andonis
08-13-2001, 11:53 PM
Just reading over those posts farther down about "your first computer" and it made me think about how my current setup evolved in some way from my first computers. My first computer was a handed down C64 which I loved, especially remember how it had that great sound generator that someone commented on and I remembered. Then upgraded that to an Amiga500 with *stereo sound* and 44.1k sampling. Those machines were set up to be able to connect to a TV or a monitor and I had mine connected my TV. At that time was when stereo TV was new and getting popular and I had connected my TV thru my stereo system and had my computer all integrated in a really sleek wall unit that housed everything perfectly, even with a slide out for the keyboard (the A500 an the C64 keyboard were the computer case as well, remember?!) Anyway, playing games and screwing around with sound effects was dramatic thru the stereo system and was really cool.
Down the road when I saved up to buy my first real PC in '95 I wanted to continue to keep it set up this way and not sit at a desk like everyone else. So I poked around, found a wireless keyboard, and a vga to TV converter. Bought a new sony TV and did some internal tweaks to get the overscan, pincushion and all of that just right. It has been the greatest setup and still after several upgrades have it setup this way. Found a sleek black case to match my stereo components, a better wireless keyboard, and added DVD a couple years ago. It really is the greatest setup and when MP3 and all of the multimedia that we have now coming along it just makes this setup so natural. My whole music library is on the system, countless music and movie clips and use it to pump out endless CD recordings. When friends come over we all sit on the couch watch some video or dvd, or surf the net on DSL together passing the keyboard around.
I've seen in the past where some companies like Gateway and others have marketed these setups but it just never flew. I suppose in a household with kids it wouldn't.
But truly it is the greatest, most practical and comfortable way to use and share a PC. I have several other traditional systems in the house(all networked) but still use this one the most. I don't have a monitor connected, back in the day I spent over $300 for the VGA convertor which is a "brodcast grade" unit which makes it work well, and afer the tweaks to the TV. My ATI AIW card has an S-video out but it's quality sucks compared to the external adaptor.
For my next upgrade, I want to buy a prjector and mount it on the ceiling to replace my 5 year old Sony TV/monitor. To me that will be the ultimate gaming, multimedia, music, and movie machine.
So has anyone else tried this kind of setup with any success? Love to hear about it.
Down the road when I saved up to buy my first real PC in '95 I wanted to continue to keep it set up this way and not sit at a desk like everyone else. So I poked around, found a wireless keyboard, and a vga to TV converter. Bought a new sony TV and did some internal tweaks to get the overscan, pincushion and all of that just right. It has been the greatest setup and still after several upgrades have it setup this way. Found a sleek black case to match my stereo components, a better wireless keyboard, and added DVD a couple years ago. It really is the greatest setup and when MP3 and all of the multimedia that we have now coming along it just makes this setup so natural. My whole music library is on the system, countless music and movie clips and use it to pump out endless CD recordings. When friends come over we all sit on the couch watch some video or dvd, or surf the net on DSL together passing the keyboard around.
I've seen in the past where some companies like Gateway and others have marketed these setups but it just never flew. I suppose in a household with kids it wouldn't.
But truly it is the greatest, most practical and comfortable way to use and share a PC. I have several other traditional systems in the house(all networked) but still use this one the most. I don't have a monitor connected, back in the day I spent over $300 for the VGA convertor which is a "brodcast grade" unit which makes it work well, and afer the tweaks to the TV. My ATI AIW card has an S-video out but it's quality sucks compared to the external adaptor.
For my next upgrade, I want to buy a prjector and mount it on the ceiling to replace my 5 year old Sony TV/monitor. To me that will be the ultimate gaming, multimedia, music, and movie machine.
So has anyone else tried this kind of setup with any success? Love to hear about it.