Looks like what I wanted to do with the AppleTV is not going to work.
I didn’t some reading on the differences between the types of DVI. It appears my MacBook Pro has what is called DVI-I. The I stands for integrated. That means there is a digital and an analog signal produced. That’s why the adapter can convert it to a s-video/compsit signal.
From what I have read, the AppleTV and HDMI in general is purely a digital signal. Converting it to DVI you would end up with DVI-D. If you haven’t guessed it, the D stands for digital. This will not trivially convert to an s-video/composite signal with out some conversion hardware. I’ve found a few items on the net that will do this but they all cost around $150. I think that money would be better spent on a new TV.
ttfn
I’m trying to find a way to cancel my cable TV. One of the main things I want in the process is an AppleTV. One problem, my current TV only has s-video and composite inputs. Buying a new TV is going to happen at some point, but not in the near future. I realize there is a hack or two out there that I can do to enable composite out on the AppleTV, but I’d like to try and leave the unit in it’s factory configuration if possible.
I’ve found a few things that might make this possible I’m wondering if this will work.
The first piece is a HDMI to DVI converter cable from ExtremeMac. The next is a DVI Gender Bender and the third is the Apple DVI to s-video/composite converter that I already use to hook my MacBook Pro up to the TV.
My questions are; will this work? Is the signal compatible through all those conversions? What will the Quality be like after? Will the AppleTV recognize the destination and have SD output as an option? Has any one tried this successfully?