[sci.electronics] pc display using TV

lee@leesys.wang.com (Lee P.) (11/14/90)

I have a need to use a TV as a monitor for a pc.  I know that bandwidth via
RF modulator is too low for 25x80 character.  Is the bandwidth of direct
video input adequate?  What display cards will drive video directly?
CGA, VGA, Hercules?

Alternativly.. does anyone know of a good lcd display and controller card 
for PC's?


-- 
Lee P. 						lee@leesys.wang.com 
"Better to die on ones' feet than to live on ones' knees." - Zapata
YAFB - Yet Another Friend of Bill

deanr@sco.COM (Dean Reece) (11/16/90)

In article <1990Nov14.144223.18226@leesys.wang.com> lee@leesys.wang.com (Lee P.) writes:
>I have a need to use a TV as a monitor for a pc.  I know that bandwidth via
>RF modulator is too low for 25x80 character.  Is the bandwidth of direct
>video input adequate?  What display cards will drive video directly?
>CGA, VGA, Hercules?
>
>Alternativly.. does anyone know of a good lcd display and controller card 
>for PC's?

Direct video will help a whole lot, but the real bandwitdh limiter is the
3.58mhz color burst rate.  If you can use B&W video, I would thing 80 columns
on a NTSC direct video line would be just dandy (after all, apple ][+ & //e
type computers did this as their standard video).

To get this, use a CGA card (most of them have an NTSC jack) and (from DOS)
execute 'mode bw80'.  This will turn off the color burst and it should be
readable (even better on an actual B&W moniter than on a color moniter).

If you need to use color, execute 'mode co40'.  This puts you in 40 column
color mode.  'mode co80' puts you in color 80 coulmn mode, but I doubt you
will be able to make out several of the chars.  Word processing in this mode
is right out.

Hope this helps a bit
-deanr@sco.com