Problem with image persistence or "ghosting"

[kinnylandrum]

Hello all,
I am the proud owner of a new Mac Pro. Everything is going pretty well, though it's getting pretty steep with all the software I have to upgrade.

So I am trying to keep my 10 year old Apple Cinema Display as a second monitor for now. But I am having a problem with image persistence or "ghosting". You know, when a faint image of a window is still there after moving it.

It only takes a minute or so for the window to be open on the display, and if I close or move it, the image will persist for 5 minutes or more. It always eventually goes away, but of course this shouldn't be happening. Yes, I know about using screensavers, etc. and I now have a neutral desktop on that screen.

But this really shouldn't be happening. When the display is on my old system, a 10-year old Mac Pro running El Capitan, it behaves fine, still to this day. Does any one have any idea why? Could it possibly related to having to use a DVI-to-Thunderbolt 3 adaptor? And if it really is just because I'm using a 10-year old display, if I buy a new display, will I have any problems? The fairly cheap Dell 21-inch I just bought when I bought the Mac Pro works fine.

Any light someone could shed would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kinny Landrum

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Never heard of that one. I was having issues with my 30" cinema display after retooling the studio last week. It wouldn't go into hi rez. I simply changed which TB port I used and it fixed the problem. So all I can suggest is trying it on another port. Maybe start with one on the opposite side of the Mac? Also, if you also have a USB connection (mine requires both) you might move that one as well. I'm also using a FW to TB dongle.

[bayswater]

Since you just bought the Mac, Apple support should be available to answer this, if as you say, it only happens with the new Mac and not the old one. It's really strange. I thought this problem went away with CRT displays.

[mikehalloran]

Could it possibly related to having to use a DVI-to-Thunderbolt 3 adaptor?

Technically, no such thing. It's a DVI to USB-C adapter. USB-C is just a port. Anyway, that's likely. There were three Cinema Displays, each with different hookups.

Apple has many pages about compatibility and how to set up displays—especially older ones. There are multiple links and they all fold back to each other. I'd start here.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207443

Or just call Support.

[kinnylandrum]

That’s a good idea anout calling Apple Support. I’ll try tomorrow and see what happens

[robin450]

Well I am also having a similar problem which is not solving for a long time, that being said, I still hope to use more methods

[kinnylandrum]

Hi Robin,

Thanks for replying. After talking to Applecare, they said they had never heard about this problem, so it's good to know I'm not the only one.

Since the monitor continued to function properly on my old system, It was determined the only part of my chain that was perhaps unsure was the DVI-to-USB-C adaptor I had bought from B and H, made by a company called Manhattan. They also said they would "get their engineers on it" if I determined that a new adaptor did NOT solve the problem.

So I bought a new adaptor from B and H over the phone yesterday, to be delivered by Wednesday. I can return it if it doesn't solve the problem. If it does I may have to eat the old one, but that will be small potatoes (bad pun I know) if it works.

The difference in this adaptor from Kanex; https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... ml/reviews
is that it's NOT USB 3.1, but just USB 3. AND there is posted review at the bottom of the page that says "Hooking up apple Cinema Display to new 2019 iMac. Works!!!"

So I have some hope this will work. If not, Apple has promised me they'll "get their engineers on it". So maybe there will be solution. I will keep this board posted.

In the words of Emilly Litella, "It's always something!"

Kinny Landrum

[kinnylandrum]

Well I got the Kanex adaptor from B and H, and it sorta fixed my problem. That is to say, the "ghosting" or image persistence is gone. But now my Apple Cinema Display is flickering ever so slightly around the edges. Applecare is passing to buck and saying it's the adaptor. But I can't just keep buying adaptors to see what works. Does anyone have any idea how to get rid of flicker or jitter on a monitor?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Bad cable? Electrical interference for a cord crossing the video cable? Swamp gas?

As mentioned above, maybe try a different port on the Mac...

[HCMarkus]

Hoping kinnylandrumcan, having solved the problem, can soon reference another Emily Litella quote: "Never mind".

[kinnylandrum]

"Never mind"

Actually, after swapping ports and then literally wrapping the cable in tin foil, nothing changed. I took the tin foil off and shut down. Came back this morning, turned it on, and the flickering was gone. Another quote could be "go figure".

What I came up with is, the adaptor matters.