Mac to HDTV?

[173080]

For a long time I've wanted to have a computer plugged in to my TV, so I'm thinking this might be a good time to do it.
Is it possible to plug in an XServe or a G5 to an HDTV? What would I need to do that? Are there any good TV Tuner cards out there for Mac? (I've used 3 different TV Cards on my PC and they were all extremely unstable).
If I managed to plug in a Mac to a 50" HDTV, would the text be readable or would it be blurry?
I've also thought about getting the ATI Remote Control. Is it a good remote?

The purpose of this system would be to hold music, movies, pictures and recorded TV Shows and play them on-demand.
Maybe with a Wireless mouse and Keyboard it could also be used for web-browsing and such.

Any ideas?

 

[MisterMe]

For a long time I've wanted to have a computer plugged in to my TV, so I'm thinking this might be a good time to do it.
Is it possible to plug in an XServe or a G5 to an HDTV? What would I need to do that? Are there any good TV Tuner cards out there for Mac? (I've used 3 different TV Cards on my PC and they were all extremely unstable).
If I managed to plug in a Mac to a 50" HDTV, would the text be readable or would it be blurry?
I've also thought about getting the ATI Remote Control. Is it a good remote?

The purpose of this system would be to hold music, movies, pictures and recorded TV Shows and play them on-demand.
Maybe with a Wireless mouse and Keyboard it could also be used for web-browsing and such.

Any ideas?

If your HDTV set or monitor has a DVI port, then you can plug your G5 into it, simple as that.

 

[7on]

I'd prolly go for a used G4 powermac. I think you can get Yikes or Sawtooths around 400-450. Formac makes a good tv tuner. Uses FW and captures as DV Video. Wireless keyboards are awesome. Be sure to get the D-link dongle (if you purchase used). I bought a $20 cheap no-mac support one and the firmware is un-upgradable thus making it unstable with every Bluetooth update.

 

[hotwire132002]

I'm using el gato's eyeTV right now... and I love it!

Their web site is www.elgato.com

As for connecting your mac to your HDTV, some HD sets have DVI input that you can use to directly connect the mac to the TV. The quality on that should be pretty good, in some cases better than some computer monitors (I've heard, but never tested it). If your HD set doesn't have DVI in, Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you'll need a scan converter which will provide poor quality.

Hope this helps.

 

[173080]

hotwire132002: Thanks for that Link!

The HDTV I'm considering is this one. I checked the specs and I found this: "• DVI-HDTV Interface", so I'm guessing it should work nicely with a G5 .

I found ElGato EyeHome very interesting. Maybe I could just keep the G5 in another room and use all the Audio/Video features through EyeHome over a LAN on the Sony HDTV.

This should work, right?

 

[tomf87]

No matter what the interface, a television set does not have the same resolution as a computer monitor. You'll usually end up with picture quality that makes it very hard to read.

I've tried connecting my PB and other various PC's to my HDTV and they all look blurry. It's just that the technology between TV's and computer monitors are different.

EDIT: I'm talking about plugging the computer directly into the TV and using it as a display, not the eEye thing. I have no experience with those.

 

[hotwire132002]

hotwire132002: Thanks for that Link!

The HDTV I'm considering is this one. I checked the specs and I found this: "• DVI-HDTV Interface", so I'm guessing it should work nicely with a G5 .

I found ElGato EyeHome very interesting. Maybe I could just keep the G5 in another room and use all the Audio/Video features through EyeHome over a LAN on the Sony HDTV.

This should work, right?

No problem. I don't have an eyeHome, just the eyeTV.

What the eyeHome will do is send any video clips from an eyeTV, along with your iTunes songs and iPhotos to your TV. It won't send the monitor output to the TV. Note that it works at standard definition: It's not HD.

 

[173080]

No problem. I don't have an eyeHome, just the eyeTV.

What the eyeHome will do is send any video clips from an eyeTV, along with your iTunes songs and iPhotos to your TV. It won't send the monitor output to the TV. Note that it works at standard definition: It's not HD.

So you could say that products by ElGato Systems are reliable?

I found this on the FAQ for EyeHome:

"Q: Does EyeHome support HDTV resolutions?

A: Yes and No. The EyeHome hardware runs at a native 480p (720 by
480) resolution. It can scale this to 720p (1280 by 720) or 1080i
(1920 by 1080), and the scaling is high quality. You pick the
resolution you want in the EyeHome Settings screen. You can also
choose standard TV resolutions.

When displaying high resolution photos from your iPhoto library, like
multi-megapixel JPEGs, EyeHome first scales the image down to 480p.
From there this 480p version will be scaled to the current display
resolution. This means that you won't see your picture at full
resolution, even if you pick 1080i. You'll always see the 480p version
scaled up."

So I take it that movies wont look that bad?

 

[MisterMe]

So you could say that products by ElGato Systems are reliable?

I found this on the FAQ for EyeHome:

"Q: Does EyeHome support HDTV resolutions?

A: Yes and No. The EyeHome hardware runs at a native 480p (720 by
480) resolution. It can scale this to 720p (1280 by 720) or 1080i
(1920 by 1080), and the scaling is high quality. You pick the
resolution you want in the EyeHome Settings screen. You can also
choose standard TV resolutions.

When displaying high resolution photos from your iPhoto library, like
multi-megapixel JPEGs, EyeHome first scales the image down to 480p.
From there this 480p version will be scaled to the current display
resolution. This means that you won't see your picture at full
resolution, even if you pick 1080i. You'll always see the 480p version
scaled up."

So I take it that movies wont look that bad?

Until an HDTV standard for DVD is offered for sale, the best that you can hope for from a DVD is 480p. Your 16:10 Mac monitor or any 16:9 true HDTV monitor is overkill for movies on DVD.

 

[varmit]

Suggestion

Wait just a little longer, see if a 30 inch monitor comes out. Get that for the TV set because the flat panel TVs have a bad burning situation, or at least the last time I heard. So the Dock, and other windows that might end up in the same spot if left on the desktop with these TVs for some time, will be perminately burned into the screen. So when you turn the tv off, you can still see the inprint of what was there.

I just don't want a unhappy customer for those HD TVs, they are expensive.

 

[hotwire132002]

So you could say that products by ElGato Systems are reliable?

I found this on the FAQ for EyeHome:

"Q: Does EyeHome support HDTV resolutions?

A: Yes and No. The EyeHome hardware runs at a native 480p (720 by
480) resolution. It can scale this to 720p (1280 by 720) or 1080i
(1920 by 1080), and the scaling is high quality. You pick the
resolution you want in the EyeHome Settings screen. You can also
choose standard TV resolutions.

When displaying high resolution photos from your iPhoto library, like
multi-megapixel JPEGs, EyeHome first scales the image down to 480p.
From there this 480p version will be scaled to the current display
resolution. This means that you won't see your picture at full
resolution, even if you pick 1080i. You'll always see the 480p version
scaled up."

So I take it that movies wont look that bad?

MPEG-2 Movies will look about the same quality as a DVD. The recordings from eyeTV are a little better than VHS quality, in my opinion, so they won't look great on an HD set (320x240 scaled to...what...1980x1080?), but they look fine on my 17" iMac.

 

[blackfox]

For a long time I've wanted to have a computer plugged in to my TV, so I'm thinking this might be a good time to do it.
Is it possible to plug in an XServe or a G5 to an HDTV? What would I need to do that? Are there any good TV Tuner cards out there for Mac? (I've used 3 different TV Cards on my PC and they were all extremely unstable).
If I managed to plug in a Mac to a 50" HDTV, would the text be readable or would it be blurry?
I've also thought about getting the ATI Remote Control. Is it a good remote?

The purpose of this system would be to hold music, movies, pictures and recorded TV Shows and play them on-demand.
Maybe with a Wireless mouse and Keyboard it could also be used for web-browsing and such.

Any ideas?

First of all, I am eminently jealous
I cannot comment on the TV Tuner cards, as I do not have one.
As far as how things would look on your HDTV (via mac) I would suggest taking your (or borrowing) a laptop to the store with you and testing it out...no substitute for empirical knowledge. Then you will know for sure.
Personally, I recommend DLP technology in TV (or in general)...Samsung makes a nice one, about the size you are looking at, at about the price...but whatever you choose, movies and pictures should look very good...a projector is also an appealing option (It is the way I went), but HD ones are mucho expensive...

 

[johnk1]

I have hooked My Sony 60 inch projection TV using a DVI-D cable to a ATI 8500 card. Image is clear and sharp except resolution is off. Either images are squahed horizontially or chopped off slightly vertically.

According to ATI no solution on MAC possible.

They mention a VGA to HDTV adapter. Anyone know what this is or if it can be used on MAC?

 

[cpjakes]

I have hooked My Sony 60 inch projection TV using a DVI-D cable to a ATI 8500 card. Image is clear and sharp except resolution is off. Either images are squahed horizontially or chopped off slightly vertically.

According to ATI no solution on MAC possible.

They mention a VGA to HDTV adapter. Anyone know what this is or if it can be used on MAC?

I think there is a solution called SwitchRes, check out these forums for more answers.

http://www.htmug.com/