Apple IIe composite video output

13 posts / 0 new
Last post
Offline
Last seen: 2 years 6 months ago
Joined: Feb 18 2021 - 13:59
Posts: 7
Apple IIe composite video output

Others have posted in the last couple of year about using a 19” Insignia TV from Best Buy as an inexpensive monitor for Apple II composite video output but for some reason I’ve been unable to find their posts.  I want to thank them for calling this option to my attention and to add that although the posts mention an LCD TV, the current model is an LED one.  I’m pleased to report that it does an excellent job of displaying 80-column text using my Apple IIe’s composite video output. 

I just got my early-model Apple IIe working again after close to 40 years but no longer have a CRT monitor for it.  It has a Rev. A motherboard and already had the enhanced chipset and an Apple extended 80-column 64K RAM expansion card installed at the time I acquired it. 

I first tried an old 20” LG LCD TV with a composite video input as a monitor and found that it worked to a degree.   The 40-column text display was pretty good but 80-column text for the Apple Pascal operating system was disappointingly blurry. Reading these forums I found out that the reason was that the  Apple IIe has a non-standard NTSC composite video output which isn’t handled well by most digital TVs.  My experience with the LG TV confirmed that. 

However several LCD TVs and computer monitors were reported to handle the composite video output much better than others and the 19” Insignia LCD TV was on the list as in expensive option. 

As mentioned above the current model carried by Best Buy has an LED display rather than an LCD one but I suspect has the much the same electronics. 

When I tried this TV the 80-column text display was much better than on the LG.  By making a few adjustments I was able to improve it a little more.  The settings I settled on are: wide aspect ratio, game mode, brightness 28%, sharpness 100%. 

This image compares the appearance of 80-column Apple Pascal text on the 20” LG LCD TV (left) and the 19” Insignia LED TV (right).

Offline
Last seen: 2 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 14:45
Posts: 219
That seems to be a great

That seems to be a great option for a good price: $90.

I purchased a 9" Naxa  LCD portable TV from Fry's for not much less late last year and I am very disatisfied how it works with my Apple //c and my MacMini2,1.

I may just pick this us and pack up the other one and sell it on eBay.

Nice post! 

Offline
Last seen: 3 hours 7 min ago
Joined: Apr 26 2016 - 08:36
Posts: 668
Great stuff!Can you give us a

Great stuff!

Can you give us a model number or weblink to the Insignia television?

 

 

Offline
Last seen: 2 years 6 months ago
Joined: Feb 18 2021 - 13:59
Posts: 7
Insignia TV model number

The model number for the 19" Insignia LED TV is: 

Model NS-19D310NA21

Offline
Last seen: 2 years 4 months ago
Joined: Feb 5 2019 - 02:03
Posts: 7
Apple IIe composite video output

Hi landahl,

the model number 19” Insignia LCD TV you reported has only an HDMI video input. Is that correct?

If so please tell me which converter you use from cbas to HDMI?

Thank you

Kind Regards Boris

 

Product IdentifiersBrand            InsigniaMPN              NS-19D310NA21UPC               0600603261374Model  Insignia  NS-19D310NA21

Product Key FeaturesRefresh Rate     60 HzAudio/Video      Inputs  HDMIMaximum Resolution  720p (HD)Manufacturer Color  BlackColor               BlackScreen Size         19 inDisplay Technology  LED

 

sorry i do not get it showing here in table form :-(

 

Offline
Last seen: 2 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 14:45
Posts: 219
AV inputs
Magnifying the photo of the back of the unit on the Best Buy website, there is clearly an AV audio-video input, as reported in the Specs.
Offline
Last seen: 2 years 6 months ago
Joined: Feb 18 2021 - 13:59
Posts: 7
AV inputs

MichaelLAX is correct.  In addition to the HDMI inputs, the 19" Insignia LED TV has an AV  input on the back so it can be connected directly to the composite video output of the Apple IIe with a standard RCA cable.

Offline
Last seen: 2 years 4 months ago
Joined: Feb 5 2019 - 02:03
Posts: 7
Super, thank you for clarify

Super, thank you all for clarify this.

 

Kind Regards Boris

css
Offline
Last seen: 1 week 4 hours ago
Joined: Mar 18 2019 - 00:10
Posts: 45
On sale today 3/12/21 at Best Buy in the U.S.

For anyone interested, this TV is on sale today at Best Buy in the U.S. A daily deal.

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-19-class-led-hd-tv/6394757.p?skuId=6394757

Offline
Last seen: 2 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 14:45
Posts: 219
What a great tip!It arrives

What a great tip!

It arrives tomorrow; shipping free!

Now my handyman gets my 9" Naxa as a gift for all the good work he does for me.

Thank you again.

Offline
Last seen: 2 months 1 week ago
Joined: Dec 19 2003 - 14:45
Posts: 219
Mine arrived yesterday

Mine arrived yesterday and it is a beauty on my MacMini2,1.

I will try my Apple //c soon, but I expect similar results!

Good tips all around.

I packed up the 9" Naxa and am giving it away as a present! :)

Offline
Last seen: 1 month 2 weeks ago
Joined: May 27 2021 - 15:16
Posts: 4
Great results on the Insignia TV

This post deserves a bump.

 

Got my Insignia NS-19D310NA21 19 inch from Best Buy last week. It is the best composite renderer I have found yet for my Apple IIe. Displays 80 column text crisply as in the screenshots above. Hi-res is great with only a very small amount of fringing. Be sure to use the composite AV input.

 

For $69.99 for the Insignia, you can't go wrong.

 

Bill

Offline
Last seen: 3 hours 7 min ago
Joined: Apr 26 2016 - 08:36
Posts: 668
  For $69.99 for the Insignia
 

 

For $69.99 for the Insignia, you can't go

 

Someone must have gotten wind of this television and casued a run on them - the price is now $99.99 for some reason.

 

Log in or register to post comments