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non-VGA TV - how to connect?

Good evening.


I'd like to be able to use a non-VGA capable TV as a screen for a slideshow from my G4 PowerBook.


What options do I have?


Thanks for my time.

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8), G4 1.67 mHz 15" A1138 aluminum

Posted on Sep 11, 2015 6:45 PM

Reply
15 replies

Sep 13, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Bruce A

The manual at https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA573/en_US/PowerBookG4_15inch1.67-1.5G HzUserGuide.pdf appears to describe your PowerBook. The available ports for the connection of an external monitor or TV are shown on page 8 (DVI and S-video out). At least according to the text on page 45, a DVI-to-VGA adapter and an S-video-to-composite adapter came with the computer.


The specifications for the TV are at https://docs.sony.com/release/specs/KDL40R380B_mksp.pdf.


The best way would probably have been to establish a direct connection from the DVI port of the computer to an HDMI (PC input) port on the TV, providing that an appropriate DVI-to-HDMI cable or adapter could be found. However, the existence of various DVI variants complicate matters (see also the note about DVI-to-HDMI cables or converters in the aforementioned Sony support article).


Otherwise, as indicated earlier, one could possibly use an existing DVI-to-VGA adapter, combined with a new VGA-to-HDMI converter (maybe something similar to the device at http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/VGA-to-HDMI-Adaptor/Pr384705000), for a connection to HDMI on the TV.


Alternatively, you should be able to directly use an existing S-video-to-composite adapter for a connection to the composite video input on the TV.


You may have to carry out a few experiments in order to find a suitable solution. Good luck!

Sep 13, 2015 10:27 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

There is no audio over VGA, so how would that work?


As I said before it depends on whether the TV has an audio input that can be active at the same time as a separate video input (that the Mac can use). Don't simplify this too much, you're leaving bits out.


If the TV can not combine inputs then a separate audio system will have to be used.

Sep 13, 2015 2:48 PM in response to Csound1

Csound1,


>There is no audio over VGA, so how would that work?


The VGA-to-HDMI converter (link above) has a separate audio input. There are similar devices with audio capabilities from other sources (for example, http://www.aten.com/doc_data/pdf_dm/vc180_converter_ss_en.pdf). These converters may or may not work together with the DVI-to-VGA adapter mentioned in the PowerBook manual, and they may or may not work with the HDMI input of this very TV.


>As I said before it depends on whether the TV has an audio input that can be active at the same time as a separate video input (that the Mac can use).


That should not be too difficult to determine (a good start could be to read the technical specifications and the user manual for the TV in question).


>Don't simplify this too much, you're leaving bits out.


It is not that complicated. We do not even know whether sound through the TV is needed in this case. My intention has been to provide ideas/options, not necessarily a ready-to-use pre-packaged solution. As I said, a few experiments may have to be carried out.

non-VGA TV - how to connect?

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