harrow@exodus.DEC (Jeff Harrow, NCSE LKG1-3/F16 DTN=226-7445) (01/24/86)
Yesterday I had the interesting opportunity to see some of my Mac presentations filling up an entire wall. I was testing the Limelight video projector (from Vivid Systems, Inc., Fremont, CA) along with a Mac modified (also with a mod by Vivid) to provide video output. The Limelight is a small (8" x 11" x 24"), lightweight (25 lbs) projector which, at about 12 feet from the wall (screen) projects an image about 8 ft. by 12 ft. (or smaller, of course). The color is green (but not objectionable) and the definition is surprisingly good! Setup was fairly easy (about 90 seconds my second time) and although edge focus was slightly worse than center focus, the overall effect was excellent and VERY readable/viewable! I can certainly recommend this as a method of using the Mac for presentations for up to about 100 people. (By the way, the Limelight with the modified Mac is available for RENT from Computer Mart of New Hampshire, Nashua, NH, for $100/day. Contact Cynthia Files.) [Disclaimer: I have NO connection, other than as a customer, with either company.] I conducted one other test: I attempted to use the Mac's video output to go into a VCR and/or a monitor. The result was a scrambled picture which locked with vertical sync but was WAY off on horizontal sync. A call to Vivid confirmed my expectation that the scan rate of the Mac is VERY different from NTSC standard, and this is why it won't work. The Limelight, however, is designed to accommodate a wide range of scan rates and works fine. Does anybody know what is necessary to convert the Mac's video to NTSC (short of a $50K frame buffer)? Jeff