Internet TV on a mini

[lil' brudder]

Hey all, I just was wondering what you guys thought of using a core 2 duo Mac Mini hooked up to a broadband connection and an HDTV as a TV source. My idea is to use websites like hulu, itunes, and online TV broadcasts instead of paying subscriptions which, I know have better quality, but internet tv is maturing very rapidly and I don't think it will be too long before services get launched for this type of setup.

ANYWAY, besides any other thoughts, I just needed some advice primarily on how to hook a mini up to an older HDTV that only has component connections. Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[nando2323]

Hey all, I just was wondering what you guys thought of using a core 2 duo Mac Mini hooked up to a broadband connection and an HDTV as a TV source. My idea is to use websites like hulu, itunes, and online TV broadcasts instead of paying subscriptions which, I know have better quality, but internet tv is maturing very rapidly and I don't think it will be too long before services get launched for this type of setup.

ANYWAY, besides any other thoughts, I just needed some advice primarily on how to hook a mini up to an older HDTV that only has component connections. Any advice would be much appreciated!

I have a similar setup but with an Elgato Eyetv 250 Plus. I don't think that it is possible to hook up a mini or any computer for that matter through component, unless your computer has some sort of video out s-video or something like that but then you're not going to component but composite. I tried going from VGA to component with my mini and that didn't work. Only thing that works for me at least is DVI>DVI, VGA>DVI, or DVI>HDMI (which is the worst option since your native res will not be recognized through HDMI).

See if your TV has a VGA hookup and that would be the best solution. But either way this will work for what you're trying to accomplish, and I use it everyday and I have no regrets.

 

[velocityg4]

The main problem being faced in going from DVI to Component is that you are trying to convert an RGB color source to Y-Pr-Pb used in TV's. Now there are simple adapters made but I think that online some ATI Radeon have circuitry designed to handle Y-Pr-Pb specifically the All-in-Wonder cards but I think this has been expanded to include other ATI Radeon cards.

In order for the video to display correctly from the Mini you will need a DVI to Component converter. Though I think all that can be found is DVI-I or VGA to Component since with either you are converting Analog to Analog just different standards RGB vs Y-Pr-Pb.

I could only find one converter that will take a VGA source and convert to component video.
http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...-signal-to-component-video-9a60/prod9A60.html
You will need to get the DVI to VGA adapter for your mini then get a VGA cable to go to the converter and lastly a nice component cable to run from the converter to your TV. You may need to use a program like switch res-x to manually set the mini to your HDTV's refresh rate and resolution. I do not know how well this works or if all of the adaptions would work well at all but this is the only solution I can find. If it does not work you would cost at least any restocking and shipping fee's.

Note: Do not just get one of those cheap DVI to Component adapters I do not think the Mini's on board video circuitry is compatible with Y-Pr-Pb standard for Component video. I would buy the cables through Newegg.com

 

[lil' brudder]

Yeah, like I said, I have an old HDTV with component only - no HDMI, DVI, or VGA, unfortunately. Anyway, thanks so much for all the info, it helped a lot especially since I couldn't find anything besides those special ATI-only adapters (which would never work) to convert my vga signal to component.