How to use your Apple TV under Composite WITH COLOR

[LaurentBoes]

It worked fine for me until I updated ATV to 3.0.1. Anyone can help?

[janisliepins]

i have the same problem after update..

[butterflyanimation]

It don't work for me :(

does it work with the hdmi/dvi cable adaptator ?

[krad1313]

i really cant read that. :/

[xfrudx]

it works very fine for me. I have also discovered that it works without using the remote control at all! Just insert the HDMI>DVI adapter, remove the yellow cable, remove the adapter and plug the yellow cable. Same result =)

[xfrudx]

oh yeah, i also use the paper clip between pin 14 and 16

[xfrudx]

haven't managed either way with V3.0 :(

[NinjaPwnsAtLife]

wtf is apple tv? just like a box that allows you to put random crap on it and watch it on a tv?

[thelonepantalone]

I too have done this (Jan 09)on a Completely updated ATV using only the HDMI to DVI adaptor from Best Buy. instead of a bell wire I used a small paperclip to connect pin 14 to 16. For a diagram of which pin is which look up DVI on Wikipedia. Worked on the first try.

[maurizioplll]

I can confirm that this works, I tried on a new AppleTV, bought Dec. 2008, in the US and now I'm using it in Italy. So there is no compatibility issue as well. The adaptors cost 15 euros in total. Fianlly lemme say that unless you disconnect the AppleTV from power, the composite/color settings persist also through standby. So you won't need to redo the trick very often.

[acidnation]

where can i buy these adapters? ebay links to the right ones please?

[JETRANGER1964]

Shorting pin 14 and 16 works fine. Only Down side is if you unplug APPPLETV you have to do it again when it reboots.

[JETRANGER1964]

OK the pin Short works just fine. Problem is if the power goes out you have to redo the process.

[rocr71]

I have tried the simplification on my new Apple TV, software version 2.0.2.

Other than replacing the DVI-VGA-adapter by some bell-wire between pins 14 and 16, you need to apply the same procedure as decribed by Mauricio. Thanks for letting us know, Mauricio!

My Apple TV is currently running fine in color on an 17-year old TV (really really old electronics) which just has an composite-video-input.

[mitulmehra]

"replacing the DVI-VGA-adapter by some bell-wire between pins 14 and 16" - could you please explain how you do this. thanks

[rocr71]

I have a simplification to the hack:

Just take a HDMI(male)-DVI(female)-adapter and shortcut pins 14 and 16 of the DVI using some bell-wire. No DVI-VGA-adapter required.

Pin 16 triggers a "hot-plug detect" when plugging the adapter into Apple TV.

You can find this in the DVI-specification.

Triggering the "hot-plug detect" is the only thing the DVI-VGA-adapter is good for here. Since some people could not get it work, it might be that their DVI-VGA-adapter just does not trigger Pin 16.

[EDFETHER]

Worked like a charm!! HDMI-to-DVI (Circuit City - $17.00) + DVD-to-VGA (from video card -- free). Exactly like video...full color! SWEET!!!

[lin2log]

Was that with a "Take 2" or rather even a version 2.0.1 (which is current)??

[EDFETHER]

Latest and greatest as of this date...as in 2.0.1.

[lin2log]

Yepp!! Tried it right after I posted and it DIDN'T WORK!.... tried again.... again.... again.... again.... and suddenly, IT WORKED! I *also* have no idea what I did differently the last time (which kinda pisses me off), but... IT WORKED! This is so cool! And this was on a PAL machine by the way. BUT, oddly enough, now my says 480i or 567i ONLY... the only two options. Anyone else getting this??

[vovtoons]

Yea I don't understand why most of the times it does not work & then after like 6 or 7 tries, it works. I'm doing it the same way every time. At least I think I am. But as long as you don'y pull the plug on your Apple TV, it stays Color. Great Trick! I love it!

[asskje]

does the Take 2 update of Apple Tv make any difference for this trick?

[mauriciopastrana]

hmmm, perhaps; if it doesn't work as is, then try with a monitor on the other end, i THINK part of the trick is that the appletv detects a device plugged in.

Good luck, post here any findings.

-mp

[rush711]

can just a hdmi cable do the trick or does it have to be hmdi-dvi adapter?

[sceptre1067]

Just tried it yesterday (2/6) with a new apple tv and it worked. Software version was 1.1 Used a male/male hdmi to dvi and female/male dvi to vga. No extra led's on the cables or anything. TV & Pre-Amp are 10 year old Sony models.

[Crisiinvolo]

Thanks you very much! It worked on my ATV, using a HDMI-DVI cable connected tu a turned off LCD.

The composite exit is seen B/W on external connection but with color on the Scart n1 on my CRT Philips 32PW.

Ciao!

[dvdanakin]

Llevo dos días con el Apple TV desesperado porque tengo una SONY de tubo de 32" y por suerte he visto tu truco...simplemente GENIAL, fui a comprar el adaptador HDMI-DVI + tenia el DVI-VGA y siguiendo tu video, todo perfecto.

Gracias Mauricio, saludos des de Barcelona

[mukmuk9]

works perfectly on my "4 years old" trinitron.

but i have selected 576p res. (480i not work ?!).

big thanxx Mauricio !

[retardedbaboon]

Is it that hard to turn a light on or something...

did you shoo the paris hilton sex tape?

[mauriciopastrana]

hmmm. mixed results, i've had some email from people who had it working.

anyways, it turns out there's a way to software-enable color composite! check out the method at the forum entry on awkwardtv, follow the link at video info.

-mp

[bbrindle]

Software version seems to make a difference. Tried this with an Apple TV right out of the box with 1.0 and it did not work. Updated software to 1.1 tried it again and worked just as shown.

[farwoods]

i'm looking for color tutorial can you help me?

best regards

[kernelsanders]

Didn't work for me. Tried several HDMI to DVI converters. Using the latest AppleTV version (with youtube). Has it worked for anyone else?

[darwiniandude]

Can you somehow get the Apple TV to output colour VGA? Just thinking for cheap 4:3 projectors.

[stingray072]

HAS ANYONE CONFIRMED THIS TO WORK??? I've this video all over but can't find one single confirmation.

[nerdcoredemon]

SWEET, I may have to get an appleTV for my bedroom now, as I love the one in my living room, but my bedroom tv is just a regular SDTV.

[mauriciopastrana]

-Plug your composite-yellow in the green "slot" (this will give you an image, but BW)

-head over to resolution and set it to 480i (not sure if this step is needed tho)

-now STAND on 480p and unplug the composite-yellow, plug an HDMI-DVI adapter

-press "ok" on the remote and count to 5

-unplug the HDMI-DVI adapter and replug the composite-yellow, when the image comes back, it comes back full color!

[mauriciopastrana]

damn! i put this together on a whim at night, so come some time later i'll redo the video and make it readable.

[modrak]

brilliant!

[tuckerch]

Great hack! I am now greatly inclined to get an Apple TV!

However, could you do that again, with better lighting, and someone else hodling the camera, maybe even using a tripod or something similar? Also, the text needs to be on screen longer.

YouTube ain't the best resolution, and trying to read that tiny text isn't easy.

[mauriciopastrana]

note you don't need any converter box of any kind for this hack :)