Question Distorted screen when using USB-C on 4k monitor with Lenovo laptop (except when HDR is enabled)

[chss]

I have an LG UHD 27UN83A 4K monitor that we share between different computers at home. We use our personal laptop (2020 intel 4-port macbook pro), my wife's work laptop (Macbook air 2021 M1) and my old work laptop (3.5 year old Lenovo X380 Yoga). For all these we used USB - C with no problem whatsoever, neither with the display nor with the charging itself.

However, my employer recently "upgraded" my laptop to a new Lenovo L14 and whenever I plug it in with a USB-C cable, I get a distorted image (have a picture but not quite sure how to upload it). If I use the HDMI cable I get no such issues - it's only with the HDMI cable and once I got it to work after repeatedly plugging it and unplugging it.

The strange thing is that it will work if I enable HDR on the Windows display options, but will go back to distortion if disabled. I have updated the drivers on the laptop and tried all sorts of different display settings on windows to no avail.

Any thoughts?

Also worth noting that solutions are somewhat limited by the fact that I don't have admin rights on the office laptop....

Thanks

 

[Aeacus]

What stops you to use HDR at all times, when this fixes your issue? Or HDMI cable?

And you not having admin rights, means that if you want any other solution/fix, contact your company IT department, who has the admin rights and who can get better solution for you, IF there is any, that is.

 

[chss]

Thanks for the reply. When I activate HDR the contrast with a white background and text is too....intense... This is a work laptop so that is the main use and it is annoying.

Using the HDMI cable means that, in addition to this cable, I have to plug the laptop brick. We spent quite a bit of effort making sure that the desk was as clean as possible and that we only needed one cable to plug the multiple laptops that we use so this just messes everything up. Can't quite understand why this issue comes up with a newer laptop.

I've contacted my IT department and they tried a few things, but it didn't solve the issues. I told them I was going to do some research so that we could try something else.

 

[chss]

Thanks for the reply. When I activate HDR the contrast with a white background and text is too....intense... This is a work laptop so that is the main use and it is annoying.

Using the HDMI cable means that, in addition to this cable, I have to plug the laptop brick. We spent quite a bit of effort making sure that the desk was as clean as possible and that we only needed one cable to plug the multiple laptops that we use so this just messes everything up. Can't quite understand why this issue comes up with a newer laptop.

I've contacted my IT department and they tried a few things, but it didn't solve the issues. I told them I was going to do some research so that we could try something else.

 

[Aeacus]

Can't quite understand why this issue comes up with a newer laptop.

Here's one idea: ThinkPad L14 (Intel or AMD), is entry-level laptop,
Intel version specs: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadl/thinkpad-l14-intel-/22tpl14l4n1
AMD version specs: https://www.lenovo.com/ee/et/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/ThinkPad-L14-AMD/p/22TPL14L4A1

While your old ThinkPad X380 Yoga is business level laptop,
specs: https://www.lenovo.com/ee/et/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/ThinkPad-X380-Yoga/p/22TP2TXX380

Just because it's newer, doesn't mean it's better in all aspects.

 

[chss]

Hmmm. True, but I would have hoped that the fact that USB-C is the new standard, that a newer laptop would support - and actually it seems like it does, but when it feels like it....I mean, it has worked a couple of times and it does work with HDR enabled...

 

[Aeacus]

When I activate HDR the contrast with a white background and text is too....intense...

Reduce monitor brightness?
Increase the size of the text (zoom-in), so it's better to read?

I use Dark Theme everywhere i can, since it's far easier to read white text on the dark gray background than vice-versa (black text on white background).

it seems like it does, but when it feels like it....

Poke the company IT guys some more, since they get payed to fix the issue.

Though, hardware doesn't work on a "feelings" basis since it isn't alive. Software, in the other hand, may appear as "alive", but actually comes down to the bugs in the code, that make this "alive" illusion.

However, with any PC issue, 1% is always reserved to a ghost in the machine. Aka unexplainable event.
I've seen my fare share of these paradoxes and even with my own PC. So, there's that.

 

[chss]

Reduce monitor brightness?
Increase the size of the text (zoom-in), so it's better to read?



It's not just that (i.e. brightneess). Don't know how to explain it, but, for example, if I do HDR the contrast between the white background and the red "Hardware" after "tom's" in the top left of this page, coupled with my astigmatism, makes it seem like letters are jumping around. It's not just red, it's like "fluorescent" red. I tried different picture settings on the screen but doesn't really fix it.

I've figured a sort of half-way house. I plugged in both the USB-C and HDMI cables but configured the display options in windows in such a way that the USB-C display is disabled. That way I can still charge it without having to connect the laptop brick.

Though, hardware doesn't work on a "feelings" basis since it isn't alive. Software, in the other hand, may appear as "alive", but actually comes down to the bugs in the code, that make this "alive" illusion.

However, with any PC issue, 1% is always reserved to a ghost in the machine. Aka unexplainable event.
I've seen my fare share of these paradoxes and even with my own PC. So, there's that.

I know, I know! I was just being sarcastic. I've been dealing with these machines since my first 8086 8 Mhz PC and even used to build my own gaming rigs, but then a decade ago I got a mac and since then I've lost the skills to deal with these things when they don't work out of the box.

Thanks in any case