External LCD recommendations for pismo needed

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Level 1

115 points

External LCD recommendations for pismo needed

Knock on wood, my pismo is running pretty well - except for the LCD display which has been dimming over the years. I'd like to pick up an external LCD monitor for the pismo to drive, but I'd like to avoid the expense of the VTBook dvi card adapter (which seems to be the only option for pci card).

Do any pismo users here have experience with a RECENT flat panel external monitor that they could recommend? Please include the a) settings, and b) whatever cables needed for the pismo to drive the thing.

Use for the moment will mostly be for text, however, we will be upgrading to a Mac Pro at some point soon for intensive photoshop and video editing, and this monitor will be used for that as well.

Ideally, I'd like to pick up a wide screen 19 or 20" LCD, something along the lines of a Dell E207WFP 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor or a Samsung 205BW 20", but I simply don't know if my pismo has the horsepower to run them without the additional VTBook pci card.

Any advice appreciated!

Powerbook G3 400 Firewire (pismo), 768 ram, Mac OS X (10.3.9), G4 iBook 800mhz OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Oct 27, 2006 7:49 AM

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Answer 1

jpl

Level 7

28,285 points

Oct 27, 2006 10:34 AM in response to Steve Farber

Steve,

I have little help to offer, but these are the resolutions the Pismo supports:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58344

I also looked at your Dell link and you apparently know the Pismo only outputs VGA and the Dell does support this.

If no one else jumps in here, I would try the MacOS 9 Discussions where there are many knowledgeable users running older hardware with VGA output.

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Answer 2

Oct 27, 2006 10:58 AM in response to Steve Farber

The connector in the back is a VGA connector, so you cannot use any displays that are digital only (like Apple's). But VGA analog input LCD displays are plentiful and actually cheaper. You can get displays that are both analog and digital.

I'm not sure about the widescreen format. That format did not exist when Pismo's were designed. I have a 21-inch CRT that is sometimes attached to my Pismo, and I can get it up to 1600x1200. If you get a standard 17-inch or 19-inch (not widescreen) LCD, they are normally 1280x960 (a very common resolution), and that resolution works on the external video port. You can use it as a desktop extension (display spanning) or as the only display.

Hopefully, if the widescreen format works, someone here can confirm it. It would be unfortunate if you paid the extra cost to get one and you had "black bars" along the sides. Maybe you can take your Pismo to CompUSA (or your local mega store) and ask to try it with the on-display model.

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Answer 3

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Oct 28, 2006 9:18 AM in response to jpl

Thanks for the link to that article - that's very useful indeed. Good to know the max resolution is 1280 x 1024. Wish I knew if the pismo's 8mb video memory is below the minumum video for the new monitors though.

I'm not sure how much info there may be for me in the OS9 forum though - I'm running panther - That said, if someone on OS9 can get a widescreen monitor running with a pismo, it should be a piece of cake with panther.

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Answer 4

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Oct 28, 2006 9:30 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I have a 21-inch CRT that is sometimes attached to my
Pismo, and I can get it up to 1600x1200.

Really? I thought the max resolution was lower - 1280 x 1024. Is that a benefit of a newer OS from when the pismo was released, or simply good luck with the monitor?

It would be unfortunate if you
paid the extra cost to get one and you had "black
bars" along the sides.

True! I would prefer the widescreen to work for sure - I dream of seeing two pages of text laid out, but I'd be satisfied without it on the pismo - as long as it's wide with the Mac Pro when we get it.

Maybe you can take your Pismo
to CompUSA (or your local mega store) and ask to try
it with the on-display model.

Not a bad idea, I suppose I need to pick up a dual vga-dvu cable anyway...

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Answer 5

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Oct 28, 2006 9:35 AM in response to Steve Farber

Do either of you - or anyone else - know whether there is a minimum amount of video ram required to drive the newer LCD monitors? I know that the VTBook card exists to resolve just that issue, but I'm wondering if the monitor will run with 8mb as long as it's only tasked with less intensive things such as word processing.

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Answer 6

Oct 28, 2006 1:55 PM in response to Steve Farber

The connector in the back is regular VGA. Most VGA monitors come with a cable. If you try one at a store, the monitor you are trying should have a cable. So, I don't think you need to buy one, and it doesn't need to be a "dual" anything, at least for using with a Pismo.

I just checked with my Pismo connected to my 21-inch CRT. If you make the external display the only display, it will go up to 1600x1200 at millions of colors. In fact, it goes up to 1792x1344, but at thousands of colors (but I don't think you'll find any LCDs at that resolution. This is with Mac OS X 10.9.

Looking at some 19-inch (and 17-inch) displays on Amazon, they are at 1280x1024. A 21-inch non-widescreen LCD is at 1600x1200. Now that would be like having a widescreen with some extra top and bottom space.

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Answer 7

Oct 28, 2006 2:36 PM in response to Steve Farber

I'm sure someone could figure that out mathematically, but using my 21-inch CRT to "experiment," I can get it up to 1600x1200 resolution at millions of colors on my Pismo (built-in display disabled). That's under Mac OS X 10.3.9. I think that's the limit for resolution, with 8MB of VRAM, while still getting millions of colors. I think that's also about the limit for commonly available displays that use a VGA connector. The native (optimum) resolution of a 21-inch LCD (not widescreen) is typically 1600x1200.

Even if it can run at millions of colors, if you go with thousands of colors, it will probably give you better performance. I personally have a hard time telling the difference between thousands of colors and millions.

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Answer 8

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Oct 30, 2006 8:30 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I'm sure someone could figure that out
mathematically, but using my 21-inch CRT to
"experiment," I can get it up to 1600x1200 resolution
at millions of colors on my Pismo (built-in display
disabled). That's under Mac OS X 10.3.9.

Wow, Kenichi - that's pretty amazing. Thanks for tinkering around with your CRT to come up with that. I'm surprised to see you succeeded at that resolution because officially, it seems, the pismo is only supposed to support up to 1280 x 1024 at 75 Hz, Millions + (24 bit). That info is straight from the link that jpl provided a few posts above. Is it in system preferences that you were able to obtain that figure?

If so, that's pretty encouraging. At this point, after reading these responses and some input from a tech in town here, I'm fairly sure I'll get a widescreen Samsung. I'm just stymied over what the difference could possibly be between the 204BW and 205BW. The cost and specs appear identical; perhaps the factory of origin is different...

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Answer 9

Oct 30, 2006 11:56 AM in response to Steve Farber

Yes. I was just using the System Preferences Displays panel. I put the Pismo to sleep and closed the "lid" and woke it up to disable the built-in LCD. This allows the external to be at 1600x1200 and millions of colors. I believe the refresh rate was 75 Hz. It can get to 1600x1200 with monitor spanning (built-in display on), but the external display goes to thousands of colors.

Perhaps under Mac OS 9, 1280 x 1024 is the max. Hope the widescreen works, because all the resolutions listed in that document (except the 640 x 870 portrait mode) are the standard "TV" aspect ratio.

Please post back with your findings.

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Answer 10

Nov 1, 2006 6:18 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Actually, in 1999 when the specs were written, except for extremely high end and very expensive monitors, 1280X1024 was the highest common resolution for 95% of the monitors on the market. With 8mb of video doing text, you should be able to use a large LCD monitor, and you might be able to find drivers for your OS to drive the wide format. I would check for that.

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Answer 11

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Nov 1, 2006 6:40 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Yes. I was just using the System Preferences
Displays panel. I put the Pismo to sleep and closed
the "lid" and woke it up to disable the built-in LCD.
This allows the external to be at 1600x1200 and
millions of colors. I believe the refresh rate was
75 Hz. It can get to 1600x1200 with monitor
spanning (built-in display on), but the external
display goes to thousands of colors.

Perhaps under Mac OS 9, 1280 x 1024 is the max. Hope
the widescreen works, because all the resolutions
listed in that document (except the 640 x 870
portrait mode) are the standard "TV" aspect ratio.

Please post back with your findings.

Thanks for the additional input.
I've just gone ahead and pulled the trigger on a Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP 20.1" Widescreen LCD. The additional ports and better contrast ratio were deciding factors, along with the fact that the panel appears to be manufactured in the same plant that supplies Apple's cinema displays.
Just waiting for word that it's shipped. You can be sure I'll post here once I've got it -

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Answer 12

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Nov 1, 2006 6:44 AM in response to Tinkerman

you might be able to find drivers for
your OS to drive the wide format. I would check for
that.

Hi tinkerman -
That's not a bad idea. Any idea where to look?
I'm running 10.3.9, and as just posted above, the monitor will be a Dell widescreen.

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Answer 13

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Nov 3, 2006 9:13 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Please post back with your findings.

Well, good news and bad news...
Good news is, the monitor is beautiful and glowing brightly. In fact I'm using it to type this right now.
The bad news is, it's hooked up to my wife's G4 iBook. I'm using the mini dvi adapter with the vga cable that came with the monitor.

When I hook up the monitor to the pismo, the pismo's screen becomes a scrambled jumble of lines while the monitor shows the desktop, with the dialogue window frozen with no cursor movement. Desktop icons are absent as well. The only way to get out of this is a restart. If I close the lid, the pismo goes to sleep but won't wake up when the lid is opened, or even when keys are tapped.

Can't find any info on the apple site on what to do here. Any ideas?!

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Answer 14

Steve Farber Author

Level 1

115 points

Nov 3, 2006 9:58 PM in response to Steve Farber

It works!

I re-read you r post Kenichi about putting the pismo to sleep, and pulled up this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58614

and realized I needed to use a usb keyboard. I unearthed our old usb keyboard from our B/W and plugged the dell monitor in as well as the usb -
and the monitor sparng to life!
Aspect ratio is correct - while the screen itself maintains its widescreen form - the text and images are not squeezed (as they were moments ago on the iBook).

I'm elated.
We have an apple pro bluetooth keyboard which I'll try out tomorrow (as well as the bluetooth dongle) to see if that works just as well, just getting late now and too tired to try it out. Also have to try the RF BenQ laser mouse, because I've got the b/w Puck out and I don't want to go back to that!

For the record, according to System Preferences, the pimso and monitor have set themselves at 1360x768 at millions of colors and 60 hZ refresh rate, I didn't have to do a thing.

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Answer 15

Nov 4, 2006 4:41 PM in response to Steve Farber

That's good news. I looked up that monitor on the 'net, and one review said that the "native" (optimum) resolution for that model was 1680x1050. That makes sense since that's the same resolution for Apple's 20" display.

So try going to the Display preference to see if 1680x1050 is available as an option. Since it can do millions of colors on my big CRT at 1600x1200 (1920000 pixels), I hope it can do millions at 1680x1050 (1764000 pixels).

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