Question: I've been thinking about getting a Commodore 64 machine. However, I realise there's obviously no video cables I have that will work. But when I looked online there are many people using S-Video to VGA and stuff like that. My TV is quite old and has an aerial (RF antenna) port in the back but I'm not sure if that would work. Other than that I can't find the S-Video to C64 cable that all these videos show. (They then put it into an S-Video to VGA converter)

Am I able to use the aerial cable to run the C64 and if not, how do I find a C64 out to S-Video cable? I don't feel comfortable making one.

Answer: 
I use a pre-July2005 Dell 2001FP and it works really well. S-video input, 4:3 aspect ratio, and best of all integrated amplified audio speakers. 

[![Dell 2001FP flat-panel](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iYfD1.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iYfD1.jpg)

The integrated soundbar (optional) has a 3.5mm jack, so you'll need to adapt the C64 8-pin DIN mono audio-out to that jack.

[![Rear has onboard power for the soundbar](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vumgB.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vumgB.jpg)

I like integrated speakers so there's less clutter on the desk. And since the C64 has such great games, the audio has to be good quality. With onboard power, there's even less clutter (no AC-DC power adapter to plug into the wall and sit on the desk).

[![2001FP ports](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lYEVh.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lYEVh.jpg)

A lot of Dell monitors look like the 2001FP, but most do not have all the ports of the 2001FP. 2x USB-A, 1x USB-B, 12V DC out for soundbar, analog VGA, digital DVI, S-Video, Composite. The right-most port is power-in to power the 2001FP.

I wrote an article about it with more details
<http://donnlee.com/2018/05/05/monitor-for-c64-s-video-in-43-ratio-soundbar/>
I don't know what your budget is, but if you can afford it then consider a C128 and old RGBI-compatible monitor instead. It will still "look cool" and allow you to "program with limitations". You will gain a crisp 80-column display, ability to program for both the 6502 and z-80 CPUs, and a much better built-in BASIC.

BTW, RGBi stands for Red, Green, Blue, intensity. It was a digital signal providing for 16 sharp colors, 4 bits for each pixel. They were black (no bits set), light grey (R+G+B bits set), red, green, blue, cyan (B+G), magenta (R+B), and yellow (G+R). Each of those base 8 colors had an enhanced intensity when the i-bit was set. Among everything else, this turned light-grey to white, and black to dark-grey.

I used my C128 with a Sears *Total Video System*. It combined a TV and monitor modes for monochrome, composite, and RGBI. This was perfect for the C128 because the composite worked with C64 mode and the RGBI worked with the C128 modes. (Plus it was my TV.) Here is a [1985 article](http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue58/computer_video.html) which includes descriptions of the Sears TVS as well as other flexible monitors of the period.

If you wish to avoid buying an old separate monitor/TV, see [this article](https://sites.google.com/site/h2obsession/CBM/C128/rgbi-to-vga) for building an RGBI to VGA converter. Sigh, it looks like your TV doesn't have VGA either. However, this should hook up to just about any computer monitor you happen to have.