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Unlock your displays on your Mac! Smooth scaling, HiDPI unlock, XDR/HDR extra brightness upscale, DDC, brightness and dimming, virtual screens, PIP and lots more!

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BetterDisplay

Custom Resolutions, XDR/HDR Extra Brightness, Virtual Screens, Picture in Picture, Display Disconnect, Display and EDID overrides & More!

Download for macOS
Not on macOS Monterey or newer? Get the v1.x version (macOS Mojave and up)!


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About

BetterDisplay is a truly wonderful tool! It lets you convert your displays to fully scalable screens, manage display configuration overrides, allows brightness and color control, provides XDR/HDR brightness upscaling (extra brightness beyond 100% for compatible XDR or HDR displays on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs - multiple methods available), full dimming to black, helps you create and manage virtual screens for your Mac, create Picture in Picture windows of your displays and gives you a host of other features to manage your display's settings easily from the menu bar. It can even disconnect/reconnect displays on-the-fly!

Screenshot_v204

Screenshot shows BetterDisplay v2.x running on macOS Sonoma.

Features

  • Reach the full brightness potential of your XDR or HDR display - XDR brightness upscale to 1600 nits, external HDR display brightness upscale also supported. Native XDR, color table (Apple Silicon) and Metal (Apple Silicon and Intel) methods are all supported. *
  • Native brightness upscaling for Apple XDR displays (built-in) - provides full unlock for the entire brightness range with no strings attached - no clipped or overblown HDR videos, full native sliders compatibility, no extra CPU/GPU usage. *
  • Convert your internal and natively connected external displays to smoothly-scaled HiDPI displays using native smooth scaling (displays with notch, HDR, HDCP, high refresh rate fully supported)! *
  • BetterDisplay is the only app currently with DDC control for all modern Macs (full DDC support for all Apple Silicon Macs including the M1 built-in HDMI ports, and 2018 mini built-in HDMI port) - DDC features are completely free for personal users without limitation.
  • EDID override support for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs! *
  • Scale Sidecar resolutions and portrait SideCar support (via virtual screen streaming). *
  • Use your iPad or monitor as a DIY Teleprompter. *
  • Change the display's brightness, volume and colors via software and hardware (DDC) control via sliders and native or custom keyboard shortcuts!
  • Change display inputs via DDC on supported displays.
  • Disconnect and reconnect displays (removing them from the display layout and adding them back) on Apple Silicon (macOS Ventura or newer required) and Intel (all macOS version supported - on Intel the feature is considered experimental and can cause issues)! *
  • Create custom HiDPI resolutions for real displays manually and redefine certain system display parameters!
  • Create any number of virtual screens (dummies) with varying aspect ratios.
  • Enable Night Shift for your TV.
  • Help width display flickering (PWM, temporal dithering).
  • Change the resolution easily with a slider!
  • Option to auto-disconnect built-in screen upon connecting an external display - requires Apple Silicon (note: Settings/Displays/Overview/Connection management settings...). *
  • Define favorite resolutions and reach them via the app menu, resolution slider or keyboard shortcuts. *
  • Protect display configuration (resolution, refresh rate/VRR, rotation, color profile). *
  • Auto switch color profile for SDR and HDR modes. *
  • Use headless Macs (servers) with any resolution and HiDPI mode for remote access.
  • Create Picture in Picture window for any real display or virtual screen (dummy). *
  • Redirect your display's contents (real or virtual) to another screen via streaming. *
  • If you are using a big TV up close, use the bottom half of your TV as a wide screen display (off-center streaming). *
  • Better quality zooming (System Preferences»Accessibility»Zoom) or High Quality screenshots even on 1080p displays
  • Easily change the resolution of your real displays and virtual screens via a slider (or submenu) from the menubar.
  • Quickly accessible refresh rate and screen rotation menu.
  • Simplify creating mirrored sets. *
  • Easily move around displays relative to each other using the app menu.
  • Quickly designate a display to be main display.
  • Associate virtual screens (dummies) with displays for auto connect/disconnect.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for brightness and audio control.
  • Advanced keyboard shortcuts support. *
  • Custom virtual screens(dummies) (resolution, orientation, naming etc). *
  • Create a virtual screen optimized for a real display. *
  • Export display EDID and show detailed display information (Intel and Apple Silicon).
  • Color profile (and XDR Preset) selector.
  • Various CLI and app integration features (command line, betterdisplaycli, custom URL schema, HTTP, notifications).
  • macOS Shortcuts (App Intents) support for various operations.
  • MediaMate support for OSDs with fresh visuals (latest versions required for both apps). *

... and more is coming! :)

Note: features marked with an asterisk (*) require a Pro license.

For a list of free and Pro features and comparison to MonitorControl, click here...

Getting a Pro license to unlock all features of the app

Screenshot 2023-03-18 at 14 07 43

You can support development and unlock all features of the app by purchasing a Pro license for $18 / €18 (Sales Tax or VAT may also apply depending on selected territory). You can also get Pro inside the app - just navigate to Settings (gear icon) > Pro and click on Buy BetterDisplay Pro.

More information on purchasing Pro & payment methods

Please note that even if you don't buy the app, you can still use many of the features for free (if you are a non-business user). A 14-day trial is also available to fully evaluate BetterDisplay Pro before purchase.

If you are using the free functionalities of the app, please don't forget to star the GitHub page and spread the word about the app! :)

For more information on licensing, trial, prices and refund, please read the License Terms & Conditions and Refund Policy!

Installation

Install the app by one of the following methods:

Manual

  1. Download the latest version
  2. Open the .dmg file and move the app to /Applications folder.
  3. Start the app from /Applications folder or from Launchpad / Spotlight.
  4. Use the BetterDisplay icon in the menu bar to access the app's features.

Homebrew

  1. Install Homebrew
  2. Run brew install --cask betterdisplay

Using the app

A new User's Guide is under construction to explain all the features. Some useful guides are already available covering some of the more popular features of the app. More to come - please stay tuned!

Until the Wiki/Guide is complete, you can search for answers under Discussions and the BetterDisplay Discord channel (it has an extensive history, most questions have been asked and answered several times over).

Localization

The app supports localization. Special thanks to everybody who has contributed and is contributing to the localization effort!

If you want BetterDisplay in your language and are willing to contribute, join the localization team!

Check out the current localization status and instructions!

Compatibility

  • The current v2.x version of the app is compatible with all Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS Sonoma, Ventura and Monterey (macOS 12.4 and up, latest recommended).
  • The current v1.x app version is compatible with macOS Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina and Mojave.
  • XDR/HDR upscaling requires an Apple XDR display (built-in or external) or a natively connected HDR display (VESA DisplayHDR 600 or higher recommended) and an Apple Silicon Mac.
  • The display connect/disconnect feature requires an Apple Silicon Mac running at least macOS Ventura or Intel (all macOS versions supported - on Intel the feature is considered experimental and does cause issues on some configurations). External display sleep/suspend on disconnect is available only on Apple Silicon (on Intel, dimming or DDC backlight off is available for third party displays and backlight off for Apple and built-in displays).
  • Native smooth scaling requires macOS Monterey 12.4 (or newer) and natively connected displays on Apple Silicon. For Intel there is no such limitation.
  • Maximum native smooth scaling resolutions depend on the GPU capabilities and the display's resolution (horizontal width limit is 6144 pixels for entry level Apple Silicon Macs, 7680 pixels for the Pro/Max/Ultra versions.
  • External display hardware backlight control and volume control require DDC capable, natively connected display or an Apple display. Some docks and dongles may not support DDC. All built-in ports of all Macs that can run the app are supported for DDC communication.
  • The app is compatible with headless Macs to create custom virtual screen (dummy) resolutions for remote access.

Privacy

For information about data handled by the app and privacy, please read the app's Privacy Policy!

Discord Channel

You can join the discussion on the BetterDisplay Discord channel. If you have any issues or questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks To Early Backers

I am thankful for each of you who contributed to the project in its initial open source phase. I'd like to express my gratitude by providing you with a coupon code so you can get a Pro license for no additional cost. If you'd like to receive a code, please contact me at Discord by sending a private message with the screenshot of the confirmation you received from Open Collective. I'll respond with a coupon code to get the app for free!

Notable contributors of the open-source project

Generous contributors, who donated $50 or more for the open-source project:

  • David Brown - $500
  • Patrick Mast - $222
  • Riten Jaiswal - $200
  • Wesley - $200
  • Dean Herbert - $150
  • Myles Dear - $100
  • Jose Tejera - $100
  • Bill Southworth - $100
  • Will_from_CA - $100
  • MFB Technologies - $100
  • Brian Conway - $60
  • Ron W - $61
  • Michael Charo - $50
  • Jens Kielhorn - $50
  • Victor - $50
  • Nicholas Eidler - $50
  • Jeff Nash - $50

Additional notable contributors, who donated $20 or more:

Derek Johnson
Jerry C
Jung Yeop (Steve) Kim
Jason
Kaz
Nikola
wanyeki
Felix
Emilio P Egido
Thomas Varghese
Reactual
Stephen Richardson
Peter Szombati
NP
David Verdonck
Knut Holm
Jan Behrmann
Danilo
Andrew Braithwaite
Splay Display
Incognito
Florian Gross
David Richardson
Jari Hanhela
William Edney
David W
Chetan Kunte
Martin Clayton
Nikola Milojević
Wolf1701
Arthur Müller
Tom Dai
Jeff Lopes
Jormsen
Yeo Chang Long
Wayne G
Udome
Bart Krijnen
jviide
Keezy
SenPng
Jakub Koňas
docljn
Adam Lounds
Pablo Sichert
Ville Rinne
Gheorghe Aurel Pacurar
Peter F.
Thomas Brian
Jedrzej Gontarczyk
Chris Brooks
Wang Yang
Arjen
Peter Cole
Simon Jarvis
mgiiklel
Eric
Alasdair
Friedemann Wachsmuth
Pranav Raj S
Eddy
George Billios
Alfred Visnevsky
Martin Cohen
HWM
Oliver Eilhard
Alastair Thomson
Örn Arnarson
Chris Spiegl
Radim Balner
yipru
petertriho

+ guest supporters

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Unlock your displays on your Mac! Smooth scaling, HiDPI unlock, XDR/HDR extra brightness upscale, DDC, brightness and dimming, virtual screens, PIP and lots more!

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