HD LCD and a Mac G5

It's taken a few month to get to this latest blog but I'd like to share my experience of hooking up my G5 PowerMac to a LCD TV. I recently replaced my old 28" CRT TV with a 46" LCD HD monster from Sharp. My main reason for buying this particular TV was because it was just about the only one that had a DVI-In post, meaning I could hook my Apple G5 Mac into directly without downgrading the video signal to RGB. The idea was to use my Mac as a sort of media centre, to play DVD's, use iTunes to play thru the TV speakers, run Skype over the TV and at some stage buy a Elgato EyeTV adapter and run a TV feed thru the computer onto the TV, meaning that the G5 would also double up as a digital TV tuner. The TV could also be a big monitor, meaning we could surf the web or play games from the lounge.

  

I still think the whole concept is a good one and would mean replacing a whole lot of boxes that we have sitting under the TV with a P. However it hasn't worked out at all well, for a whole lot of reasons which I've listed below.

1. The best compatible resolution that the TV and the G5 seem to share is 1280x720. I can get output up to 1920x1080 but I have huge overscan problems. What this means is that the screen image that the computer sends simply doesn't fit in the screen. The top, bottom and sides and cut off so you can't see the top menu bar in OS X for example. Only 1280x720 works but on a 46" screen everything seems a little big and blocky. I've tried fixing the overscan issue using programs like DisplayConfigX but haven't cracked it. Kinda makes the whole DVI input thing a waste of time really, might as well be RGB at this resolution. I could possibly fix this by change the Video Card on the G5, but I'd be taking a punt there, there seems to be no guarantee it'd work.

2. Because the resolution isn't great any DVD's or TV played looks terrible. I'm much better off running it directly from the TV tuner or DVD player to the TV rather then thru the G5.

3. A G5 PowerMac doesn't come with a Airport or Bluetooth. This means I need to use either my standard wired keyboard and mouse or pay extra for a wireless USB combo. A wired keyboard/mouse isn't really an option in a lounge situation, so I'd have to invest in the wireless combo. Also, because I don't have an airport I need to run a Ethernet Cable from my router in the office to my G5 in the lounge, which means drilling holes in the floor.

4. The G5 also misses a inbuilt webcam and microphone, making the whole Skype idea a little defunct. I can plug in a Mic and buy a iSight camera but the whole idea of this was to reduce clutter and save on cost. It also doesn't support Apple's Front Row or the Front Row remote, and from what I've read there's no way to set this up either.

5. BIGGEST problem. This new LCD TV uses a whopping 262 Watts of power. Compare that to the old 28" CRT, which used about 75 Watts. I could have had three and a half of those old CRT's running for the same running cost as this LCD monstrosity. Setting up a dedicated media centre as I had envisaged would require having the PC and the TV both running a lot more then they are when separated. A PowerMac G5 isn't exactly cheap run either - it comes in at a maximum 450 watts, and 140 watts even just when idling (note the new Intel MacPro are somewhat more power efficient).

So, to summarise. My reasons for buying a new TV were somewhat flawed. A PowerMac G5 setup as mine is doesn't make a particularly good media centre. A Mac Mini would be a much better choice, although I'd strongly recommend checking the resolutions your TV supports with the Mac Mini before buying a HD TV.