Zune AV cable dissected, just like iPod's
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 27th 2006 8:45AM
posted Nov 27th 2006 8:45AM
AnythingButiPod took a look at the Zune's AV Cable and surprise, surprise... found it to use yet another unique pinout configuration for pumping audio and video out to the TeeVee. However, this time you don't have to get locked into the vendor-specific accessory game since the Zune AV cable shares the same ground location of both the iPod (video) AV Cable and better yet, those off-the-shelf camcorder cables you probably have sitting around the house. As a result, you can use the other cables as long as you route the cable colors correctly for AV-hookup to your TV: iPod AV cable, swap left and right audio; el cheapo camcorder cable, swap video and right-audio. Unfortunately, in yet another drubbing for PlaysForSure devices, the AV cable which works interchangeably between Archos devices, the Zen Vision Series, Cowon iAudio, and even Toshiba's other DAP -- the Gigabeat -- won't work with the Zune. Not without the help of a Xacto knife, anyway.
I was able to find one of the standard camcorder A/V cables at the local 99 cent store! Video and audio look great. Just have to use the red prong as video and yellow as right audio. I figured the cable prongs were painted wrong, thus explaining the 99cent store find, but apparently it's just the Zune's odd A/V sequence. Either way it's a great thing to have.
However, this time you don't have to get locked into the vendor-specific accessory game...
You weren't with the iPod, either. By switching the video and one of the audio on a regular set of AV cables, any set works with iPod and the iPod dock.
Hey look, it shares the same video and ground locations. Quick, everyone whine about how MS stole that from Apple before it's too late!
wow i could have told you this
But you didn't. No worm for you, not-so-early bird.
Hey, it worked. Very cool. Saved me some bucks. And no one should complain about Microsoft 'stealing' this from Apple - "Toyotas have round tires too! What thievery!", haha. It's just more proof that Microsoft listens to their consumers.
its consumers*, excuse me
:)
Isn't saying that it uses "yet another unique pinout configuration" and "the Zune AV cable shares the same ground location of both the iPod (video) AV Cable and better yet, those off-the-shelf camcorder cables" contradictory? The pinout isn't unique at all, for any of these devices, it's the same.
And there's a very good reason that the pins are swapped - so that you can use the same port for both video out and headphones. I thought we covered this over a year ago when the iPod came out - it has nothing to do with proprietary cables, just sensible design.
Tried it with a portable dvd cable no luck with any configuration.
The Zune is so damn lame... and I'm not even an Apple fanboy.
MDJ @ Nov 27th 2006 11:56AM
The Zune is so damn lame... and I'm not even an Apple fanboy.
...ya just a fanatic. the Zune is excellent and you know it.
YOU GOT ISSUES
oh no he diiidnt (snap of fingers) wut u got to say to that mdj?
YOU ARE A MICROSOFT PLANT / SHILL
as anti-microsoft as i am, rock on zune people. that's especially cool since the zune AV cable looks so much cooler than the iPod AV cable, and matches black PMPs better than apple's cable can dream of.
to be honest, i may just succumb to the zune ecosystem and buy the player. especially if they come out with a flash memory version that supports the same mass storage hacks that the current player does, or (gasp!) has mass storage enabled by default.