One "enableDither" = Yes expected?

[mkromann]

Hi,

Thank you for making this project. I have attempted to get it to 'work', and I am actually not certain whether it has any effect on my system. I do not visually see any change on the banding example when enabling and disabling dithering. Should this be noticeable instantly (eg. real-time)? Furthermore, this is the output of ioreg -lw0 | grep -i enableDither:

Enabled "Disable dithering":

    | |   | | |   "enableDither" = Yes
    | |   |   |   "enableDither" = No
    | |   |   |   "enableDither" = No

Disabled "Disable dithering":

    | |   | | |   "enableDither" = Yes
    | |   |   |   "enableDither" = Yes
    | |   |   |   "enableDither" = Yes

Is that Yes to be expected?

My system:
MBP 13-inch, M1, 2020
macOS Ventura Version 13.6.7 (22G720)
Only using built-in display (13,3-inch (2560 × 1600)

[aiaf]

Hey there!

If "enableDither" = No it works. The single "enableDither" = Yes you see is for the Touch Bar module (yes, believe it or not, even that tiny display gets temporal dithering!). Stillcolor does not disable that.

I no longer consider gradient banding tests to be reliable for detecting presence of GPU/DCP temporal dithering for the built-in display. Check this post by Blooey https://ledstrain.org/d/2686-i-disabled-dithering-on-apple-silicon-introducing-stillcolor-macos-m1m2m3/329 and the replies to it. Even if there's no change in banding, you will notice a subtle qualitative difference in the image (tint/color/etc) if you look really carefully.

Your best bet is subjective experience. Do you feel better with dithering disabled or not? Give it a few days.

What I do know for certain is that Stillcolor disables GPU/DCP generated temporal dithering. There's still the unresolved question of whether the TCON generates additional dithering (dependent on MacBook model).

[mkromann]

Ok — I see.

I just checked Blooey's image and I can see slight vertical lines appear when enabling/disabling Stillcolor. So it does "work". Good news at least.

I don't usually follow the discourse on Ledstrain, as my M1 had been functioning sort of well for me for sevaral years with the 'right' settings in combination with "forcing" my eyes to accept the display. This changed DRAMATICALLY last week when I upgraded from Ventura to Sonoma. I hadn't even considered it when upgrading but it was painful immediately. This led me to find your project, however it didn't really do much for me under Sonoma.

However, since downgrading to Ventura and starting using Stillcolor the displays feels more relaxed than ever. It's still not entirely calm to my eyes but it's better. I still feel certain colors 'vibrate' and 'flimmer' though, so my guess is that there's still something left in there.

I have to come to accept this 'condition' as more of a human thing than a display thing. To me it feels like an allergi (even though I don't know exactly the "compound" that triggers it) that can flare up, calm down and be triggered. However, I also feel like I can train my mind(?) to accept certain triggers.

It is a weird thing (and I feel like I have been affected my entire life — I remember as I kid that I was irritated when my parents got a new television). I hope my two small children are sparred from this frustration. But I am glad that there a people like you with the know-how, drive and will to understand this more.

So thank you. 🙏

Let me know if I can assist with ANYTHING.

[aiaf]

I like the allergy analogy but there's something in these new technologies that's not compatible with human eyes. The problem is that there are so many things to measure and it's very difficult to measure. Display tech is complicated. This is why you'll find many subjective experiences about one or the other MBA model or MBP being easier to look at, and whether toggling this or that property does anything. The major ones are relatively easy to detect with the right tools because we know what we're looking for: PWM, blue light, temporal dithering. It's Apple's responsibility to make these things and many others known and controllable.