how to connect a macbook to an old TV with weird inputs?

[limsilas]

hello,

i'm trying to connect both audio and video from my macbook (C2D, black) to an old tube television, and i've determined i need the apple mini dvi to video adapter:

however, the TV is indeed old and it only has the following two inputs on the front of it, with nothing in the back:

i have no idea what inputs those are. does anyone know what cable(s) would i need to buy to connect to the apple mini dvi to video adapter?

thanks!

 

[ss957916]

They look exactly like RCA to me - what make/model is the TV?

 

[limsilas]

not sure what make/model TV as i am not at home right now. i guess i'm used to seeing RCA inputs in threes, i.e., red/white/yellow?

so how would i connect the apple adapter to these inputs here? and would i need to run a separate 3.5mm audio cable into my macbook's headphone jack?

 

[JKColo22]

My girlfriend's old TV was the same way:

Video is the yellow cable, run that from video out to the video on the TV. And yes, you need a 3.5mm audio to RCA from the headphone jack then plug either white or red into the audio on TV. The TV simply doesn't output in stereo, but rather is mono-channel only (Red is left channel, white is right, or vice versa, can't remember specifically). Moral of the story: Just plug either one in and you will get audio, it just won't alternate between the speakers, you will have the same sounds coming out of both speakers.

 

[limsilas]

so just to make sure i'm crystal clear:

- run a yellow RCA cable from the apple mini DVI to video adapter to the TV's video input (and the cable should look the same on both ends?)
- run a white/red RCA cable from the TV's audio input to the 3.5mm headphone jack on my macbook

is that right?

 

[ss957916]

Yep.

That looks like a little 14"-ish portable TV which would be mono - hence only one audio input. Obviously you'll need a minijack to RCA cable for the audio.

 

[jzuena]

so just to make sure i'm crystal clear:

- run a yellow RCA cable from the apple mini DVI to video adapter to the TV's video input (and the cable should look the same on both ends?)
- run a white/red RCA cable from the TV's audio input to the 3.5mm headphone jack on my macbook

is that right?

If the TV only has one jack, then it is not stereo. If you can get a 3.5mm to mono cable, it will join the left and right so you get both channels in one RCA cable. Otherwise, hook either the red or white to the TV, but you will lose one of the two channels of sound.

 

[JKColo22]

so just to make sure i'm crystal clear:

- run a yellow RCA cable from the apple mini DVI to video adapter to the TV's video input (and the cable should look the same on both ends?)
- run a white/red RCA cable from the TV's audio input to the 3.5mm headphone jack on my macbook

is that right?

Yep, you got it. And FYI the color of the cable you use doesn't matter. You could theoretically use two "yellow" cables if you have them laying around, they are all RCA, just colored for convenience.
Make sure you get a 3.5mm->RCA for the audio (it can have both red and white, you will choose either one).

 

[limsilas]

awesome, thanks everyone!

so the RCA cable from the TV's video input connects to this part of the apple adapter, right?

what's that other port for?

 

[l.a.rossmann]

It could be s-video, although I can't see from that angle. s-video would give a better picture, but to my recollection, 99.999999999% of the tube, curved screen TVs out there below 20" did not have an s-video connector.

 

[JKColo22]

what's that other port for?

That's S-Video, don't worry about it unless there is a port for it on your TV. It is just an alternative to the yellow cable, supposedly better, but disputable.

 

[limsilas]

would there be any benefit in getting an "s-video to RCA" cable, and going from the s-video port on the apple adapter to the RCA video input on the TV?

 

[l.a.rossmann]

None. It's like getting a color TV for someone with monochromatic vision. It's the same as putting a B&W set in front of them.

 

[KielderWolf]

Ignore the S-video cable. S-video officially only supports 800x600 maximum resolution and whenever I have ever used it in the past generally refuses to show any colour other than green and the quality and stability of the picture are awful. Besides, your television set obviously doesn't support it.

I agree with jzuena, if you buy a 3.5mm to mono RCA adapter, both stereo channels will be mixed and you will not loose a channel of sound.

For future reference for the people who seem confused; RED is RIGHT, WHITE is LEFT. Also, you should refrain from using the yellow video cables for audio, and avoid using a white/red/mono audio cable for video. The cable cores are of differing metal quality (even where the cables are twined together in three) and you will experience a loss in picture and audio quality.

 

[limsilas]

thanks for the input on inputs, guys!

now, is apple the only way to go for the mini-DVI to video adapter? a company named dynex makes the version below (the DX-AP100), which is available for cheap on ebay, but the amazon reviews do not look promising.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

Dynex is best-buy language for garbage.

 

[NikFinn]

The best site for cables on the cheap is monoprice.com I personally bought from there and saved a good amount of money over the apple branded cable. I'm not 100% sure if they have that exact cable but I would def. check it out.

 

[limsilas]

thanks again, guys. i will avoid dynex.

unfortunately monoprice does not carry the mini-dvi to video adapter, but they definitely have the other cables for an excellent price.

case closed!