Timeline for Why don't I get the max resolution supported by my external monitor when I select default for display in my Macbook Pro?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
5 events
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| Apr 19, 2022 at 11:10 | comment | added | jksoegaard | @morpheus It is not so that only text gets a special treatment. Video and images are also treated specially, so that in the case of for example a native 3840x2160 resolution being setup for HiDPI 1920x1080, that means that if you play a 4k video - it is displayed in its native resolution without any pixel doubling. Similarly for images that natively have a high resolution - they will be displayed without pixel doubling for maximum clarity. | |
| Mar 20, 2022 at 6:01 | history | edited | Gilby | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Mar 20, 2022 at 5:57 | comment | added | Gilby | @morpheus The default algorithm for hi-res displays is a scale factor of 2. But whatever you select (e.g. 2160x1080 or 2560x1440), applications (including video and image apps) will render to a virtual display which is twice that (e.g. 3840x2160 or 5128x2880) and macOS will, if needed, scale that down to the physical display - 3840x2160 in your case. All that ensures best viewing of both text and video. There is no antialias. | |
| Mar 20, 2022 at 3:39 | comment | added | morpheus | The text might be crisp but what about video and images? They will not be as sharp and high-frequency content will get aliased. So why does Mac default to a non-native resolution? I am very curious to understand the algorithm it uses to determine what is default for display. | |
| Mar 20, 2022 at 3:06 | history | answered | Gilby | CC BY-SA 4.0 |