ZigZagJoe's Vintage

30Video for Macintosh SE/30 & IIsi

30Video is a series of video cards for Macintosh SE/30 & IIsi that I developed and released in July 2024. These cards are not a clone or reverse engineered board, they are a 100% new scratch hardware design I developed and wrote a ROM driver for.

The Macintosh SE/30 in its stock form has a B&W internal display, without the ability to display even shades of gray. However, the SE/30 is essentially a cut-down Macintosh IIx and the ROM contains Color QuickDraw to support color operation. So with the addition of an appropriate card the SE/30 can support a color display!

Essentials

All models have an external VGA connector and include the VGA mounting bracket.
Color depths: B&W, 4, 16, 256, Thousands (HC Card only)
VGA Resolutions: 640x480@60hz, 800x600@75hz, 1024x768@54hz ( *1 )
Plug and play, no drivers needed! Tested with Mac OS 6.0.8 - 8.1 and A/UX 3
Select slot IDs 9, A for use with other PDS cards.
Supports all known CPU accelerators and ROMs
Gamma support (CRT and LCD, defaults to LCD)
No quickdraw acceleration (same as other SE/30 cards)
Maximum power consumption of 2 watts combined +5V and +12V
Standard 30Video card (non-HC) has PDS Passthrough slot for stacking additional cards
30Video install guide

*1 1024x768@54hz is a nonstandard resolution intended only for modern LCD monitors. Not all monitors will sync correctly with this, but most do.

SE/30 Grayscale kit: Upgrade internal CRT to display 256 shades of grey!

The Micron Xceed is a "legendary" video card which allows the SE/30 internal screen to display 256 shades of gray instead of the stock Black and White. Unfortunately, Xceed cards are extremely hard to come by, and very expensive when they do appear. I created the 30Video GS (and later HC) boards to allow more folks to play with Grayscale on their SE/30.

Demo!
1, 4, 16, and 256 shades of gray at the original 512x342 resolution. *1
Linear LCD Gamma and CRT Gamma are provided for each mode (Grayscale defaults to CRT; VGA defaults to LCD)
"Virtual" desktop scrolling 512x684 display mode provides more working room
Grayscale harness uses longer wires for stacking and 18 gauge +5v/+12v wires to reduce voltage drop.
Neckboard derivative of Bolle's design - Thanks Bolle!
Supports external video output: You can dual display (extended desktop) with an external VGA monitor in color while the internal display works in B&W.
Grayscale Kit installation guide

*1 16-bit / Thousands of grays is also supported on HC cards, however it should only be used when required as it provides no benefit over 256 grays while being slower and not supporting gamma.

SE/30 LCD Kits: Ditch the CRT!

If grayscale isn't your thing or your original CRT/analog board is failing, I created this kit to replace those with a brand-new 8.4" 640x480 LCD panel. Each kit includes all that is neccisary to perform the upgrade, including a 30Video HC PDS video card, new LCD panel assembly, "dummy" analog board, and all hardware/cables. Just transfer the fan from your old analog board and you're set!

Demo!
Video Review by JDW
Fully digital 640x480 native LCD for incredible sharpness.
Uses a high quality TN panel with good viewing angles.
Adds thousands of colors support. *1
Supports mirroring Internal LCD with VGA output at 640x480.
Supports higher resolution video output over VGA. LCD disabled in the higher resolution modes, but will re-enable automatically if VGA is disconnected regardless of setting.
SE/30 onboard video will be disabled if LCD is connected: no "ghost" monitors.
900 nits LCD brightness, adjusted on the back of the LCD panel. *2
No permanant modifications required, fully reversible.
LCD Kit Installation guide

*1 Thousands of colors up to 800x600. Grayscale output is limited to 16 shades of grey due to Mac OS limitations.
*2 A front-mounted brightness control is not fitted to the replacement analog board due to the lack of a suitable part orderable in small quantities. See here for some information on how you can install one yourself.

FAQs

Can I run a vintage Apple CRT monitor off one of these cards?
  - You might be able to adapt the VGA connector into something a vintage monitor will accept, but I can't guarentee they will work properly. My card emits VGA-standard video timings with seperate H/V sync rather than Apple's video timings and sync-on-green or composite sync used by Apple. You're welcome to try, but be aware you could damage your CRT.

Can the Grayscale/LCD Kit be used with a Macintosh SE, Plus, 512K, etc?
  - No. The 68000-based early macintoshes lack support for Color QuickDraw (among other issues) and as a result the approach I take with the SE/30 is not possible with these machines.

Which 30Video cards support internal grayscale?
  - 30Video GS cards of any revision, and 30Video HC V2.0 cards that have been built with the grayscale option (large connector is present).

Can the 30Video/SI/GS cards support thousands of colors(16 bit) color?
  - These cards lack the hardware used by the HC cards to enable 16 bit color and as a result can only use a software-supported 16 bit mode. It is slow as a result, and only supported by beta firmware that will not be supported in the future. This firmware can be found here for GS cards. Even on HC cards I recommend using 8 bit mode for best speed, unless working with photos.

High Voltage Warning

Caution: It is necessary to handle high voltage components of your Macintosh while installing a Grayscale or LCD kit. Take appropriate precautions while working inside your machine!

I can not take responsibility if you accidentally injure yourself or cause damage to your computer during the installation process. If you are at all uncomfortable with the procedures to install these kits, please seek a qualified individual to perform the installation for you.

Stacking cards

You may stack an additional PDS card on top of 30Video cards with a passthrough slot. When installing a second card, carefully bend the chassis card support tabs away from the cards so they do not make contact with any card, and cover the tabs with insulating tape. 30Video supports slots ID 9 and A, selectable by slide switch on the card.

Please note: Most systems should be able to support two add-in cards, however, any additional cards are not guaranteed to work and can cause system instability / inability to boot as the system was originally designed for a single add-in card only.

Resources

Github: Firmware, additional documentation, and issues
Development log

Models

30Video GS V1.x	Grayscale-capable cards. PDS passthrough slot.
30Video SI V1.x	VGA-only card for either IIsi or SE30 (PDS connector difference only). FPU socket on IIsi model. PDS Passthrough slot.
30Video HC V1.0	Supports internal LCD panel. 16-bit (thousands of colors) capable. No passthrough slot.
30Video HC V2.0	Introduces optional grayscale function (not all cards will have this installed)
30Video	Replacement for 30Video SI. Drops FPU socket. PDS Passthrough slot.

Earlier GS and SI model cards.

These are now discontinued and have been replaced by the 30Video HC for grayscale and 30Video for external use.