connecting my ibook

Hi folks
is it possible to connect my lowly G4 ibook to my friend's swanky 24" imac just so I can use its big screen? Or am I asking for trouble......

Many thanks

No there is is DVI/VGA in on an iMac.

The closest you could get would be running Remote on the iMac and connecting to the iBook but its not really what you are looking for.

DVI/VGA....... I think i know what this is - a really short cable that came with the ibook for connecting to external monitors. could I use this to connect to a tv too then? It's pretty short so I'm guessing that I need to get another cable to attach to this....

Steveland said:

DVI/VGA....... I think i know what this is - a really short cable that came with the ibook for connecting to external monitors. could I use this to connect to a tv too then? It's pretty short so I'm guessing that I need to get another cable to attach to this....

Click to expand...

COMPOSITE is the oldest computer connection which most 8 bit computers used such as a BBC, amstrad, commodore 64 etc etc Scart connectors have composite pins so you can connect composite devices to scart (most video games come with a scart plug with yellow, white and red sockets - the yellow socket is composite video)

VGA is what most people call 15pin High density D plugs, it is the standard connector to connect monitors to a computer from the mid to late eighties right up to the last couple of years.

DVI is a replacement which has more connectors and allows DIGITAL as well as ANALOGUE signals. Up to about 1280x resolutions you would be hard pressed to tell any difference hence the longevity of the VGA plug. for resolutions higher than 1280 you can start to see a difference on a decent quality monitor but only by comparison.

My DELL 2407 monitor has a maximum resolution is 1920x1200 and the monitor has ALL of these connectors! I can connect a computer such as my Mac pro to the monitor by either a VGA or DVI plug. The picture is slightly better with DVI but perfectly useable with VGA.

Now we come to the new modern connectors.... HDMI is the most popular. HDMI is compatible with DVI - D (digital DVI) and so you can connect a computer with DVI-D (any post intel mac and some earlier) to a TV that has HDMI. HDMI is fitted to HiDef TVs so you will be able to use your computer at 760p or 1080p resolutions.

Some older TVs do have composite or even VGA connectors but the useful resolution is usually 640x480 or at best 800x600 both of which are not really usuable today.


Hope this helps

Thanks for the thorough answer - I'm posting it to my notice-board so I never forget!