RunningAHEAD - Topic: Teach me

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/17/2008 at 8:42 PM
modified: 1/17/2008 at 11:54 PM

Okay, so On Demand blows. I am considering the new AppleTV, which states that it is for HD. I do not have an HDTV. Can I still play video from an HD device on a standard TV? Is it just a matter of the right connector cables?

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

Marnee

A is A

posted: 1/17/2008 at 9:01 PM

No, well, maybe. I'm like 99% sure you will need an adapter. Ask Radio Shack.

modal

posted: 1/18/2008 at 12:31 AM
modified: 1/18/2008 at 12:33 AM

Quote from Trent on 1/17/2008 at 8:42 PM:

Okay, so On Demand blows. I am considering the new AppleTV, which states that it is for HD. I do not have an HDTV. Can I still play video from an HD device on a standard TV? Is it just a matter of the right connector cables?

You'll need a TV or device that accepts HDMI or Component Video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have broadband? If you did not know, you can download a bunch of TV from the internet using BitTorrent. You can even have downloads set up on a subscription basis with an RSS feed. What do you lose: 1. Quality (depends) 2. Closed Caption (not always lost!) If you have the money, I recommend getting a HTPC w/ multiple tuners and a broadband connection.... your all set...

Vim

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/18/2008 at 6:12 AM

We have broadband, which provides our internet. Here is the deal. We have a 5 year old 27" Sony that works great. It just happens not to be HD or anything else fancy. We are not a TV family and are about to have kiddo #3 and are looking for ways to cut back. We just dropped the HBP/Showtime/Max, which saves about $35 per month that we were paying for movies we did not watch. To keep the internet, we still need a minimal package, but we can save another $25 to drop the On Demand and some of the cable channels we never watch. We use On Demand a good 2-3 times per month, which is not worth $25 (and we could do without those extra shows anyway). We have a bunch of DVDs, NEVER go to video rental stores due to the hassle factor and don't use Netflix because some months we may not watch any movies. ATV is nice because we could use it to rent movies when we want, buy occasional movies, stream content from the computer and keep our minimal cable (for some programming and for the internet). And it is pretty cheap, all things considered. But I really don't want to have to spend another chunk of change to buy an HDTV to make the thing work. As I understand it, the ATV has output via HD connectors. Can I plug in via RCA or SVideo using an adaptor?

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

dgb2n

Dave

posted: 1/18/2008 at 6:40 AM
modified: 1/18/2008 at 6:46 AM

I guess a picture is worth 1000 words.

The AppleTV has both component and HDMI video ports. No S-Video. No Composite. Bottom line is that you have to have an HDTV to display the HDTV picture. I'm shopping for an LCD right now. Are you interested in a 30" widescreen Toshiba tube set HDTV? Cool

Not sure about the adapter. Will have to look a bit more. No obvious, inexpensive answer.

I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

dgb2n@yahoo.com

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/18/2008 at 6:50 AM

So with the component output, I can plug that right into my TV? Ahh, sensei, got it [I hope]. I don't need HD on my 27" screen, and Sponge Bob looks fine to the kids as is.

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

dgb2n

Dave

posted: 1/18/2008 at 9:39 AM

If your TV has component video in (Red, Green, and Blue connectors plus the white and red for audio), it will work. It will probably show black bands at the top and bottom of the screen since the Apple TV is designed to output to the 16x9 format set. There is a thread on Apple Support here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6352395

I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

dgb2n@yahoo.com

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/18/2008 at 9:48 AM

If not, I may have to invest in a converter. Cheaper than a TV. Of course, if we are saving $50 per month from the change to our cable plan, we may accrue tv money pretty quickly.

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

dgb2n

Dave

posted: 1/18/2008 at 10:07 AM
modified: 1/18/2008 at 10:08 AM

Converters are not exactly cheap. Found a great link here: http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html For about the same money, I'll sell you the toshiba, hint, hint, nudge, nudge Big grin

I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

dgb2n@yahoo.com

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/18/2008 at 10:15 AM

Yeah. $129. Not cheap. But cheaper than a TV. Do you ship your used TV for free? Wink

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

dgb2n

Dave

posted: 1/18/2008 at 10:38 AM

TV is $129. Shipping is $199. Cool

I ran a mile and I liked it, liked it, liked it.

dgb2n@yahoo.com

brian :)

posted: 1/18/2008 at 10:51 AM
modified: 1/18/2008 at 11:21 AM

Of course, if you have a computer lying around, there are options like Windows MCE, BeyondTV, and MythTV. I'm currently using MythTV which can be customized to do whatever you want (though it's not for the faint of heart). I've actually got it hooked up to an antenna, and can pick up full HD for the 14 or so channels I receive. HD football for "free".

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 1/18/2008 at 11:00 AM

Thanks. So then this question: can't I just hook my ATV directly into my TV? I have ports for three or four devices. That way I can have my cable box in the main, my DVD player in #2 and my ATV in #3. Or not?

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

brian :)

posted: 1/18/2008 at 11:06 AM
modified: 1/18/2008 at 11:20 AM

Edit: Taking out bad info (oops!), thanks modal.

modal

posted: 1/18/2008 at 11:08 AM

not inline with your question but inline with brian Smile

..... HTPC..... You can get a cheap pc with svideo or composite out to hook up to your tv. Coupled with a nice tuner(s) and RF remote you'd have a pretty nice system. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a dual HD tuner that works over ethernet. hdhomerun

Vim

Teach me (Read 829 times)