CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

matt_vo · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 16

Hi all,
So I received my MUX-HD box today and proceeded, with apprehension, to use it to connect my PS3 to my 23" Apple Cinema Display (1920x1200). And as sort of expected, it didn't work. Sad

There is no image displayed whatsoever and the little led flashes 3 times. I suspect that it's because my display doesn't have an internal scaler to display 1080 on 1200, right?
Would there be a workaround to this? Maybe if I could somehow see the PS3 menus and play with display settings or something...

Thanks all,
Matt

ecrabb · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 4:07 am Post subject:

Matt,

You're right about the Cinema Display being the problem. The Cinema Display has no scaler onboard, and needs one of its native resolutions (which a Mac or PC will get from the EDID).

The only fix would be to use an actual scaler that will take a 1920x1080 input and add black pixels to make the signal a 1920x1200 signal that will fit natively on the display. The problem with that is that the scaler will cost about as much as a whole new LCD display.

I know of no cheap or easy to solution to the problem. I'm not saying there isn't one - I just don't know of one. That's one thing I hate about the Cinema Displays. For the premium Apple gets for them, they should do more than the (often cheaper) alternatives - not less. (I'm an Apple fan and user, BTW) There are several excellent alternatives to the ACD that would allow you to do what you want. You might consider selling the MUX-HD and Cinema Display and getting a good LCD display with HDMI, DVI and analog inputs so you can display whatever you want on it.

This LaCie looks like a hell of a display, although there are cheaper alternatives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824196019

SC

matt_vo · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 16

Thanks for the reply ecrabb, but I got it to work!
I was pretty lucky with this one...
So as I said, I was pretty apprehensive about pluging the mux hd to my cinema display, knowing that the display can't support non-native resolutions. And as it turned out, it didn't work. So I sort-of gave up, until I thought about plugging the ps3 to a regular tv, using the yellow rca, and the mux-hd/display via HDMI, that way I can see the ps3 menus and display settings. There, I changed the output to HDMI. That still didn't work, as both screens were now black, but I could still hear menu sounds. Was like walking blindfolded. So because I didn't memorize how to go about changing the settings to 1080p I just hit whatever combination of buttons on the ps3 controller and BAM! The ACD finally showed a picture!
So everything 'works'. The only thing is that the remaining vertical 120 pixels (it's 1920x1200) mirror the top of the image, meaning there are no black bars on the top and bottom. I can live with that...
But the worse is that I can't play games that display 720p, they just show a black screen, as previously described. Games that are 1080i or p work great.

So... I might do as you suggested. Sell my ACD and MUX-HD to get a Dell 2408, or something similar. The LaCie doesn't help me much since it has only DVI and d-sub inputs.

Thanks all,
Matt

matt_vo · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 16

Sorry, just saw that the LaCie has 2xHDMI inputs. Loos really nice then, since I do graphic work and need an accurate display, hence the ACD. But it's quite expensive...

ecrabb · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject:

Wow, I had no idea the ACD would sync to any CE-device signal like 1080p at all - wraparound or not. Glad you got something to work, at least.

Looks like getting $550 or even $600 for the ACD on fleabay would be cake - maybe a little more on craigslist locally. Sell the MUX-HD to one of the forum members for $250 or so, and you're at around $850. Only another $150 to get to the LaCie display (or one of comparable quality). Not sure how the LaCie fares, but I bet there are reviews out there on the best affordable high-quality displays for imaging and design.

Here's an interesting read on the 2408:
http://monitortest.blogspot.com/

Cheers,
SC

matt_vo · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 16

Read the review on the Dell 2408 and I'm not convinced that it would be a good option (poor viewing angles, input lag, ghosting...). I think you got me on the laCie, looks awesome and versatile at the same time. Tried to find extensive reviews of it but couldn't. Maybe it's too new.

Thanks.