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BetterDisplay 2

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

_{Not on macOS Monterey or newer? Get the the v1.x version (macOS Mojave and up)!}

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 displays with Apple Silicon Macs), 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 shows a BetterDisplay v2.x running on macOS Sonoma.

Features

NEW: Updated UI, macOS Sonoma (Beta) compatibility and various improvements with the v2.x version!
BetterDisplay is the only app currently with DDC control for all modern Macs (full DDC support for M2 and M2 Pro/Max, M1 built-in HDMI, and 2018 mini built-in HDMI) - DDC features are completely free for personal users without limitation.
EDID override support for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs! *
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)! *
Option to auto-disconnect built-in screen upon connecting an external display - requires Apple Silicon (note: Settings/Displays/Overview/Connection management settings...). *
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)! *
Reach the full brightness potential of your XDR or HDR display - XDR brightness upscale to 1600 nits, external HDR display brightness upscale also supported. This feature requires an Apple Silicon Mac. *
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.
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!
Change the resolution easily with a slider!
Define favorite resolutions and reach them via the app menu, resolution slider or keyboard shortcuts. *
Protect display configuration, forbid auto-switch to VRR etc. *
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 an other 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). *
Scale Sidecar resolutions and portrait SideCar support (via virtual screen 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).

... and more is coming! :)

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

For a more detailed list and comparison with some popular alternatives, click here...

Feature comparison

	BetterDisplay	MonitorControl	Lunar	SwitchResX	Vivid	DisplayBuddy
Custom scaled resolution editing	🆓			💰
Native smooth scaling	💰
Disconnect/connect displays	💰		💰
Night Shift for TVs	🆓
Display name override	🆓			💰
Native, default resolution editing	🆓
Virtual screen (dummy) creation	🆓
Virtual screen association	🆓
Display mode selector menu	🆓		🆓	💰
Resolution slider	🆓
Picture in Picture	💰
Custom virtual sceens (dummies)	💰
Full screen streaming	💰
Stream/PIP, stretching, off-centering	💰
Stream/PIP rotation, portrait Sidecar	💰
Stream/PIP crop feature	💰
Teleprompter mode (stream flipping)	💰
Mirror configuration	💰
DDC via the M1 built-in HDMI	🆓		🆓
DDC for M2 Pro/Max	🆓		🆓
DDC for Intel 2018 mini built-in HDMI	🆓
DDC brightness control	🆓	🆓	❗			💰
DDC volume control	🆓	🆓	❗			💰
DDC input switching	🆓		🆓			💰
DDC input customization	🆓
DDC power control	🆓		🆓
Native brightnesss and volume keys	🆓	🆓	🆓
Basic custom keyboard shortcuts	🆓	🆓	🆓	💰	💰	💰
Advanced custom keyboard shortcuts	💰		❗	💰
Basic native OSD support	🆓	🆓	🆓		💰
Combined native OSD support	🆓	🆓
Software dimming (color table)	🆓	🆓	❗			💰
Software dimming (overlay)	🆓	🆓	❗
Combined dimming	🆓	🆓	❗
Dimming to black	🆓	🆓	💰
Color adjustments	💰		💰
Color temperature control	💰		💰
XDR extra brightness	💰		💰		💰
Third party HDR extra brightness	💰		💰
HDR extra brightness calibration	💰
Display config protection	💰
EDID retrieval	🆓			💰
EDID override (Apple Silicon)	💰
EDID override (Intel)	💰
Custom timings on Intel				💰
Command Line Integration	⌛🆓		💰
DIY hardware integration			💰
Basic brightness syncing	⌛🆓	🆓	💰
Advanced Brightness syncing	⌛💰		💰
Presets	⌛💰		💰	💰		💰
Schedule based settings	⌛💰		💰
App specific settings	⌛💰		💰	💰

Price	$18/€18	$0	$23	€14	€20	$17
Trial days	14	-	14	10	-	-

🆓 - Feature is completely free without limitation, even after trial

❗ - Feature is free with limitations imposed after trial (for Lunar: 100 adjustments per day)

💰 - Feature is a paid/pro feature and is not available after a trial (for apps with trial)

⌛ - Feature is planned

Please note that this comparison is only meant to give you a big picture, does not contain all secondary and derived functionalities (free or paid) for each software, may not be up-to-date and may not be a fair representation in every respect as I am not an expert on the alternative apps. I am pretty sure the devs of respective alternatives would feel the comparison is skewed in some way or I did miss an important aspect or unique advantage of the competing solution. For an educated decision you might want to try all apps that offer some sort of trial. If you feel the comparison is not fair, drop me a note at the BetterDisplay Discord channel!

Getting a Pro license to unlock all features of the app

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 evaulate 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

Download the latest version
Open the DMG file and move the app to Applications folder on your Mac as instructed.
Start the app.
Use the app menu bar item to interact with the app.

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 now supports localization (as of v2.0.9). Currently the app is available in the following languages.

Chinese, Simplified (100%) - thanks to @brukaya - #2145
English (100%) - language of app development
Japanese (100%) - thanks to @SakiPapa

More languages are being added continuously.

Special thanks to everybody who has contributed and is contributing to the localization effort!

If you want BetterDisplay in your language and willing to contribute to the localization effort, check out the instructions!

Compatibility

The current v2.x version of the app is compatible with all Apple Silicon and Intel Macs running macOS Sonoma (beta), 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.
BetterDisplay license codes work both for the v2.x and v1.x app versions.
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 M1/M2, 7680 pixels for M1/M2 Pro/Max/Ultra).
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 those who backed the project in its Open Source phase

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!

Notabe 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

RichardMulambuzi/BetterDisplay

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