Sadly, I don't think the VidHD Video card for the Apple IIGS exists anymore. Several of our Apple II club members sent multiple emails to the manufacturer and received no reply. Another club member did receive a reply, but they had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA when, or if, the card would be available. I've seen this many times in the past. Some clever engineer will put in countless hours and invent something really terrific for the Apple II, sell some of them, and then lose interest in making money. Having worked with engineers most of my life, this is not an uncommon trait. They enjoy the challenge of the design, but don't particularly care about making money. This is why Steve Wozniak needed Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs needed Steve Wozniak.
Yeah, I'm not sure of the status of the project anymore. I think it's a little different these days, as no one is making Apple II peripherals to try to make any profit. So it's just a labor of love for a hobby, and it's easy to get bored with a hobby, or if it's too much trouble to support customers. Maybe keep your eyes open on eBay? Best of luck.
Was looking forward to your review. Mine came today but I haven't had a chance yet to play with them. Can you shoehorn a small enough monitor to fit into a RGB Monitor enclosure, similar to what you did for the IIC? I think this is cheap for the problem it's solving. I'm still blown away that this happy day has finally arrived. 😀
Yes, there are a lot of HDMI monitors that might work. Javier Rivera has done a lot of those. You just need to make sure it is a 1080p, not 720p. Maybe Eyoyo?
This Eyoyo 10” is supposed to work well with the VidHD: Eyoyo 10 Inch IPS LCD Hdmi Monitor 1920x1200 Full HD Monitor with HDMI/BNC/VGA/USB Input and Speaker for FPV Video Display DVD PC Laptop www.amazon.com/dp/B01LCULWOE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Lr1vCbTNS5R13
Thank you Chris ! Just received mine this morning. Very high quality board with a lot of unused pins on it...Perhaps in the future... I wonder if I could power the board by the internal micro USB connector to relieve the power supply of the computer ? Without your great review I would had not been able to know about it !
Great! I was also wondering about the extra pins, as well as the SD card slot and the wireless/bluetooth antenna. Seems like the card could do a lot more. Regarding the power, I don't know if I would worry about it. The Apple II can supply quite a bit of power to the slots. For example, the Disk ][ runs off of the interface card, and that's got to draw a lot more power compared to the VidHD. I regularly run my IIe with every slot full, with no problems.
That model Orange Pi also has a RJ45 ethernet connector... is that also not used? I imagine there are TONS of things that could be offloaded to that if the developers really wanted to... the Orange Pi is fast enough to emulate a pretty snappy IIgs ... just sitting there plugged into an old Apple 2 slot. :)
Yes, great point. I think John Brooks has talked about possibly using the ethernet capabilities, but hasn't gotten around to it. If you're looking for ethernet capabilities, the Uthernet II card is also a good choice, assuming they're still available: a2retrosystems.com
@@CT6502 That's true (the Uthernet2) and I'll probably get one at some point.... but that just adds to the problem of running out of slots, using up power, and causing the IIgs to run hotter in the case... for something that's already in there on the VIdHD slot.
I'm not sure which sounds you are referring to? Karateka just uses the Apple II speaker for its music. I do have a Mockingboard but I don't think it was in this system for testing.
Chris Torrence yeah ! Always helpful ! I’m in Australia, I’ve owned all the rom versions of the IIC absolutely love that model, (even the iic plus), as I grew up with the IIC I read that it has an onboard pin for a modem connector or something, but that was never take advantage of. Doo you think, it could potentially be utilised somehow for a wifi modem adapter connection ? It’d be awesome to see wifi support for the iic, without using the serial ports with adapters (which I found out is possible, but I’m using both the serial ports on my IIC... a2pi) and wanted your opinion as you are extremely tech savvy. 🙏✌️ I have David Schmenk’s a2pi running on my rom 3 (USA version) with my raspi running raspple (thanks to Ivan Drucker) and using the femu (floppy emu made by Steve Chamberlain), if I could get direct wifi connection, that’d definitely complete the setup. (I even bought an old modem that can run minimum at 300 baud, but have yet to start tinkering with dongles and adapters (was thinking of using an RJ45 to RJ11 cable out of my modem and into the 20yr old one, and then spending days figuring out the next step... if even possible)
@@-someone-. Hey Rob, that's an excellent question about the wifi. I haven't heard of anyone trying that. The IIc doesn't always get the same attention as the other Apple II platforms since it doesn't have the slots. It's too bad, as it's a really nice machine!
Chris Torrence with all the goodies available for the IIC, using that internal pin connector for internet would be absolutely amazing. I’m sure Apple had something up their sleeves for future use, but tech moved forward so quickly, it never got the attention it should have. I have he tech specs sheet, as I’m sure you do, what do you think it would take to get this going ? There’s enough room inside for a micro computer, orange pi, or whatever that can act as a medium between the wifi adapter and the actual IIC itself? I got no idea, but would buy one in an instant.
@@-someone-. I haven't played around with that internal modem connector pin, so I'm not quite sure. Here's a twitter post from someone who did something similar, but it's low on details: twitter.com/ReEstInv/status/898905825959456768
I wish you had compared 80 column mode with the standard Apple output. I have a VGA output card now and it looks streaky with the lines making up the characters being different widths. I have a VidHD scheduled to arrive tomorrow (3 Sept) and I was hoping it would be better quality than the VGA.
I wish you had switched the options screen to 80 when checking out text. Do you not use pr#3 any more? Does it look right? The A2VGAS has some issues in that mode.
Great question. That's actually an "option" that you can change in the VisHD menu. Some old-school monitors would have more pronounced scan lines. The option lets you choose how thick you want the scan lines, or you can eliminate them completely and have solid colours.
True enough, although a lot of peripheral cards from the mid to late 80s would have had the latest chips in them. Not quite as powerful as this though 😀
Very good, very good. I had a Apple II Color Computer in 1985.
Ah, that's cool! Well, there's a thriving retro computer scene now, if you ever wanted to pick up an old Apple II and get back into it.
10 min ago, I didn’t know this existed... Now I _NEED_ one of these!!! 🤣
They're hard to find, but I think they might have a few in stock...
Sadly, I don't think the VidHD Video card for the Apple IIGS exists anymore. Several of our Apple II club members sent multiple emails to the manufacturer and received no reply. Another club member did receive a reply, but they had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA when, or if, the card would be available. I've seen this many times in the past. Some clever engineer will put in countless hours and invent something really terrific for the Apple II, sell some of them, and then lose interest in making money. Having worked with engineers most of my life, this is not an uncommon trait. They enjoy the challenge of the design, but don't particularly care about making money. This is why Steve Wozniak needed Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs needed Steve Wozniak.
Yeah, I'm not sure of the status of the project anymore. I think it's a little different these days, as no one is making Apple II peripherals to try to make any profit. So it's just a labor of love for a hobby, and it's easy to get bored with a hobby, or if it's too much trouble to support customers. Maybe keep your eyes open on eBay? Best of luck.
Captain Goodnight would look great on this!
Cool idea! Thanks.
Was looking forward to your review. Mine came today but I haven't had a chance yet to play with them. Can you shoehorn a small enough monitor to fit into a RGB Monitor enclosure, similar to what you did for the IIC? I think this is cheap for the problem it's solving. I'm still blown away that this happy day has finally arrived. 😀
Yes, there are a lot of HDMI monitors that might work. Javier Rivera has done a lot of those. You just need to make sure it is a 1080p, not 720p. Maybe Eyoyo?
This Eyoyo 10” is supposed to work well with the VidHD: Eyoyo 10 Inch IPS LCD Hdmi Monitor 1920x1200 Full HD Monitor with HDMI/BNC/VGA/USB Input and Speaker for FPV Video Display DVD PC Laptop www.amazon.com/dp/B01LCULWOE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Lr1vCbTNS5R13
Thanks for the review! Looks awesome.
Cool, you're welcome!
Thank you Chris ! Just received mine this morning. Very high quality board with a lot of unused pins on it...Perhaps in the future... I wonder if I could power the board by the internal micro USB connector to relieve the power supply of the computer ? Without your great review I would had not been able to know about it !
Great! I was also wondering about the extra pins, as well as the SD card slot and the wireless/bluetooth antenna. Seems like the card could do a lot more. Regarding the power, I don't know if I would worry about it. The Apple II can supply quite a bit of power to the slots. For example, the Disk ][ runs off of the interface card, and that's got to draw a lot more power compared to the VidHD. I regularly run my IIe with every slot full, with no problems.
Thank you for your videos !
You're welcome! Thanks for subscribing.
Fantastic video and product! I wish someone would come out with something like this for Amiga computers, since so many of the games are PAL.
Hmmm, maybe you could email John at Blue Shift - I don't know if he's done stuff for Amiga before.
Great review!
Thanks - do they look better now with the lighting and the zoom?
That model Orange Pi also has a RJ45 ethernet connector... is that also not used? I imagine there are TONS of things that could be offloaded to that if the developers really wanted to... the Orange Pi is fast enough to emulate a pretty snappy IIgs ... just sitting there plugged into an old Apple 2 slot. :)
Yes, great point. I think John Brooks has talked about possibly using the ethernet capabilities, but hasn't gotten around to it. If you're looking for ethernet capabilities, the Uthernet II card is also a good choice, assuming they're still available: a2retrosystems.com
@@CT6502 That's true (the Uthernet2) and I'll probably get one at some point.... but that just adds to the problem of running out of slots, using up power, and causing the IIgs to run hotter in the case... for something that's already in there on the VIdHD slot.
@@JonRowlison Yep, totally understand. Maybe you could poke John and see if he's interested in doing any more dev work on this.
Ordering now!
Cool! What computer are you hooking it up to? Let me know how it works.
Chris Torrence I’m going to try it out on my II, II europlus and my IIe
notice sound during gameplay do you have a mocking board system installed
I'm not sure which sounds you are referring to? Karateka just uses the Apple II speaker for its music. I do have a Mockingboard but I don't think it was in this system for testing.
Love your vids..🙏🔥
Thanks so much! I hope they're helpful.
Chris Torrence yeah ! Always helpful ! I’m in Australia, I’ve owned all the rom versions of the IIC absolutely love that model, (even the iic plus), as I grew up with the IIC
I read that it has an onboard pin for a modem connector or something, but that was never take advantage of. Doo you think, it could potentially be utilised somehow for a wifi modem adapter connection ? It’d be awesome to see wifi support for the iic, without using the serial ports with adapters (which I found out is possible, but I’m using both the serial ports on my IIC... a2pi) and wanted your opinion as you are extremely tech savvy. 🙏✌️
I have David Schmenk’s a2pi running on my rom 3 (USA version) with my raspi running raspple (thanks to Ivan Drucker) and using the femu (floppy emu made by Steve Chamberlain), if I could get direct wifi connection, that’d definitely complete the setup. (I even bought an old modem that can run minimum at 300 baud, but have yet to start tinkering with dongles and adapters (was thinking of using an RJ45 to RJ11 cable out of my modem and into the 20yr old one, and then spending days figuring out the next step... if even possible)
@@-someone-. Hey Rob, that's an excellent question about the wifi. I haven't heard of anyone trying that. The IIc doesn't always get the same attention as the other Apple II platforms since it doesn't have the slots. It's too bad, as it's a really nice machine!
Chris Torrence with all the goodies available for the IIC, using that internal pin connector for internet would be absolutely amazing. I’m sure Apple had something up their sleeves for future use, but tech moved forward so quickly, it never got the attention it should have.
I have he tech specs sheet, as I’m sure you do, what do you think it would take to get this going ? There’s enough room inside for a micro computer, orange pi, or whatever that can act as a medium between the wifi adapter and the actual IIC itself? I got no idea, but would buy one in an instant.
@@-someone-. I haven't played around with that internal modem connector pin, so I'm not quite sure. Here's a twitter post from someone who did something similar, but it's low on details: twitter.com/ReEstInv/status/898905825959456768
I wish you had compared 80 column mode with the standard Apple output. I have a VGA output card now and it looks streaky with the lines making up the characters being different widths. I have a VidHD scheduled to arrive tomorrow (3 Sept) and I was hoping it would be better quality than the VGA.
I did a followup video where I compare the different video modes: ruclips.net/video/YlbQd3wjZyY/видео.html
@@CT6502 Exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Thanks! I just installed my VidHD today and it blows my old VGA card's output away.
@@tomlake2732 Awesome! I'm glad to hear that it works well.
I got mine yesterday, but I haven't connected it yet. I want to do SHR stuff on my apple ][
Cool, let me know what you think!
I wish you had switched the options screen to 80 when checking out text. Do you not use pr#3 any more? Does it look right? The A2VGAS has some issues in that mode.
Check out my followup video here: ruclips.net/video/YlbQd3wjZyY/видео.html It looks great in 80 column mode.
Hi. Compared to the analog output why do we have here vertical lines in the desktop background instead of a solid colour ?
thanks
Great question. That's actually an "option" that you can change in the VisHD menu. Some old-school monitors would have more pronounced scan lines. The option lets you choose how thick you want the scan lines, or you can eliminate them completely and have solid colours.
Pirated Karateka... nice
Yeah, I suppose I should pay something to Jordan Mechner after all these years...
Does this work with a 720p?
Nope, only 1080p
No. Strictly 1080p
Is the sound coming though the HDMI?
Great question - no, it's still coming thru the Apple's speaker. Although I wonder if that could be done?
I feel like putting a computer 500x more powerful inside my Apple ][ defeats the purpose.
True enough, although a lot of peripheral cards from the mid to late 80s would have had the latest chips in them. Not quite as powerful as this though 😀