S-Video/Composite

Is this comparable to what you are using?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?cid=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011407&pid=4724&seq=1&format=2

I assume this would NOT work:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?cid=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040113&pid=2509&seq=1&format=2

Has anyone tried the latter?

jannik wrote:

smueboy wrote:
I bought a VGA to S-Video/RCA converter for $26 and it works well.

That works? Do you use display port or mini-DVI to S-Video?

With your setup, you could connect a new Mac mini to a old S-Video input TV? So you find the way we all looking for?

I have a 10-15 year old TV and tried mini to S-Video and it lasts 15 seconds before it goes "Input 1" black screen.

Just bought a VGA svideo adapter via ups so hopefully in 6 days my tv works then.
If not, HDTV is 500-1000 now.

Message was edited by: JoeZinVA (PS just bought a Mac Mini)

I just saw this product announced
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/VIDU2DVIA/
I wonder if it would provide analog output; the picture of the DVI connector appears to a DVI-I. However, the description does not mention anything but DVI, HDMI, and VGA.

That item does not output S-Video or Composite, and originates from USB and not the mini-DVI port, so it is irrelevant to the original question in this thread. It would not resolve the issue of exporting video to an SD (standard definition) TV.

(That said, I don't know why one would want to use a computer of any kind on a SD TV, as the effective resolution is a paltry 640x480.)

While the device I mentioned does not answer the original question involving the mini DVD connector, perhaps it would support the Apple DVI to Video Adapter which could satisfy the original poster's requirements.

Some of us who would use the Mini as a Media Center would want SD output from time to time if only to feed legacy items such as a VCR. Whatever the application, some of have uses for SD output and are interested in getting it from the Mini. In my particular case, I have an HD video/audio center, but I use an SD modulator to pipe the video/audio to other TVs in the house (HD modulators are hard to find and when you do find one, they are expensive). As a result, I'm interested in mirroring the HD video/audio to an SD output simultaneously. I don't expect to find that solution anytime soon as mirroring is usually done at the same resolution, but I follow these threads on the Mac Mini for possibilities.

JoeZinVA wrote:

jannik wrote:

smueboy wrote:
I bought a VGA to S-Video/RCA converter for $26 and it works well.

That works? Do you use display port or mini-DVI to S-Video?

With your setup, you could connect a new Mac mini to a old S-Video input TV? So you find the way we all looking for?

I have a 10-15 year old TV and tried mini to S-Video and it lasts 15 seconds before it goes "Input 1" black screen.

Just bought a VGA svideo adapter via ups so hopefully in 6 days my tv works then.
If not, HDTV is 500-1000 now.

Message was edited by: JoeZinVA (PS just bought a Mac Mini)

Bad news. Doesn't work on a 15 year old TV. I tried the Display Port to S-Video and it only worked for 15 seconds.

Bought the Display Port to VGA and then just received the VGA to S-Video and it does work, but bounces the Mac's monitor screen, not showing a picture at all.

Only thing to do is cash out $500-$1000 for a TV apparently. Make your savings budget folks!

Just to confirm, I just purchased a 2009 Mac Mini. I have confirmed that I cannot connect the mini-DVI port to a television composite input using Apple's mini-DVI to Video Adapter.

I have confirmed that the port on the Mac Mini works with an Apple monitor. I have also confirmed that the composite port on the TV works with other input sources.

This is so frustrating. I suppose I need to return the Mac Mini if no solution. I only purchased it to be a media server.

So your TV lacks DVI or HDMI input? As I noted above, the SD signals (like those provided by S-video and composite) are nominally 640x480 and thus rather low resolution. If you are going to invest $600 in a mini for a media server, you ought to consider a similar investment of money into a display which is going to do the source some justice.

The TV has those inputs, but I am running a video matrix server that allows me to access the Mac Mini (as well as any other source) from any television. It is the matrix that actually demands the composite connection. I was just using the composite connection on the TV for testing purposes. But bottom line is that I cannot connect the Mac Mini to either the video matrix or the TV using the composite connection.

As an update, I spent several hours this weekend working my way through Apple Customer Support discussing this issue in the effort to find a solution.

As I was told in the store when I bought my Mac Mini, two specialists told me that the mini-DVI to video adapter should be able to show the Mac Mini's video on a composite device.

One of the specialists said that I likely needed to adjust the settings on the TV to recognize the input source. I tested her theory to no avail.

When I called back, I mentioned this thread, as well as similar discussions, to the second specialist. After checking several discussion threads on this site, the specialist responded candidly. While Apple's support responses are not based on what people write in the discussion threads, he was genuinely surprised that so many people would be raising the issue if there was not a problem here. He asked out loud, 'Why the heck would the new Mini not pass an analog signal? That makes no sense.'

He proposed submitting a ticket to Apple's engineering department to see whether this issue was a hardware problem or a "feature" that was working as designed. Stay tuned.

Thanks for these forums! I got a new/refurb Mini last night and ran into the same problem. I'm better off using my 2006 MacBook as an entertainment center. I'm beginning to think Apple is no better than Micro$oft in the stupid B.S. they will pull on people. I guess my only choice is to buy a new TV ($$$ to replace a perfectly good 2 year old TV without HDMI connections), run a computer monitor alongside my TV or return the Mini. If Apple made the Apple TV a DVR device I would have bought that but apparently even that does not support S-video?
Also, I can't get audio to work through my stereo either (not digital, I'm not made of money here). Unbelievable.
Thanks, AndyB, NH.

Being aghast that Apple doesn't natively support S-video on it's newer computers is a bit like being astounded that they would drop the dial up modem from the mini. S-video is standard definition TV grade, which as I've said repeatedly is nominally just a 640x480 resolution. That hasn't been the maximum or standard resolution for computers since the early 90s. SD signals are a dying standard and technology. I would think you would be more upset that a TV purchased 2 years ago when digital TV with it's HD capable content was coming along in short order did not have an HDMI input. If the TV is not HD, I would certainly be more upset about that. If your TV supports at least component or VGA, you would get a better quality image than S-video or composite can provide.

I understand what you are saying about s-video resolution. However, I mainly want the Mac Mini to connect to my SD TV for watching Hulu and Netlix content as well as DVDs and iTunes content via Front Row. Given that I live in a rural area with less than optimal DSL speeds, the quality of my video from Hulu and Netflix will actually look better on my SD TV than an HD model. 600 bucks is a lot to spend to use a Mini a media server, but that would be my only investment. The alternative would be to buy an HD TV and then subscribe to a satellite provider, which would cost me more than 600 bucks. I'm perfectly happy with the SD tv I already own.
As a casual TV viewer, I'm not interested in paying a monthly subscription and I prefer being able to watch the programs that are on Hulu and Netflix at a time that suits my schedule.
I understand that using a Mac Mini at the low resolution of S video wouldn't make sense to most people. But it's a deal breaker for me and I guess I'll have to cancel the Mac Mini I have in my cart.

I have to say "ditto to dan the musician". Rural DSL can barely support SD TV.

Perhaps the older refurb'ed Minis are a better choice -- though you have to check these links daily to find them in stock:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB138LL/A

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB139LL/A

Is there any practical way to get decent S-Video out of the 2009 models?

Does the monoprice.com "VGA to RCA | S-VIDEO | VGA Converter" do a decent job?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?cid=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011407&pid=4724&seq=1&format=2

(The reviews seemed positive, even with the 2009 Mini, though I saw one warning about using the extra usb power cable, implying that it drew more the the standard usb limit. Though no one else mentioned this.)

I decided to buy the 09 Mini and a VGA to S Video converter. We'll see how it goes...