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Apple DVI to Video Adapter

The adapter itself is fine

Written by JB from Austin

Sep 27, 2005

Complaints that S-Video quality is poor compared to DVI are reasonable, but it's unfair to blame the adapter. The adapter itself is fine. This dongle simply carries the S-Video and Composite signals produced inside your computer out to a plug your TV can use. No signal conversion takes place here; the S-Video and Composite signals are already among the many pins of a DVI connector, and this adapter simply adds an appropriate plug.

If you want S-video or composite video from your Mini or G5 tower, this adapter is a safe bet. Don't be surprised to find that even S-video is nothing like VGA or DVI in terms of quality, but that's a limitation of the signal format, not the adapter. If you've used the S-Video or Composite output of a Powerbook, you know what to expect, and you should be well satisfied -- the quality is similar.

1225 of 1887 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Works Great. Excellent quality.

Written by BP from Easton

Jan 15, 2007

The product works exactly as advertised. It converts a MacBook Pro DVI output to S-Video so you hook it into a TV. I use this adapter to plug in my MacBook Pro into my TV to watch iTunes content. I have only used the S-video output, I did not use the composite video. The picture on my TV is crystal clear, much better than I get from a cable channel.

Ignore negative reviews from people who are trying to use this for something other than its intended purpose. I mistakenly thought this product had issues (from the negatives reviews) and wasted time trying to find an alternate solution. Then I just decided to try it and it works flawlessly.

131 of 180 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

AWESOME!

Written by AD from Riverside

Mar 15, 2009

I have a Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba, all tube TV's and this adapter works perfectly with each one on my Macbook Pro with Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT card. Video picture is DVD definition with s-video cable, no bugs, crisp and clean. If you have a tube TV (640x480) don't expect to be reading text and using it as a second monitor for computer work. It's great for iTunes videos, movies and shows. Be aware that most iTunes is widescreen so you will have black bars top and bottom. I imagine this adapter would be perfect with a hi-def widescreen TV. No complaints.

69 of 77 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Good product

Written by HV from Montevideo

Nov 30, 2007

This product works fine. People complaining should read the requirements before buying a product. I quote:

"Important:
Requires Mac Pro (with ATI X1900 XT), MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Power Mac G5 with DVI port."

302 of 545 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Perfect for movies with my macbook pro

Written by PH from Delafield

Aug 30, 2008

with my 2.2ghz macbook pro (whatever was current in late 2007) and my (non-hd) tv, this works perfectly for watching movies and shows stored on the computer on the tv. It is truly plug and play. In fact, there are not even instructions. When I plug it in, it automatically adjusts the resolution for the tv, and when I unplug it, the computer returns to normal. The video card has no trouble keeping up with both screens going at once. There is no lag, and the video syncs perfectly with the audio mini jack output.

I agree with other reviewers that you should not get this if you hope to do general computing on your tv. Only video seems to look good, and it does look very good for just an RCA connection.

62 of 66 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Works with MacBook Pro

Written by GP from San Jose

Nov 1, 2006

I have a MacBook Pro 15" and it works fine. Quality is just as I'd expect with s-video. I guess most people don't realize that this is what all dvi to video adapters look like. If you want to use a TV as a monitor, get an hdtv with VGA, DVI, or HDMI input and use that. Otherwise, this is the simplest dvi-video adapter I've used. Never had one that was automatically detect and so easy to set up. Awesome.

97 of 137 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Love it!

Written by PG from Lawrenceville

Mar 7, 2006

I am using this with a MacBook Pro and love it. The quality is great for porting out a dvd / itunes video to the TV. It doesn't look as nice as the Apple Displays, but for s-video to tv, I think it's very clear.

61 of 65 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Windows XP??

Written by SM from Snowmass Village

Feb 19, 2008

Of course it dosent work with Windows XP. Notice the list of computers that are compatible. When you install windows on a mac with bootcamp it is still a PC it just happens to be operating on an apple computer. To avoid confusion read everything very carefully and assume nothing before you purcahse.

227 of 400 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Review the product as it was intended

Written by SH from Simi Valley

Sep 4, 2009

It drives me nuts when I see people "review" stuff that works exactly as it was designed, and even shows clearly what kind of connector it is (the package is even clear so you can see what kind of connector it is), but then in the review the person gives it 1 star because it wasn't designed for your laptop. Stop that! It's your own fault for buying something it wasn't designed to do.

Yes, unfortunately all the new MacBooks (except the 17") do NOT have a DVI connector anymore; it was replaced with a Mini DVI connector. You have to look for yourself, since this changes with many of the new versions of the laptop. This is a DVI to Video, NOT a Mini-DVI to Video. There is DVI Mini, DVI-I, DVI-D, etc. Just verify before you buy something, then complain about it because you bought the wrong thing. Worse yet, you then give something a bad rating, which makes others think that this gear does not work.

Now, on to the review. This works great. It's a cheap way to get DVI out to a TV monitor. Of course - component/S-Video does not look as clear as a computer monitor (not the fault of this device). But it does exactly what it says it will do.

56 of 63 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Works great with Netflix and Bootcamp

Written by JT from Collinsville

Jul 10, 2008

I purchased this originally for the purpose of watching Netflix on my TV. I have an Intel MB Pro. Running XP under Bootcamp after I installed all of the drivers Netflix works fine and the picture looks great on my TV. As a monitor up close the quality is poor. I have found myself however surfing the internet on my couch using adapter. Also there are many nice website (like Hulu) out there that make easy to watch movies and TV show from your laptop.

51 of 53 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Easy and effective

Written by MG from american canyon

Feb 9, 2008

This product works great with my 1.83 ghz Macbook Pro. All you have to do is just plug the cord in and the resolution automatically adjusts. I have a tube tv and the quality looks great to me. Obviously not great for reading text- but perfect for watching movies.

197 of 346 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Works as advertised

Written by AL from EASTHAMPTON

Dec 28, 2007

Works great with my new macbook pro. It was never this easy connecting to my TV with my PC laptop.

226 of 404 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Problem is pixel aspect ratio, not product

Written by GM from La Grange

Dec 30, 2005

Don't blame Apple. Blame NTSC.

Computer screen pixels are square. TV pixels are rectangular. When this thing shoots square-pixel video out to a TV, the distortion and pixel-merging that makes it work makes for a picture that looks bad compared to a computer monitor.

For more on why, do a google search in Safari under "NTSC pixel ratio" and find out.

56 of 65 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

For movies only!

Written by MP from Raleigh

May 19, 2006

I feel I am just beating a dead horse, but I have to say again what some are saying here. This is for watching movies, videos, and pictures on a tv, or to a projector. This is not to try to replace your computer monitor or laptop screen with a tv. The resolution on a tv is too low! This is not just Apple, try hooking a tv up to your Dell or Toshiba, or any pc. This works great for watching movies.

63 of 80 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Great

Written by JH from Amityville

Aug 8, 2006

This product works like it is suppose to. The people who say it is not clear on the TV don't understand video resolution. TV resolution is very low and needs to be treated so. An average TV does not see much more than about 640 X 480, even though DV is 720 X 480 and SD or DV1 is 740 X 486. So, keep your res low and all will be well. The PC is just the same.

53 of 66 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Great product.

Written by BT from Lino Lakes

Feb 28, 2006

I have been using this output on my computer for a year now, and I love it. My main display is a 23 inch cinema display, and the secondary display, which uses this adapter, is set up to be an editing monitor, but I found myself watching DVD's and even playing some games on the 20 inch tv it was exporting to. Everyone who wrote a negative review about the quality being sub par should not have expected computer display quality. Anyone who has ever exported computer video to an NTSC format knows full well that it doesn't go so well, this has to do with the quality of the NTSC format and the change of pixel ratio between the two formats. For doing what it does, this product is amazing!

41 of 43 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Works good with right cable

Written by DH

Mar 8, 2007

Works fine for me. Had a cable issue that may help others. I tried to use the rca type cable that was from my DVD player to the TV to hook the mac to the tv. That cable would not work. A standard audio type rca cable worked fine.
If you have trouble, try a regular audio type cable (like home stereos use).

67 of 96 people found this useful

Apple DVI to Video Adapter

Best $19 Ever!

Written by PA

Apr 13, 2008

I have a ton of Divix Videos that i was sick of watching on my MacBook Pro's Screen and not being able to use my computer, but this cable works great, i can set it up as a second monitor, watch a movie on my TV and still use my computer without a problem. Its Great! Must Buy! - Also Buy a RCA to Eight Inch so u can get sound on ur TV!

117 of 198 people found this useful