U seem to have (being noisy).
Edit: hmm, apparently has this issue too
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I had some BenQ monitor in the past and it had audible humming while it was on. It was annoying.
It seems there are not that many real choices for Mac Mini screens especially if you want to avoid "fractional" scaling.
With 4K screens 2x scaling result only 1920x1080 desktop which is way too little for me. Sure you can use 1440p looks like and fonts will be nice but everything is scaled and will cause all kinds of scaling errors. Too bad MacOS cannot do it like Windows where 4K monitor is fed 4K without scaling anything but fonts.
Of course 5K monitor would be the best solution for 2560x1440 desktop for Mini but there are not many monitors to choose from and for a price of 5K monitor alone you can buy an iMac.
I was wondering if getting very big 4K monitor that would allow using 4K without scaling in MacOS, can you still get HiDPI then? Meaning does MacOS scale it to 7680x4320 and then output desktop at 3840x2160 "looks like" resolution?
And if that works, are the fonts really better looking than in 2560x1440 monitor running at native resolution without HiDPI scaling?
If it works like that, then I guess 32" or larger 4k screen could work then in that case.
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M1 can 'only' upscale to 6016x3384 (and subsequently downscale to max 3008x1692 through USB-C or max 2560x1440 through HDMI), so what you suggest is not an option, I think. Maybe with M2?
My BenQ BL2420PT is very quiet. I may consider a PD2500Q, with 117 ppi. Did you notice text sharpness worsening on your 25" 2560x1440 from Mojave (which I'mstill on) to Catalina and now Big Sur?
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What scaling errors? I've been using scaled resolutions on Macs for years without any issues.
Some of the older Macs with weak GPUs can get slow and janky with certain UI animations, but never caused any visual errors or broken applications. The M1 Macs are more than fast enough to render fractional scaling with smooth-as-silk frame rates.
I run my MBA on a 32" 4K at 3008x1692 (or whatever it is; not in front of it at the moment) and 2560x1440 with zero issues whatsoever.
OK, that's what I was afraid of.
I never had Mac Mini until I got my M1 a month ago and never used external monitor with my previous MBP, so only Big Sur experience myself with this. This monitor (Dell U2518D) I've had few years and used with Windows gear without font issue like this. Fonts look great on my MBA M1 internal display due to HiDPI. However with tweaking Font Smoothing and using custom CSS for Safari I can get my U2518D looking tolerable with Mini. Some larger fonts look actually pretty nice.
I would not buy 2560x1440 monitor for a Mac these days, but I see how some me included would like to use their old 2k monitors with Mac..
For example photos are not pixel perfect when using scaled resolutions and if you need to edit something precisely I think it is an issue. With 1x or 2x scaling this is not an issue.
How bad fonts look if you run it at 3840x2160 native? I understand fonts get small but I'm interested do they look as fuzzy as in 2k monitor at native resolution in MacOS?
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Ideally, I'd avoid (another) 2560x1440, so it'd have to be 27" 4k or 32" 4k as 27" 5k too expensive for me.OK, that's what I was afraid of.
I never had Mac Mini until I got my M1 a month ago and never used external monitor with my previous MBP, so only Big Sur experience myself with this. This monitor (Dell U2518D) I've had few years and used with Windows gear without font issue like this. Fonts look great on my MBA M1 internal display due to HiDPI. However with tweaking Font Smoothing and using custom CSS for Safari I can get my U2518D looking tolerable with Mini. Some larger fonts look actually pretty nice.
I would not buy 2560x1440 monitor for a Mac these days, but I see how some me included would like to use their old 2k monitors with Mac..
I'd prefer to use hdmi on a M1 MacMini, to keep the two USB-C/TB ports for other stuff, but max scaling is restricted to 2560x1440 through HDMI (with M1). That's 109 ppi for a 27" 4k and only 93 ppi for a 32" 4k, losing valuable real estate. Do,n't know how good/bad native 4k on 32" is, but it's pretty small (140 ppi) - I've still got a working 17" 1920x1200 MacBook Pro, which is about 133 ppi, I think.
Indeed apparently an issue with some photo editing software (Photoshop, DXO Photolab) when not scaled at full integers
So just to update:
Dell U3219Q attached via USB-C -- defaulted to YPrPb as anticipated.
I'll try to edit the plist files if I get a chance, but whole situation is pretty ridiculous at this point. There's no way Apple doesn't know about this, so it's pretty clear they either don't think it's an issue, or they don't care.
100% agree, except Apple exists in large part because of creative professionals who need accurate colors and gamma.
If I relied on my Mac to make a living, I'd be screwed. As a medical imager, I need dead-on accurate greyscales.
Does yours also show more than 1 display UUID in plist?
Because in my Mac Mini M1 it looks like it detects my display in 3 different UUID randomly!
I have only ever connected this display (Dell U2518D) to my Mini with USB-C to DP cable, so it is beyond me why it sees it 3 different ways. That clearly explains why mine originally worked in RGB mode like 50% of the time, just rebooting enough many times, and those 2/3 UUID's show it saw it RGB then, only that 1/3 was YPbPr and once I edited plists it stays in RGB always.
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