TITLE
    PowerBook (Bronze keyboard and FireWire): Supported Resolutions for External Displays
Article ID:
Created:
Modified:
58344
5/6/99
11/2/00

TOPIC

    This article documents the supported resolutions available for an external display connected to the PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard) and PowerBook (FireWire).


DISCUSSION

    The PowerBook has a video out port that allows you to directly connect a monitor with a VGA-style adapter, or other external video device such as a video projector. If you have an older Macintosh-compatible monitor, you can connect it using the VGA-to-Macintosh video adapter that came with your computer.

    When an external monitor is connected, you can either have the same image appear on both the internal display and the external monitor (known as video mirroring) or use the external monitor to extend the size of the Mac OS desktop (known as dual display mode).

    The supported resolutions for external displays are as follows:


    Resolutions
    Refresh Rate (Hertz)
    Max. Number of colors
    512 x 384
    60 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    640 x 480
    60/67/72/75/85 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    640 x 870
    75 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    800 x 600
    56/60/72/75/85 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    832 x 624
    75 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    1024 x 768
    60/67/72/75/85 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    1152 x 870
    75 Hz
    Millions (24 bit)
    1280 x 960
    75 Hz
    Millions + (24 bit)
    1280 x 1024
    75 Hz
    Millions + (24 bit)

    + Millions of colors are only available on the external monitor when the PowerBook display is closed, dedicating all 8MB of video memory for the external display.

    Playback of DVD movies on a television connected to the PowerBook (FireWire) reduces the amount of video memory available for the built-in display. You may have fewer colors available at higher resolutions.

    TV out supported resolutions
    The TV out port (also known as an S-Video out port) on your computer lets you connect to a television, videocassette recorder (VCR), or video projection system.



    Figure 1 , TV out (S-Video out) port

    You can use TV out to display images on a television or record computer images on a VCR. If your computer came with a DVD-ROM drive, you can use it to play DVD discs on your television.

    When an external video device is connected to the TV out port, you can either have the same image appear on both the internal display and the device ("video mirroring") or you can use the device to extend the size of the Mac OS desktop ("dual display mode").

    Because of the display limitations of most televisions, images displayed on the television screen are of lower quality than those on the built-in display or an external monitor.

    How you connect video equipment to your computer depends on the type of equipment you want to connect. The S-video port can output the following display formats:

    S-video: High-quality video format used by certain televisions, VCRs, and video projectors



    Figure 2 , S-Video cable

    You can connect a cable from a S-video device directly to the S-video output port on the computer. S-video is recommended because it provides better quality than standard composite video cables.

    Composite video: Video format used by most televisions and VCRs



    Figure 3 , Composite video cable

    To connect a composite video device, you need to use a composite video cable (not included with the PowerBook) and the composite to S-video adapter that came with your PowerBook. (Shown below)



    Figure 4 , Composite to S-Video adapter cable

    Use the TV Mirroring portion of the Control Strip to turn video mirroring on and adjust the settings for how the images are displayed on the television.

    TV Mirroring


    Figure 5 , TV Mirroring portion of the Control Strip

    Format
    Resolution
    Refresh rate
    NTSC
    512 x 384
    60 hertz (Hz)
    640 x 480
    60 Hz
    720 x 480
    60 Hz
    800 x 600
    60 Hz
    832 x 624
    60 Hz
    1024 x 768
    60 Hz
    PAL
    512 x 384
    50 hertz (Hz)
    640 x 480
    50 Hz
    720 x 480
    50 Hz
    800 x 600
    50 Hz
    832 x 624
    50 Hz
    1024 x 768
    50 Hz

    Notes:

    1) NTSC is the television video standard for North America.

    2) PAL is the television standard for most of Europe and some Asian countries.


Document Information
Product Area: Computers
Category: PowerBook
Sub Category: PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze Kbd)

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