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chelswms

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 26, 2011
1
0
I just got Apple TV for Christmas but I have an old tv with holes only for the yellow and white ends of a RCA cable. These holes work for my DVD player with red, yellow and white RCA ends (I just don't plug in the red on and it still works). I've done a little research but it all seems a bit confusing. I was just wondering if there was a HDMI convertor or different cables I could get to make my Apple TV work on this tv??
 

crewkid89

macrumors regular
Jun 16, 2011
242
24
United States
I don't know if you would be happy with the results. The apple tv is not really meant to be used on a standard def television. You would also need to find a converter that supports HDCP protection or else you will have trouble playing a lot of the content. These can cost more than a new tv. The best media boxes I have seen for standard def are the WDTV Live, Roku, if it's just Netflix the Wii works really well on an older tv (if soft modded it will also play content from an external drive)

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http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Composite-S-Video-Converter-3RCA/dp/B0047PDBP0

it looks like someone used this one successfully
 

mchalebk

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2008
819
0
There are converters that supposedly work. They can be had for under $100 (though I can't vouch for how they work myself). You might search eBay for HDMI converter boxes, or something like that. Make sure they talk about supporting HDCP.

If your TV only has yellow and white RCA jacks, that's a pretty low level (or really old) TV (not even stereo) and (as already mentioned) you will probably not get good results. Instead of spending money on a converter, you might want to think about getting a new TV. There are some awfully affordable models available now.
 

mstrze

macrumors 68000
Nov 6, 2009
1,915
0
If your TV only has yellow and white RCA jacks, that's a pretty low level (or really old) TV (not even stereo) and (as already mentioned) you will probably not get good results. Instead of spending money on a converter, you might want to think about getting a new TV. There are some awfully affordable models available now.

I second this. Retailers are slashing prices since there are a glut of HDTVs on the market right now. You could get a 37" for under $400 easily. One that matches your current size (I am guessing no larger than 27" given its age) for easily $200 or less.

Spending $100 to get this to work on a old TV that may not be long for this world anyway doesn't sound like a great to me.

May I ask, how are you watching TV now? Do you have an HDTV converter box? Or a legacy cable/sat box that feeds your TV over one single yellow RCA cable?
 

Che Castro

macrumors 603
May 21, 2009
5,878
676
Your really missing out on HDTV


A few days ago amazon had a 40" HTDV 1080p for $260

There so cheap nowadays you should upgrade
 

SuperCachetes

macrumors 65816
Nov 28, 2010
1,233
1,094
Away from you
If your TV only has yellow and white RCA jacks, that's a pretty low level (or really old) TV (not even stereo) and (as already mentioned) you will probably not get good results. Instead of spending money on a converter, you might want to think about getting a new TV. There are some awfully affordable models available now.

Thirded. Converters may seem like a quick fix, but they are a lame effort at avoiding the inevitable.

If even an entry-level HDTV is not immediately achievable, budget-wise - start saving. The $50 you would've spent on some converter box band-aid can be the initial deposit, as it were...
 

palmerized

macrumors regular
Nov 15, 2007
158
7
St Jacobs, ON, Canada
I ordered a HDMI to Component converter box from MonoPrice.com for $35. The HDMI goes in and it breaks it up to component and RCA audio.

It works great on my Sony Grand Wega rear projection LCD, which doesn't have HDMI. The only issue is the picture is about 20 pixels to the left. I went in and adjusted settings on the TV to shift it over and it's pretty close to perfect.

$35 is MUCH better than $500 for a new TV, for now...
 

SuperCachetes

macrumors 65816
Nov 28, 2010
1,233
1,094
Away from you
I ordered a HDMI to Component converter box from MonoPrice.com for $35. The HDMI goes in and it breaks it up to component and RCA audio.

It works great on my Sony Grand Wega rear projection LCD, which doesn't have HDMI. The only issue is the picture is about 20 pixels to the left. I went in and adjusted settings on the TV to shift it over and it's pretty close to perfect.

$35 is MUCH better than $500 for a new TV, for now...

That works great - unless your TV doesn't have component inputs, like the OP's.
 
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