Dunno if it's suitable but there is the Telegnosis USB 2.0 -> VGA adapter

Well, I want a USB->NTSC adapter, so no. But proof of concept nonetheless.

All (near) broadcast quality Firewire input products do compression or bring in already-compressed content. Either DV, MPEG-Something (2 usually) or some (semi-)custom solution.

There are PC-Card video adapters available.

http://www.bizrate.com/buy/products__att247--34512-,cat_id--405.html

Your laptop's PCCard slot/software must support ZV (ZoomedVideo)

Just do a Google search for "zv card"

BTW, have you tried MPlayer on your aging Mac?

Bruno

I believe so, but it's worth double-checking.

These are VGA to TV converters:

Small and $105 from the place linked.
http://www.baber.com/baber/products/tview_micro.htm

Larger and includes a remote and a $199 price tag.
http://www.baber.com/baber/products/tview_gold.htm

This ADS unit comes with a small remote and can be found for less than $80:
http://www.adstech.com/products/TVEliteXGA/intro/XGA128intro.asp?pid=XGA-128

You can also go with a device I've mentioned before from DVDO - an HDTV upconverter - which can be used with any number of video sources, including VGA and DVI computer connections. That goes for about $1500 and is the side of a consumer DVD player - maybe a little overkill for your purpose.

Bruno

On a side note, anybody know if this means my Mini is defective? If I watch a DVD on my Compaq DVI monitor at it's max of 1280x1024 or 1280x960 then I get pink flickery lines overlaid all over the screen. If I use 1152x870 or below then it appears to work fine.

Using the VGA dongle and the VGA input on the monitor works with no problems at 1280x1024. The odd thing is that the monitor works fine with my PC using DVI at any resolution.

Sounds like a 3D problem (DVD and those screensavers pass through our OpenGL driver) - in which case it's the fault of someone here. I'll have someone in the office test that out. This is with a stock 10.3.7 OS install?

Bruno

Yeah. It's a stock 10.3.7 install.

I tried my mini on a friends HP LCD with DVI and it worked fine at all resolutions. Tried his mini on my Compaq LCD and it had exactly the same flickering pink lines. Bit odd that it only occurs on certain DVI LCDs?

That sounds like a ROM problem then... It might already be a known issue, I'll check.

Bruno

Good and bad news....

The good news is we're pretty sure what the "problem" is. The bad news is there likely won't fix unless it comes from Apple.

Given the symptoms and details, this looks like a TMDS coherency issue. TMDS Receivers made by Ti and Si are supposed to be compatible but in reality need some slightly different support in the TMDS transmitter. On some panels (using the TMDS receiver the graphics chip is tweaked for) , noise will be seen at higher resolutions (generally at 1600, but can also be at 1280).

With some chips, we can toggle between coherent and incoherent modes for our TMDS transmitter. On our retail products with such chips, customers can use our ATI Displays control panel to change this setting themselves (this is also found in the Windows CP) - it's labeled something like "Alternate DVI Mode" or some such. Unfortunately there is no way to toggle this in the Apple OEM driver. And it would be up to Apple to request this feature and/or implement their own control for it.

There might already be a bug report filed at Apple about it. My suggestion is to call Apple and let them know this is a problem for you.

Bruno

Thanks for looking into this Time to work out how to actually use this complimentary support thing that Apple keep saying I've got. I've looked through the Apple support site a few times and I still can't find where I can actually open a support case!

Looking in the discussions part for the Mac Mini shows there are quite a few other people experiencing the same issue.

Nope. No such luck. Still the same problem.

It's not fixed in any software update. It can't be without some type of control to toggle the coherency. If it's set the "other" way, then many more panels will (potentially) have a problem.

For those that have this problem... Look in Display Properties and see if there are refresh rates offered for your display. DVI panels don't normally show refresh rate, but check anyway. If you do, see if you can specify 60Hz (in case it's using 75Hz). Alternately, someone (I think Tom) mentioned a tool in this or the other Apple thread that allows you to alter display mode list. Another program to create custom modes is SwitchRes. See if your display(s) will support the desired resolution at 60Hz. Most panels are 60Hz, but a number support 60 and 75 annd the OS might be making only the higher mode.

Anyway, this isn't a guarantee, but a sugggestion in case it's not the coherency issue (alone) causing the problem. Just hope no one at work gives me sh*t for providing this much info.

Bruno

My 15"/1.67ghz/128mb vram/SD was delivered by the fedex man an hour ago, and I'm having the best President('s/s') Day that I can remember.

The thing really is a piece of art. Coming from Dells, it's just a new experience that's hard to describe. Everything is so much better thought out. The screen latch is amazing. I'd read about it, but never seen it in action. I'm not sure if the powerbooks at the Apple Store are set up so you can close them, but if they are, make sure to check it out the next time you're in one. The latch fully retracts into the top of the screen until you close the lid. Then, as the screen almost closes, magnets pull the hook down out of the screen so that it latches closed.

The AC adapter is similarly well engineered, to the point that I'm regretting having ordered two after market power supplies that were half the price.

Matthew

Congrats!

I've been meaning to do a write up of must have/try apps. I've discovered quite a few lately. Make sure and check macosxhints.com if you have a question on how to do something not so obvious. There's some brilliant stuff there and versiontracker.com for your software needs. =]

You should also appreciate the enhanced lift action of the new top (screen) half. The older models aren't bad in this department, but the protos of the new model i've played with at work feature some nice efinements that makes lifting the screen so much better feeling. Hard to describe - just easy and smooth with no resistance when compared to other generations. As I've mentioned before (I think) the enclosure is also better physically engineered - the top half of the keyboard part has a much nicer internal latching mechanism to hold it all together - this isn't something you'll see, but should play out with increased longevity of the unit proper.

Bruno