CV Link

["Jane Carver , Rivers Country Da 617-235-9300" <JCARVER@A1.MEC.MASS.EDU>]

Before Winter vacation I asked if anybody knew anything about a product called
CV-Link that allowed you to hook up a large screen TV to a Macintosh computer.
Several people wanted to know what replies I received so let me share excerts
from them and some of my own discoveries.

From Michele Wendel  (m_wendel@mentor.unh.edu):
        I have a CV Link for my classroom computer- I attach the link to my 31"
tv/monitor (600 lines of resolution) and I attach to my power book or LC with no
troubles- no flicker and great resolutions!!!  I love it-- even use it for on
line display

also the company that sells the cv link has great telephone support for problems
etc.  ..

(That was my only direct CV Link reply, however....read on)

From Kathryn Hunt (khunt@eis.calstate.edu) via Debbie Abilock
        I've used LTV which is cheap, $200 or so.  It allows you to hook your
computer to a tv with RCA cables.  The quality isn't great, but okay and I
understand they've improved it.  LCD displays are just too expensive for most
school budgets...

From Paula Galland (paula@freenet.fsu.edu)
        I use a product called L-TV to connect Mac to a regular TV set.  The
resolution is awful--that of a tv set--but if you are using a large font or just
getting kids started using a new piece of software, the price is right and it is
good enough.

From Steve Baule (baules@aol.com)
        Several options exist to allow for regular video output of Macintosh
screens. L-TV and L-TV Pro by Lapis are the two that can be found in my district
(IL).  Both are fair, but they do not allow for easy reading of text in
commercial programs.  In your own work, if you set the text to something like
14p Chicago, you can use that fairly well with a big group.
        A second option is that Apple is going to provide an upgrade kit to a
660 AV for a Centris [note: name has been changed recently to a Quadra 660 AV]
or a Quadra 610.  This may be the best option because it does an excellent job.
        The third option is an LCD and a high output overhead.  If you do not
use a high output overhead, the LCD will not be fairly evaluated.  Some LCDs can
also be used as video projectors.  This actually is the most versatile option if
you can afford to buy a decent LCD panel.


From me!
        Eventually my husband got a Quadra 660 AV (instead of the 610 he had
originally bought).  He then tried hooking it up to a 21" tv (with the 660 you
only need cables to hook it up, no extra software is necessary).  While you
could read it, it looked kind of fuzzy around the edges (like a movie dream
sequence).  He thought maybe it was because it was an old tv.  He later got
really good cables and hooked it up to a new 31" tv.  It worked beautifully!
We think the key is the quality of the cables--get really good ones!

Hope this is helpful to you all.  Thank you all for the information.
--Jane

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        Jane Carver             jcarver@a1.mec.mass.edu
        The Rivers School       (617) 235-9300
        333 Winter St
        Weston, MA 02193-1040