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CRT DISPLAYS In the very beginning (throughout the 1970's) Apple did not manufacturer or sell displays of any kind, instead recommending users plug-into their Television sets or (then) expensive third party monochrome monitors. Apple's history with CRT displays only began in 1980 , starting with the Monitor III that was introduced along side the Apple III business computer. It was a 12" monochrome (green) screen that could display 80x24 text characters and any type of graphics, however suffered from a very slow phosphor refresh that resulted in a "ghosting" video effect. So it could be shared with Apple II computers, a plastic stand was made available to accommodate the larger footprint of the monitor. Roughly 4 years later came the introduction of the Monitor II, which as the name implies, was more suited in look and style for the Apple II line and at the same time added improvements in features and visual quality. In 1984 a miniature 9" screen, called the Monitor IIc, was introduced for the Apple IIc computer to help complement its compact size. By early 1985 came the first color CRT's, starting with the Monitor 100, a digital RGB display for the Apple III and Apple IIe (with appropriate card), followed shortly by the 14" ColorMonitor IIe and ColorMonitor IIc , composite video displays for those respective models. In 1986 came the introduction of the AppleColor RGB, a 12" analog RGB display designed specifically for the Apple IIGS computer. It supported a resolution of 640x400 Interlaced (640x200 non-interlaced) and could be used by the Macintosh II , in a limited fashion, with the Apple High Resolution Display Video Card. Also introduced that year was the Apple Monochrome Monitor, which cosmetically was identical to the former screen but was a black and white composite display suitable in external appearance for the Apple IIGS, Apple IIc or Apple IIc Plus . The second generation of displays were built into the Apple Macintosh line of computers. Back then the Macintosh had a high resolution 9-inch monochrome monitor that could display 512x342 pixels. All future models of the Classic style Macintosh later featured this exact display. New external Apple Displays were introduced in 1987 with the Macintosh II . The Macintosh II had a PC-style expandable case which required an external monitor, it was also able to run up to six external displays simultaneously using multiple video cards. The Desktop spanned multiple monitors and windows could be dragged from monitor to monitor, or even straddle two or more. The Color 12", 16" and 21" displays were introduced with resolutions of 512x384, 832x624 and 1152x870. Also monochrome displays were introduced mainly for the publishing industry, like the Macintosh Two Page Monochrome Monitor which was able to display pages next to each other with identical resolution to the 21" color one. Also the Macintosh Portrait Display was introduced which had a vertical aligment of the screen and was able to display one page. A 12" monochrome version was also introduced at the low end. The third generation of displays were introduced in the form of the Macintosh Color Display in 1992 and was the first Apple display to feature a Trinitron , or Aperture Grille , CRT. The first display to include built-in speakers was introduced in 1994 as the AudioVision 14". Monitors were divided into two groups. There were the cheaper Multiple Scan monitors with standard shadow mask CRTs with fewer colors and lower resolution. There was also the AppleVision series of displays which were positioned to the professional market and included more expensive Trinitron CRTs. Many models didn't include built-in speakers because they were considered toys by some in the publishing industry. The AppleVision line of displays were later renamed as ColorSync displays when Steve Jobs returned to Apple and consolidated the product lines. Only 17" and 20" models were left in the product line. The fourth generation of displays were introduced simultaneously with the Blue & White Power Macintosh G3 which included the translucent plastics (initially white and blue, then white and grey upon the introduction of the Power Mac G4) of the IMac . The displays were also designed with same translucent look. The Apple Studio Display series of CRT displays were available in 17" and 21" models, both using Trinitron CRTs. The last Apple CRT was introduced in 2000 along with the Power Mac G4 Cube . It featured clear plastics to match the Cube and LCD Studio Displays, a flat screened Diamondtron CRT, and the new Apple Display Connector , which provided power, USB, and video signals to the monitor through a single cable. LCD DISPLAYS The history of Apple LCD displays started back in 1984 when the Apple Flat Panel Display was introduced for the Apple IIc computer. The display had an odd aspect ratio (making images look vertically squished) and required a very strong external light source, such as a desk lamp or direct sunlight to be used. Even then it had a very poor contrast overall and was quite expensive, contributing to its poor sales and consequently it dropping from the market not long after its introduction. The next flat-panel was introduced on March 17 1998 with the 15" Apple Studio Display which had a resolution of 1024x768. After the EMate , it was one of the first Apple products to feature translucent plastics, two months before the unveiling of the IMac . It had a DA-15 input as well as S-video , Composite Video , ADB and audio connectors, though no onboard speakers. In January 1999 the coloring was changed to match the blue and white of the new Power Macintosh G3s, and the connector changed to VGA . The 22" widescreen Apple Cinema Display was introduced in August 1999, simultaneously with the Power Mac G4 and in the beginning was sold only as an option to the Power Mac G4, selling for US$3,999. It had a native resolution of 1600x1024 and used a DVI connector. The display had a striped look on the bezel, similar to previous Studio Displays and iMacs. In December, the colors of the 15" display were changed to match the new Power Mac G4s, and the input was changed from VGA to DVI, the audio and video features dropped, and the ADB functionality replaced by a two-port USB hub. In 2000 the 22" Cinema Displays switched to the ADC interface, and the 15" Studio Display was remodeled to match the Cinema Display's easel-like form factor and also featured the Apple Display Connector. In 2001 an LCD-based 17" Studio Display was introduced, with a resolution of 1280x1024. In 2002 Apple introduced the Cinema Display HD which had a 23" widescreen display with a resolution of 1920x1200. In 2003 Apple introduced the 20" Cinema Display to replace the now discontinued 22" display and it had a resolution of 1680x1050. In 2004 a new line was introduced, utilizing the same 20" and 23" panels alongside a new 30" model, for $3,299. The displays had a sleek aluminum enclosure with a much narrower bezel than their predecssors. The 20" model has a 1680x1050 resolution, the 23" has 1920x1200, and the 30" has 2560x1600. The 30" version requires a dual-link interface, because a single-link DVI connection (the most common type) doesn't have enough bandwidth to provide a picture to a display of this resolution. Apple sells the new NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 as an option to the Power Mac G5. The card includes two dual-link DVI connectors which allows a Power Mac G5 to run two 30" Cinema Displays simultaneously with the total number of pixels working out at 8.2 million. CONNECTORS Apple has employed a large number of display connector designs over the years:
Additionally, various Macs have been able to output:
Compatible with: iBook without an external reset button, 12-inch PowerBook G4, Mac Mini, eMac, iMac G5, or 17-inch iMac (1 GHz) with Mini-VGA port.
Compatible with: eMac, iMac G5, iMac G4 flat-panel, 12-inch PowerBook G4, or iBooks having a Mini-VGA port. Most Macintosh computers with the Mini-VGA port can also use the Apple Video Adapter for S-video & Composite output options.
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