iPod Counting wires on the dock connector.

[saintjude]

I count 30 pins on the standard iPod dock connector. Audio out takes 3. Firewire takes 7. USB takes 5 (assuming no overlap.) That means that half of the pins have no known use...yet. That leaves 15 channels for other uses...such as video. There's a lot of future design flexibility in this package.

Still, I have to share in the skepticism that a video iPod is a good idea. The real screaming problem in my opinion has nothing at all to do with the usefulness of a small video screen; it would be handy to be able to carry video with you for display on TVs. Rather, the problem with a video iPod is that it would probably only support Quicktime formats. I have no use for a device that can't play DivX, and to TRULY be useful, it would need to support the .ogg and matroska package formats (for subtitles, multiple audio tracks, etc.) QT MPEG4? Mmm, ya...out of perhaps a thousand video files, I think I have one of those. Maybe two. Apple did the smart thing by making the original iPod compatible with generic MP3s (none of this Sony ATRAC bull); if there's a video iPod coming, the smart thing to do will be to keep it compatible with the most popular video formats. If a video iPod couldn't play .avi, I'd have no use for it (nor would most of the tech-savvy demographic that is most likely to buy such a device.)

 

[StealthRider]

There is already S-video and Composite video-out built in to the dock connector. That's how the iPod Photo dock works.

 

[balamw]

I count 30 pins on the standard iPod dock connector. Audio out takes 3. Firewire takes 7. USB takes 5 (assuming no overlap.) That means that half of the pins have no known use...yet. That leaves 15 channels for other uses...such as video. There's a lot of future design flexibility in this package.

Here's a link to the complete pinout of the dock connector. http://ipodlinux.org/Dock_Connector

Besides the fact that video out is already defined for the Photo, you also neglected that there are serial lines and audio line out lines (for remotes/car kits/etc...)

This leaves only 3 pins whose use is not already defined.

B

 

[carpe diem]

15 free pins mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. GPS Reciever anybody?

 

[the_freddinator]

15 free pins mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. GPS Reciever anybody?

Did you read the replies at all? it's 3 free pins, not 15.

 

[steve_hill4]

Three pins free hmm, how about RGB/component, (luminance and chrominance), outputs?

 

[MacFan25863]

Three pins free hmm, how about RGB/component, (luminance and chrominance), outputs?

HD h.264 playback then?