I was reading about this old attempt by apple to reduce cable clutter. Has anyone tried to use the Video-In on the Original AppleVision 14" monitor that shipped with the 6100, 7100 & 8100 series PPC machines?

Apparently the specifications were never completed, but I am wondering the hardware was all there to be used and if anyone has tried just to see what happened.

The only system I've used it on is a 6100 with DOS card, so the 6100 didn't have video in.

I suppose one of these days, I'll have to try it on a 7100 AV, and see what happens.

I tried it once, but I don't recall it actually working. I don't think Apple actually implemented video-input on the HDI-45 connector. The video port on the AudioVision 14 was just a pass-through analog connection that went nowhere as far as I know.

Peace,
Drew
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Power to the PowerPC!

Looks like pins 19-21 are the S-Video pins. Again, whether or not the AV Macs can use it, I don't know. Seeing as the AV x100-series Macs have actual S-Video ports on a physically separate card from the onboard video, I'm not certain Apple would have put the connection in from the motherboard to the PDS in such a way that this onboard-video-in would pass through properly to the PDS card video in.

Unfortunately, my x100-series AV systems are all in storage at the moment. (Although my AV14 display is reachable...)

I am sure all the connections are there but the question is whether the drivers exist for it to work or whether Apple bothered to implement the software for the existing hardware.

Are you sure all the connections are there? Have you buzzed out the pins on the PDS to make sure that the HDI connector actually passes the signal to the PDS connector?

The HDI connector has all the pins, sure, but that doesn't mean that the signal actually goes anywhere. It might dead-end right at the connector.

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Drew
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Power to the PowerPC!

Seems like a waste to have the hardware there but nothing set in the computer itself. Maybe I am making too much sense.

Oh is that what's behind that black plastic cap?
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Moof!

The connector is just a power connector for the Apple QuickTime Conferencing Cam 100 -- The cam plugs into "Svideo" to get a minimal amount of 12v power, and into the composite input port on the Mac.

Hypothetically the port may have worked at some point in the future, but would probably have needed an adapter to actually get any video from the QTC100 cam anyway, and then would have required that people in the '90s actually liked the AudioVision.

I personally love it, but kind of wish I had an 8100 to hook up to it, as it seems like that's the only time it would actually be a big help -- if you were using it with the onboard video on a machine that sat on the floor.

If they'd figured a way to reduce the cable more, I bet it would've been accepted more widely as a good idea. Although Apple has a history of introducing a cool new cable or connection method, and it being really really disapproved of by the users and the industry. For me, I say "go for it!" -- but that's mainly as someone who likes collecting those older systems. I really would like to grab one of those CRT ADC Studio Displays and a matching PowerMac G4, for example. I think it's a beautiful thing to be able to reduce cable clutter in a tower system, and the display isn't too shabby either.
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[Insert Cool Signature here!]

I really like the AudioVision 14. I think it's a good looking style, a crisp Sony Trinitron, and has great sound for a monitor. The display's critical weakness to me, though, is it's restricted resolution. 640x480 barely cut it in 1993...

I think Apple worked on the recipe and eventually got to the AppleVision AV and ColorSync AV displays with the speakers on the monitor base. Those were great monitors, but they had poorer audio quality and **** styling.

Peace,
Drew
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Power to the PowerPC!

My main Mac monitor is a Multiple Scan 17. I've used it on both Macs and PC's. It's funny, though. When I use it on a PC I can get 1280x1024 out of it but on a Mac it only goes to 1024 x 768 (or is it 1152 x768). Why can't I get it to display 1280x1024 on a Mac?

Stupid Apple sense codes. The Mac knows which monitor is connected, knows the recommended resolutions & refresh rates, and only allows you to choose among the recommended values. If you hook it up to a video card w/ a VGA output and use a VGA->DB-14 (Mac) monitor adapter, you should have the same choices of resolutions as on your PC because the Mac won't have access to the sense codes anymore.

It's a case of Apple trying to do too much thinking for you. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it isn't.

Peace,
Drew
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Power to the PowerPC!

Odd thing about the sense codes is that they can go wrong.

Years ago we used to have a powermac 7500 with a Apple Multiple Scan 17. Although it was rated at 1024x768, it had the option of 1280x1024 (or 1280x768...can't remember) and it would work! Sometimes the monitor would 'fold' the screen on itself at that resolution but it was getting old by that time.