AvCable
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iPhone OS 3.0 breaking video out
Last night I received an email from a friend who was irate. He's been using his iPod touch as a portable video solution with a dock and video out cable. The iPod and the cable got along famously until he updated to iPhone OS 3.0.1 OS 3.0 [sorry, there isn't a 3.0.1 for the iPod touch]. Now, the iPod refuses to recognize it. Same cable, same dock, same iPod. We looked around and found that he's not alone. There's a thread on Apple's Discussion Boards reporting the same thing. It's affecting both the iPod touch and the iPhone. Apparently 3.0 is specifically designed to reject 3rd party cables, strictly on the premise that they fail the "Made by Apple" test. One poster on the discussion board notes that the original Apple Component AV cable and dock work fine. Sure, you could restore and downgrade, but that seems silly. Of course, no company has a responsibility to support 3rd party devices, so my friend is out of luck. But we're sympathetic. If you're affected by this issue, all we can say is it's probably time to pony up for a cable from Apple.
Apple intros Component AV Cable for new iPods
Sure, you could always wait around for Meridian's wicked cool iRIS dock to output videos on your iPod in 1080p, but for those not looking to spend upwards of $370, Apple's got a new peripheral just for you. The Component AV Cables -- which are said to only play nice with the 3G nano, iPod classic, and iPod touch -- enables you to pipe those movie clips onto a television set via component outs. Additionally, the accessory touts stereo audio inputs, a USB adapter for charging your iPod while it's playing, and even an AC adapter in case your laptop (or any powered USB port) isn't nearby. Reportedly, the 3G nano and iPod classic can output imagery at 480p or 576p resolutions, while the iPod touch supports 480i / 576i. Shipping in two to three weeks for $49.[Thanks, Mauricio T. and Nick D.]
AV cables not available at UK PSP launch
Some may say the biggest selling point of the newly redesigned PSP is its ability to output video to the TV. So, why are the cables not available at launch? Questioningly, the PSP-2000 will not get this system-defining peripheral at its launch. In terms of color selection, only Piano Black will be at launch. Ceramic White and Ice Silver seem to be MIA at the moment.We contacted Sony Computer Entertainment America to see whether or not the AV cables will be available at the US system launch later this year. However, they've yet to return our e-mails. Stay tuned for more.
Zune AV cable dissected, just like iPod's
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.
