[Sosa]

So I purchased a brand new Samsung LCD .. LN46B650 .. 1080P & 120 mhz and have been researching buying a Blu-ray drive and home theater audio system. Meanwhile I decided to try connecting my current systems and see what was the maximum quality I could extract. The other systems are my 2003 1ghz G4 Powerbook and my circa 1989 Fisher stereo components.

So I purchased a DVI to HDMI cable and connected the powerbook to the Samsung. Image quality looks about the same on the Powerbook I think, and DVDs look about the same as on a regular TV, except that the frame rate must be low because there is skipping during action sequences.

DVI out, unlike HDMI, does not provide sound, so I used a headphone out to component audio cable (R-L) and hooked it up to the television too. It sounds fine, with the limitations of built in TV speakers.

Connecting to the amplifier on my old Fisher stereo (using the CD port - R-L) also works, but I get sound out of only one speaker. Not sure why, since both speakers work and provide great sound (they are big speakers, about 3 ft high). Also the quality is not great, as I found out when the same song was being played through the radio tuner v. my laptop to amplifier connection. Not sure if that is due to only one speaker being used. Perhaps the output is coming out Mono instead of stereo?

So I have a few questions maybe some of you can help me with:

1. What is the best way to get DVD quality out of my laptop to the HDTV? DVI-to HDMI cable works great, and neither my CPU or memory is being maxed when using DVD playback. Obviously this would be a video card limitation. Would disabling the dual display help improve CD playback? I remember this was a little hack back when this Powerbook was released, anyone know how to remove it?

2. Would a new Mac mini or Apple portable improve my DVD playback performance? Is the video card the only factor? Can I get Blu-Ray out of a Mac?

3. I'm thinking of buying a Mac mini and connecting it to the HDTV as the main display, using Apple's wireless keyboard from my couch about 10 feet away. Any negatives I should be aware of?

4. Has speaker technology changed much in the last say, 20 years?! I suspect the old Fisher amplifier is at fault in not allowing me to use both speakers. I wonder if I should just purchased a new amplifier, connect the old speakers, my TV, and computer. Would such a setup work?

Obviously I can just go out and purchase new equipment, I'm just trying to see if I can make my old equipment work almost as well. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Spheric Harlot]

Check the balance control in the Powerbook's System Preferences - Sound.

There was a bug that would constantly reset it to pan hard left.

Also, "mono" is BOTH signals through one speaker. You're probably getting just one half of a stereo signal, which is a very different thing. Minor nitpick.

Speaker technology has not changed much in the past 20 years.

[Sosa]

Interesting, I don't remember the last time I check the Sound Preferences! And it just happens that it is the left speaker on my stereo system that is producing sound. So the balance was actually set to the right a bit. Will play around with the settings and see the result.

[Sosa]

Update: Turns out that the stereo to component audio cable was bad. I replaced it for $15 and replaced the speaker wires. Now my audio sounds fine. Also I was able to improve the quality of the DVD playback from my Powerbook to the 46 inch LCD, it actually looks great with no visible skipped frames. I don't know if it is better than a dedicated DVD player, but it will do until I can buy a Bluray.

Hmm, is Apple planning on using Bluray drives on their computers soon? A Mac mini with Bluray is what I really want!

PS My 5+ year old Powerbook kicks ass!