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How do u you link a Powerbook G4 to a tv?

sam10685

sam10685

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 2, 2006
1,763
1
Portland, OR
hi! my DVD player broke again and i know i could (and probably willl eventually) get a new one for pretty cheap. i was just wondering; i was reading in the march edition of Macworld magazine that u can hook up the new 15.4" Macbook Pro to a tv and even close the lid and use it fully as a multimedie thing with the new front row software and stuff. I was looking at the ports of the Macbook pro and on my powerbook and everything the MBP has, i have. So i was wondering if anyone here could tell me how to link my 12.1" PB to the tv. Thank you!

(p.s. i have a mac mini too so i won't be banishing myself from the internet.)
 
gekko513

gekko513

macrumors 603
Oct 16, 2003
6,301
1
MacDonaldsd said:
What do you have to do if your tv only has scart input ?
Click to expand...
You get the mini DVI to S-Video adapter and then you plug it in an S-Video to scart adapter.

hamish_holmes said:
also, would the s-video carry sound as well as visual?
Click to expand...
I don't think so. You need to connect the audio separately.

In the scart case, the sound usually plugs into the same S-Video to scart adapter.

Make sure to get the correct mini DVI adapter. There are two types of mini DVI connectors. One smaller (iMac, new PB 12") than the other (old PB 12").
 
2

26139

Suspended
Dec 27, 2003
4,315
377
HUh?

gekko513 said:
You get the mini DVI to S-Video adapter and then you plug it in an S-Video to scart adapter.


I don't think so. You need to connect the audio separately.

In the scart case, the sound usually plugs into the same S-Video to scart adapter.

Make sure to get the correct mini DVI adapter. There are two types of mini DVI connectors. One smaller (iMac, new PB 12") than the other (old PB 12").
Click to expand...

Really? Don't you mean mini VGA and mini DVI?
 
gekko513

gekko513

macrumors 603
Oct 16, 2003
6,301
1
appleretailguy said:
Really? Don't you mean mini VGA and mini DVI?
Click to expand...
Maybe, but not according to this comment on the Apple store page for the Mini DVI to Video adapter:
I have a 12 in. powerbook with a mini dvi port on it. This is a different kind of plug in and it won't fit. I don't know what I should do because i still want an adapter. It would be great if I could use it though.
Click to expand...

Some more research on my part suggests that mini-DVI ought to be mini-DVI. Monster iTV® Link™ for 12" PowerBook® Computer says that it will work with PowerBooks with a mini-DVI output port. If there were different types of mini-DVI, they would've mentioned it I suppose. They also have versions for the iBook and older PBs as far as I could understand.
 
matticus008

matticus008

macrumors 68040
Jan 16, 2005
3,330
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Bay Area, CA
appleretailguy said:
Really? Don't you mean mini VGA and mini DVI?
Click to expand...
Well, there is no mini VGA connector as far as I know, so I think he had it right.

FYI, the "mini DVI to video" adapter only works for the newer 12" PowerBooks. If you have an older model, you'll need to use the mini-DVI to VGA adapter that came with the computer, and then find a VGA to S-video or VGA to scart adapter. A great chain of adapters might become necessary :).
 
M

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
Some s-video ports carry audio but not from Macs so you'll need, by the sound of it;
mini-DVI > s-video adapter
s-video cable
s-video > SCART adapter
headphone > RCA cable

The cost of all that is not going to be far of a DVD player, £18 in TESCO.
 
gekko513

gekko513

macrumors 603
Oct 16, 2003
6,301
1
matticus008 said:
Well, there is no mini VGA connector as far as I know, so I think he had it right.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure my iMac (no iSight) has only a mini VGA connector.
 
Anonymous Freak

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
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Cascadia
matticus008 said:
Well, there is no mini VGA connector as far as I know, so I think he had it right.

FYI, the "mini DVI to video" adapter only works for the newer 12" PowerBooks. If you have an older model, you'll need to use the mini-DVI to VGA adapter that came with the computer, and then find a VGA to S-video or VGA to scart adapter. A great chain of adapters might become necessary :).
Click to expand...

Incorrect, there is a 'mini VGA'. The original 12" PowerBook (867MHz,) all iBooks with VGA out, all eMacs, and all G4 and G5 iMacs used this mini VGA adapter. Apple calls the video adapter for this the Apple Video Adapter. The video adapter linked does NOT work with the very earliest 'Dual USB' iBooks, nor with some early iMac G4s, as those computers either have separate 'headphone-style' video out ports, or don't support video out at all; but it works with the original 12" PowerBook, and with all eMacs and all G5 iMacs.

The rev.b (1 GHz) and newer 12" PowerBooks and the iMac Core Duo use the same mini DVI adapter, and all support the mini DVI to Video adapter. Apple calls this video adapter the Apple Mini-DVI to Video Adapter. This works with all computers with a mini DVI port.

If the original poster has anything other than the original 867MHz 12" PowerBook G4, then he needs the 'Mini-DVI to Video' adapter, with an S-Video to SCART adapter. If he has the original 867MHz model, then he needs the 'Apple Video Adapter' with an S-Video to SCART adapter. The original 12"er came with the needed adapter, the mini-DVI models didn't.

edit: And no S-Video adapters, from anyone, for any use, carry audio. S-Video is defined as video-only. You need a separate wire for audio no matter what. If some company is selling a product that carries audio over the S-Video cord, then it's an unofficial use, and would only work with their own products. I have never seen a TV that supported sound over S-Video.
 
matticus008

matticus008

macrumors 68040
Jan 16, 2005
3,330
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Bay Area, CA
gekko513 said:
I'm pretty sure my iMac (no iSight) has only a mini VGA connector.
Click to expand...

Interesting. You (and ehurtley) are totally right. I'd never seen them anywhere before...other than the PowerBook, it seems like a completely unnecessary proprietary connector. A VGA port isn't really that big.
 
M

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
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ehurtley said:
...edit: And no S-Video adapters, from anyone, for any use, carry audio. S-Video is defined as video-only. You need a separate wire for audio no matter what. If some company is selling a product that carries audio over the S-Video cord, then it's an unofficial use, and would only work with their own products. I have never seen a TV that supported sound over S-Video.
Click to expand...
My Canon MV3(i) DV Camcorder has s-video out that is described as just that in the manual, nothing special and 'no this may not work with other manufacturers' disclaimer but it works fine to my cheap early '90s Sony TV.

It was the first s-video product I had so I just bought a lead straight off the shelf, nothing fancy and connect the two and never gave the audio a second thought.

It wasn't until I tried to connect my iBook to my TV for DVD viewing that I found not all audio was carried.
 
Anonymous Freak

Anonymous Freak

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Dec 12, 2002
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mpw said:
My Canon MV3(i) DV Camcorder has s-video out that is described as just that in the manual, nothing special and 'no this may not work with other manufacturers' disclaimer but it works fine to my cheap early '90s Sony TV.

It was the first s-video product I had so I just bought a lead straight off the shelf, nothing fancy and connect the two and never gave the audio a second thought.

It wasn't until I tried to connect my iBook to my TV for DVD viewing that I found not all audio was carried.
Click to expand...

Just to make sure, was the cable from the camcorder to the TV a single cable, that went only from S-Video port to S-Video port? Or did it split into S-Video plus red/white audio on the TV end? Lots of camcorder makers use custom plugs on the camcorder, and come with a cable to split it out into 'standard' plugs. (My Sony has a 'mini AV' plug with an included converter to make it S-Video, RCA (Composite) Video, and dual RCA audio.)
 
M

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
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ehurtley said:
Just to make sure, was the cable from the camcorder to the TV a single cable, that went only from S-Video port to S-Video port? Or did it split into S-Video plus red/white audio on the TV end? Lots of camcorder makers use custom plugs on the camcorder, and come with a cable to split it out into 'standard' plugs. (My Sony has a 'mini AV' plug with an included converter to make it S-Video, RCA (Composite) Video, and dual RCA audio.)
Click to expand...
Plain s-video cable 6pin(or there abouts) same at both ends.
 
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