External Monitor - iBook & Unreleased MacBook Pro

[mynameismatt89]

Hello everyone,

I thought of this a couple days ago, and while I'm not 100 percent set on doing it, I'd still like some input

I have an iBook G4 which I use for 3D rendering, TurboCAD for drafting, and Adobe's Creative Suite 3 (probably not the fastest computer to be doing these things on ) amongst using other common applications - Word, iPhoto, etc. Regarding the aforementioned applications requiring a larger screen for ease of use, I have been considering purchasing a monitor.

When the new MacBook Pro's are released I will be purchasing one, because the applications which I am required to use, run rather poorly on my iBook G4. However, if I were to purchase a monitor now, would I be buying one based on the MacBook Pro's current specifications, and then when the new MacBook Pro comes along, it would turn out that I could have boughten a different type of monitor (perhaps a better one) because of the changes in the Macbook Pro's specifications. Or, do I even have to consider the specifications on the type of computer I will be purchasing it for? Does the monitor not rely on this?

Also, If I were to buy a quality monitor for a new MacBook Pro now, would I be able to use it with my iBook. It seems it would make sense to wait for the MacBook Pro release to buy a monitor for it, rather than finding one that I will be able to use for it, as well as using it for my current iBook.

To summarize: I am interested in buying a monitor which I can use with my iBook now, and MBP when it is released, but am wondering if I purchase one now, if it will not perform as well with the new MBP if I had just waited to see what the new MBP specifications would be, because the MBP might require a different monitor with different settings to work best with the new MBP.

I'm not sure if I have explained this well enough for everyone to understand, and I feel i've repeated myself several times without truly conveying what it is I am trying to ask...

P.S. What monitor would you guys recommend I buy (besides the ACD $$$) that is at least 19" and is anywhere up to $500

 

[Fezzasus]

Both the iBook and Macbook Pro can output to DVI, so both will work with the monitor.

I haven't had much experience with monitors, I know that I like my Samsung, but that's about it.

 

[zioxide]

The iBook only supports video mirroring through the VGA output, not extended desktop.

 

[Designer1]

+1 on the Samsung monitors.

We currently own 3.

 

[Fezzasus]

The iBook only supports video mirroring through the VGA output, not extended desktop.

Officially, only mirroring.

This will provide spanning: http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

 

[mynameismatt89]

The mirroring wouldn't be a problem. I am just wondering if I purchase a monitor now, and the MBP comes out, if I could have boughten a different configured/different type (possibly better monitor) because of the new technology.

 

[wentwj]

The mirroring wouldn't be a problem. I am just wondering if I purchase a monitor now, and the MBP comes out, if I could have boughten a different configured/different type (possibly better monitor) because of the new technology.

in short, no, the MacBook Pro and the iBook both output dvi, which is all the montior cares about.

 

[instant hit]

P.S. What monitor would you guys recommend I buy (besides the ACD $$$) that is at least 19" and is anywhere up to $500

both samsung & lg panels are good, so long as they're made in korea; otherwise, the panel is most likely manufactured by au optronics or some other chinese lcd manufacturer whose name escapes me at the moment.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

Both the iBook and Macbook Pro can output to DVI, so both will work with the monitor.

I haven't had much experience with monitors, I know that I like my Samsung, but that's about it.

For the record this is false so disregard this post.

 

[Fezzasus]

For the record this is false so disregard this post.

Is that supposed to be funny? It's not

 

[neilhart]

External Monitor to buy?

In responce to "P.S. What monitor would you guys recommend I buy (besides the ACD $$$) that is at least 19" and is anywhere up to $500", I would reccomend the Princeton VL2418W (24") monitor (DVI and VGA inputs). At my local Costco store for $369. This is very good price and the monitor is great..!

Also, the Costco return policy is "no questions asked", so there is no risk if your not happy with it.

Neil

 

[digitalpencil]

Is that supposed to be funny? It's not

He's actually right. Having owned both an iBook and an MBP, the iBook doesn't have a mini-dvi, it's vga. It's largely irrelevant though, people are always touting the merits of DVI over VGA, that being analogue, it's subject to interference but there's really no tangible difference on TFT/LCD. If anything DVI's limitation to 60hz over 75hz on d-sub is a greater difference but again, this is largely academic in terms of TFTs.

To the OP though, agreed.. Samsung's look great, and both machines will output to them or any other monitor fine. Mirroring will be an issue for your iBook though, as it will throw out the image at 1024x768 and you'll need to run the external at it's native res. But as Fessazus already said, http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html will solve all this and it's relatively safe, not like the old firmware crack

 

[DocSmitty]

He's actually right. Having owned both an iBook and an MBP, the iBook doesn't have a mini-dvi, it's vga. It's largely irrelevant though, people are always touting the merits of DVI over VGA, that being analogue, it's subject to interference but there's really no tangible difference on TFT/LCD. If anything DVI's limitation to 60hz over 75hz on d-sub is a greater difference but again, this is largely academic in terms of TFTs.

Interference has nothing to do with DVI being superior to VGA. ANY signal is susceptible to interference from other EM/RF sources. However, the benefit of DVI is the nature of a digital signal vs. that of an analog. Analog causes some amount of estimation during the D-A conversion, no matter how small. Put those estimations into millions of tiny pixels and you end up with slightly fuzzier looking text. Switching to DVI made a HUGE difference for me.

 

[wentwj]

Interference has nothing to do with DVI being superior to VGA. ANY signal is susceptible to interference from other EM/RF sources. However, the benefit of DVI is the nature of a digital signal vs. that of an analog. Analog causes some amount of estimation during the D-A conversion, no matter how small. Put those estimations into millions of tiny pixels and you end up with slightly fuzzier looking text. Switching to DVI made a HUGE difference for me.

Regardless of any DVI v VGA arguments, both the MBP and the iBook are able to output to any modern monitor, and there is nothing extra a prospective MBP buyer should look for in a monitor (other than perhaps a DVI connection, but most modern monitors come with that anyway)

 

[DocSmitty]

That's true so long as either the iBook has dvi out or the monitor has both vga and dvi in. I've never had an iBook, so I can't weigh in on what connections it has. It may depend on what year it was produced, as dvi hasn't been around forever

 

[Fezzasus]

He's actually right. Having owned both an iBook and an MBP, the iBook doesn't have a mini-dvi, it's vga. It's largely irrelevant though, people are always touting the merits of DVI over VGA, that being analogue, it's subject to interference but there's really no tangible difference on TFT/LCD. If anything DVI's limitation to 60hz over 75hz on d-sub is a greater difference but again, this is largely academic in terms of TFTs.

To the OP though, agreed.. Samsung's look great, and both machines will output to them or any other monitor fine. Mirroring will be an issue for your iBook though, as it will throw out the image at 1024x768 and you'll need to run the external at it's native res. But as Fessazus already said, http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html will solve all this and it's relatively safe, not like the old firmware crack

And coming from someone else who owned an iBook, you can purchase mini vga to dvi adaptors from apple as well as the standard mini vga to vga.

Obviously you wont get the quality of a DVI connection, but you don't lose anything as you can only output in VGA anyway.

So, with that technicality out of the way. You can connect both your iBook and Macbook to a DVI monitor.

 

[mynameismatt89]

Alright, thanks everybody. I will connect my iBook via VGA and then when the MacBook Pro's come along, i'll use the DVI (obviously). Now to decide between these two...

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10088900&catid=

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10086756&catid=

The larger screen would suit my needs better... but is it worth it? Perhaps...

 

[DocSmitty]

The larger screen also has a higher resolution than the smaller, so it's not just a question of inches. For your technical uses, I could see a 1920x1200 resolution being useful, but it's also personal preference. I don't like those ultra-high-res displays because I have a hard time reading the text unless I set all the fonts larger. If you're familiar with how those resolutions look then you may have your own opinion, otherwise I'd recommend checking them out at a store.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

Is that supposed to be funny? It's not

It was not. It was supposed to tell the OP that you spread wrong information, as no others had corrected you. It would be too bad if the OP actually based his choice on your lack of research and bought a monitor now that only had DVI which the iBook would be powerless to use.

Don't you agree?

 

[Fezzasus]

It was not. It was supposed to tell the OP that you spread wrong information, as no others had corrected you. It would be too bad if the OP actually based his choice on your lack of research and bought a monitor now that only had DVI which the iBook would be powerless to use.

Don't you agree?

My information is correct. We are simply arguing over minor points. The output of the ibook is mini-vga. You simply use the apple mini-vga to dvi adaptor instead of the mini-vga to vga.

The end result is the same - you connect your ibook to a dvi monitor.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

My information is correct. We are simply arguing over minor points. The output of the ibook is mini-vga. You simply use the apple mini-vga to dvi adaptor instead of the mini-vga to vga.

The end result is the same - you connect your ibook to a dvi monitor.

Although I feel this subject is debated thin I cannot help but feel you keep missing the point:

First of all I would like to call you on the fact that you never wrote that the iBook was able to output to DVI via. an adapter thus spreading wrong information or at least withheld some information.

Second of all, there doesn't exist a mini-vga to dvi adapter, only mini-vga to vga, and a vga to dvi, so the OP would have to buy two more adapters (which according to this site would cost him 38 bucks without shipping. Hardly fair if he based his next action on your first post right?

Third of all, the end result will never be the same when you go from analog to digital output. It's a world of difference in picture quality.

There. I gave you three reasons why your first post was incorrect and why we are not debating over minor points. I hope you can use it for future reference.

 

[Shannighan]

are you talking about something like display link? because those monitors are awful expencive. since the MBP can handle the highest mainstream monitor without a problem i sugest purchasing the best monitor you can buy!

 

[mynameismatt89]

are you talking about something like display link? because those monitors are awful expencive. since the MBP can handle the highest mainstream monitor without a problem i sugest purchasing the best monitor you can buy!

What do you mean? I could have gotten a better quality one for that price?

I just ordered this online about an hour ago...

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10086756&catid=

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

I have no idea what the previous poster meant but running a 1080p display with a macbook is a bold move. It has a 32 ram graphics card and will probably choke a bit. I tried running a 1680x1050 monitor through it and it went all right but choppy. You'll probably live through it though. Gratz on your new monitor.

 

[Xeem]

And coming from someone else who owned an iBook, you can purchase mini vga to dvi adaptors from apple as well as the standard mini vga to vga.

Obviously you wont get the quality of a DVI connection, but you don't lose anything as you can only output in VGA anyway.

So, with that technicality out of the way. You can connect both your iBook and Macbook to a DVI monitor.

NO, YOU CAN NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!


Apple kept the iBook video output analog-only as a way to force most professionals to purchase Powerbooks. Try all of the adapters you want; iBooks simply cannot drive an Apple Cinema Display or any other monitor that sports only a DVI-D connection without purchasing a full analog-to-digital converter/scaler. These converters usually cost hundreds of dollars and the image quality is noticeably less than that of a pure digital signal.

The cheap little VGA->DVI-I adapters you see littering online marketplaces won't work with the vast majority of dsplays out there because most monitors' DVI connections can only take a digital signal (DVI-D).