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nobitacu · 11:25 AM

Hello,

I don't know if this is even possible, but is there a way I can connect my game consoles like my PS2, Gamecube, Xbox to be played using my 17" Powerbook screen?

I don't have a TV in my room because I'm at college, and my Powerbook screen is all I have to use for now. So, is there something I can buy to use for my Powerbook to connect my consoles to it to use the screen to play?

Thanks,

Ming

Flying Mac Chap · Dec 9, 2003, 12:47 PM

Probably not without a significant time delay which would make gaming essentially impossible (unless you're playing e-chess)

iRebound · Dec 9, 2003, 02:07 PM

there's a VGA Adapter for Xbox and PS2. I dunno about the Cube.

XBOX VGA Adapter

PS2 VGA Adapter

you can search for "xbox vga" on ebay

s0litude · Dec 9, 2003, 02:11 PM

I don't know if this helps, but i was thinking of getting this for my cinema display.

http://www.x2vga.com/

there must be a way to connect it to a powerbook.

euphras · Dec 9, 2003, 02:13 PM

Quote: "there's a VGA Adapter for Xbox and PS2. I dunno about the Cube."

He wants to use the Albook screen with the console; since there is no VGA input port it�s impossible.

nobitacu · Dec 9, 2003, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by euphras:
Quote: "there's a VGA Adapter for Xbox and PS2. I dunno about the Cube."

He wants to use the Albook screen with the console; since there is no VGA input port it�s impossible.

Crap... I guess it's not possible to use my Powerbook to do this than...

Thanks for the help anyways though guys.

Ming

nagromme · 01:52 AM

Someone really should make a cardbus solution for this, with composite, S-Video, and VGA-in. Maybe it can't record or tune TV stations (which I'd also like in cardbus!) but its one key feature would be SPEED. Near-zero image delay, suitable for gaming.

nobitacu · Dec 9, 2003, 08:44 PM

Originally posted by nagromme:
Someone really should make a cardbus solution for this, with composite, S-Video, and VGA-in. Maybe it can't record or tune TV stations (which I'd also like in cardbus!) but it's one key feature would be SPEED. Near-zero image delay, suitable for gaming.

That would be the day in which my life finally has a reason to go on.

Well, ok, maybe not that bad. But it would also be one of my wish list right now.

Ming

effgee · Dec 9, 2003, 08:49 PM

hmmm ... I'm not sure how far-fetched this might be, but since I can import video from an external source into my 'book via firewire using an external box like the Miglia's Directors Cut 2, why shouldn't it be possible to do the same with the video signal from a game console and an app like BTV Pro?

Since all the calculating and 3d stuff is done in the console and the output is a video signal (via S-VHS for example) I don't think the lag would be too bad as long as you use a FW device ... If I was you, I'd send the Miglia guys an e-mail - they should know.

cheers,

eff

chipchen · Dec 9, 2003, 09:35 PM

umm.. you could use EyeTV or Formac Studio TVR... they allow you to watch live TV, and I guess.. why not game consoles... but they're $249-$400 or so.

nobitacu · Dec 9, 2003, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by chipchen:
umm.. you could use EyeTV or Formac Studio TVR... they allow you to watch live TV, and I guess.. why not game consoles... but they're $249-$400 or so.

Because of the delay, I won't think about getting them unless they finally come out with versions that uses firewire 800. That would at least be less delays if any at all. I know that EyeTV has a new one that uses firewire, but it's only for UK, and I'm not sure if it's firewire 400 or 800...

Ming

effgee · Dec 9, 2003, 09:51 PM

Yep, they're quite pricey (and in god's name, don't buy any formac products - see macintouch customer reports for info). I mentioned the miglia product because the FAQ on their web site says this:

Q: What is the data transfer rate of Director's Cut?
A: The data transfer rate of Director's Cut is 25 megabits per second for video and 36 megabits per second over all. This allows the video to move so quickly that the images of your analog device and the editing application's window appear to be simultaneous.

Now it depends on what they mean with "(...) appear to be simultaneous" if that's a lag of a few milliseconds, you should be fine with your console. If you're willing to shell out all that cash, I'd make sure and ask them first

cheers,

eff

dialo · Dec 9, 2003, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by chipchen:
umm.. you could use EyeTV or Formac Studio TVR... they allow you to watch live TV, and I guess.. why not game consoles... but they're $249-$400 or so.

Yeah. Rather than buy I nice flat tube TV, I would like to waste my money so I have the image look crappy on my tiny 12-17" powerbook screen.

SSharon · Dec 9, 2003, 11:41 PM

I have an eye-tv and connected my N64 at home (no tv at school) and all it was good for was a few screen shots the lag was terrible. Maybe firewire 800 will deal with this, but thats just another thing to buy and eye-tv is expensive enough as it is.

angelmb · Dec 10, 2003, 11:20 AM

Originally posted by nagromme:
Someone really should make a cardbus solution for this, with composite, S-Video, and VGA-in. Maybe it can't record or tune TV stations (which I'd also like in cardbus!) but its one key feature would be SPEED. Near-zero image delay, suitable for gaming.

I have something like that, the capsure pc-card, I can play N64 and GAMECUBE on the screen of my Pismo, but, it only works under Mac OS 9 (I just use Apple Video Player), forget to use it with Mac OS X :-(

To be honest, I do not remember any lag really :-/ that is, is playable :-D

If only could do that with my 17" Al and its gorgeous screen...

nobitacu · Dec 10, 2003, 11:24 AM

Originally posted by angelmb:
I have something like that, the capsure pc-card, I can play N64 and GAMECUBE on the screen of my Pismo, but, it only works under Mac OS 9 (I just use Apple Video Player), forget to use it with Mac OS X :-(

To be honest, I do not remember any lag really :-/ that is, is playable :-D

If only could do that with my 17" Al and its gorgeous screen...

The thing is, with the Laptop market growing ever bigger by the minute over the desktop market, I don't know why no company out there has yet to come up with a idea to have this work on laptops? I mean, just look at the market and money potential this could have. We laptop users have a great screen to look at, yet, we can't use it like how desktop screens can be used. It doesn't make any sense.

Ming

ibook_steve · Dec 10, 2003, 02:11 PM

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Eskape Labs and the MyTVtoGo:

http://www.eskapelabs.com/mytv2go.html

I don't have one, but it seems like it does exactly what you need.

Steve

T.Rex · Dec 10, 2003, 02:45 PM

First, stay away from the MyTV products currently. I have one and their software does not work with Panther and they don't seem too concerned about fixing it. It's jittery 320 x 240 @ 30fps capture ability is pretty weak also. I used it for my son's to be able to watch cartoons on their 17" iMac. Panther forced me to look for another solution and the one I came up with was much better anyway.

If you have a digital camcorder that does analog to digital conversion (most do), you can hook up any analog video source to your Firewire bus using the digital camcorder in-between. Using BTV Pro, it looks excellent. Much better than the MyTV product. I haven't noticed any delay, but it wouldn't matter for passive TV watching. I can't speak to that issue. You lose the tuner that the MyTV provides, but I cured that problem by using an old VCR with a broken tape transport for it's tuner. The iMac is now the best looking TV in the house!

BTW, with prices on digital camcorders such as the Canon ZR60 (that does the A/D/Firewire conversion) as low as $330, I don't understand the price or the need for the Formac or any other converter/encoding boxes. The Canon isn't the best camcorder, but they do the conversion/encoding just fine and you get a camera as a bonus. Maybe I'm missing something?