[tether]

i've been looking at the powerbook. i want as small a machine as possible - so i was looking at the 12" model. i want to be able to connect up to my tv if possible, but that doesnt have the necessary port (S-video). Is the next powerbook at that size (or smaller!) likely to have the appropriate port, would you say?

(ibook would also be fine, but i also want a DVD-RW drive which the 12" ibook doesnt have)

and another question: if i'm connecting the machine to an external computer monitor, would i be using USB rather than S-video?

[teney7]

I don't think that will happen until the Intel-powered books come out, and then its anyone's guess.

When connecting to an external monitor, use the mini DVI port and provided adapters.. mDVI-DVI, mDVI-VGA, mDVI-Svideo (this is sold separately on a 12'')

[PurpleGiant]

The PowerBook has a miniDVI port. This will output to almost any type of screen with the right adaptor:

MiniDVI to DVI: Included with PowerBook. Connect to 'new-ish' or Apple monitor.
MiniDVI to VGA: Connect to crappy or older monitor.
MiniDVI to S-Video: Connect to any S-Video device/TV/VCR
MiniDVI to Composite: Connect to any Composite device/TV/VCR

No need to wait.

[ibook_steve]

As stated, the 12" has all the ports necessary to connect to anything with the right adaptor, including any TV. The mini-DVI to VGA and mini-DVI to DVI-I adaptors are included. The mini-DVI to composite/s-video is $20. And there's no such thing as a USB monitor, so I'm not sure what you are referring to there. EyeTV perhaps? Not sure.

Steve

[tie]

Or just wait until Apple comes up with decent connectivity on the 12". No DVI, VGA or S-Video built in is pretty ridiculous.

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by tie

Or just wait until Apple comes up with decent connectivity on the 12". No DVI, VGA or S-Video built in is pretty ridiculous.

Uhh, didn't I just say that you can do all this with the mini-DVI port? And if you mean that the actual ports should be in the box, you try fitting them into a 12" enclosure with the associated electronics and everything else and get back to me. We had to use dongles. There was no other way to do it.

Steve

[tether]

ok, that sounds promising - so long as i can connect up using an adaptor. it would seem i'd have the same connectivity abilities as with a bigger powerbook (minus the option of the 30" - i'm not bothered about that - i just want the option to view dvds on a tv and if i find it neccesary, to get a bigger monitor to plug into it.)

would i be right in assuming that i can still use EyeTv with the 12" - i'm not losing anything there?

though i heard it said somewhere that there's rumours of a new powerbook on the way - so i might wait to see what happens

is the PC any more advanced in terms of tv connectivity - eg using your PC as a dvd recorder..? (my apologies if 'PC' is considered a swear word on this site - maybe my post will come up with ** in its place). the powerbook i'm looking at is well on the way to 2grand, whereas there's a laptop in my local tesco that seems to have a similar spec and thats priced at euro 699 - big difference.

[tether]

ps - steve - in my ignorance i was thinking that external monitors were connected up with usb. - obviously i'm well wide of the mark there.

[tether]

oh yeh, another question - teney mentioned Intel-powered books - when are they likely to be coming out? why? what essential differences to the present powerbook?