LCD Monitor for Beige G3 A/V Mac

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LCD Monitor for Beige G3 A/V Mac

I have a "stock" 266 Mhz A/V Beige G3 with 6MB SGRAM. The stock 17-inch Color Sync just died and has both 15-pin rectangular and a round (serial?) plug connection to the G-3. Most modern monitors I have seen don't have the round connector, and I never knew why this one did. With 6MB SGRAM, is there a modern LCD flat-screen that would work? Thanks! Sumer

Beige 266 MHz A/V Beige Tower, Mac OS 9.2.x

Posted on Dec 10, 2007 2:17 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 10, 2007 4:23 PM in response to Sumer

The round connector provides a side-channel that allows Apple's fancy adjustment software to tweak that particular display's adjustment parameters. It is an ADB connector, so it also allowed you to plug your keyboard and mouse into the display.

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Answer 2

Dec 10, 2007 7:03 PM in response to Sumer

With 6MB SGRAM, is there a modern LCD flat-screen that would work?

Yes, a screen with a CRT-like 4:3 aspect ratio will work fine. A display with a HD 16:9 aspect ratio will probably not be at its best. \[N.B. not at its best for an LCD display can look awful!]

The two-row 15-pin Apple connector can be adapted to a three-row 15-pin "VGA" connector. But the adapter also presents a code that tells the Mac what display is attached, and limits the resolutions you can select. No code= no display attached, so no picture.

With 6 MB VRAM, up to 1280 by 1024 can be supported in 32-bit color.
Dropping to thousands of colors, 1600 by 1200 is added. There is one 16:9 aspect ratio supported, and that is 1920 by 1080 at Thousands of colors.

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Answer 3

Dec 10, 2007 7:12 PM in response to Sumer

Most modern monitors have the option of VGA or DVI inputs, some fancy ones may even have S-video and RCA component video.

You can use the AV outputs to connect to a TV/VCR or monitor that has S-video or RCA video inputs on it.

With the built-in Mac video port you will need an adapter to a VGA monitor, you can still find these adapters on-line. At one time Viewsonic monitors used to come with them free. They have little switches on them, make sure you set them correctly for the size monitor you are using. The built-in video card has support for probably up to 20-inch 1600x1200 monitors.
http://support.apple.com/specs/powermac/PowerMacintosh_G3MiniTower.html#top

Another option, if you want to to go larger and use the higher quality DVI monitors, or add additional monitors, is to add a PCI video card like the ATI Radeon 9200. This adds additional VGA/DVI/S-video output ports that can be used instead of or in conjuction with the built-in video output ports. The new video card would improve DVD playback and add support for higher resolution monitors.

(If you use the AV for video capture in OS 9, then you must have a monitor connected to the built-in video card, and the capture preview window must be on that display.)

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