Getting the Video out of Your New iPod--for Cheap!
Pages: 1, 2
Connecting the iPod to Your TV
It takes a few steps to connect your iPod to your TV. Start by inserting the A/V cord's eighth-inch plug into your iPod's earphone jack. In it goes, schnickt. Couldn't be easier.
Here's where it gets a little tricky. In order to make your TV play back the iPod signal, you've got to redirect the outputs. You can't just plug the yellow RCA plug into the yellow RCA jack and the red into the red or the white into the white. No. Those geniuses at Apple send the video signal over the red RCA output. (Normally it arrives on yellow.) The sound comes through the white and yellow plugs.
I ended up going to an Apple store and testing this on iPod after iPod. They all have this quirk. It was intentional. But hey, it's proprietary. Woohoo. So here's what you have to do:
- Plug the red RCA plug into your TV's yellow RCA jack.
- Plug the yellow RCA plug into your TV's white RCA jack.
- Plug the white RCA plug into your TV's red RCA jack.
Figure 3. Left: TV jacks, unplugged; right: TV jacks, plugged with A/V cable
After making all of these connections, you're physically ready to begin playback.
Playing Your Video
On your iPod, navigate to the movie you want to watch and select it. Your iPod prompts you to choose whether to play the video with TV Off or TV On. (You set the TV Out option to "Ask," remember?) Choose TV On.
Figure 4. Choose TV On to redirect the video through the earphone jack
As your video starts, a status screen appears on your iPod and the video plays back on your television. The status screen tracks playback progress, just as it would in iTunes.
Figure 5. The iPod video status screen shows playback progress.
Leave the television volume control at normal levels and use the iPod volume control to adjust the audio. The audio and video should both sound and look excellent.
Figure 6. Success! The video plays back on the TV
Final Thoughts
Don't feel pressured to buy Apple-branded add-ons, particularly when there are workarounds like the one shown in this article. Here, you've seen how to use a cheap off-the-shelf product to bypass that whole high-priced white-colored gear thing. Shiny and white doesn't necessarily make it right.
Erica Sadun has written, co-written, and contributed to almost two dozen books about technology, particularly in the areas of programming, digital video, and digital photography.
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Showing messages 1 through 115 of 115.
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THANK YOU
2009-10-02 18:52:05 JOHNDRIVE [Reply | View]
I download Ipod movies all the time for my son. I had yet to try Ipod to TV transmission - until today. I went to Radio Shack and bought the appropriate cable (yell,red, white) but to no avail - and then I visited your website and your tips - bonanza! - I love to beat the man...thank you
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80 gig doesnt work
2009-09-09 14:42:12 jdawgg508 [Reply | View]
can anyone help?
volcom_surfer508@yahoo.com
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It doesn't work for me
2009-08-15 11:58:46 cabardoc [Reply | View]
I'm using a 16GB iTouch, I've got the wires and changed the settings as told, but it still doesn't work. Help please?
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Works a treat on my 80g video ipod!
2009-06-03 12:12:06 Tshari [Reply | View]
Found the cable from my dad's old video camera, plugged it in as instructed and works straight away. Can now watch via the DVD player or straight into the TV.
Thank you all very much!
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I works great with my 5th gen 60gb
2009-04-23 17:21:39 registrationsucks2 [Reply | View]
I am using the AV cable came with my camcorder. Thank you very much
Joe
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Shame on You
2009-04-04 04:48:35 Mac Junction [Reply | View]
Is this a bogus article. I was expecting more from you guys as your books are so good.
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IT WON'T WORK!!!!!!
2009-03-24 17:33:25 dvnacouzi [Reply | View]
I've followed all instructions and my ipod still will not transfer the picture to the tv. I have an ipod nano 4th generation, so maybe that's why, but also when i select to accept tv out, it shows a tv out screen. But... i guess if it just won't work, then i'll just have to get that expensive ipod cable...
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IT WON'T WORK!!!!!!
2009-03-24 17:32:49 dvnacouzi [Reply | View]
I've followed all instructions and my ipod still will not transfer the picture to the tv. I have an ipod nano 4th generation, so maybe that's why, but also when i select to accept tv out, it shows a tv out screen. But... i guess if it just won't work, then i'll just have to get that expensive ipod cable...
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Won't work
2009-02-15 08:06:45 Manda09 [Reply | View]
Thank you for all the advice - I have followed all of the instructions but it still doesn't work. I used a cable that looks exactly like the one in your picture and played around with the inputs but nothing works the tv screen just comes up blurred with no sound. I have a 30GB Ipod - should it work on this? I am worried if I buy the Apple cable that this won't work either. Please help.
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trouble
2009-01-17 15:25:03 azarath11 [Reply | View]
I'm using a new ipod nano ( with video ) and i did all the steps you said. My problem is that when i choose "tv out" after it asks me; it says " tv out enabled, please connect video accessory." did they figure the cheap way out and take out the loophole? let me know thanks
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this is amazing. works great
2009-01-04 03:44:29 nitin77 [Reply | View]
It works great with my 30 gb ipod video. I almost bought the ipod docking station and connector cable. Thanks a lot.
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rca cables
2008-08-21 21:02:37 lisalooh [Reply | View]
Thanks for great advice. I first tried with the cable from a portable dvd player with my 30gb 5th gen and my daughters 3rd gen nano. neither worked with this cable and i found another cable from our camcorder this one worked at treat (reversing the colours)with my 30gb no joy with my daughters nano though - much as I had expected. Overjoyed as will be watching some videos downloaded from itunes on the car player via my ipod during a long journey from Calgary to Vancouver! Many many thanks!
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Does not work
2008-08-12 23:20:32 Donshel [Reply | View]
I have an 4 GB Ipod, I tried the guide which is shown in the images but in the end it say “Please connect video accessory” what should I do to connect.
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DVD to ipod - then watch on TV
2008-06-24 09:42:45 slevens [Reply | View]
I have an 80g Ipod Classic. I'm converting DVDs to ipod using AVEX program. I'm then trying to watch the DVDs on TV using a Dynex Dock connection. The image on the TV has a lot to be desired. Is the issue I'm having with the convert program or the Dynex Docking.
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no go ipod touch
2008-05-14 11:26:55 ryan300 [Reply | View]
do not try this with an ipod touch, i tried and it put 8-10 lines on the top of my tv set and have not yet gone away i turned it off and back on and still there so whoops.
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switch colors
2008-04-29 20:30:26 Grimble Crumble [Reply | View]
well at first it didn't work but after playing around with the connections mine works fine. it actually has good quality. i connected white to yellow, yellow to white and white to red i guess it works different on some just paint the tips so you dont get confused
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Doesn't Work
2008-03-11 18:40:56 NYGiants04 [Reply | View]
I am using a composite to a video cable and a audio cable. I plugged it into my ipod by using a splitter (plug it into ipod headphones and you can put two cables in it) It isn't working though. Do i need to buy a composite to 1/8 inch or can i figure it out without having to buy it by using the splitter and the video and audio cables? Email me at sfsocce04@aol.com.
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blurry signal
2008-03-11 09:04:53 cahoone [Reply | View]
I connected my iPod with the 3 color cable and the picture comes out very blurry. Is there another trick ? Any thoughts ?
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a cable comes marked that way
2008-01-23 07:50:02 cj52 [Reply | View]
I stopped at walmart and looked by the camcorders for one
of those cables but none nothing there, on the way out I looked
at cables by the mp3 accessories and there was a white
"av cable for mp3s" with colored rings on the rca tips
anyway I got it home and played around with it and found
that it was marked correctly , no need to swap colors.
thanks a lot, I would never have thougt the video would
come out the headphone jack, I was thinking I needed a
dock plug with rca tips on the other end. for any one
interested it was 10 bucks at walmart, didn't save package,
but the above discription is very good.
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Doesn't seem to work on the new Classic
2008-01-22 12:14:07 MAWilson [Reply | View]
Not sure if it is b/c they updated the software for the video rental program but it doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions?
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80g playing video on TV.. Help please
2008-01-06 05:40:09 attn2me [Reply | View]
I have an 80g ipod classic,and I cannot get it to play videos through my TV. I have tried the cables,and bought an accurian dock from Radio Shack that would supposedly work. My ipod keeps on telling me that tv out is enabled but please "connect video accessory".I can get the music to play through the dock and sound from the movies being played on the ipod, but no video. What is going on, please email me at attn2mee@yahoo.com. Thanks.
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80g playing video on TV.. Help please
2008-01-06 05:39:57 attn2me [Reply | View]
I have an 80g ipod classic,and I cannot get it to play videos through my TV. I have tried the cables,and bought an accurian dock from Radio Shack that would supposedly work. My ipod keeps on telling me that tv out is enabled but please "connect video accessory".I can get the music to play through the dock and sound from the movies being played on the ipod, but no video. What is going on, please email me at attn2mee@yahoo.com. Thanks.
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Thanks for the advise
2007-12-23 21:12:52 davidc418 [Reply | View]
Just another thanks for the advise. I was just about to go buy an expensive cable at the Apple store. Followed you directions and it worked great on my 30 gig video bought last year. Thanks so much. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing!!!
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Same as others, NO VIDEO
2007-12-21 00:09:28 eia [Reply | View]
I did follow your instructions very carefully, i got exactly the 3-banded eighth-inch and 3-plug RCA connection, but stil, all i see is very deformed pictures of the videos. There's a sound, but with it is an irritating buzz. I'm from the Philippines, our TV Signal is NTSC. I tried this on all the TVs we have at home, and they all showed the same thing. Though on other TVs, before the deformed video comes black and white diagonal lines. I really need your help. is there like something that can interrupt the signal from ipod to tv? please please help. i own my ipod for almost 2 years now but i was never able to use the tv out feature. i had a DVD jack before, but the problem's the same with it. i've been dying to make use of this tv out thing for ages! haha
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ATTN: This doesn't work for the newest iPods
2007-12-19 23:14:02 hominid [Reply | View]
FYI, the iPod Classics and Nanos will not work with this technique.
This method is only good for iPods with Video up to 5.5 Generation. This article was originally posted to address those models, but many new owners are looking for a solution here.
In other words, if you have video capabilities and Coverflow on your iPod (or nano) this trick won't work.
Apple changed the game so you can no longer access video through the headphone jack, you have to output it through the dock connector, and you have to pay Apple $50 for a cable that will work.
They put a verification chip inside the base of the cable where it attaches to the dock connector. Right now only Apple has the chip, but presumably they'll license it to other manufacturer's at some point.
I love Apple, but I think this was very, very lame on their part.
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VCR does work after connecting IPod
2007-12-19 08:19:03 Sis [Reply | View]
I have a 80G Ipod classic. I hooked my IPod to my VCR and watched a movie just fine. The next time I tried to watch a movie, I couldn't get the movie to play from my IPod and now my VCR only has a blue screen. I have unplugged my VCR, tried the TV/VCR button, reset the VCR, etc. Nothing seems to work. I can see watch DVDs but cannot pick up TV stations through my VCR. Any suggestions?
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can't get it to work
2007-12-05 19:58:09 rbearfld [Reply | View]
I have a 5th generation ipod classic. Downloaded a tv show from itunes, its on my ipod. But I cannot get it to play through the ipod av cable. The one that connects through the headphone jack. My ipod keeps on telling me that tv out is enabled but please connect video accessory. I have connected red to yellow. I can get the music to play through the av jack but it will not recognize that it is connected to a tv, vcr, lcd projector. Red to yellow. What is going on, please email me at
rbearfld@sbcglobal.net
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FANTASTICAL!
2007-12-03 07:39:23 dr-gamma [Reply | View]
You just saved me $150.00 in Christmas presents. I was going to buy the other kind of cables for my kids, but I had the cables you mentioned from other products.
Works great.
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ZOMGTHANKYOUUUUUU
2007-11-21 19:14:37 SaruNinja [Reply | View]
I just bought an Insignia Pilot which uses the same Dynex Cable thing as the ipod Video....but all i had was an A/V Splitter and an A/V Cable (The ones with plugs on both ends for connecting DVD Players to tv). I first tried plugging it in as it should (by corresponding colors), and it didnt work. I was disappointed that i had to buy a $26 cable (or a bit cheaper on EBay). I had come across this article a few months ago, but it wasnt what i was looking for at the time. I tried it just now and it worked!
Thank you soooo much. you just saved me some time and money :]
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audio but no video with accurion ipod cable
2007-11-09 18:18:39 illiptical [Reply | View]
i had an accurion cable since last year and videos worked on my tv from ipod... last week i tried to play a movie got nothing... I tried a different tv got nothing... i thought it was the cable so i went to radio shack bought another accurion cable and the audio works, but no video... and yes the settings are correct... ntsc, tv on... whats the deal?
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Potential Problem
2007-10-08 01:09:43 fauxidiot [Reply | View]
I tried this and hard video problems myself. Audio was fine, but the video was garbled. I tried to play the video through iTunes to make sure it worked, and guess what-- it didn't. The program I used encoded it to mpeg4, but I guess it has to be a special type of mpeg4 for iPods.
So I searched and found GP3, and now my test video works, on iTunes and through the tele. I'm not sure if it's just me, but the quality does seem a little bit lower, but not by much.
Use google, and you should find a helpful thread with a tutorial on how to use it also.
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Can't
2007-10-04 17:31:00 hetman84 [Reply | View]
I can't set the TV Out option to ON or to ASK.
It is just OFF. Does anybody know why?
THX 4 help.
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screen black and white lines going up and down
2007-09-28 21:15:07 kleby4life [Reply | View]
hi, i tried plugging the RCA cables from my iPod cable thing the pattern that you explained. And yes I have the settings all right, NTSC, (im in North America), and the Widescreen setting and the Ask setting. I go to play a video, and i say TV On, and it has black and white lines going up and down when i turn the volume up. It has the sound, but no video, just the lines. Please help me.
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screen black and white lines going up and down
2007-09-28 21:14:38 kleby4life [Reply | View]
hi, i tried plugging the RCA cables from my iPod cable thing the pattern that you explained. And yes I have the settings all right, NTSC, (im in North America), and the Widescreen setting and the Ask setting. I go to play a video, and i say TV On, and it has black and white lines going up and down when i turn the volume up. It has the sound, but no video, just the lines. Please help me.
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My world is all flipped around!
2007-09-27 00:46:24 vernT [Reply | View]
I don't know what's going on here, but I've heard and read several issues going on with the ipod video output. After coming across this website, and before reading too many reviews/replies, I quickly bought a cheap camcorder a/v cable off eBay. I got it in the other day and it didn't work. I had some bare wires laying around so I just started trying all the options, switching grounds and colors, and every possible combo. After a while, I found something very interesting.
If I used any ground on the a/v cable (any color) as the positive input for the tv and used the positive terminal of that color as the ground for the tv (out of phase), video would work. Next, if I used the red positive as ground, then white positive would output the left audio and yellow positive would output the right audio. However, if I tried to combine video and audio in this fashion, I would get a slight buzz. I'm no electrical expert so if anyone can take this and run with it to figure out whats going on, please do!!!
Again, assume output is with respect to a/v cable, and input is with respect to tv or other device...
ground output = video input
+ red output = ground input
+ white output = left input
+ yellow output = right input
(without video, audio is clear. when mixed, buzz in audio).
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PLEASE HELP!! AUDIO BUT NO VIDEO!!
2007-09-19 09:23:07 clarkm [Reply | View]
I am getting the same problem that a couple other guys have been -- i get sound but no video. yes i am doing everything else correctly and i have tried all color combinations.. but no video! i tried my roommate's ipod and he does get video on his. then i plug my ipod in and i dont see anything, i only hear sound. does anyone know what is wrong with the video output on my 5g 60gb ipod? please help guy thanks in advance!
-clark
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thanks
2007-09-17 01:07:44 Bretman7 [Reply | View]
Gotta love it - first Google hit brought your solution and it did the trick for my 30GB video ipod. Now I can run home videos and image slideshows on the tube.
thanks!
Bret
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Video out
2007-09-12 17:10:28 jehuchan [Reply | View]
I just purchasd a Ipod classic. I dont seem to be able to change the Video -"off" to "Out" from my Ipod. Please help. Thank you
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Hooking up ipod to a TV
2007-09-11 21:26:52 ask4reb [Reply | View]
Everything works fine. I have even got my slideshow (from photos on the ipod) to work on the TV.
Thanks so much. Have been frustrated for months with my inability to make this work.
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Audio but no video
2007-08-17 16:09:44 y0ungMJ2o6 [Reply | View]
I went out bought a cord... i tried a bunch of color combinations.. nothing is getting video on.. i tried both settings.. is there something im doing wrong??
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Audio but no video
2007-08-17 16:09:35 y0ungMJ2o6 [Reply | View]
I went out bought a cord... i tried a bunch of color combinations.. nothing is getting video on.. i tried both settings.. is there something im doing wrong??
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screen black and white lines going up and down
2007-07-31 13:18:52 chilipepperfreakey [Reply | View]
hi, i tried plugging the RCA cables from my iPod cable thing the pattern that you explained. And yes I have the settings all right, NTSC, (im in North America), and the Widescreen setting and the Ask setting. I go to play a video, and i say TV On, and it has black and white lines going up and down when i turn the volume up. It has the sound, but no video, just the lines. Please help me.
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screen black and white lines going up and down
2007-07-31 13:18:39 chilipepperfreakey [Reply | View]
hi, i tried plugging the RCA cables from my iPod cable thing the pattern that you explained. And yes I have the settings all right, NTSC, (im in North America), and the Widescreen setting and the Ask setting. I go to play a video, and i say TV On, and it has black and white lines going up and down when i turn the volume up. It has the sound, but no video, just the lines. Please help me.
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thanks
2007-07-28 21:26:58 ethan420 [Reply | View]
This tutorial helped me out so much. I have been trying to use my camera chord to hook it up to the tv and i thought it was no use. i was about to buy one until i found this. all i had to do was switch the chords. why would they do something like that? thank you very much!! -ethan
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Video work but picture is blurry
2007-05-08 19:04:48 perocs [Reply | View]
I put a whole bunch of movies and tv shows on my Ipod I had converted using 3gp converter from wmv the program places it right into itunes. I have the ipod video cable. It places on my tv but it is really blurred. What's wrong? Is it only able to play on the small screen is it that the convert makes the picture quality to poor.
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Video display during audio playback
2007-04-23 17:19:13 Bill4444 [Reply | View]
I have the iPod video and can display photos fine on the TV and play songs through my stereo. What I would like to be able to do is: when playing songs through the stereo, to be able to show on the TV what is displayed on the iPod screen (album art, song title, artist, etc.). Can this be done? If so how? Thanks for any help.
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iPod use with vcr/dvd combo
2007-03-13 12:55:32 md91374 [Reply | View]
I have hooked my iPod to my vcr/dvd using an Apple cable. I get nowhere.
My TV is old (it's on the wall at school) and the vcr/dvd is connected to the TV through a split jack with one cable.
Help! I would love to use the iPod to play podcasts for my class.
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Ipod TV Out
2007-03-09 08:39:33 mark187 [Reply | View]
The instructions say ...."On your iPod, navigate to the movie you want to watch and select it. Your iPod prompts you to choose whether to play the video with TV Off or TV On. (You set the TV Out option to "Ask," remember?) Choose TV On." My sons 60gb Ipod does not prompt that. It just starts playing the movie on the ipod. Do I need to go back and change something on the Ipod and if so where?
Thanks.
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The advice is good, but...
2007-03-03 09:20:26 strijka [Reply | View]
... I found that the audio signals were the wrong way round!
I found that this method works best:
insert yellow plug into the red socket
insert red plug into the yellow socket
insert white plug into the white socket
I used test tones to check this.
I hate proprietory technologies..!
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The advice is good, but...
2007-03-03 09:20:00 strijka [Reply | View]
... I found that the audio signals were the wrong way round!
I found that this method works best:
insert yellow plug into the red socket
insert red plug into the yellow socket
insert white plug into the white socket
I used test tones to check this.
I hate proprietory technologies..!
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VIDEO TO PORTABLE DVD PLAYER?
2007-02-24 19:41:45 zulupriest [Reply | View]
I got a 30 gig ipod and a portable dvd player. I want to know if it's possible to see movies or podcasts over the dvd player. I have av cable and even bought an audio cable from radio shack but hasn't worked yet.
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ipod Cable Woes fixed!!!!
2007-01-23 12:24:01 SharkyS4 [Reply | View]
I hope this helps someone, I wasted too much time on this and finally got a solution.
Went to Radio Shack and picked up their ipod cable branded as ACCURIAN A/V CABLE FOR IPOD VIDEO Model: AMA-2398 Catalog #: 12-2398. The tech dude told me that's the one to get, as I had asked for just a camcorder A/V cable. $14.99 for this little bit of happiness!!!! The monster cable itv link, POS, did not work at all, sound but no video.
I'm connecting my G5 Ipod to a Yamaha receiver using the front Aux-Video RCA inputs.
The cable is already switched, meaning that the red goes to red, white to white and yellow to yellow. No crossing required. I originally tried to cross it and got nothing.
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Ipod video V5.5 30Gb
2007-01-12 07:23:15 viruzmex [Reply | View]
I tried to connect my iPod like u say but didn't work and tried for myself i did it
white/yellow
yellow/red
red/white
cya from mexico
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connecting iPod to TV
2006-12-31 16:11:55 pronoah [Reply | View]
Thanks for this advice. Seems to work fine for me. I did have the AV cable as part of my DV camcorder ensemble. Just downloaded Pirates of the Caribbean and look forward to watching it to bring in the New Year!
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Problem
2006-12-25 11:19:40 Paty77 [Reply | View]
I have a problem, i did all the things but it don'T work I hear the song but the video look like a blocked channel???
thanks
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2 colors
2006-12-21 02:19:41 thizock [Reply | View]
i have the AV jacks but i only have the 2 colored ones. its black and yellow. i use it to play music throught my stereo. do you guys know if i can use this to watch videos or would i have to get the 3 connection one. thanks
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2 colors
2006-12-21 02:17:44 thizock [Reply | View]
i have the AV jacks but i only have the 2 colored ones. its black and yellow. i use it to play music throught my stereo. do you guys know if i can use this to watch videos or would i have to get the 3 connection one. thanks
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2 colors
2006-12-21 02:17:24 thizock [Reply | View]
i have the AV jacks but i only have the 2 colored ones. its black and yellow. i use it to play music throught my stereo. do you guys know if i can use this to watch videos or would i have to get the 3 connection one. thanks
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It worked perfectly, but now it doesn't! Please help
2006-12-07 16:04:45 cnsxii [Reply | View]
I took your great advice, got a cable at Radioshack and was able to easily view movies on my 5th gen 30 gb iPod on my tv.
No problem.
But now it's a week later, a PS2 has been connected (and disconnected now) from the tv, but the original setup won't work.
There is a squiggly line (like a blocked channel) down the screen and a buzzing noise.
I've tried it on every tv in the house and I get the same result.
Does anyone have a clue what could have happened?
:(
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video volume on my ipod
2006-11-28 16:10:18 aluraxune [Reply | View]
im having this wierd problem with my ipod.. i just bought it and it works great but i dont seem to have any volume on my videos. but my volume works perfect on all my songs.. any suggestions?
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video voluime on my ipod
2006-11-28 16:09:29 aluraxune [Reply | View]
im haivng this wierd problem with my ipod.. i just bought and and it works great but i dont seem to have any volume on my videos. but my volume works perfect on all my songs.. any suggestions?
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ipod cock up connector
2006-11-25 11:00:32 stevie_g [Reply | View]
i have an ipod 5g the connectors are (1st letter = plug 2nd letter = socket on tv) R=Y W=W Y=R
cuz if u toutch the tip of the plug u may hear a hum on the tv (turn the tv vol up if stereo then hum on LEFT channel, if hum on RIGHT channel nthen red and yellow connectors are wrong wat round) hope this helps many people with this cable
the spiderman ost works very well to define left and right (switch foot - meant to live) song starts LLL RR RRR LL. to test the bass box you may well have go into your p2p software (not kazaa coz it sux) and search 'Worlds Deepest Bass'
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ipod cock up connector
2006-11-25 11:00:20 stevie_g [Reply | View]
i have an ipod 5g the connectors are (1st letter = plug 2nd letter = socket on tv) R=Y W=W Y=R
cuz if u toutch the tipnof the plug u may hear a hum on the tv (turn the tv vol up if stereo then hum on LEFT channel, if hum on RIGHT channel nthen red and yellow connectors are wrong wat round) hope this helps many people with this cable
the spiderman ost works very well to define left and right (switch foot - meant to live) song starts LLL RR RRR LL. to test the bass box you may well have go into your p2p software (not kazaa coz it sux) and search 'Worlds Deepest Bass'
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black and white still
2006-11-21 08:00:13 joner [Reply | View]
ive tried everything and still get black and white the picture is ok and the sound but where is the color??
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I've tried it all!
2006-11-12 19:07:01 Davidd [Reply | View]
I used an apple cable with my 60 gig ipod. I reversed all of the colors as suggested. I hooked it up through the vcr, the television as stand-alone, all with the same results. The picture looked like a blocked channel on cable tv and there was no sound. I've heard you could watch videos on your tv through the ipod, but can't find a solution. I can't see why a third party cable would work any better than an apple monster cable. Help me someone! David
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Actually a practical idea by Apple!
2006-11-11 23:35:41 jcsjcs [Reply | View]
Actually, using a non-standard A/V cable was a practical idea by Apple. It allows you to use ordinary headphones or an ordinary audio cable to connect the iPod to your stereo. Let's look at details:
The standard stereo/headphone plug has three contacts (from the tip):
right (white), left (red), GND.
The standard A/V cable plug has four contacts (again from the plug's tip):
right (white), video (yellow), GND, left (red).
Apple's A/V cable is
right (white), left (red), GND, video (yellow),
which makes much more sense as the first three contacts are compatable with standard headphones or a standard audio cable.
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iPod to TV issue SOLVED!!!!
2006-10-07 00:06:03 Kingjperro [Reply | View]
Hi everyone, if your having an issue playing the video or Photo portions of your iPod video to the TV, well this is the solution.
1- First you need a 3 color cable RCA to 1/8" cable (YELLOW, RED, WHITE) MALE.
2- Put the Video TV setting ON in the ipod
3- Put NTSC in setting if your in North America
4- Put setting Widescreen
5- Connect the 1/8" adapter in your ipod's audio output hole.
6- Place the 3 color RCA jacks MALE in your TV's INPUT Female, BUT FIRST MAKE SURE YOU PLACE THESE COLORS ONLY IN THIS ORDER.
7- WHITE RCA in (TV WHITE), YELLOW RCA yes YELLOW RCA in (TV RED) and then RED RCA in YELLOW (TV YELLOW). The yellow wire is now audio and the yellow wire is now video.
THAT's IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apple switched the ipod internal connectors so they want you to buy Apple's wire.
Thanks, and have fun! Apple Rules!!!!!!!!!!!
King
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iPod Menu Videos???
2006-10-03 13:11:48 Trump48257 [Reply | View]
So yes this works...but has anyone found a way to output video of the menus/now playing screens?? (I assume Apple disabled this on purpose...but they have to be capable of doing this). This would be very useful for using it with a TV for music instead of video or in a car with an LCD display with video inputs. Any ideas??
--Adam
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i cant hear sound when i play videos on my 30gb. volumes up and everything, but no sound?
2006-09-27 16:25:05 orod [Reply | View]
hey, i was wondering why everytime i have a video on my ipod, it wont play sound? i can see fine and everything but theres not sound? HELP PLEASE
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iPod stuck
2006-09-14 19:38:43 mohantom [Reply | View]
The video could be played on iPod screen. I was trying to use this method to connect my iPod video 30GB to TV. When it's coming to play, it just stopped. I hit every button I can but no response. The video was just stuck in the first frame. When I connect iPod to my PC, it even can not be detected.
Anybody can help me out with this? What's going on with this iPod? Thank you so much!
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Check This Out
2006-09-10 20:26:00 jesuscrist [Reply | View]
Why Tear up your ipod to save a buck....Here is an adapter for $6.00 usd and its built for the ipod.
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail~dpno~7022202.asp
there's better ones if you wan to spend the money.
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ITS NOT WORKING FOR ME HELP PLEASE!!!
2006-09-07 09:55:22 shegufz [Reply | View]
hi
i was searching the web an came across your site. which is amazing it gave me tips on connecting my ipod into the tv but i tried using a standard camacorder cord. it didn't work the video part is blurry and audio is fine. can you help me please!!! email at tanwin_s@hotmail.com thanks
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Great Find
2006-09-06 09:54:01 hayden1095 [Reply | View]
Thank you! This rocks! My 12 year old and I knew there had to be a way to make our video camera cord work - we could hear the sound but no video - thanks for unscrambling it for us!
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ipod av connector
2006-09-05 18:54:45 rabbit46 [Reply | View]
this is awesome that you post this. thank you. I do have a question. When I hook up the rca jacks & switch the colors can I hook the audio thru my sterio amp? thanks
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Works on TV, but not on portable DVD player?
2006-07-24 10:00:54 willski [Reply | View]
Hey there
I appreciate all the suggestions.
I got the sound and video to work great on home tv, but now am trying to get Ipod Video/audio to play on new portable DVD player.
DVD player has one composite A/V IN. It is a 1/8 inch hole (I dont know tech lingo at all!)
So I have the cable from 1/8 inch to RCA (red, yellow, white male).
But from Ipod out is also 1/8 inch to RCA (male plugs?
I bought a R,Y,W adapter to connect the two, and get sound but no video from DVD player.
I tried switching the R,Y,W to various configs, but still no picture.
I don't really get how the pins/rings etc work, so anything anyone can do to help would be great.
Thanks.
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The white was right though
2006-06-07 17:24:18 dnoo [Reply | View]
even though i spent a lil more on the Apple white wire
the thing looks amazing, i can find it quick
and that thing is like 2 feet or so
16 with my student discount def worth
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Does this one work?
2006-06-07 16:04:42 ipodmania [Reply | View]
Hey, think this is really cool and wanna try if it works..
Will this cable do it? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049633&cp=&origkw=standard+stereo+av+rca+cable&kw=standard+stereo+av+rca+cable&parentPage=search
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Video output while playing music?
2006-04-11 01:26:46 Pierceng [Reply | View]
Hi, I want to connect iPod to command in my car via standard RCA cables and Xtrememac RoadShow Car Audio/Video Cable (note that it connects to iPod not by jack output, but by dock). Will I be able to output
the picture of iPods display to command display while playing music? I thought it produces a constant video-out signal, but after reading this article I doubt it, but maybe there is some way… =( Any ideas will be appreciated.
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It May Sound Boring But Please Read It, Explain Plz, It ain't working
2006-04-06 02:24:15 Dralaquan [Reply | View]
Hi Everybody,
G'day in my house i've got my own little TV in my room which is for playin my PS2 but when i went on www.oreillynet.com i saw this article that says Getting the Video Out of Your New iPod -- for Cheap!, well i've already got an iPod video so i thought,"Hey that's pretty good," so i tried it on my TV, that only had the yellow and the white RCA holes because of the fact that it's a really small TV and it has only 1 speaker, and it didn't work
I'm pretty sure i did everything right by putting the red cable into the yellow hole on the TV, and the yellow cable into the white hole but i didn't do anything with the white cable coz i don't hav the the last red hole. So i put the iPod on to TV on mode and i was waiting to know if it was working or not and it ended up as this retarded sound with this retarded color movin like a screwed up TV, but if i keep moving the the yellow cable a little sound would come through the yellow cable bit by bit, so experts who have read this PPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLZZZZZZZZZZ help me!!.....
Regards,
Dralaquan
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Yes, this works!
2006-04-05 10:37:48 groundling [Reply | View]
I got a 10 or 12 foot video camera to TV cable from radio shack for about 16.99.
I figured out how to get the cable to work on my own. I noticed when I plugged the colors into the matching plugs that there was a buzzing. I figured that the buzzing was from the video being plugged into one of the audio ins. Sure enough, I switched them around until it worked.
I hadn't figured out the right/left correct plugs, so thanks for that!
This is how we finished off the season of Battlestar Galactica. We don't have the sci fi channel, so I'd download the shows onto my ipod and then we'd plug it into the TV with this cable. The quality was amazing considering that it's just 320 pixels wide. Pretty much broadcast quality at worst.
This is a great tip!
Dennis
http://www.groundlings-review.com
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HEY! It Worked. Thanks!!!
2006-04-02 21:23:15 robtekk [Reply | View]
Thank you so much for the post about using an off the shelf cable with the video ipod. I used the rcg yellow, red, white and was dissapointed until I came across your post about the particular - peculiar - color combination. Those apple guys sure know how to make a buck. And they don't even include a cheap little video (even if just advert) to test video on the pod. Oh well. Guess I'll get to making my own.
Thanks again.
robtekk
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Black and White only
2006-03-06 03:13:48 wyrdness [Reply | View]
The people who have said that they are only getting black and white by this method are correct. I tried my sony camcorder cable with my 5G ipod last night and only got a black and white picture. I tried it with a home cinema projector and a data projector, both with the same result. I don't understand this, as both the luminance (B&W) and chromiance (colour) signals are combined in a composite video signal. The display then applies filters to separate the signals out again. So either I should get a working colour picture or no picture at all. I have tried both PAL and NTSC and switched 'wide screen' on and off.
I'm worried that if I buy a cheap cable off ebay, that it will do the same thing, but I don't really want to spend £15 on the Apple cable. Does anyone have any idea why a supposedly composite signal won't display colour?
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I NEED HELP WITH MY IPOD!!! PLEASE READ ASAP!
2006-02-10 19:32:01 KFree20 [Reply | View]
I have a Ipod Video. I wanted to hook it up to the TV so I searched how to on http://www.google.com/ . I came to the web site http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/11/18/video-ipod.htmltook .I took your advice on just finding a A/V-to-RCA cable that plugs into the TV instead of going out and buying a 20$ system. It is working great, the volume works, the picture is clear enough, the only problem is on the screen, the voice is delayed from when they say it in the movie/show. In other words, my TV is lagging. I looked to see if it was just the movie that was maybe causing the conflict but the movie worked fine while watching it on my Ipod. It only slows down when i plug it into the TV. I need help on fixing it and i have tryed everything. Please help ASAP. Email me back @ Gigem08@aol.com .
Thank you
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Need help
2006-02-01 15:57:48 Anangel [Reply | View]
I bought an "ipod video cable" on Ebay and the picture is black and white and continuously rolls, making it unwatchable. The audio is fine.
This cable was purchased as an ipod cable and is not through apple. Is it garbage?
casseiopia@hotmail.com
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Doesn't work
2006-02-01 08:05:48 Garno [Reply | View]
Hi,
I finally received my cable and I tried to plug it onto my tv. The problem is that my TV only have the yellow slot and the white one so I put the yellow in the white and the red in the yellow. I can heard my program but no image. What's the problem ?
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Will these Radio Shack ones work?
2006-01-29 13:46:39 ProClub [Reply | View]
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103278&cp=&kw=camcorder+cable&parentPage=search
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The Easy Way
2006-01-23 14:23:07 flamingc0d3r [Reply | View]
Goto eBay and search for "ipod cable", got mine for £5 thats a third than what Apple are charging.
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the path less traveled by...
2006-01-23 10:39:09 techsux [Reply | View]
- purchased a 60gb video ipod. $500
- purchased mp4 converter from cucusoft.com, out of the 5 converters I've tried this was the only one that correctly synced the audio with the video. $40
- transferred 15 dvd movies.
- purchased camcorder a/v cable from radioshack (only one brand offered). $16
- read article: red -> tv yellow, yellow -> tv white, white -> tv red, quality is average but it works perfectly.
- now, was it really all worth it? nahh.. gonna go read all the Harry Potter books again.
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Thanks
2006-01-21 15:18:39 pfhyper [Reply | View]
Great article. I just returned the Apple AV-to-vid cable today after testing my Panasonic camera cable. Everything's working great.
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no color *tear
2006-01-20 05:27:32 rayjer [Reply | View]
I only have yellow and white ports into my TV so i put the red into the yellow and yellow into the white the videos is kinda color mostly B&W.. anyone got any ideas? i made sure the TV PAL and the setting PAL were right, but still nothing?
~06*
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Not poss with old av cable from ibook?
2006-01-19 08:08:06 legonuts [Reply | View]
Thanks for the article...i gave it a go with a cable that looked superficially similar...an old ibook cable with three coloured jacks...sound was fuzzy but ok....however the picture was distorted etc..Tried all the cable combinations on two tvs and no joy. Is there any other reason why this cable wouldnt work with the ipod?
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What about the photos
2006-01-10 11:19:18 compfused [Reply | View]
Is there a way to display the photos stored in your ipod onto your tv using this method or do the cables need to be in a different order?
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no colour :(
2006-01-10 01:59:47 TaRaK [Reply | View]
this is great post thanks for the info.
the sound is fine and picture is good, only problem is that it is in black and white for me.
Any ideas why this would be ?
i also agree with the comments made about not riping off apple by asking for replacments for things you never bought, however my headphones gave up after 8days so was happy to see that i could get them replaced as i was about to go out and buy another set.
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Playing Sound on TV
2006-01-06 14:11:52 ty83 [Reply | View]
The video works cool for me but is there a way to play your music on the TV as well?
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Battery Life with Video Out
2006-01-05 13:05:26 woonsoo [Reply | View]
Anyone try using the video out for long periods of time? What is the battery life like?
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This isn't working for me.!
2006-01-02 19:15:56 Caittt! [Reply | View]
This isn't working for me, I am using a portable DVD player's cables, that my head phones did indeed work in, and all I get is a blurry picture and messed up sound. I just got the Ipod shipped from Apple to me in Canada. Could you let me know please if there is anything else I should try.?
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Thanks - this was just what I needed!
2005-12-31 17:02:31 Barbarella [Reply | View]
This was fantastic and useful info, thanks!! Works perfectly for me.
-Barb
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can you let the menu options out the AV connector
2005-12-22 18:24:13 pod_downunder [Reply | View]
Its a pity they don't also allow the menu options you select with the wheel to be redirected to the AV connector. That way, if you owned the uni dock and remote, you could use it as a juke box, just turn on the TV to see the menu, use the remote to control the Ipod. Would sort of make it a poor mans Front Row.
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An Engineer's Thoughts...
2005-12-20 19:20:10 iPod_Brett [Reply | View]
Honestly, everyone is saying apple F'd us on purpose to make more money. And while I don't doubt that they love to make money off of accessories, I don't believe they did this on purpose.
As an engineer of portable devices, I can honestly say I probably would have done the same thing as Apple.
Here's why:
http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/816/standardvsvideoipod3mc.jpg
If you look first at the IPOD AUDIO vs STANDARD AUDIO, you'll notice the LEFT and RIGHT channels are reversed. I'm not sure why they did that but it's bunk. Something to keep in mind when using any standard audio cable as well.
Now look at the difference between STANDARD A/V and STANDARD AUDIO. LEFT and GROUND stay put on the same pin, but for some bizarro reason the standard is to put VIDEO where the RIGHT channel would be, and move the RIGHT channel to the new 4th pin.
Now what Apple did, is they said.. hey, we have to make our iPod work with standard headphones and audio cables, but since we have to make our own custom A/V cables.. let's just put the VIDEO output on the 4th pin. This makes it's easy for them because they don't need any extra circuitry to switch the VIDEO and LEFT signals. In fact, it's not a cheap or space saving solution to have to switch those signals.
So in my opinion, Apple just tried to save some money and PCB space and give us audio and video from the same jack.
If you look at standard a/v and audio cables, they are not interchangeable with each other. The reason why when you put headphones into a camcorder's A/V jack you only hear the LEFT channel, and you may get some static on the RIGHT channel because it's actually a VIDEO signal.
If Apple wanted to totally screw us, they would have swapped the GROUND and LEFT signals in their jack on the iPOD. This would render a standard cable useless, and require you to cut the wires and reconnect them in the proper order. However, this would also make all standard headphones and audio cables not work.. I think if they messed with it too much people would really look down on them with disgust.
It could be viewed as them just tweaking it to trap the average joe into purchasing their A/V cable, but honestly I think they just took the easy path in engineering the iPOD output circuitry.
Hope that was enlightening ;)
-Brett
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Thanks
2005-12-19 15:59:39 BIGJ [Reply | View]
Excellent little guide! I'll give it a try tonight. I have so mnay movies to watch, so this will be something to see. See how it goes.
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scart?
2005-12-17 06:14:01 Nils07 [Reply | View]
is it possible to put the iPod AV Cable into a scart? (like the once playstations use) or does that only work with RCA video and audio input jacks?
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Worked perfect
2005-12-15 19:11:10 burgeke [Reply | View]
Just got my 30GB in the mail. Thanks for this article! It worked great with the cable that came with my Sharp MiniDV camcorder.
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Let's be fair
2005-12-13 12:59:13 mdamkier [Reply | View]
To be fair, it was the video folks that put the audio in different places then the tip and first ring. Apple needed the audio there (tip and firts ring) so that the socket would work with headphone jacks. So blame the video camera guys for doing something different and give Apple credit for not forcing us to use an adapter to plug in headphones. ;-)
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S-Video Video iPod Playback
2005-12-11 13:05:29 indmriley [Reply | View]
If you have a dock with an S-Video connection, can you play video this way? By hooking up the S-Video cable to the TV? Doesn't work for me..
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playing videos in ipod videu
2005-12-05 12:36:06 question [Reply | View]
can i download my dvd into ipod video or are there any website where i can get videos without paying $2 for every music video?
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camcorder A/V cable differences
2005-11-29 10:36:06 petervo [Reply | View]
I would like to add that not all camcorder A/V cables heve the same pinout, it depends from manufacturer to manufacturer. A Panasonic camcorder and a Sony have totally different pinouts.
A Sony compatible A/V cable will look the same as a Panasonic cable, but when you take a look at the pinout they are totally different cables.
So not all cables will work according the article, maybe "some additional playing arround with the RCA colors" will do the trick...
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Doesn't work for me
2005-11-25 18:42:20 twhid [Reply | View]
I tried this with a 30Gb iPod that I received today. Doesn't work. I'm unsure why. The a/v cable I'm using came with a portable DVD player I have so perhaps there's something squonkey with the cable; it looks like a normal mini-pin to RCA cable.
I didn't buy the iPod via retail either, it came direct from Apple for a special event -- perhaps they've worked around this hardware 'hack?'
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Easier Way
2005-11-24 11:51:25 SamKingston [Reply | View]
As a former iPod phone support technician, I'll let you folks in on a not well guarded secret: the AV cable to connect your iPod to your television is covered by your warranty whether you have one or not. The process is very simple, go to this site: depot.info.apple.com/ipod and fill out thr required information, say that there's a problem with your nonexistant AV cable, they'll send you a new one within the next 2 weeks. Same process works for earbuds, I'm on my twelthf pair and I don't even own an iPod anymore. It works for and product that they don't ask for credit card info for, because if they do, that means they want you to ship the faulty one back after you receive the replacement.
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iPod Video v. Sony PSP
2005-11-23 16:05:49 kwolfhard [Reply | View]
I never would have expected you'd be able to do that with an iPod Video. Do you think it'd work with a PSP just as easily?
As much as I love new toys, there's no way I'd cough up the dough to buy another portable movie source.
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You are critical without reason
2005-11-23 01:03:40 eytanbernet [Reply | View]
The camcorders were never designed to also be headphone jacks - they did not take a stereo headset and work properly. The iPod has that requirement. The pinouts were not designed that way to make Apple "proprietary" - they were designed that way so as headphones would not be....
The information you supplied is valuable - to kick Apple in the ass for not doing anything wrong is lousy, however.
