My new apple tv2 arrives from amazon tomorrow. My tv is 15 years old and works perfectly - can't see a reason to get a new one. I have a Sony DVD hard drive recorder attached to it which says it is hdmi ready? Can I connect the atv to the Sony?
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Don't want a new tv, can it work with atv2?
- Thread starter rphiggins
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i don't have a yes or no on that. but i'm guessing that you're not going to be happy. apple did address with the last update for tv's that weren't 720p. so older devices it could play happier with. does the sony do all the converting for hdmi to analog?
ftaok
macrumors 604
I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that the HDMI port on the sony device is an output.
There are very few devices that have HDMI inputs, and I can't think of one consumer device that has HDMI inputs. If there were, Sony would be the last company to offer it.
My advice, get a new TV.
There are very few devices that have HDMI inputs, and I can't think of one consumer device that has HDMI inputs. If there were, Sony would be the last company to offer it.
My advice, get a new TV.
Does you DVD recorded actually have HDMI inputs? You say it's HDMI ready...what does that mean?
I have had equipment in the past that may have had multiple types of inputs, but one needed to have the output from the unit the same as the input or it would not pass through.
For example, I had an old laserdisc player without S-Video output, so I hooked that up to my TV with the old yellow RCA cable, all of my other componants has S-Video out and I attached S-Video into my TV, BUT the S-Video overrides the standard AV video in until I would unplug the S-video cable then it would default to any other inputs.
So...
IF you have an HDMI input on your DVD recorder and...
IF the DVD recorder allows pass-through of an HDMI signal to your current choice of output...
THEN it might work.
I have had equipment in the past that may have had multiple types of inputs, but one needed to have the output from the unit the same as the input or it would not pass through.
For example, I had an old laserdisc player without S-Video output, so I hooked that up to my TV with the old yellow RCA cable, all of my other componants has S-Video out and I attached S-Video into my TV, BUT the S-Video overrides the standard AV video in until I would unplug the S-video cable then it would default to any other inputs.
So...
IF you have an HDMI input on your DVD recorder and...
IF the DVD recorder allows pass-through of an HDMI signal to your current choice of output...
THEN it might work.
Thanks for quick replies
You are correct, the sony recorder is hdmi output.
My tv does have digital input for audio and composite inputs as well as scarts.
No good?
You are correct, the sony recorder is hdmi output.
My tv does have digital input for audio and composite inputs as well as scarts.
No good?
For the original ATV...yes, it had composite output. Current ATV2 has ONLY HDMI output.🙁
Not trying to bully you into buying a new TV if your current one works just to allow a $99 box to work with your system, but seriously your TV is 15 years old and it works 'perfectly'? After 5 years, most TVs or monitors are going to develop some picture issues. 15 years and none of that? You are a very lucky person indeed.
I'll tell you that a new HDTV montior will likely blow away what you have become used to as a 'perfectly' working TV.
If you are happy with your set-up, don't change it...but a 15yo TV will be most certainly showing its age.
I'm confused. Why would you buy an ATV2 when you knew you didn't have a TV with HDMI input? Time for a new TV or you are likely going to want to return the ATV. There are options for converting an HDMI signal to VGA or component but they are pricey. The HD Fury comes to mind but I don't think it is even legal to sell it anymore in the U.S.
If you have a DVI port on your TV you can just use an HDMI to DVI cable which works but is not actually supported by Apple so some people also report issues with it and certain TVs. Doesn't sound like your TV even has DVI though.
If you have a DVI port on your TV you can just use an HDMI to DVI cable which works but is not actually supported by Apple so some people also report issues with it and certain TVs. Doesn't sound like your TV even has DVI though.
Toshiba flat picture CRT 100% perfect after 15 years - widescreen 38" I think.
I also have a 27" iMac and it hasn't made me think I need a new tv. To be honest I don't think I will be able to lift the tv out of the house! A big new tv means I probably get sky hd as well so cheap little atv costs me a fair whack.
I also have a 27" iMac and it hasn't made me think I need a new tv. To be honest I don't think I will be able to lift the tv out of the house! A big new tv means I probably get sky hd as well so cheap little atv costs me a fair whack.
Is your TV...
... HDCP compatible? Does it have a DVI input with RCA component input? Can your TV display 720P?
I thought I may have to give up my Sony KV36XBR800 "old" 4:3 CRT TV, after the ATV2 only put out a display of 480P. The Sony was HDCP compatible and only had a DVI input.
I did not see any reason to get rid of a TV that worked fine and should work fine with the ATV2.
I chose to try an HDMI switch from Monoprice.com with RCA Component audio output. I run and HDMI to HDMI cable from the ATV2 to the switch. Then run an HDMI to DVI cable to the TV for video. Then run RCA (red and white) component cables from the switch to the Tv.
This worked great for me, but switches can be hit and miss.
This old CRT looks wonderful in 720P and still has some years left on it.
Another thought may be to get an ATV1 (original) and use that for now? It should work with composite cables.
... HDCP compatible? Does it have a DVI input with RCA component input? Can your TV display 720P?
I thought I may have to give up my Sony KV36XBR800 "old" 4:3 CRT TV, after the ATV2 only put out a display of 480P. The Sony was HDCP compatible and only had a DVI input.
I did not see any reason to get rid of a TV that worked fine and should work fine with the ATV2.
I chose to try an HDMI switch from Monoprice.com with RCA Component audio output. I run and HDMI to HDMI cable from the ATV2 to the switch. Then run an HDMI to DVI cable to the TV for video. Then run RCA (red and white) component cables from the switch to the Tv.
This worked great for me, but switches can be hit and miss.
This old CRT looks wonderful in 720P and still has some years left on it.
Another thought may be to get an ATV1 (original) and use that for now? It should work with composite cables.
Had the same issue when I bought my ATV2. No problem with my old TV, however the swinging factor was that I wanted to rearrange the house and wanted something to hang on the wall.
I did investigate things and found HDMI>SVID/COMPOSITE converters on eBay for reasonably low prices and were it not for the "need to rearrange things" I would have bought one as the old TV was quite an expensive Sony and worked perfectly.
Personally I have a huge problem with HDMI's existence. It's completely unnecessary and an excuse for cowboys to make money (usual clowns with "gold plated" cables etc). Fibre is a much better option, but that's no good to the corporate world as they can't rip people off with it. Hell, even standard cat 5e/6 copper would be perfectly adequate over the distances involved. Can't have that though can we... after all, they're only $2 so no scope for ripping folks off with $100 HDMI snake-oil crap.
I did investigate things and found HDMI>SVID/COMPOSITE converters on eBay for reasonably low prices and were it not for the "need to rearrange things" I would have bought one as the old TV was quite an expensive Sony and worked perfectly.
Personally I have a huge problem with HDMI's existence. It's completely unnecessary and an excuse for cowboys to make money (usual clowns with "gold plated" cables etc). Fibre is a much better option, but that's no good to the corporate world as they can't rip people off with it. Hell, even standard cat 5e/6 copper would be perfectly adequate over the distances involved. Can't have that though can we... after all, they're only $2 so no scope for ripping folks off with $100 HDMI snake-oil crap.
sandman42
macrumors 6502a
the original
TV had component output, not composite, if that matters to anyone. There was a hack to allow it to be used with composite input, but out of the box it had HDMI and component.Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)
What are you talking about. Hdmi cables are cheap at about $5 go shop somewhere else. Monoprice has nice cables and prices.
What are you talking about. Hdmi cables are cheap at about $5 go shop somewhere else. Monoprice has nice cables and prices.
the original
Sorry, yes. I always get the two confused. Thanks.
sandman42
macrumors 6502a
Yeah, there are plenty of cheap HDMI cables out there, and I suspect, for short runs at least, that they're just as good. I do think the industry is taking advantage of the fact that people are spending big money on a TV that's expected to have a stellar picture, so it's easy to get them to buy a $100 cable while they're at it. There's no reason an HDMI cable should cost that much, gold plated or otherwise. It's just a gouge.
In defense of HDMI, it is pretty convenient to plug in one cable and have all the hi-def video and multi-channel audio connected all at once. Also, remember that HDMI carries all digital signals (it's DVI-D + digital audio), where component video, SCART, etc are all analog (and required a separate audio connection).
For long cable runs there might actually be a benefit to higher-priced cables as signal attenuation and/or timing could be affected.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)
Multiple test show anything under 50 feet and there is no difference in cables. Digital is digital.
Multiple test show anything under 50 feet and there is no difference in cables. Digital is digital.
I just ran into the same issue when I got my new ATV2 for Christmas.... my work around was as follows,
My TV is about 9 years old and was sold to me as HD ready. This simply means it has a DVI input and analog sound inputs.
I bought a HDMI to DVI cable to go from my ATV2 to the TV for picture and then took the optical audio out of the ATV2 to my receiver. This allowed me to keep HD picture and then true studio quality sound from the ATV2.
To accomplish this did have to have a receiver that would accept an optical audio signal.
I hope this helped!
Taks Care,
JT.
My TV is about 9 years old and was sold to me as HD ready. This simply means it has a DVI input and analog sound inputs.
I bought a HDMI to DVI cable to go from my ATV2 to the TV for picture and then took the optical audio out of the ATV2 to my receiver. This allowed me to keep HD picture and then true studio quality sound from the ATV2.
To accomplish this did have to have a receiver that would accept an optical audio signal.
I hope this helped!
Taks Care,
JT.