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How I solved all my needs for 50 USD - with a solution from Apple

Apple TV 2.0 is around the corner, and is sure to be a bigger hit than the previous iteration. But for those who don’t have $229/£199 lying around, I would propose a solution that’s markedly cheaper, and costs as little as $50/£39.

All you need is Apple’s Component AV Cable ($50/£39). It connects easily to your TV and lets you play movies, video podcasts, TV shows and music videos & photos on your home TV. The setup can be perfected with Apple’s Universal Dock ($50/£39) but this is not essential, it just makes it prettier and easier to use. Be careful to buy the correct accessory, the component AV cable is different from the Composite AV cable. The difference is that the Component cable actually outputs from your iPod via the three colours that together compose the output on your TV. The component cable has 5 connectors (3 for Visual, 2 for Audio). For higher definition content you will need the component cable. Most modern TVs have the inputs required for this. It also comes with a power supply which is especially useful as playing a video from your iPod/iPhone, is a real power-suck.It works with all current generation iPods and the iPhone (apart from the iPod Shuffle) and I am keen to stress that the quality is excellent. The video output, audio output and rendering are all fantastic.

If you add the dock, it gives you the ability to control playback & volume from your sofa using Apple’s remote control.

I tried this setup to play recently rented movies, it worked a treat. I was able to watch my video podcasts, playback iTunes Rentals (and in absolutely gorgeous quality), play photo slide-shows amongst other functions.

While this won’t replace the Apple TV, this simple solution has replaced any need for an Apple TV in my household. I do occasionally rip DVDs to watch on my iPod or on my Mac later, but have never been able to play them on my TV. I download Lost from iTunes and we all watch it together, I occasionally like to watch music Videos or Video Podcasts on my TV. But I never listen to music on my TV setup, I would not listen to audio podcasts and I don’t need a connection directly to my iTunes library.

A couple of points to note:
- I have not tried the Composite AV cable. The genius at the Apple Store I went to wasn’t able to tell me why anyone would use it over the Component cable.
- This setup will NOT allow you to play Audio-only files from your iPod/iPhone. The device will need to be “outputting to TV” which it won’t do for audio only.
- The quality really is fantastic. The video quality is in no way compromised by the fact that its playing from your iPod.
- I still can’t believe that my phone can actually play a movie to my 32 inch flat screen TV. It is an iPhone but the concept is still overwhelmingly amazing.
- When you play movies from your device, the device just shows the artwork for whatever is playing, it doesn’t play it at the same time, which makes it less distracting.

- If you receive a call while the movie is playing, the behavior is similar to receiving a call while watching a movie on your iPhone and receiving a call - the video pauses, doesn’t resume after the call is finished, but it does take you back to the menu containing the video.

I think this is a suitable setup for most users who want to simply play iTunes content on their TVs at home.

Pictures:

I rented Ratatouille and Superbad (hilarious) to test the alternate Apple TV setup

Diggnation playing on my TV from my iPhone

‘Sing for Absolution’ by Muse, on my TV, playing from iPhone

This is what the iPhone displays while a movie is playing

As you can see, the quality is fantastic.

Obviously you should select “yes”.

This setup allows you to control playback from your sofa

A power adapter is shipped with the cable, as video playback is very taxing on the device’s battery

Check to make sure you have the right connectors on your TV, the green, blue and red inputs (top three) are for video, the bottom two (white and red) are for sound.

This is the one to buy

The dock is very useful.