dvd to tv?

super_pup

super_pup

scared.weird.little.guy
heya
ive got an ibook and was just curious: can i plug it into my television and watch dvds on there? my uncle can on his windoes box...
pup
 
If you have an adaptor for VGA or mini-VGA to S-video or whatever input your TV has, then I beleive that you can use the TV as an external monitor. In this case, then you could.
 
I believe you'd have to buy an adaptor. One end plugs into the comp, the other would plug into modern televisions, ones that have
  • S-VIDEO on the back,
  • those three red-white-yellow holes (fancy name RCA)
  • :( I'm sure I'm missing one...
But not the standard "cable" outlet (fancy name coaxial cable), for some reason I've never seen an adaptor for "old" TVs. Sigh.

It will be like another screen. You can see the mouse click menus, and the desktop, on your TV. So you just let the DVD software fill up the screen, hide the mouse in a corner if you have to.
 
You can pick up the Apple AV-Cable for iBooks on the Apple online store. Older versions of this cable use the RCA plugs (those three red, white and yellow plugs postilord mentioned) while the newer cables use S-Video. I prefer the older ones since they are more widely supported. Only around half the TVs out there have S-video, but about 90% have RCA.

The reason you don't see co-axial adaptors on modern systems is that they require the signal to be modulated to a TV signal on a particular channel. That means they need to be tuned in on the TV set, and must have a mechanism to switch channels in case they interfere with existing channels or equipment. In other words, they're a pain in the posterior, but you will find them on systems from the eighties.
 
Oh, that's right! The red-white-yellow holes are a seperate channel, like channel AUX1 and AUX2!
I suppose they could be made to override every channel, but I see your point.

"Honey, chanels 2 thru 99 are all the same - nothing's on!"
 
The old clam-shell DV iBooks had a direct three signal analog output. Did Apple do away with that? With an Apple supplied cable, the headphone jack transmitted video as well. We used the iBook as a DVD player for a couple years.
 
The main question I have regarding this is; is it possible to have the iBook play the DVD on *only* the TV, and not the iBook at the same time? Perhaps, have the controls on the iBook screen and the movie playing on the TV?

In Mac Help it says that DVD playback will only show on the TV (and leave the iBook screen open), but it the TV just mirrors what's on the iBook. I can't seem to use the Displays tab of the System Preferences to set it that way either.
 
Is there something that would let this work for G4 towers? Mine has the GeForce 4MX with ADC and VGA. It would be great to use this extra VGA port to watch DVD's on my TV as my home DVD player recently died. The TV has S-video and RCA and composite ins/outs.
Any help would be great

Eddie
 
That's weird, Shatfield. On my system I can't get a DVD to play on both at once, as it will do just what you're trying to do.

I should point out that the clamshell iBook supports the headphone-jack cable to the three RCA plugs. The newer (Dual USB) iBooks support that as well as a new type of connection to S-Video.
 
Originally posted by symphonix
The reason you don't see co-axial adaptors on modern systems is that they require the signal to be modulated to a TV signal on a particular channel. That means they need to be tuned in on the TV set, and must have a mechanism to switch channels in case they interfere with existing channels or equipment. In other words, they're a pain in the posterior, but you will find them on systems from the eighties.
Click to expand...
I've had a few days to think about. I completely disagree, symphonix. Nintendo and other video game consoles have made RF switches for years. They take over channel 3 or 4 when the console has the power on. Normal television channels pass through it unaffected when the power's off. Surely a computer-to-TV model could and has been constructed.

Perhaps it has to do with the quality degrading??

Got any other reason's to persuade me :D;) why I have never seen a comp-to-TV co-axial converter?

Sorry if off-topic super_pup. Hey, I think your uncle's converter might work on your computer. You could check the converters manual if it supports Mac.
 
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