Thread
Favourite monitor for use on 68k Macs?
So we've had the "Favourite keyboard" and "Favourite mouse" threads...so I thought I'd start one myself.
What's your favourite monitor for use on 68k Macintosh computers?
Personally, I'm going to have to go with the 14" Macintosh Colour Display. Its a nice small size, meaning it takes up very little space (for a CRT), and is rather light, and therefore easy to move. Its a Trinitron CRT, and has a really good picture for a 1992/1993 monitor. Since it was made back when these machines were new, its also literally "plug and play" with just about any Mac ever made, from the original Mac II right up to the Beige G3, with no need to worry about VGA adaptors or SoG issues or anything of that sort.
A second favourite for Macs from the Quadra up is the AppleVision 1710/1710AV, and the AppleVision 750/750AV. Basically its like a big, heavy fat MCD, only that its 17", and is multisync, and can run at any resolution up to 1280x1024. It has issues with older Macs (I can confirm that the LCII is not compatible), but any Quadra, or any '030 from the LCIII onwards is pretty much plug and play. Another issue with them is that they had serious quality issues even when they were new, and as a result, a good working 1710/1710AV is very hard to find these days (whereas MCDs are pretty much a dime a dozen). I have one, and its a great monitor, but it doesn't like being run at any resolution below 1024x768, otherwise the horizontal width goes out.
What's your favourite monitor for use on 68k Macintosh computers?
Personally, I'm going to have to go with the 14" Macintosh Colour Display. Its a nice small size, meaning it takes up very little space (for a CRT), and is rather light, and therefore easy to move. Its a Trinitron CRT, and has a really good picture for a 1992/1993 monitor. Since it was made back when these machines were new, its also literally "plug and play" with just about any Mac ever made, from the original Mac II right up to the Beige G3, with no need to worry about VGA adaptors or SoG issues or anything of that sort.
A second favourite for Macs from the Quadra up is the AppleVision 1710/1710AV, and the AppleVision 750/750AV. Basically its like a big, heavy fat MCD, only that its 17", and is multisync, and can run at any resolution up to 1280x1024. It has issues with older Macs (I can confirm that the LCII is not compatible), but any Quadra, or any '030 from the LCIII onwards is pretty much plug and play. Another issue with them is that they had serious quality issues even when they were new, and as a result, a good working 1710/1710AV is very hard to find these days (whereas MCDs are pretty much a dime a dozen). I have one, and its a great monitor, but it doesn't like being run at any resolution below 1024x768, otherwise the horizontal width goes out.
Generally anything trinitron based.
I have a Sony 17SFII on a KVM with some macs.
I only have 2 real Apple monitors for the macs, a 14" and a 16" (heavy as hell and only 832x634 or whatever it is) plus a Supermac 20" that needs 2 people to move.
I have a Sony 17SFII on a KVM with some macs.
I only have 2 real Apple monitors for the macs, a 14" and a 16" (heavy as hell and only 832x634 or whatever it is) plus a Supermac 20" that needs 2 people to move.
I have a couple of the el cheapo Apple 12" RGB monitors which suit me just fine... good sharp picture and you can drop them several times without breaking them.
Well, the main reason why I don't like mine is that the picture is mostly only green. The red and blue wires have come loose on the cable (the end where you plug it into the Mac).
For a 17" monitor (must be 16" viewable) it IS heavy. So is the 20" (size of a 21") Supermac.
I've always been a fan of the 1710 series or whatever they were called. They had a nice ADB hub in the bottom, and a mostly flat CRT. I stupidly sold all 3 of mine in a fit of well...stupidity.
I'd love to get one of those 20 inchers though. A friend of mine has one, and man...it is awesome.
I'd love to get one of those 20 inchers though. A friend of mine has one, and man...it is awesome.
My favourite would be the pin-sharp crispness of the Apple Portrait greyscale display and the Two Page Display. Next in line are the Applevision 17xx series - when they work - and the Radius Color Pivot, card and driver permitting.
My twin Dell Trinitron 21" 1900xsomething CRTs have taken over most of the heavy duty work though.
My twin Dell Trinitron 21" 1900xsomething CRTs have taken over most of the heavy duty work though.
I prefer TFT screens with appropriate native resolution. The EIZO L365 comes in a design that matches very well the classic Macs and supports multiple resolutions up to 1024 x 768. Two of those screens replace my broken CRTs (as long as they did work, I preferred Trinitron tubes).
I've always been a fan of the '12 Apple RGB monitors and the Apple Color Plus '14.
I used to agree with you completely when it came to the Portrait , but I've always loved my Radius 20" & 21" CRTs.
But NOW, my favorite by FAAAAARRRR would have to be my NEW HP 23" 1080p LCD! 8-o
No matter what a Mac throws at it, the Big@$$ LCD interpolates the pixels to fill up the full vertical space at whatever DPI it winds up being and displays it at the proper aspect ratio, letterboxing the sides! I pulled my old KVM/Power/Wiring rig from the whacked out desk I used to have at the shop outta' the box it's been stored in for five years. I've now got any three Macs and HP_Mini working off a wireless LogiTech PS2 KBD/Mouse while I kick back in a swivel rocker with the KBD on a lap desk and the mousepad on top of the 2002 Quicksilver!
Right now I've got the QuickSilver, A Quadra 950 and a Radius 81/110 (?) w/the VideoVision Studio Rig.
I can kick back with my feet up on an oak stool and switch between them at will . . .
. . . and I don't even need my reading glasses!
SWEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jt
p.s. Best of all, it's housed in the very first computer workstation I ever built! It was a TV stand I made to match our bedroom set w/the VCR and and the Disk Drive behind smoked Plexi Paned Doors along with my C64 on a KBD Drawer using the TV as the monitor. Now HP_MIni hangs out on the KBD Drawer!
I use my 15" Sharp LCD with all my old computers, through a VGA switch. System 7 and Mac OS 8/9 look fantastic on a sharp LCD.
I have two favorites:
- Any 15 or 17" LCD, with the appropriate DB15-VGA adapter
- For really old 68k's, like the IIsi, that don't always play well with multisync monitors: the Macintosh Color Display, which is a fixed-frequency 13" Trinitron based monitor in a compact case with a swivel base.
M
P.S. The older 14"/15" Apple Multisyncs with built-in speakers are a great concept, but I've never found them particularly high-quality or easy to use in practice.
- Any 15 or 17" LCD, with the appropriate DB15-VGA adapter
- For really old 68k's, like the IIsi, that don't always play well with multisync monitors: the Macintosh Color Display, which is a fixed-frequency 13" Trinitron based monitor in a compact case with a swivel base.
M
P.S. The older 14"/15" Apple Multisyncs with built-in speakers are a great concept, but I've never found them particularly high-quality or easy to use in practice.
Radius Pivot.
You could turn it through 90 degrees and the desktop/application window changed orientation automatically.
Twenty years later, what do we have? Open control panel -- or bring up a contextual menu by right clicking in the appropriate place. Change monitor orientation -- was that 90 degrees clockwise or anti-clockwise? Click OK if you can navigate to the button. Swivel monitor. Faff around to reorientate application windows.
Adding an orientation switch to a monitor costs a dollar. Add another dollar for a decent monitor stand. Two dollars is the cost, but they still don't get it.
You could turn it through 90 degrees and the desktop/application window changed orientation automatically.
Twenty years later, what do we have? Open control panel -- or bring up a contextual menu by right clicking in the appropriate place. Change monitor orientation -- was that 90 degrees clockwise or anti-clockwise? Click OK if you can navigate to the button. Swivel monitor. Faff around to reorientate application windows.
Adding an orientation switch to a monitor costs a dollar. Add another dollar for a decent monitor stand. Two dollars is the cost, but they still don't get it.
My personal favorite for 68k Macs has long been the AudioVision display -- decent ergonomics, great inbuilt speakers, really sharp picture, and of course, an ADB hub. Just about the only thing it doesn't bring up to your desk from the back of your Mac is a serial port.
After that I had an Apple Multiple Scan 1705 for awhile, great solid display, and it would've worked with a VGA computer too, but I had to leave it behind last time my family moved.
Beyond that, I love Dell UltraSharps, and want a 1708, 1800 or 15xx series, and I also would love one of the original 15-inch Studio Display LCDs.
After that I had an Apple Multiple Scan 1705 for awhile, great solid display, and it would've worked with a VGA computer too, but I had to leave it behind last time my family moved.
Beyond that, I love Dell UltraSharps, and want a 1708, 1800 or 15xx series, and I also would love one of the original 15-inch Studio Display LCDs.
I'm more & more in awe of the HP 23" 1080p Display for use with my various 68k & even PPC Macs-n-clones.
Havin' a MiniDock/Duo combo with the meager amount of pixels output interpolated to a large enough size for me to lounge back in my swivel rocker without using my reading glasses at playtime is simply awesome!
Having the 250's display-n-screen background come up in a Big@$$ color window is kinda cool in & of itself.
jt :b&w:
Havin' a MiniDock/Duo combo with the meager amount of pixels output interpolated to a large enough size for me to lounge back in my swivel rocker without using my reading glasses at playtime is simply awesome!
Having the 250's display-n-screen background come up in a Big@$$ color window is kinda cool in & of itself.
jt :b&w:
I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to monitors on 68K machines and always use Apple's original monitors. My favorite external monitor is the 12" RGB. I like all of the integrated monitors, however, especially the active matrix LCDs on the PowerBooks (170, 180, 180c).
I always felt the Trinitron monitors were a bit washed out until the 1992 redesign of the 13" monitor. I went to summer Computer Camp at my elementary school during my younger days and I remember seeing the 12" RGB and the old 13" Hi-Res side by side. Both were connected to LCs and were running Kid Pix. The color looked infinitely better on the 12" monitor. This was true of all the monitors (there were about 20 LCs running Kid Pix in there and the monitor distribution looked to be about half and half) so I know it wasn't just one monitor at fault. Of course, the brightness controls may not have been adjusted all that well (which I found is key for getting good color on a Trinitron; I have a Sony Trinitron TV and have it at a setting where it looks great but have seen other sets like mine that have not been adjusted for ideal brightness).
I always felt the Trinitron monitors were a bit washed out until the 1992 redesign of the 13" monitor. I went to summer Computer Camp at my elementary school during my younger days and I remember seeing the 12" RGB and the old 13" Hi-Res side by side. Both were connected to LCs and were running Kid Pix. The color looked infinitely better on the 12" monitor. This was true of all the monitors (there were about 20 LCs running Kid Pix in there and the monitor distribution looked to be about half and half) so I know it wasn't just one monitor at fault. Of course, the brightness controls may not have been adjusted all that well (which I found is key for getting good color on a Trinitron; I have a Sony Trinitron TV and have it at a setting where it looks great but have seen other sets like mine that have not been adjusted for ideal brightness).
I was always a big fan of the original Apple Color 16" and Apple Color 21" displays. Still have one of each that are working well. Only knock on them was the fixed frequency. As for monochrome, the Apple Two Page Display is a very serviceable monitor... picked one up for $-2 (actually negative two dollars) a year or so ago.
Why couldn't they make the Apple 16" 1024x768 or something like that? It is a 17" monitor (16" viewable).
My fixed 1024x768 20" Supermac is kind of nice.
My fixed 1024x768 20" Supermac is kind of nice.
its mainly the software, and we all know what kind of software monitor makers put out
My favorite monitor was the Apple Multiple Scan 17 Display. It was old when we got it but it lasted for a long time and had a great picture. Sometimes we could convince it to do 1280x1024, but most of the time it would have the bottom part of the screen fold onto the top at that resolution. It lasted us a good 5 years and went with an older PPC unit I sold years ago. Probably one of the best monitors I've ever used.
WYSIWYG resolutions only came out of Cupertino for the loooooooongest time.
Idiots! Especially the one in the jeans and black designer T-Shirts! :
jt
p.s. . . . but the Woz was da-MAN!
The original Studio Display is, indeed, awesome. Sadly, mine is a little busted at the moment. :-(
Yup, that is the entire line of 15" Studio DIsplays. At left is the ADC model, in the middle-back is the Blue & White VGA model, on the right is the graphite DVI model; and in front is the original dark-blue/gray old-Apple DB15 model. Looks right at home next to a beige G3 tower. You can also see the massive brightness difference between the models. The B&W one really is that dim. My original one will power up (LED comes on, and I can hear slight e-buzz,) but the backlight doesn't come on, and the screen doesn't seem to get any signal.
I have one more B&W one, but it is flaky, losing video after a few minutes. Finally, for the four 'original' style ones, I only have two power bricks. (I tried hacking a PowerBook 5300 power brick, since it supplies the same voltage and amperage, but I was unsuccessful.)
Edit: I also like my ViewSonic 21" CRT with BNC inputs. I have a BNC-to-Apple-DB15 cable, and the picture is just rock solid, even at 1600x1200 or higher. The monitor was an ultra-high-end one in its day, doing 1600x1200 at 85 Hz, and can be pushed out-of-spec all the way up to 2048x1536 at 60 Hz. I had my beige G3 running it at that with Mac OS 8.0 and AppleShare IP 6.0 Server. Lets me see *ALL* of the AppleShare windows simultaneously. One funny thing is that it will let you force it to 'unsupported' resolutions over BNC, but not over VGA.
I had a ViewSonic LCD at work that does that. Automatic and everything, solely over the VGA or DVI port, not even loading any special drivers. (Although this was in Windows; I don't know how it would have worked on a Mac, as no Macs there.)