Macintosh Display Cards: RGB-to-NTSC Converters



Do you know of a device that can convert the color RGB signal (interlaced) from
the new video cards to NTSC? Does it have the correct grounding for the sense
pins to put the Display Card 8/24 into interlace mode and let the convolution
(in 8-bit color) work?

RasterOps has announced an RGB-to-NTSC converter device. It is mentioned in the
RasterOps ad in the June 1990 Macworld (pages 114-115). We have also received
a marketing flyer on this converter. The name of the product is the RasterOps
Video Expander.

The sense pin issue is normally handled in the cable configuration. This
eliminates any concern over the converter having to deal with the card
configuration. Engineering has tested an early version of the converter with
the new cards. It appears that the shipping converter will work with the
Macintosh Display Cards. We have not yet had one to test. However, the
Display Card marketing group assures us that everything will be fine.

Another RGB-to-NTSC converter is from Computer Video. Their product, Video
NTSC Encoder, provides another solution for converting the High-Resolution
8-Bit Macintosh Video Cards to an NTSC output signal. We believe this
converter box will work with the new cards. It uses the configuration of the
cable to tell the new Macintosh Display Cards which mode to use.

For more details, search the Technical Info library under "Computer Video" and
"RasterOps."


Published Date: Feb 18, 2012