bjf (01/04/83)
I am interested in buying a television and lately have seen much hype
for the new component televisions. They certainly look nice but I wonder
whether it is also possible to use such a television as a monitor for a
home computer without suffering from all the problems that plague the Apple II
when it is connected to a television. Is it possible with these new component
television sets to get high quality computer monitor type resolution as well
as being able to watch television. I recently saw an Atari commercial where
somebody is playing Missle Command on a Sony television. I want to be able to
obtain comparable or better graphics ability with the television connected to
a real computer. Any experience on this? Is it wishful thinking? Is it just
too expensive? Any responses will be appreciated. I will post a summary if I
get enough replies.
Many thanks
Bruce Freeman
(utcsstat!bjf)prgclb (01/05/83)
This question is somewhat related to Bruce Freeman's question -- Is it easy to modify a conventional television set to accept baseband video as well as RF input? My new videotape deck has baseband video output for those who use monitors. I think I could get a better picture (maybe only marginally better) by having baseband video input. What I'd like to do is modify my Sony KV 2101 television to accept either RF or baseband, with the flip of a switch. Can anyone comment? Carl Blesch Bell Labs - Naperville, Ill. IH 2A-159, (312) 979-3360 ihuxm!prgclb
jim (01/05/83)
The big problem is that most modern TVs use a hot chassis. This means that chassis ground, which is one of the two wires going into the baseband video circuit, is connected to one side of the AC line. This is considered a shock hazard. The RF modulator is a kind of AC isolator. For VCRs I don't think the RF modulator limits you very much because the signal coming out of the VCR is so poor (please no flames). But for video games and home computers this a big loss. It has even convinced some computer manufacturers to limit their screens to 40 characters wide, or less. The ironic part is that an RF modulator is a whole lot more expensive than the better alternative, opto-isolators. An RF modulator is about $50, an opto-isolator is more like $5. An opto-isolator has more bandwidth than any monitor. The problem is that it would have to be built in to the TV, and would add a whole $5 or so to the manufacturer's cost. The RF modulator doesn't cost the TV manufacturer anything (but it does cost you $50). I keep hoping that the new FCC rules about TV interference will make RF modulators so expensive that there will be pressure on the TV makers to put opto-isolators in their TVs and provide baseband video inputs, but so far I've seen no evidence of this.