Task: Connect Your Apple II Computer to an LED Screen
Needed: Apple II computer, composite cable, RetroTINK or similar, LED screen
Time: 15-30 minutes
Introduction
Cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors are great for the full retro experience. However, they are heavy, take up a lot of space, and are not easily repaired when the CRT goes out. I have been slowly downsizing my CRT collection and switching over to slim and lightweight LED screens for my retrocomputing fun. I am only keeping a few CRTs that I am nostalgic about.
Getting an Apple II on an LED screen is very easy with the right composite video to HDMI converter. I have gotten a lot of use out of my RetroTINK-2X Pro that works nicely for this purpose and isn’t insanely expensive.
Instructions
First, you will need a RetroTINK-2X Pro. I recommend this version of the RetroTINK for composite video and S-video conversion to HDMI. The 5X Pro model has some additional features that you might not need for the price. The 2X Pro sells for about $140 on their website.
You might also look into the open-source OSSC video converter that many people use and like. I haven’t tried this option.
Once you have your video converter simply connect the Apple 2 composite cable to the composite port and connect your HDMI cable.
Comments
There are also Raspberry PI-based video conversion cards. I will do a future post about these.
Remember that you get what you pay for. Cheaper options either don’t work or produce worse video conversion.
