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dXTC

macrumors 68020
Oct 30, 2006
2,033
50
Up, up in my studio, studio
Can I use the Apple TV without a widescreen plasma/lcd?

Thanks

I'm not an :apple:TV owner, but according to Apple's own specs, it should work-- provided, of course, that your TV has Component Video In (Y-Cb-Cr or Y-Pb-Pr jacks- not the single yellow Composite jack) or HDMI In.

EDIT: I misspoke. The Apple specs actually do specify widescreen as a requirement. That doesn't mean plasma/LCD; a DLP or projector screen should also be OK, provided it has component jacks.
 

tom1971

macrumors 6502a
May 15, 2007
670
0
I'm not an :apple:TV owner, but according to Apple's own specs, it should work-- provided, of course, that your TV has Component Video In (Y-Cb-Cr or Y-Pb-Pr jacks- not the single yellow Composite jack) or HDMI In.

EDIT: I misspoke. The Apple specs actually do specify widescreen as a requirement. That doesn't mean plasma/LCD; a DLP or projector screen should also be OK, provided it has component jacks.

There is a hardware and a softare hack available to enable you to do this.
Check awkward tv forum.
 

jamisonbaines

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2007
309
148
CA
i have a 15" lcd tv @ 1024x768 but with component video. what would an apple tv display if i hooked it up to this> ie not widescreen.
 

Alfie

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2004
147
26
South Dakota
I have an Apple TV hooked up to a Sony 32 inch standard tv and it works fine. It's the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio, so I'm sure the picture isn't as perfect as it would be on a HD widescreen set, but it does work. As long as you have the component connections, you should be fine.
 

toddngina

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2008
95
0
I also use ATV on an Sony 36" 4:3 CRT HDTV. It works great. The 4:3 Sony HDTVs have a "widescreen" mode that compresses widescreen input vertically to preserve the widescreen aspect ratio without losing any lines of resolution. HDTV and ATV looks awesome, you just have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. It should work for you too, as long as you have 1) component inputs and 2) some sort of widescreen mode on the TV to preserve the aspect ratio, since the ATV will not adjust it for you like a DVD player can.
 

legaleye3000

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 31, 2007
1,368
31
Ok, so based on the previous 2 posts, it should work... However, is the video look stretched at all, or anything like that?

Thanks
 

dbwie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 11, 2007
609
265
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Apple TV with CRT

I have an Apple TV connected to a 24" Samsung 480i CRT television through its component video inputs. The apple TV automatically selected 480i as the display resolution, looked fine for watching SD movies. I recently bought a Sony 19" LCD HDTV and connected the Apple TV to it's HDMI input. WOW. The picture is MUCH better than with my CRT 480i television.
 

dbwie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 11, 2007
609
265
Albuquerque, NM, USA
stretche

Ok, so based on the previous 2 posts, it should work... However, is the video look stretched at all, or anything like that?

Thanks

Some of the video podcasts definitely look poor (scrunched) on the CRT vs. my LCD TV. The downloaded movies played in widescreen mode (if I recall), which looked like a very thin sliver on my 4:3 CRT TV.
 

imacericg

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2007
132
12
I had it hooked to a Sony 27" with component cables and everything looked squished. I did everything to get it to look right, but couldn't. So I bought a new TV that night.
 

toddngina

macrumors member
Feb 13, 2008
95
0
If by "squished" you mean the picture is distorted out of its intended aspect ratio, that would be unusual for an HDTV with component inputs, and a widescreen emulation mode. Realize the Apple TV only puts out a 16:9 signal (hence the requirement for a widescreen TV), so on a 4:3 TV, you will always have black bars at the top and bottom, even when looking at the menu page. But the picture will not be distorted out of its intended aspect ratio. Now, if you display 4:3 content (like some TV shows, or non-widescreen movies) through Apple TV on a 4:3 TV set, you will now not only have the black bars at the top and bottom, but you will also have black bars on the side, since the ATV assumes it output is going to a widescreen TV. Some TVs have the capability to stretch or zoom that kind of picture, but it depends on the TV. Mine can't, but I don't have much non-widescreen content, and the bars at the top and bottom don't bother me, at least not enough to buy a new set yet!
 
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