suj@boulder.Colorado.EDU (SU JAMIE CHI YANG) (10/30/90)
I'm looking for a low cost (~$500) 3rd party color monitor as an alternative to getting Apple's new color 12". Flipping through a couple of magazines, I've come up with the following candidates: Seiko 14" Trinitron, NEC MacSync 14", Magnavox Color 14" Can anyone who's purchased or worked with any of the above monitors provide some advice/info? (I'm particularly interested in how the NEC and Magnavox stack up against a Trinitron). Thanks in advance, - jamie -- jamie chi-yang su suj@tramp.colorado.edu ...!ncar!boulder!tramp!suj
boris@world.std.com (Boris Levitin) (10/30/90)
suj@boulder.Colorado.EDU (SU JAMIE CHI YANG) writes: >I'm looking for a low cost (~$500) 3rd party color monitor as an alternative >to getting Apple's new color 12". First, if you wish to find a monitor to work with the on-board 8-bit color on the Mac IIsi, the LC or, for that matter, the IIci, be warned that the on- board video on these machines will work ONLY with Apple-labeled monitors. Right now there are only two Apple-labeled color monitors: the trusty, high- quality Sony-manufactured Trinitron 13" High-Resolution RGB (640x480 pixels) and the pathetic Mitsubishi-tube 12" display shipping in January (512x384 pixels, the same as on a compact Mac's built-in 9" screen with an extra 40 lines tacked on top and the image stretched over a larger space, for an unnaturally large and choppy Apple IIGS-style picture). To my mind, there is absolutely no reason to buy the 12" display, since the 13" Trinitron ($700 street minus $250 rebate; the rebate will be in effect until year's end, when the list price will supposedly be reduced) is barely more expensive than the back-ordered 12" monitor ($410-420 street). The LC will need its VRAM swapped for the 512k upgrade, at a cost of roughly $50, to run the 13" at 8 bits; otherwise you get 4 bits. The IIsi and IIci give you 8 bits on the 13" as they come off the assembly line. >I've come up with the following candidates: >Seiko 14" Trinitron, NEC MacSync 14", Magnavox Color 14" There are also the Sony CPD-1302 and CPD-1304 (note that, while Sony makes Apple's 13" monitor, the monitors that come under its own label will not work with the LC's, IIsi's or IIci's on-board video). These five monitors are compatible with any NuBus or 030 PDS card designed to drive the 13" Apple display. Of these, the Sony offerings (the 1304 can be used with a near-megapixel resolution as well as 640x480, if your video card supports it; the 1302 is stuck to 640x480) are best, followed by the Seiko Trinitron and a not-very-close runner-up, the Magnavox. The NEC, from what I heard, is best avoided. Boris Levitin ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WGBH Public Broadcasting, Boston boris@world.std.com Audience & Marketing Research wgbx!boris_levitin@athena.mit.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (The opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily coincide with those of my employer or anyone else. The WGBH tag is for ID only.)
wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark Wilkins) (10/31/90)
In article <1990Oct30.083652.16829@world.std.com> boris@world.std.com (Boris Levitin) writes: >First, if you wish to find a monitor to work with the on-board 8-bit color >on the Mac IIsi, the LC or, for that matter, the IIci, be warned that the on- >board video on these machines will work ONLY with Apple-labeled monitors. Wrong. The OBV will work with any monitor which supports the sense lines on the connector. Several third-party monitors do. -- Mark Wilkins -- ******* "Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude!" ********** *-----------------------------------------------------------------------------* * Mark R. Wilkins wilkins@jarthur.claremont.edu {uunet}!jarthur!wilkins * ****** MARK.WILKINS on AppleLink ****** MWilkins on America Online ******
clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong) (11/02/90)
In article <1990Oct30.083652.16829@world.std.com> boris@world.std.com (Boris Levitin) writes: > >First, if you wish to find a monitor to work with the on-board 8-bit color >on the Mac IIsi, the LC or, for that matter, the IIci, be warned that the on- >board video on these machines will work ONLY with Apple-labeled monitors. > > [ stuff omitted ] > >There are also the Sony CPD-1302 and CPD-1304 (note that, while Sony makes >Apple's 13" monitor, the monitors that come under its own label will not >work with the LC's, IIsi's or IIci's on-board video). These five monitors > > [ more stuff omitted ] Waitaminnit, waitaminnit... ONLY Apple monitors? From the si spec sheet: -------------- MONITORS: * Supports four Apple color and monochrome monitors, as well as some third party monitors, including: (list of four Apple monitors here) * When equipped with a video expansion card, supports other Apple and non-Apple monitors; see your authorized Apple dealers for details. -------------- That SEEMS to imply that SOME third-party monitors will work with the built- in video on the si. Am I misreading? Is Apple (or their copywriters) being shifty? (Hmm, as I read through this thing, I find two other references to video--one which seems to say yes, the other, no. Here they are:) --------------- ...The Macintosh IIsi comes with built-in support for four Apple monitors as well as third-party monitors, so you can choose the monitor that best suits your needs--then simply plug it in. IN ADDITION [emphasis added], by adding a video expansion card, you can use any other Apple or third-party monitor with the Macintosh IIsi... --------------- but... --------------- * Multiple monitor options including: - Built-in video support for four Apple monitors: (listed) - Support for other Apple or third-party monitor that requires a video expansion card --------------- ... which would seem to say that ONLY Apple monitors work with the built-in video. Arrgghhh. Boris, do you know fer sure that's the case? I had assumed that the built- in would work with third-party multisyncs, but now I'm utterly confused. --Kathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Strong : "Welcome to FUBAR Corp., where there's (Clouds moving slowly) : never enough time to do a job right, clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu : but always enough time to do it over."