[nabilanwar]

I'm planning to get a Black Macbook as soon as it hits Core2Duo. I like screen realestate when i'm using a desktop. (Currently using an 17inch iMac G5). Since i'm gonna be selling the iMac i'd like to go bigger and better with my 'desktop' setup. I was thinkin about getting a TV/LCD Monitor to multitask between TV and Desktop Computer duties. So since the Apple Cinema Displays dont support any TV, what displays are u guys using for ur TV/Computing duties.

Here's my 'want' list:

LCD
upto 1080p
HDMI
23-24inch
upto $800 budget.

Those would be my dream configuration, but i'm willing to bend them.

Also i tried looking up if there are any Mini-DVI to HDMI cables. Looks like no, and ppl suggest going frm Mini-DVI to DVI, and then DVI to HDMI. How much would something like this cost? And doesnt this chain deteriorate quality?

Any insight would help. Thanks.

P.S. I've always hated that theres no option to choose what happens to Mac laptops when the lid is shut. The default is to go to sleep. So what happens when its connected to an external monitor, does it behave the same?

[richwig83]

Hi

Im not entirly sure that a lcd tv (1080) would be high enough resolution for use as a monitor but i might be wrong. You might get a better result if you got a 24" monitor and buy a usb tv tuner!

To answer your lid question... yes it still goes to sleep even when attached to a monitor, but providing youve got a usb keyboard/mouse connected up, a quick shake of the mouse or keystroke should wake it up (sometimes mines a bit glitchy waking up)

Rich

[nabilanwar]

1080p is the highest standard for High Definition. The resolution translation for this is 1920x1080, which is very high. And when u say 24" Monitor, do u mean 'LCD' or 'CRT'. If u mean CRT, no thats not my intention.

Originally Posted by richardwigley

Hi

Im not entirly sure that a lcd tv (1080) would be high enough resolution for use as a monitor but i might be wrong. You might get a better result if you got a 24" monitor and buy a usb tv tuner!

To answer your lid question... yes it still goes to sleep even when attached to a monitor, but providing youve got a usb keyboard/mouse connected up, a quick shake of the mouse or keystroke should wake it up (sometimes mines a bit glitchy waking up)

Rich

[richwig83]

Sorry yes I should have said 24"LCD (CRT do they still exist).

If you dont need any bigger than a 24" i would probably go for the LCD monitor (24") with a res of 1920x1200.

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by richardwigley

Sorry yes I should have said 24"LCD (CRT do they still exist).

If you dont need any bigger than a 24" i would probably go for the LCD monitor (24") with a res of 1920x1200.

After doing some research, its looking like the resolution available at my price range is 1366x768 resolution. These tvs are between the range of 24-27 inches.

1080p is not to be found, in my price range.

With the monitor i plan to use it as a monitor for desktop usage, play xbox/xbox360, watch DVDs with an upscaling DVD player, and watch Analog TV (for now).

With those needs in mind, the computer usage being on top, is this kind of resolution good enough for me? I'm a college student, living in an apartment for the first time.

If there is anyone who already has a setup, let me know.

[cwosigns]

I use a PowerBook G4 to drive a 20" Apple Cinema Display, and I use an Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse (the regular Apple wireless mouse, not the mighty mouse). It works just great, and my laptop just sits on the desk shut and functions as a desktop would. Very nice set up, but all I have to do is disconnect it from the monitor and I'm good to go. :-)

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by cwosigns

I use a PowerBook G4 to drive a 20" Apple Cinema Display, and I use an Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse (the regular Apple wireless mouse, not the mighty mouse). It works just great, and my laptop just sits on the desk shut and functions as a desktop would. Very nice set up, but all I have to do is disconnect it from the monitor and I'm good to go. :-)

Wait, so pls confirm this again. From wht u said, it sounded like that even though ur Powerbook's lid is shut, the video is outputted to the ACD. U just use the Wireless Keyboard/Mouse setup to use the Powerbook thru the ACD. Am i correct?

[cwosigns]

Yup. It's like having a desktop (like a Mac Mini). I never open the PowerBook.

[removed WILDLY oversize inline image. please read our rules! --tooki]

[macboy]

Thats a sweet setup. Im planning on doing that myself.

How do you make this happen? Isnt the PB supposed to go to sleep when you shut the lid? Even if you select the option of not making it going to sleep, does it still auto-detect the LCD and performs just like it would if open including recognizing all USB devices connected, etc?

[cwosigns]

The display plugs into your mini-DVI port, USB port and FireWire port. The display itself then has 2 USB and 2 FIreWire ports for periphials. It will automatically detect the display. You'll open the display preferences and choose how you want it to behave, either display mirroring or extended display. It's all done graphically. If you want the external display to have the toolbar and dock and desktop items, then you just drag the toolbar over to the big display.

It's hard to explain, but in typical apple fashion it all just works. It's very easy and intuitive to set up. The display has brightness controlls on the side, as well as a power button that actually behaves as the power button on your PowerBook. When you touch it, it asks if you want to sleep, restart, or power off.

[macboy]

Hmm.. Interesting, but if the display is shared, does it hog your graphics card in any way? Is there a compromise in performance? My 17" 1.5 PB has a gig of ram but only 64mb of graphics memory. Will it still drive, lets say a 23" or a 30" display with no performance setbacks?

If this all works out, it should be a really cool, productive setup. Nice work though on yours! Looks clean which is usually hard to achieve.

[cwosigns]

I think you have to have a particular graphics card to power the 30" display. I know my 12" won't power it. You can see the requirements for the 30" display on Apple's site. My choices were the 20" or 23". I haven't noticed any decrease in performance. But the PowerBook fan runs on high when watching movies or listening to music. For web surfing and stuff like that, it's still pretty quiet.

[jonmarsh]

There's a big jump between the 23"/24" 1920X1200 displays and the 30"- the latter requires dual link DVI for the high resolution employed.

My Power Mac, my original PB17, and my MBPro all have dual link, and drive the 30" display fine, though it's usually just used on the PM.

I've got a black MacBook with BootCamp, and a MacBook Pro with BootCamp- the latter works fine in dual display mode under OSX, but it a bit glitchy under windows (different drivers than the MacBook). For standard CAD apps, the MacBook is smoother under XP in dual monitor extended desktop mode than the MacBook Pro- I hope they update the windows drivers for the ATI graphics someday soon.

The MacBook is great for travel, and works in airplane situations where the MacBook Pro is just a bit too big. With 2G of RAM, there's little difference in performance between the two, other than the more limited screen real estate.

Regarding the original question, for computer work I can't really recommend going with an LCD TV at 1368X768- most of these DON'T accept that as a native resolution, but take in 1280X720 and scale it up to that- the problem is that the text and detailed stuff doesn't scale cleanly. AND it's highly dependent on the quality of the scaling chip in the display- which vary widely.

For work like DTP, digital photography, etc, you'd be better off with a good 1920X1200 24" LCD - Apple, Dell, Samsung, or otherwise. Just my opinion... heck, if you need to go budget, you'd be better off with a desktop solution using the 20" ViewSonic 1650X1050 LCD- I have one I use with the MacBook and a Compaq laptop; it's great value for the money, with both DVI and VGA inputs, around $400 at your local Office Max.

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by jonmarsh

There's a big jump between the 23"/24" 1920X1200 displays and the 30"- the latter requires dual link DVI for the high resolution employed.

My Power Mac, my original PB17, and my MBPro all have dual link, and drive the 30" display fine, though it's usually just used on the PM.

I've got a black MacBook with BootCamp, and a MacBook Pro with BootCamp- the latter works fine in dual display mode under OSX, but it a bit glitchy under windows (different drivers than the MacBook). For standard CAD apps, the MacBook is smoother under XP in dual monitor extended desktop mode than the MacBook Pro- I hope they update the windows drivers for the ATI graphics someday soon.

The MacBook is great for travel, and works in airplane situations where the MacBook Pro is just a bit too big. With 2G of RAM, there's little difference in performance between the two, other than the more limited screen real estate.

Regarding the original question, for computer work I can't really recommend going with an LCD TV at 1368X768- most of these DON'T accept that as a native resolution, but take in 1280X720 and scale it up to that- the problem is that the text and detailed stuff doesn't scale cleanly. AND it's highly dependent on the quality of the scaling chip in the display- which vary widely.

For work like DTP, digital photography, etc, you'd be better off with a good 1920X1200 24" LCD - Apple, Dell, Samsung, or otherwise. Just my opinion... heck, if you need to go budget, you'd be better off with a desktop solution using the 20" ViewSonic 1650X1050 LCD- I have one I use with the MacBook and a Compaq laptop; it's great value for the money, with both DVI and VGA inputs, around $400 at your local Office Max.

Ye but i am really looking for a TV/Computer Monitor. I need it to perform as both entities equally.
Also i need someone to confirm this. If the resolution for the lcd is 1366x768, is 1280x720 really the hardest it can push. Does anyone have a TV of this resolution and a Mac hooked up to it. As the TV gets connected to a new mac, all kinds of resolution options pop up in the Display Preferences, although i dont know if its restricted to the TV's stated output.

How does a 23inch ACD push 1920x1200 when a 26inch TV/LCD push 1366x768 max? I'm not an HD guru, or a noob. Can anyone explain.

[nabilanwar]

omg, just realized something.
The macbook outputs 1280 res on its 13.3 inch. Since these tvs are a max of 1366res, does that mean when its hooked upto the tv, it'll display only 1280res, just blown up??

This pretty much defies the point for me.

[pyrite]

you're exactly right. you'll get the same resolution (slightly lower vertical res: 768 on the tv vs 800 on the macbook.. your horizonal should stretch nicely from the 1280 macbook output to 1366 on the TV). this may be great for you or may be useless, depending on your application.
for media purposes it's great as you get nice big text and easy navigation from a distance, and fantastic video playback size, plus easy navigation through your iTunes menus etc. with a good wireless keyboard/mouse (logitech s520/apple wireless) you'll turn your mac into an excellent media machine thats VERY easy to get around, even from a distance. I have a 32" sony bravia LCD (1366x768) hooked up this way to my powerbook 12" 1.5 GHz and i've been very happy with the results.
if your purpose is to actually increase USEABLE screen size though, get a big monitor, not a big HDTV. A 1080p HDTV would be the only option to greatly increase your res, but they're ridiculously expensive at the moment, you'd be better off with a 24" dell lcd or 23" (or 30"!!) apple cinema display

[nabilanwar]

okay so i've been shopping around and trying to digest this whole LCD/HD thing. After looking for a while i decided on a 26 inch Samsung ($800), something i could afford. I like the namebrand status and the 3000:1 contrast ratio offered. But after talking with my friend about it, I realized that even it would cost me more money, i would pay more money for more real estate. So I was getting really tempted by the same tv but this one was 32inches, 6 inches more. (Amazon.com: Samsung LNS3251D 32" Wide LCD HDTV with Integrated ATSC Tuner: Electronics)

This would be more of a dream tv, i didnt think i could afford it. But in a weird turn of events while checking my mail in GMail, i saw an ad on top pointing to 32" Vizio LCD TV on tigerdirect. I was like what the hell, are they reading my mind or what. So i click on the link and it takes me to TigerDirect, where the TV is going for $700. I's like, wait a min, this must be crap. So i did some digging on it, found out that they are an American California based company. Also found out that the tv came out at around March, and it went for $1k, and at around $850 in August, and now for $700. Don't really know what that means, are they coming out with new revisions by getting rid of stock, or what? The contrast ration is pretty low compared to the Samsung (800:1), but the ACDs are 700:1, which looked pretty beautiful to me.

Heres the link to the tv, Amazon.com: Samsung LNS3251D 32" Wide LCD HDTV with Integrated ATSC Tuner: Electronics

And here are a few links to user reviews:

V Vizio L32 Reviews. Flat-panel and Plasma TVs Reviews by CNET.

Vizio L32 review by PC Magazine

VIZIO L32 User Reviews

The reviews look mostly good to me, and the price is telling me that i want to get this TV. Only thing that bothers me right now is i dont want to get it right after they update it. Looks like it's been almost a year since they released this, what do u think? I know its a startup company, but how often do new models usually come out? What do u think guys yay or nay?

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by pyrite

you're exactly right. you'll get the same resolution (slightly lower vertical res: 768 on the tv vs 800 on the macbook.. your horizonal should stretch nicely from the 1280 macbook output to 1366 on the TV). this may be great for you or may be useless, depending on your application.
for media purposes it's great as you get nice big text and easy navigation from a distance, and fantastic video playback size, plus easy navigation through your iTunes menus etc. with a good wireless keyboard/mouse (logitech s520/apple wireless) you'll turn your mac into an excellent media machine thats VERY easy to get around, even from a distance. I have a 32" sony bravia LCD (1366x768) hooked up this way to my powerbook 12" 1.5 GHz and i've been very happy with the results.
if your purpose is to actually increase USEABLE screen size though, get a big monitor, not a big HDTV. A 1080p HDTV would be the only option to greatly increase your res, but they're ridiculously expensive at the moment, you'd be better off with a 24" dell lcd or 23" (or 30"!!) apple cinema display

Hey 'pyrite' pretty please show us ur setup. I really wanna see what 1280 res looks on a 1366 TV.

[pyrite]

sorry nabilanwar, i've just sold my powerbook and am waiting for the new core 2 macbook release in the next week or so i couldnt show you any actual shots in action. i'll try to remember to post a pic when my macbook arrives!

[Chips G]

Isn't there a concern about your computers overheating my having the lid closed? Or possible damage to the LCD due to heat?

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by Chris Gilpin

Isn't there a concern about your computers overheating my having the lid closed? Or possible damage to the LCD due to heat?

No, no concern. I know that the Macbook has have had problems with heating so far, but thats why i'm waiting for Core2Duo. Hopefully, they shall work out the kinks by then. And i plan to use the laptop more on my lap than anything; only few select hours of the day will it be hooked upto the LCD. You can ask the same question as u asked me to the ppl on this page that use this similar type of setup and i dont think it is something of concern.

[cwosigns]

I don't think the heat thing is a "kink" since the G4 PowerBooks have consistently ran hot. While Apple portables typically run warmer than most, I haven't heard many reports of damage coming to the portable due to the heat it produces.

[Peter]

Dell make an awesome 24" LCD. 1920x1200, tons of inputs. Rocks.

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by Peter

Dell make an awesome 24" LCD. 1920x1200, tons of inputs. Rocks.

That resolution 1920x1200, is mouth-watering. Unfortunately, again, like i stated bfr, i'm looking for a TV/LCD. Anyone have any pics of their setups?

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by cwosigns

I don't think the heat thing is a "kink" since the G4 PowerBooks have consistently ran hot. While Apple portables typically run warmer than most, I haven't heard many reports of damage coming to the portable due to the heat it produces.

On the contrary there have been isolated cases, at least on the Macbook, of the laptop itself melting.

http://www.appledefects.com/?p=74

Macbook Pro magsafe melt down - a photoset on Flickr

Although the second pic is of the Magsafe power supply, it still tells us that Apple has 'kinks'
No biggie though, i'm confident they will come thru, on their Rev B products that is.

[cwosigns]

Originally Posted by nabilanwar

On the contrary there have been isolated cases, at least on the Macbook, of the laptop itself melting.

AppleDefects.com » Shocking: MacBook MELTS While Playing DVD - Apple Defects, Defective Apple Products, MacBook runs hot, MacBook CPU Whine, iPod Scratches, dead pixels on my iMac

Macbook Pro magsafe melt down - a photoset on Flickr

Although the second pic is of the Magsafe power supply, it still tells us that Apple has 'kinks'
No biggie though, i'm confident they will come thru, on their Rev B products that is.

It's not exactly "on the contrary" when you say isolated cases and I say that I haven't heard of many reports of laptop damage due to heat. It's the same thing.

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by cwosigns

It's not exactly "on the contrary" when you say isolated cases and I say that I haven't heard of many reports of laptop damage due to heat. It's the same thing.

okay fine, i shall say that i'm not worried at all about these 'isolated cases', Apple replaced them anyway, so watevs. We are getting off topic though.
But when i say kinks, i also mean the dreaded RandomShutdownSyndrome, clearly a resultant of heat. Now that is truly unacceptable.

Macbook Random Shutdown

[Peter]

Originally Posted by nabilanwar

That resolution 1920x1200, is mouth-watering. Unfortunately, again, like i stated bfr, i'm looking for a TV/LCD. Anyone have any pics of their setups?

It has component? EyeTV..
Fully HDTV too.

[nabilanwar]

Originally Posted by Peter

It has component? EyeTV..
Fully HDTV too.

good point, but thats buying yet another product. Wouldnt it be much easier to just buy a TV with a remote, and everything else to support consoles and cable. I feel it would. Plus its 32 inch, compared to the 24inch. (Yes i know resolution is the key, but look at all the other advances here)

[nabilanwar]

here is something else i forgot to add, if anyone here knows anything about this pls inform me. There is this app that has been out for the Macintosh for a while now, its called 'DisplayConfigX'. I have downloaded it, but dont understand too much of it from the descriptions and playing around with it (probably because i need to have an external monitor to begin with). Will this up my scaled 1280 res to at least a 1366 res on the LCD. Apparently the app can bring more video output options to OS X. But has anyone done anything with this program?

[imdipped]

If I buy a MacBook or MacBook pro, what would the output look like on a Dell 24" LCD? To optimize this monitor's performance, your system must be able to support WUXGA resolution (1920x1200).
Home & Home Office: UltraSharp 2407WFP Wide-Screen Black Flat Panel Monitor, LCD with Height Adjustable Stand
The highest supported resolution on the 15" MBP is 1440 X 900 (native), while the MB is less.
I am confused.

[cwosigns]

The 1440x900 resolution for the MacBook Pro is on the BUILT-IN display. The graphics card in the MacBook Pro (and the integrated graphics chipset on the MacBook) will power an external display at resolutions higher than that of their built-in display..

[imdipped]

Thanks for clearing it up for me.