What s-video cable for a DVI to S-Video adapter

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Level 2

245 points

What s-video cable for a DVI to S-Video adapter

Hi,

I have an old MiniG4 lying around, which I thought I'd make into a media centre.

I bought the Apple DVI to Video Adapter (<http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9267G/A>) which is specifically for a Mac Mini and I thought that I had an s-video cable too, but clearly I have the wrong one.

The cable I have, has a single plug at one end and the red/white/yellow plugs at the other end. The single plug is a headphone-jack style, but with 3 yellow connector 'stripes' instead of the usual 2 black ones, but this plug doesn't fit in the DVI Adapter's yellow socket. It's too wide.

Can anyone tell me what cable I need to work with the DVI Adapter? Should it be 2 plugs to 3, or 1 plug to 3? (I'm in Europe, if that changes anything)

(Why don't Apple tell you what you need on the product page at the Apple store???)

MBPro, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Oct 18, 2009 2:49 AM

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Answer 1

Euchre

Level 4

1,275 points

Oct 19, 2009 11:19 AM in response to Grant Symon

That item is offering two types of video output, either an S-video or a composite connection (the yellow phono/RCA type plug). If your TV doesn't offer either of these, you would have to specify what type of connectors are offered on the back of your TV. Keep in mind this is only a video connection, so any other connectors for audio related to those type of video connections offered will need to be provided separately.

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Answer 2

kmac1036

Level 4

2,370 points

Oct 19, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Grant Symon

you have the right adapter, but your cable sounds like it's either for a camcoder or an 5th Gen iPod w/ video playback...

so that cable could be used as your audio feed to the tv, but you'll need an RCA video or S-Video cable to feed the video.

also, you might find that the G4 minis may not be able to play back much, nor is some of the great apps like PLEX or Boxee available for the PPC macs.

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Answer 3

Grant Symon Author

Level 2

245 points

Oct 19, 2009 12:25 PM in response to kmac1036

Thanks for the replies.

I found the correct cables ... really dumb that Apple sell adapters but doesn't tell you what is required for them to work.

Anyway, it works really well. I was surprised at how good the output is. Just like the original DVD. The only place I can see any artefacts is on a totally black screen. Should it be of interest to anyone else reading, I used Handbrake on preset AppleTV but with FFMPEG instead of H624 (which took incredibly long to encode) and choosing to maintain aspect ratio and 100% quality.

I'm also using the iPhone to control via Apple's 'Remote' iPhone app and I bought 'Rowmote' as well, which gives more control.

The G4 Mini is the 'stealth' version, the last one they made with a slightly faster processor and a more capable video card. It's adequately powerful for running the movies and acting a media hub.

All in all, I'm quite happy. 🙂 🙂

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Answer 4

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Oct 24, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Grant Symon

There is no audio that comes out of that adapter you bought. If your TV has an S-Video input that looks just like the S-Video connector on the adapter, then you want a simple, single S-Video cable. For audio you'll need a separate cable that has like a headphone mini jack at one end (to plug into the mini's headphone port) and red and white RCA connectors at the other end to attach to the TV.

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Answer 5

Grant Symon Author

Level 2

245 points

Oct 25, 2009 9:18 AM in response to BSteely

Thanks BSteely. I bought the appropriate cable combo, which had all the bits, including an audio cable. It works quite well.

I'm now trying to move my vhs collection across to HD and finding that I need yet another cable/adapter. This time it looks like I need an s-video to usb. Sigh.

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Answer 6

Euchre

Level 4

1,275 points

Oct 25, 2009 9:30 PM in response to Grant Symon

S-video is analog signal, USB is a digital interface, completely managed. You can't just conductor swap and expect that to work correctly. You'll need a converter box and video capture software to make that all work together.

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Answer 7

aasad

Level 1

0 points

Dec 25, 2009 9:16 PM in response to Grant Symon

Hi.
I'm having the same problem..... Can you attach a link to the Svideo connector that works for you?
Some details: I was looking for adapter and connector for the MacbookPro and the quite old TV that I have [Apex PF2720]. After a lot of inquiries [I called three times to the apple store and three times I received a different answer.....] I was told that I needed three items:
1.Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570Z/A
2.AppleDVI to Video Adapter
http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9267G/A
3.SVideo Connector
The first two I get, but the last one.... I'm not sure which connector they meant. If you have one that works I would love to know which one is it exactly.
My TV has the white/yellow/red connectors.
Thanks.

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