Anti-dithering
Stop the pixel shimmer on your Apple silicon Mac
Apple silicon Macs fake extra colours by flicking pixels between two shades, over and over. Reduce Display Dithering turns that off, and the picture holds still.
7-day free trial on the monthly and annual plans
Your pixels are moving even when the picture isn't
It's called temporal dithering. The graphics chip alternates neighbouring shades very quickly to suggest colours in between. Most people never notice it. People who do often describe a faint shimmer or restlessness on the screen.
With dithering on
- Pixels alternate between shades all the time
- There's no switch for it in System Settings
- It's a separate thing from backlight flicker
With Sundown
- One switch, Reduce Display Dithering, turns it off
- Re-applied when a display connects
- Sits next to Flicker-Free Mode in the Display tab
- Off until you choose to turn it on
How it works
A still picture in three steps
- 1
Open Settings
Click the gear in the Sundown panel and go to the Display tab.
- 2
Turn on Reduce Display Dithering
It's under Display Health, next to Flicker-Free Mode.
- 3
Look at a gradient
Smooth gradients may show slight banding now. That's the trade, and you can switch it back any time.
What you get
A calmer, steadier picture
Pixels that hold still
With dithering off, the graphics chip stops flicking pixels between shades, so a still image stays still.
Built for Apple silicon
It works on Macs with Apple silicon chips, which is where temporal dithering lives. Intel Macs aren't affected by this switch.
Honest about the trade
Without dithering, fine gradients can show slight bands. Most people don't mind. If you do, it's one switch to undo.
Together with the rest
Anti-dithering, Flicker-Free Mode, warmth and dimming, in one menu bar app instead of four.
A still picture tonight
$4.99 a month, $39 a year, or $79 once for a Lifetime licence that works on 2 Macs. Every feature on this page is in every plan.
7-day free trial on the monthly and annual plans
Questions
Anti-dithering questions
What does Reduce Display Dithering change?
It tells the graphics chip to stop temporal dithering, the trick of alternating two nearby shades to suggest a colour in between. The pixels then show one steady colour.
Will my screen look different?
Usually not in a way you'd spot, except in smooth gradients, which can show slight banding. That's why the switch is off until you turn it on.
Does it work on Intel Macs?
No. The switch is for Apple silicon Macs. On an Intel Mac it does nothing.
Is this the same as Stillcolor?
Sundown's dithering switch is built on Stillcolor's open-source work, and we credit it. Stillcolor is free and does this one job. Sundown puts it next to warmth, dimming and Flicker-Free Mode in one app.