I disabled dithering on Apple silicon + Introducing Stillcolor macOS M1/M2/M3

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

async i turned the monitor specific color tables one off first

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs i wonder if M2 TB Pro has some sort of additional "HDR" feature that the M1 Air doesn't?

yep it's definitely HDR related, when opening the GPU accelerated app that gets super bright all the other windows noticeably change color for a second and then fade back

also, whenever these bright apps are open, the strain returns (even when moving the window mostly offscreen and looking at a dim window)

which probably is directly tied to Metal Direct Display mode getting disabled again due to the overlay not being able to apply across the whole screen

hiding the bright app, the strain goes away again

is it possible to disable HDR on M2 TB Pro? I remember on Intel Macs you can option click Displays in preferences to turn off HDR for the internal display, but that's not working here

Low Power Mode doesn't disable it

Edit: figured out a hacky way to get around it, change Accessibility Zoom to "picture-in-picture", click Size and Location to make it as small as possible on the bottom right, "Keep zoom window stationary" in advanced settings, then activate zoom.

HDR stuff across the whole screen will disable (except for a very slight backlight change if your hardware backlight level is below 100%) whenever zoom is active.

async

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Does it have locked brightness for color profiles? If so use one without max brightness, as that can induce flickering as well when hdr content appears. EDR headroom or something.

You could try this command to get log messages for what is happening. Remove lux and nits if you don't want the spam.

sudo log stream --color always --style compact --level debug --source --predicate "\
composedMessage CONTAINS 'EDR' || \
composedMessage CONTAINS 'SDR' || \
composedMessage CONTAINS[c] 'headroom' || \
composedMessage CONTAINS[c] 'lux' || \
composedMessage CONTAINS[c] 'nits'"

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

async Does it have locked brightness for color profiles?

No this is only a mini-LED thing. The LCD Macs don't have the "reference modes" feature at ALL and instead feature the old school color profiles menu.

Anyway I figured out a kinda hacky workaround to disable HDR, see above

photon78s

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

I tried this and didn't see anything change probably because the panel had so little pixel flicker to being with.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

photon78s interesting, because just using the metal color adjustment at all (as in specifically in Metal mode, NOT the default Color Table mode) is making a HUGE difference for me —

so much easier to focus in on something my M2 TB Pro without sometimes feeling a sharp pain which is sometimes what happened before. after applying the metal color adjustment, that strain immediately decreased so much

doing an equal color adjustment in Color Table mode, it would look like text is glowing or the screen still feels "too bright" even though it's darker, like oversaturated no matter how much i reduce dimming or contrast.

but in Metal mode, it actually feels like the screen gets truly dimmer, less glare, less glow

photon78s

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

So when viewing blooey's gradient chart, I see larger bands above 8-bit level with your recommended settings using Metal than without when dimming through image adjustments in BetterDisplay.

madmozg

Here is my panel serial for MBP 13 M2 TB:

FMX352507ZHNTJJAQ+GE1S3B02830546+PROD+Y342234423453+12352321352423352412352420+K72430781K80331107+645052230KP8C500TTCYYGAHDC2638520+S47U894Z82S47U894Z82S47U894Z82S47U894Z

With this new MBP 13 M2 TB I noticed in the evening when I don't have any good lightning in my room I'm getting heavy eye strain. Like nausea and headaches. Don't know why, with previous model I don't think that I've noticed something similar to this one, this one definitely hits harder. 😢

I was just sitting in the dark room with the laptop, and damn, I got hit hard with nausea jeez, didn't feel that bad for a very long time maybe since I tested new iphones… 🤢

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

madmozg FMX

This is really interesting, yep this is pretty much my second M2 TB Pro that also has a panel that starts with FMX and also doesn't have the long strings of 00000000. Despite it being "crisp and uniform" it's also giving me heavy "sharp pain in my eyes" sometimes after focusing and nausea too.

Definitely this FMX panel is not a safe panel… it has SO much glare. It feels like it never gets dim enough even when turning down the brightness, like it always feels a bit too bright and too high contrast.

In my case, I'm actually returning my second M2 TB Pro with FMX panel because yep I have the same issues with it.

I definitely did not have these issues with my first M2 TB Pro that had the 00000000 in the panel ID instead.

So it's not just you, I had the same experience!

Rikl

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs like it always feels a bit too bright and too high contrast.

For me, it's either too dim or what you posted. All of the(4) Macbooks I've tried are like this.

Also, set -namelike=built -framebufferNumericProperty=0x0 -specifier=overdriveCompCutoff seems to make things better but I can't say what it is. MBAM1. Thanks,

async

Anyone know what is causing this dark fringing effect? It's rather pronounced when reducing anti-aliasing. Here shown with a color profile that makes it more prominent. It's not present with Pixie or inspecting.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

async Are you not at native @2x res? If so, the fringing is coming from their scaling algorithm. They added it around when the T2 security chip launched as I've seen this black fringing around text in M1 Macs, 2018 MBA, and 2020 Intel MBP when not running at native res — however, I don't see it in anything from 2016 or earlier.

If you are running at native res, I don't know where it's coming from.

async

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Ah, yea I see now that most of it comes from there. Hate it. Wonder if there is a way to kill it off.

It's mildly present on native res as well, but not nearly as much. Interested in where these things are actually applied.

Lauda89

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Have I to enter that command inside the terminal to set the overdrive compensation to 0?

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

Lauda89 yep, make sure to have the latest version of BetterDisplay installed to /Applications and running for it to work

waydabber

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs - you should be using the latest public version (v2.3.1) now, that pre-release is outdated and has some bugs. 🙂

The syntax is the same, but instead of propertyNameuse specifier.

betterdisplaycli get -namelike=built -framebufferNumericProperty -specifier=overdriveCompCutoff

betterdisplaycli set -namelike=built -framebufferNumericProperty=0x0 -specifier=overdriveCompCutoff

(if you don't install betterdisplaycli you need to of course use the path to the app binary in the command)

Lauda89

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

waydabber

I have installed the last version of better display 2.3.1 (pro version) but when I execute the command I get failed as return:

Am I doing something wrong? Sorry guys I am really noob with macos 🙂

waydabber

async That's interesting. I was trying to figure out how to force the display back to 120Hz in Low Power mode and was looking at this, maybe it has some connection (does not seem so). If you figure out something regarding this, let me know! 🙂

But what's cool is that this does change the actual refresh rate, not the reported one (so apps still think the display is at 120Hz), just like when the screen is limited at 60Hz in low power mode.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

Rikl For me, it's either too dim or what you posted. All of the(4) Macbooks I've tried are like this.

For me right now, only my M1 Air has actually struck the right balance of brightness, it feels "just right" at whatever brightness level I set it to, not too dim or too bright.

Even though I was leaning towards the M2 TB Pro for a while… after a week of using it, given that my current second M2 TB has that panel that starts with "FMX" that causes strain (which is now backed up by @madmozg 's experience too…)

(Since I don't have time to try out another M2 TB Pro) I'm actually currently planning to keep my M1 Air instead as it seems to cross the threshold of being "good enough" for me despite it's flaws!

Even though my M1 Air has the "PWM on camera on dark grays issue" that none of the TB Pros have, I've realized that some laptops that I find very usable — my old 2012 Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga and 2015 12" MacBook — also actually have this flicker issue too, but it doesn't seem to impact my productivity using those devices!

I guess the best way to refer to the specific, harder to detect style of PWM is "a slight dip in brightness that is synced with every frame", similar to the "DC-like" dimming used on more recent """flicker-free""" OLED TVs.

So I think I can get used to the type of PWM it uses, since everything else about my M1 Air's display like brightness, saturation of colors, and contrast feels so much more relaxing than my (current) M2 TB Pro's panel.

I also feel like I can "refocus" in on my M1 Air's display significantly faster than other MacBooks!

FWIW, turning on my M2 TB Pro right after I got up on previous days, immediate watery eyes. But turning on my M1 Air today, I felt totally fine.

Although, another M2 TB Pro with a less strain-inducing panel — the ones that include many 00000000 in the panel ID seem to be better strain-wise — would probably be way better than this bad "starts with 'FMX'" panel M2 TB Pro I'm comparing the M1 Air to now. At this point I think I'm keeping the M1 Air instead though.

(One thing to note though is that every M2 TB Pro regardless of panel has significantly deeper black levels compared to the M1 Air. I much prefer the M1 Air's lower contrast and "bluer" black levels.)

It seems like I am not sensitive to the "mild flicker depth" (always, on dark grays) and additional "very high frequency" (when at low brightness) types of PWM used in the M1 Air… given that some of my very usable devices also have this issue.

I'm actually using the M1 Air at less than 50% brightness right now seemingly without any significant issues, in fact it feels BETTER than running it at high brightness which is what I was doing originally!

(However, I still can "see" the PWM sometimes, like faint repeating horizontal lines appearing in my field of vision after looking away from the screen. Not that bad though and I only see this occasionally.)

The M1 Air screen is also able to look very still after activating Stillcolor!

I think what confused me at first was that after seeing the M1 Air panel flicker on camera, I thought it was going to be the "exact same" as the M2 Air panel (which I didn't like at all, too much glare and pressure in my left eye). However, despite the flicker issue, it feels totally different — way more relaxing colors on the M1 Air compared to any of the M2s, even with just Stillcolor and mostly default settings.

I guess the thing I like the most about my M1 Air is due to its less saturated colors and noticeably less glare, it does not remind me of my original terrible 14" mini-LED MBP at all 🙂

Here is my M1 Air's panel ID:

FP1223202CVP3WVBD+5AQK240320A9JA+PROD+Y218621852194+2122321L22322122322B223220+K10720181K11620413+5425A2205KT30T00TTUYYJY5A41424483+S23D688Z79S23D688Z79S23D688Z79S23D688Z

async

This might come in handy for those reverse engineering. dtruss can also be helpful, but is messy and hard to get working.

GitHub - hot3eed/xpcspy: Bidirectional XPC message interception and more. Powered by Frida

sudo xpcspy -r SystemUIServer
sudo xpcspy -r CoreServicesUIAgent
sudo xpcspy -r WindowServer
sudo xpcspy -r corebrightnessd
sudo xpcspy -r OSDUIHelper # brightness popup?
sudo xpcspy -r ContextStoreAgent # plist writes etc

macsforme

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs One thing to note though is that every M2 TB Pro regardless of panel has significantly deeper black levels compared to the M1 Air. I much prefer the M1 Air's lower contrast and "bluer" black levels.

This is key I think. One of my original symptoms was a sensation like a flashlight shining in my eyes. After going back and forth between older and newer MacBooks for a while, I noticed on newer MacBooks how harsh it is to look at a super bright white element right next to a deep black (probably where the flashlight sensation comes from). Lower contrast and a more uniform overall brightness is more comfortable in my case.

Rikl

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs I've come to the same conclusion about the M1MBA. I'm nitpicking about the contrast/brightness. Using the Metal gain and brightness controls as you suggested yesterday, put the M1MBA into a perfectly usable range for me. Of course, Stillcolor and BetterDisplay are musts. Also, FontSmoothingAdjuster helps me too. Now, I can comfortably use TextEdit and other apps with white backgrounds. Never could before. Too much eyestrain. The test image by Blooey now shows 8-bit divisions. Also, I use Firefox with DarkReader. I don't use Safari.

After your praise of the M2MBTB, I was on the verge of trying one. Now, I don't need to. The M1MBA is usable for me.

Thanks for your persistence in figuring these fixes.

Here is my M1MBA's panel ID.
GMG050601YGNR89A1+000000002022H1+PROD+Y000000000000+00000000000000000000000000+P312L1191PF130108L+6758HK6LF4002036TTCSYK10D02B44509+W20-026536W20-026536W20-026536W20-0265

The "-" in the panel ID is interesting. I'm not sure if I've seen that before.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

macsforme I noticed on newer MacBooks how harsh it is to look at a super bright white element right next to a deep black

and yet, despite these deeper and harsher black levels and extremely bright HDR whites… the most common element on a computer screen is black text on a white background…

this is why computer screens should not be "built like TVs"!

it's really funny to me how a lot of people say "they're not affected" but then also say "ew light mode? that's like staring at the sun! i use dark mode"

y'all, remember when light mode used to look NORMAL? (and was the only option!)

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