external LCD washed out

When I connect an external LCD, I close the lid. I do not mirror, I let the Macbook go to sleep, then wake it up by USB to get the primary display on the LCD instead of the MBP built in. In OSX it looks horrible and washed out. In Windows XP or 7 it looks wonderful and normal. I've tried calibration, and adjusting the LCD, etc. But I shouldn't have to, because without any adjustments, on the same hardware (MBP) it looks perfect under Windows. I've tried this on multiple displays, Gateway HX2000, LG L226WT, and a Dell 2407 something or other 24" display. I have tried HDMI, DVI, and VGA.

So ... What has Apple done that makes the external display look so horrible under OSX.

Have you tried clicking on the color tab it usually defaults to the displays native.(in system pref. under display next to resolution)

System prefs > displays > color > calibrate....
Choose expert mode.
This calibration doesn't affect the monitor but adjusts the video signal sent by osx.
Can make all the difference in the world.

Yeah, it's helped a little and I only needed to change gamma settings. However, it still isn't even comparable to Windows XP on the same MBP with the same exact LCd and connection. It makes me wonder if Apple does something screwy because it's tailored to their devices, IE the super expensive cinema display. Ever notice how USB mice never work correctly, the movement is always off a bit?

No & no. I support 300 macs with many different brands of monitors & mice.
Something else is up with your monitor (if you're not running 10.6 the different gamma, 1.8, will look quite different to you)
Mice just track differently on the mac. instead of exact proportional movement like on a PC the cursor moves farther when your mouse moves faster.

All the monitors I have tried have the same washed out look, but with the same hardware running Windows they look great. This is definitely an OSX issue. It has nothing to do with the LCD itself.

Got to agree with Fodge. I've got several external monitors from the el cheapo brand to real nice and they look great when attached to this MacBook. And they look exactly the same when hooked up to a Windows 7 machine. You've got some kind of issue with your machine if all those monitors looked washed out in OS X and not Windows.

well, guess I should bring it into the Apple store at some point and see what they say.

Mindaugas,

I actually had the exact same problem trying to hook up my macbook to my acer 21" monitor. The screen looked beautiful on windows but was kinda grainy and washed out with the mac. I tried the calibrate but it still didn't quite fix it.

I kinda messed with it a bit until I just randomly tried the "auto" adjust on my monitor. Flickered a second and then all of a sudden walla; perfect color and contrast. Monitor looks great now. Give it a try if your monitor has auto feature. Good luck.