UI and text looks absolutely horrendous on my 4K Sony Bravia, what gives?

[mrtissue]

So I got a nice used 50-inch Sony Bravia X90J 4K TV and hooked up my M1 Mac Mini to it. However, the entire macOS UI and text looks like total garbage whatever I try to do. I tried installing Betterdisplay and change around some settings and resolutions but to no avail. It looks almost like the Mac is sending a 4K resolution and the TV interprets it as 1080p and tries to scale it up again or something, but the TV is saying that the signal is 4K...

Standard mode, game mode, PC mode on the TV–makes no difference.

ChatGPT just tells me that this is normal and that I'm sitting too close to the TV, but I can't believe it can be this bad – look at the apple in the menu bar for example, the detail on the bottom of the apple is completely lost!

The cable I'm using is not HDMI 2.1 but it should be good for 4K60, so I don't think its the cable's fault, even though I ordered and waiting on a new USB-C to HDMI dongle and HDMI 2.1 spec 4K 120Hz HDMI cable...

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Answer is right in the last screenshot. You are UI scaling to 1080p. Just change your display settings in Preferences.

 

[mrtissue]

Answer is right in the last screenshot. You are UI scaling to 1080p. Just change your display settings in Preferences.

Thank you for replying! When I try to do that, (choose ”More Space 3840x2160) it looks even worse (see attached photos) so I’m afraid we have a more vicious problem…

 

[mrtissue]

Sorry for double posting, failed to attached screenshots with the last post.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I think you're going to have to tinker with the advanced display settings for that particular TV model…before you give up.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Test out the new cable you bought, and otherwise try out BetterDummy.

 

[Fishrrman]

"otherwise try out BetterDummy"

I believe that the app formerly called "BetterDummy" is now renamed "BetterDisplay".
It's available here:

GitHub - waydabber/BetterDisplay: Unlock your displays on your Mac! Flexible HiDPI scaling, XDR/HDR extra brightness, virtual screens, DDC control, extra dimming, PIP/streaming, EDID override and lots more!

Unlock your displays on your Mac! Flexible HiDPI scaling, XDR/HDR extra brightness, virtual screens, DDC control, extra dimming, PIP/streaming, EDID override and lots more! - waydabber/BetterDisplay

github.com

 

[Basic75]

Thank you for replying! When I try to do that, (choose ”More Space 3840x2160) it looks even worse (see attached photos) so I’m afraid we have a more vicious problem…

Is there any overscan you can disable on the Mac or the TV? Something else that prevents a 1:1 pixel mapping?

 

[Alameda]

Thank you for replying! When I try to do that, (choose ”More Space 3840x2160) it looks even worse (see attached photos) so I’m afraid we have a more vicious problem…

Make sure BetterDisplay is outputting RGB and not YCbCr

 

[TumbleDryer]

Option click on the resolution options (I think) and click on 'more options' or whatever it says. It should then give you a big list of resolutions you can try instead of the dumbed down 'more space' options. Find out the exact res of your TV and try and match it to that.

 

[chmania]

As you are using 4k, try this one,

That's what I'm using, but it's a 27" 4K monitor, not a TV. You can see how crisp the text is. Since your TV is 50", you should have the apps open at a smaller size rather than in full screen.

 

[Arran]

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

When I try to do that, (choose ”More Space 3840x2160) it looks even worse

I saw exactly that on my LG OLED a month ago when I was experimenting. Was disappointing.

I didn’t pursue it any further, but I’d be interested if anyone has a fix.

 

[MayflyMaven]

What kind of display were you using before? I had this same experience just recently when I upgraded from an iMacPro to a Mac Studio (initially I had purchased some decent Dell display, $800-ish). You really get used to a Retina display and don't realize that non-Retina displays are really just a lot worse. The pictures you posted looked exactly like what I was seeing. I finally sold a kidney and got Apple's Studio display instead. That was shortly before ViewSonic came out with a new sub-$1000 5K display. I'm curious how that one compares.

 

[benwiggy]

A 50-inch display with a 4K resolution has a pixel density of 88 pixels per inch.

A Retina display is 218 pixels per inch, or even higher. (A 2K display at 27 inches has 109 ppi, which produces objects at the same size as a Retina display, though not as clearly.)

A TV is designed to be viewed from much further away than a computer screen, so the pixels can be bigger. If you sit right in front of it, you'll see the pixels clearly. MacOS isn't designed to use a screen like this. It doesn't smooth text to blur it across pixel edges. You can't overcome the fact that the pixels are enormous.