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iPhone AV cable

I

iphonics

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
70
0
so i bought this item on ebay.... its a AV for the iphone/ipod video/ipod touch
but i plug it in and i get about 30sec of video on the big screen, then it shuts off and shows a pop up on the phone/ipod saying this accessory is not made for iphone/ipod..... weird thing is that it works for alittle while and it says on the box compatible with iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPod Video, and ipod Touch! anyone else have any experiance with this accessory???
 

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iphonics said:
so i bought this item on ebay.... its a AV for the iphone/ipod video/ipod touch
but i plug it in and i get about 30sec of video on the big screen, then it shuts off and shows a pop up on the phone/ipod saying this accessory is not made for iphone/ipod..... weird thing is that it works for alittle while and it says on the box compatible with iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPod Video, and ipod Touch! anyone else have any experiance with this accessory???
Click to expand...

Which iPhone are you using. Some accessories for the 1st gen don't work with the 3G. :eek:
 
andyblila said:
Which iPhone are you using. Some accessories for the 1st gen don't work with the 3G. :eek:
Click to expand...

im using the 3G.... thing is it does work.... but only for 30sec or so!

BUT ...... ive also tried it with my ipod Touch... and it does the exact same... works for only 30sec and it shuts off.! Stupid eGay!!
 
It looks to be a knockoff. The official Apple Ones have an integrated decoder chip for the Movie Rentals, smooth aluminum cylinders around the RCA jacks, and an integrated USB cable. Save yourself the hassle, and buy a real one.

TEG
 
TEG said:
I know, but they added the chip to appease the Studios, who thought without that extra DRM people would rent then copy videos. That is why the Rentals only work on current Generation iPods and the iPhones.

TEG
Click to expand...

I understand that apple probably had to do this to appease the studios. . . but it still doesn't make much sense. IE: I don't see why doing this appeases the studios. Anyone who intends to rent and then copy the movie from iPhone output probably realizes they can save more than $50 by doing that illegal practice, and so probably has no problem buying the apple cable for $50, and then copying the rented movies.

Of course, I say that, but here I sit without an AV cable only because I'm unwilling to spend $50 on it.

If apple has to put a chip in their cables to appease the studios. . . well, whatever. But it really peeves me off that they are selling these $10 cables for $50 each. Ridiculous.

To the original poster, I fell for the same trap you did. Bought an AV cable on eBay that claimed to work with the iPhone 3G (it was poor wording on the description, actually; it said it worked with "both iphones and the ipod touch", which I took to mean it worked with both the iphone and the iphone 3G, but when I complained after the fact the seller simply said "it doesn't work with the 3G". The language was ambiguous enough that I can't get a return, and I'm not going to fight over it for the $15 I spent on the cable ($8 of which was shipping anyway).)

Same problem: video would work for a few minutes at most, and then crap out. I have scoured ebay and the web, and have found no cables other than the apple-branded ones that work properly. And I've found a thread or two on the Apple forums where people are saying they get the same problems with the Apple-brand Composite cable. (The Component seems to have no problems.)
 
dgalvan123 said:
I understand that apple probably had to do this to appease the studios. . . but it still doesn't make much sense. IE: I don't see why doing this appeases the studios. Anyone who intends to rent and then copy the movie from iPhone output probably realizes they can save more than $50 by doing that illegal practice, and so probably has no problem buying the apple cable for $50, and then copying the rented movies.

Of course, I say that, but here I sit without an AV cable only because I'm unwilling to spend $50 on it.

If apple has to put a chip in their cables to appease the studios. . . well, whatever. But it really peeves me off that they are selling these $10 cables for $50 each. Ridiculous.

To the original poster, I fell for the same trap you did. Bought an AV cable on eBay that claimed to work with the iPhone 3G (it was poor wording on the description, actually; it said it worked with "both iphones and the ipod touch", which I took to mean it worked with both the iphone and the iphone 3G, but when I complained after the fact the seller simply said "it doesn't work with the 3G". The language was ambiguous enough that I can't get a return, and I'm not going to fight over it for the $15 I spent on the cable ($8 of which was shipping anyway).)

Same problem: video would work for a few minutes at most, and then crap out. I have scoured ebay and the web, and have found no cables other than the apple-branded ones that work properly. And I've found a thread or two on the Apple forums where people are saying they get the same problems with the Apple-brand Composite cable. (The Component seems to have no problems.)
Click to expand...

It won't work on the first gen iPhone, therefore their description is misleading. Report it to eBay, get your $15 bucks back. It stops them doing it to other people who aren't the wiser.

Edit: It wasn't done for the studios [if this was the case they wound demand no cable or revenue sharing], the above poster is mistaken. Essentially putting a proprietary chip in the cable give Apple a monopoly on the AV out function, ergo can sell $50 AV cables.
 
dgalvan123 said:
I understand that apple probably had to do this to appease the studios. . . but it still doesn't make much sense. IE: I don't see why doing this appeases the studios. Anyone who intends to rent and then copy the movie from iPhone output probably realizes they can save more than $50 by doing that illegal practice, and so probably has no problem buying the apple cable for $50, and then copying the rented movies.

Of course, I say that, but here I sit without an AV cable only because I'm unwilling to spend $50 on it.

If apple has to put a chip in their cables to appease the studios. . . well, whatever. But it really peeves me off that they are selling these $10 cables for $50 each. Ridiculous.

To the original poster, I fell for the same trap you did. Bought an AV cable on eBay that claimed to work with the iPhone 3G (it was poor wording on the description, actually; it said it worked with "both iphones and the ipod touch", which I took to mean it worked with both the iphone and the iphone 3G, but when I complained after the fact the seller simply said "it doesn't work with the 3G". The language was ambiguous enough that I can't get a return, and I'm not going to fight over it for the $15 I spent on the cable ($8 of which was shipping anyway).)
Click to expand...

You misunderstand what the Apple AV Cable does. It has a chip in it that adds Macrovision to the signal. The Macrovision signal is the same signal sent out from DVD players. It prevents you from being able to use a VCR or DVD Recorder to record the video, without locking out TVs or Projectors.

3rd party cables and docks are available for both the iPhone and the iPods, this is because they all added the Macrovision chip to their accessories, making them compatible. Apple did not add "a proprietary chip in the cable..." giving "...Apple a monopoly on the AV out function." It that was true, then even the ViewSonic Screens with the iPod Dock wouldn't be able to play video from the iPhone, but they can.

And the Cables are $25, but the add a power brick which is another $25.

Also, I've seen some sites claiming that if you can get around the lockout by connecting the iPhone to a dock and connecting the AV cable to back.

TEG
 
TEG said:
You misunderstand what the Apple AV Cable does. It has a chip in it that adds Macrovision to the signal. The Macrovision signal is the same signal sent out from DVD players. It prevents you from being able to use a VCR or DVD Recorder to record the video, without locking out TVs or Projectors.

3rd party cables and docks are available for both the iPhone and the iPods, this is because they all added the Macrovision chip to their accessories, making them compatible. Apple did not add "a proprietary chip in the cable..." giving "...Apple a monopoly on the AV out function." It that was true, then even the ViewSonic Screens with the iPod Dock wouldn't be able to play video from the iPhone, but they can.

And the Cables are $25, but the add a power brick which is another $25.

Also, I've seen some sites claiming that if you can get around the lockout by connecting the iPhone to a dock and connecting the AV cable to back.

TEG
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting that it communicates with the TV, the iPhone and the chip in the cable must authenticate correctly for an output signal.

Macrovision? Na. Where is your source?

Even iLounge agrees with me here:

Apple is using lock-out chips to control third-party video accessory development and effectively preventing older, less expensive accessories from competing against Apple products.
Click to expand...
 
I have the same cable. Works great in version 1.1.4 of the iPhone OS. Once I upgraded to the iPhone 2.0 OS, I got the error you mentioned. After 30 secs, it complains that it's not make for the iPhone and ask me if I wanted to turn airplane mode on.
 
Hey all, I've been following this product on deal extreme, which originally appeared to be a dud, but there are numerous reports on the site from buyers now claiming it works fine with the latest iPhone firmware on the 3G iphone, whereas the previous version of the product did not. I recommend you check it out!

$10 + free shipping AV COMPOSITE cable that appears to be working fine!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14395

Someone there posted a video of it working (it was on a jailbroken iPhone 3G), and several other people posted that the cable works fine with their iPhone 3G's (they don't mention if their phones are jailbroken or not, but I would bet that they aren't all).

Here are some posts by buyers who say it now works!
http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Default.dx/sku.14395~threadid.163580

I think I'm going to order one!
 
 
dgalvan123 said:
Hey all, I've been following this product on deal extreme, which originally appeared to be a dud, but there are numerous reports on the site from buyers now claiming it works fine with the latest iPhone firmware on the 3G iphone, whereas the previous version of the product did not. I recommend you check it out!

$10 + free shipping AV COMPOSITE cable that appears to be working fine!
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14395

Someone there posted a video of it working (it was on a jailbroken iPhone 3G), and several other people posted that the cable works fine with their iPhone 3G's (they don't mention if their phones are jailbroken or not, but I would bet that they aren't all).

Here are some posts by buyers who say it now works!
http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Default.dx/sku.14395~threadid.163580

I think I'm going to order one!
Click to expand...

P.S.: I ordered and received this cable:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14395

It works perfectly. No "not made to work with iphone" message. No cutting out after 30 seconds. Just works. For $9.22 shipped.

Only drawback is you can't charge the iphone at the same time you are outputting to a TV. But since I mainly use this to show slideshows at relative's houses, it's not an issue for me. (power is readily available.)
 
dgalvan123, are you using the 2.1 firmware? I got the same cable from DealXtreme and it has not worked for me. I've also read others that the cable worked for them before 2.1 but not after.
 
I can confirm that the Scosche Showtime cable (http://www.scosche.com/products/productID/1622) does *not* work on 2.1 firmware 8-( It works fine on 2.0.2 and previous (tried on 1.1.4 and 2.0.2, at least, and it worked on both of those).

I find it really annoying that Apple keeps actively trying to break third party cables, even ones like Scosche which (presumably, since it is showing the 'Works with iPod" and "Made for iPhone") are authentic member's of Apple's development program. I really like their hardware, but if they keep pulling stunts like this, I won't be buying any more of it.

Cheers
 
OMG Im VERY UPSET, I bought the cable online last night from scosche. I swear apple is seriously loosing a fan. This ipod touch was my first apple purchase and I was looking forward to more but now I don't know. I find this treatment to be insane, thanks very much for your reply thebigone.
 
@fireboyz

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news 8-( Regardless, give it a shot when you get the cable, and perhaps contact the manufacturer if it doesn't work - if this is happening across the board, Scosche should really be chewing out Apple! Or hopefully, maybe you will be lucky (or perhaps I just got a dud cable).

Also, my iPod had been jailbroken at the time I tested with 2.1, so maybe that process had broken something.

Let us know when you get it, it would be nice to get a few more points in this data set of what works.

Cheers
 
Oh I will definitely let you know, I tried to cancel it but it was already in the shipping phase so I will have to get it before I am able to return it. I sincerely doubt there is anything wrong with the cable though, Apple is just being difficult.
 
FYI, I tried 'upgrading' to 2.1 again, just to make sure I am not spreading false information, and sure enough, even without jailbreaking it, the cable does not work again.

I'm going to take it back 8-(

Cheers
 
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