So I have a new RMBP, it is my work machine. I never use the screen on the MBP when at work, I have a 22" Samsung LED for that. Today is the first day of using the RMBP at work. I noticed that Samsung screen looked pretty bad, text a bit fuzzy, not as clear as it should. It was connected via HDMI. At first I thought it was maybe just the effects of getting used to the retina display the last 2 days and then going back to something of lesser resolution, but comparing another computer plugged into an external screen kinda defunct that as it looked much much better. I have an HDMI to DVI cable, brought it in from lunch and plugged in that way and the screen is much much better now. Is there some issue or settings I should be using for direct HDMI connection, or could it just be a bad cable, or anything else that would cause and HDMI cable to give poor quality?

An interesting post and what a jungle of questions and answers with some Googling on the 'net, and so many choices.

It doesn't seem that long ago when we just had a single video cable and connection and maybe a single adapter to worry about.

It seems that HDMI has a limited resolution that it seems you discovered and the TB and DVI cables/connectors/adapters are preferred.

Then there seems to be differences with available resolutions as to whether mirroring is used, and/or if the RMBP's lid is closed or not, and then there are those using a DVI connection and discover that the external display won't wake up after the RMBP has been in Sleep mode.

All too confusing for this old brain of mine. ;)

Are there any optional settings in your Display pref pane depending on the connection to the external display being used, and of lid open or closed? The later seems to make a difference for some. And sorry, but I don't have a definitive answer for you.

Sometimes, when using HDMI, the computer thinks it is connected to a TV and changes some of the timing settings, as well as upscaling and overscan. If your 22" monitor isn't 1080p, it may have been downscaling, which can cause image degradation.

The monitor is 1080p and was set for that. It looks great with the HDMI to DVI cable, but with just HDMI to HDMI its no good. Very strange.

Could it be the cable? I know there are different revisions of the HDMI standard. Perhaps the cable is not up to the newest standard and the RMBP can tell somehow?