Commodore 1084 Monitor Composite?

[Tempest]

Dumb question, but can the Commodore 1084 monitor do composite or is it only RGB and CLA? I looked at mine last night and did not see any composite jacks, but I just wanted to make sure.

[+Mitch]

Depends on which 1084 you have. Commodore made like five or six different versions of the 1084.

 

Mitch

[Tempest]

I do believe it's this one:

 

[+SpiceWare]

There's a switch that tells if the RCA jacks are used for Composite or Chroma-Luma. Location depends upon model, one of mine has it on the front:

 

While the other has it on the back.

 

 

 

In your photo it's the black button labeled CVBS LCA.

Composite Video

Composite video is usually in standard formats such as NTSC, PAL, and SECAM and is often designated by the CVBS initialism, meaning "Color, Video, Blanking, and Sync."

[Tempest]

I just looked and mine only has three inputs on the back and the switch is only for RGB/CLA. There is a switch that says VCR, but I'm not sure what that does.

[+SpiceWare]

Only the 1084S, the S is for stereo, has 4 RCA jacks. The 1084 I have with the switch on the front is not stereo:

 

Neither of mine have a VCR button, but this 1084 manual scan mentions it's for adjusting the monitor's circuitry to handle VCRs and camcorders.

 

It would have been nice if each variation had a different model number (1084, 1085, etc) as using the same number for all just makes things confusing. I'm 99.999% sure that all 1084 variations support composite though, especially one that has a VCR button as VCRs didn't output chroma-luma until the S-VHS decks came out in '87. Can you post photos of yours that show the entire back jack panel and the entire front control panel?

Edited April 27, 2013 by SpiceWare

[Tempest]

Ok some pics:

 

 

 

 

[+SpiceWare]

For composite 2 push buttons need to be pushed in. The CVBS/RGB button to the right on the front:

 

and the CVBS/LCA button to the left on the back:

 

When the buttons are configured this way the yellow RCA jack is composite while red is unused. White is always for audio.

 

For Luma-Chroma push in the front CVBS/RGB and pop out the CVBS/LCA on the back. In this configuration the yellow RCA jack is for luma while the red is for chroma.

 

For RGB the CVBS/RGB must be popped out on the front, the setting of CVBS/LCA on the back doesn't matter. The type of RBG is controlled by which socket is used - the 8 pin TTL RGB is used for RGBI (Commodore 128 and EGA graphics on a PC) while the 6 pin ?n RGB is for RGBA (the Amiga).

 

The manual I linked to before is for your model 1084.

Edited April 27, 2013 by SpiceWare

[Tempest]

Didn't work, all I'm getting is B&W

[+SpiceWare]

The CVBS/LCA switch must have went bad, or is "sticky". I'd try some electronics cleaner on it, or maybe even push it in/out a number of times to see if it cleans up the problem. See if the picture changes any if you push and hold it in.

[Tempest]

When I push that switch I get a change from grainy lined B&W to a nice solid B&W picture. Still no color though.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

When I push that switch I get a change from grainy lined B&W to a nice solid B&W picture. Still no color though.

 

hm, what are you trying to display through this monitor (sorry if I missed this detail)..............

[Tempest]

I have an Atari 800 and a 5200 (with composite mod) hooked up to it. Both work fine with my 1702, I just thought the 1084 would have a better picture. Are they basically the same?

[+SpiceWare]

The dot pitch of the 1084 series was 0.42mm. I don't know for sure on the 1702; but it was probably the same as, or close to, the 1701's 0.64mm. The 1084 series needed the lower dot pitch to support the higher 640x00 RGB resolutions of the Amiga and C=128 while the 1701/2 only needed to support up to 320x200 on the C=64.

http://gona.mactar.h...del_number.html

 

 

For use with an Atari 800 and 5200 it shouldn't make much difference since they'd likewise top out at 320x200. Doesn't the 800 output chroma-luma?

[Tempest]

Yeah it does, but I don't use that mode since many 800 games require artifacting.

 

If the 1702 and 1084 are about the same quality-wise then I'll give up on the 1084 and go back to the 1702. No reason to keep fiddling with it.

[Bloodcat]

Thanks for this thread! I got a 1084 years ago and didn't know some of these specifics.

 

But some tempting reasons to get one:

 

http://wargamedork.blogspot.com/2011/11/lets-play-party-like-its-1987-lets_19.html (Yes some info is possibly wrong. This is just things I figured out putzing with it.)

 

 

 

One of those pictures is Chroma/Luma composite, the other is normal White/Yellow AV cable I got at a nerd store in the mall. (Protip for Chroma/Luma: Make sure you plug them in right or your image will look weird.)