Wide screen monitor is great
 

I recently bought a 1680x1050 monitor and I'm in heaven with the extra "real estate". This is my first DVI monitor too. I like it, but when my screen saver wakes up, I get the "DVI" message on top of windows for the longest time until it goes away. I have learned that if I hit the menu button on the monitor twice it will go away. I wish I didn't have to do that. I'm thinking about disabling the screen saver all together so that the signal will never go way to begin with. It's when the signal comes back that the "DVI" square appears for about 60 seconds or longer.

I have the samething with mine but it doesn't bother me. I just hit the enter key/space bar whatever and the screen comes back. I got a wide screen a few months ago and I love it. My fiance has a mac wide screen not sure if he has dvi or not I have a pc.

Hi Scarlett, the extra space sure does come in handy for buddy lists or whatever. Yea, when I hit the enter key/space bar, the screen comes back but with "DVI" printed in the middle of it for a minute or two! It's a nusaince since it's the monitor doing this right on top of Windows. I guess I chose the wrong brand of monitor. It's a Gateway. I see that Viewsonic and others make them and the prices just keep coming down.

Mine is a viewsonic and it says no signal in the center of my screen and doesn't take that long to come back it's only seconds.

Ahhh, I wish mine did that. :) I am thinking of buying a viewsonic for home so this is good to know.

I called up Gateway and told them of the problem, but they were not much help. They wanted me to install their software and I'm thinking, software for a monitor? Anyway I tried to install it and it hung my computer... LOL

A yea, hi.
 

yea, I don't have that problem. that must be a drag :cool:

I only do Apple and I have a dvi port on my 17" MacBookPro, but I don't see one on my iMac G5 (the one before they added the built-in camera
:( Luckily, the MBPro has the camera which is a blast to play with along with Photobooth. But what does dvi stand for? I am trying to learn to connect my computer to the TV so I can show my students things and I got a dvi connector which plugs into the computer, then another cord plugs into that and into the RCA port on the TV. The picture is so-so. I've been told to use S-video instead. Do all of the newer TVs come with S-video? The one I have at work doesn't have it. But I am supposed to be getting a new one. I have a bit of a wire phobia, LOL! I feel so dumb about this stuff. Thank God for Apple which at least is very user-friendly and I don't have to worry about viruses or spyware or a lot of freezing and crashing. It is SO elegant. And the Mac and PC guys commercials are so true. I've used both platforms and Apple is definitely a lot more fun!

Cadenza, here is a brief low down on video ports: (from worst to best)

TV's:
Composite Video - RCA jack - 2 conductors - worst choice
S-Video - mini-din jack - 5 conductors - separates color signals on same cable
Component video - RCA or BNC jacks - Separate cables for each color signal

Computers:
SVGA – D connector – the old style common monitor connector (analog)
Mac Video – various proprietary connectors but basically the same (analog)

Now comes the convergence of TV’s and Computer Interfacing:
DVI - Digital Video Interface – Video only used by computers and TV’s
HDMI – Same as DVI plus more signals for things like audio and remote control. Used mainly on new TV’s.

Thanks for the information!
 

What cable is used with HDMI? Does the computer have to have something different from DVI to use that?

DVI and HDMI
 

DVI and HDMI are electrically identical, so adapter cables are easy and cheap to make. An HDMI cable is nothing more than a digital DVI cable with a differently-shaped connector and extra pins for audio.

yeah what joepole said. :) I just buy the DVI or HDMI cable at Best Buy or Circuit City, but you can save by ordering online. The cables and adapters cost more than they should. (as much as my DVI graphics card, LOL)

Retail cables
 

It you buy cables at a retail store you are a sucker. Doubly so if you buy ones with the word "Monster" anywhere on them.

Sixxty second delay to long to wait
 

I don't know how old your are but there was a day not that long ago that
a 286 XT with a 10 meg hard drive was a real good thing. High speed has
made us into spoiled children. Rhertz must be a very young person but I
can tell you are on the cutting edge of computer age. My children have long
passed me on computers with there young minds and the fact they where
raised with a key board in there hand has been good for there education
and mine too.

welcome to the widescreen world. :)

I've got a pair of 20" widescreen Dell 2005fpw displays on my PowerMac and I won't give them up for anything... except maybe two 30" displays. Once you go dual and get used to it, nothing less will do. Regardless, I'm sure you'll find that the extra screen space is really handy, and almost necessary at times. You'll wonder how you lived without it before.

LOL like I used to get by without a hard drive back in the day :) or how I used to get by without m TIVO.

"Back when I was a kid, we didn't need no stinkin' hard drive.. and we liked it !"

LOL, you are showing your age! ;) I too remember life before hard drives. Upgrading from cassette tape to floppy disk was no less of a jump in convenience and technology. (or price LOL) My first floppy drive was $495. And my first 16KB was $180.. LOL, now I'm showing MY age!

cables and wires
 

I have few problems using technology once it is set up. But I have been struggling with getting the right equipment and connections now for three months. I finally have a new TV at work that has an S-Video port. I now have a fair (thought I'd like clearer) picture from the computer to the TV. But I don't like having to read a book to be able to work a TV...it is ridiculously complicated to me to have to program one's television. Also, I still don't have the right audio cord...have finally managed to get audio out of the tv, but it is very weak on some things, like the videos I have downloaded from iTunes...lower quality and not much more volume than the computer itself. The ones I make myself with Quicktime are much better. I've thought of just getting some speakers to hook up to the laptop. Since I teach music, the audio is especially important to me. Also, now I realize that most of my software won't work on my new Intel Mac, so I either need an Aver-Key to use the old G3 or update or get new software. As Roseann Roseanna Danna (sp) used to say, "It's always something!"

SVideo
 

S-video is worthless for carrying a cmputer signal, you need something that can support better than standard TV resolution (480 vertical lines). VGA od DVI/HDMI would be acceptable.

I thought VGA was for projectors. But what do I know? Not much. Can you tell me exactly what cord to buy? Maybe give me a link? Thanks.

Cables
 

Depends on what inputs the monitor accepts and what inputs the computer has out.

Best would be DVI at both ends. Simply buy a DVI cable. Should be about $20 online or $150 in a Best Buy-ish store.

Second best would be HDMI in on the monitor and DVI out on the PC. DVI and HDMI are the same thing video-wise, but the cable will be more expensive.

Third best would be VGA.

LOL, Cadenza, you are a Mac person so you are forgiven. :) VGA/SVGA were "PC" standards for many many years. now DVI is gaining ground.

As for a cord to buy, TV's normally have svideo but not SVGA. "Monitors" and projectors have SVGA. TV's typically aren't good as computer monitors, but DVI/HDMI is changing all that. From now on, everything I buy must have DVI or HDMI. (computer or TV) but your svideo connection might be as good as it gets if you must connect a tv to a computer. Projectors are much better for classroom work.