Brightness control for all monitors?

[seggy]

I'm looking for something that does what applications like Monitorian on Windows does very efficiently - control brightness across all monitors (mostly Dell and mostly P2715Q / U2718Q, mostly connected via Belkin TB3 docks but some directly) from one location, and also the ability to lock the brightness controls for all monitors and move them as one, even if at different individual settings.

I've tried Lunar but it has failed so far to recognise any monitor (not even the above) attached to any of my Macs even after lengthy setup - when DDC/CI apps on Windows recognise all of them flawlessly in Boot Camp. There's an app called DisplayBuddy which appears to do more or less what I want, but something about it pings my sketch senses. Are there any other options?

 

[galad]

Try MonitorControl

 

[seggy]

Same. Detects the monitors but doesn't let me change anything.
I can change when Boot Camping so DDC is clearly working

 

[MacGizmo]

When using MonitorControl, did you configure it in the app's preferences? It's not just a launch & forget it app.

 

[seggy]

What config do I need?

It also flip flops between detecting just one of the monitors or both, whihc is quite frutrating as well.

 

[sidsweb]

Hello @seggy! I'm Sid, the creator of DisplayBuddy. I read your post, and I'm actually quite curious what made you think DisplayBuddy is sketchy. Genuinely looking for feedback so I can make it better

 

[bogdanw]

Genuinely looking for feedback so I can make it better

Some of the reasons your app might deter customers: it’s not in the App Store, the 7 day trial is via another app (SetApp), the purchase is via another store/platform (gumroad).
Now compare yourself to the competition:
Lunar 14 day trial dmg on site https://lunar.fyi code on https://github.com/alin23/Lunar and version in the App Store https://apps.apple.com/app/lunar-lite-screen-brightness/id1594174299
MonitorControl free https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl
BetterDisplay free & 14-day trial Pro https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay

 

[sidsweb]

@bogdanw Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your feedback. I never actually thought of it this way and this opens a new perspective for me.

I definitely do want to address some of the feedback:
- DisplayBuddy is not in the Mac App Store because the Mac App Store only allows fully sandboxed apps, and you simply cannot control monitors from the sandbox (Lunar Lite and MonitorControl Lite are both putting a artificial shade on your screen - not controlling the real brightness of the monitor - I'd love to put it on the Store if Apple allowed it.
- Gumroad is just a payment processor and license management tool for DisplayBuddy - but I get your point about one website taking you to another to make a transaction. I'll try to simplify this

 

[stevemr123]

I agree, brightness control apps which use DDC for direct display backlight control can't go to the app store as there are no public APIs that make this possible.

Here is a comparison between DisplayBuddy and BetterDisplay:

BetterDisplay vs DisplayBuddy comparison · waydabber BetterDisplay · Discussion #2594

Here is a brief comparison of BetterDisplay and DisplayBuddy. Some of the major BetterDisplay features not present in DisplayBuddy More advanced brightness management and dimming features Support f...

github.com

 

[seggy]

That App Store requirement is unfortunate.

Since I posted I had a clearout/upgrade of Macs and now I either use the lone remaining iMac single-screen, and every other Mac I have in use has Apple displays so I no longer have this requirement. Interesting to know the limitations nevertheless.