# A/V Breakout Cable



## andrews777

Anyone know anything Amazon carries that will work in this area? I have one old TV with no HDMI that I want to hook to one of my new Tivo Minis. I had just bought a Roku HD2 and it had a cable that may work, but I would prefer one with component output.

I can't find any specs on this cable and the "quick start poster" for the Mini lacks a lot of details.


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## dilbert27

Cannot seem to find it on amazon but here it is straight from Tivo.

https://tivo.com/shop/detail/av-cable


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## andrews777

dilbert27 said:


> Cannot seem to find it on amazon but here it is straight from Tivo.
> 
> https://tivo.com/shop/detail/av-cable


I saw that one. It has a fairly high price, but shipping is also high, especially just for that.


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## Dan203

I bought this one and it worked fine....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Digital-TV-Live-Plus-Composite-AV-Cable-/370675838597


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## Scooby Doo

Dan203 said:


> I bought this one and it worked fine....
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Digital-TV-Live-Plus-Composite-AV-Cable-/370675838597


Do you know if that cable will work for the component output as well as the audio/composite outputs? Obviously the RCA connectors will be the wrong colors but will it function?


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## andrews777

Scooby Doo said:


> Do you know if that cable will work for the component output as well as the audio/composite outputs? Obviously the RCA connectors will be the wrong colors but will it function?


I wouldn't think so since yellow carries the picture and the other two carry the left and right audio, but I don't know how the Tivo component cable is wired.

========

I have the cable from a RokuHD2 that looks just like the one noted on Ebay. I can't get a good picture though. I have tried pressing the button on the bottom, but that just cycles through bad pictures. Any idea how I can get the A/V output to work on my older Emerson TV?


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## don129

I just got that Western Digital cable from eBay and it works fine with the Mini.

Thanks!


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## andrews777

don129 said:


> I just got that Western Digital cable from eBay and it works fine with the Mini.
> 
> Thanks!


Did you use it by itself? How did you get the video to come up? I can't get it to properly show the output with only an A/V cable.

If you are using 2 of them, what colors did you match the red, white and yellow of the second cable to? I am getting a somewhat poor quality red or blue background depending on how I plug them in.

EDIT: I am also getting a horrid buzz in the background using the AV cable. Does anyone know if anything can be done about that? Is buying a new HDTV my only option to use my Mini and replace my TivoHD?


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## Dan203

Scooby Doo said:


> Do you know if that cable will work for the component output as well as the audio/composite outputs? Obviously the RCA connectors will be the wrong colors but will it function?


Yeah I tried it on both ports. Works fine once you figure out the proper order for the connectors. (I didn't write them down sorry)


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## Scooby Doo

andrews777 said:


> I am also getting a horrid buzz in the background using the AV cable. Does anyone know if anything can be done about that? Is buying a new HDTV my only option to use my Mini and replace my TivoHD?


You are using the wrong type of cable. Each port has three outputs: one port has audioR, audioL, and composite video; the other has component video (red,green,blue). You are using a cable for a port with only two outputs and the video is mixing in with the audio. Probably best to use the breakout AV cable sold by Tivo.


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## andrews777

Scooby Doo said:


> You are using the wrong type of cable. Each port has three outputs: one port has audioR, audioL, and composite video; the other has component video (red,green,blue). You are using a cable for a port with only two outputs and the video is mixing in with the audio. Probably best to use the breakout AV cable sold by Tivo.


I don't want to spend another $30 with shipping for another cable, especially when I have several of them here. I am fairly certain that A/V cables are fairly consistent at that level, though I have yet to find a component cable like they have.

I found I had a few that were the same format as what they have that I have collected over the years, but they do all produce the buzz, so something is clearly off.

It does look like even a seemingly higher quality cable I had (I think it was Apple's) produces the buzz when only the A/V inputs on the TV are used. I get a picture kind of like the old cable boxes where you could tell you were just outside the range, but it would never sync in.


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## Dan203

Most of these types of cables are designed for Apple products, which use a pin layout that is compatible with both A/V cables and standard audio cables. These have the ground in a different place then the TiVo cable. You're likely hearing the buzz because one of the two channels is touching the ground instead of the proper pin for the audio.

The one I linked to above is <$5 with free shipping and works fine.


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## brbrem

This is the one i used. Works fine.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0


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## 2trill4925

I used my breakout cable from a Seagate FAT+
If I'm not mistaken Red=Video using Composite. Although I'm probably frying my cable/output port, I wouldn't recommend it long term. I'm not 100% sure on the order, and even less if you're running stereo audio (I think my kids will end up sending me to a nursing home for leaving their primary cartoon viewing to be done on an 80's Sony Trinitron).


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## Dan203

Component cables are the same as composite cables, they're just colored different, so you're not frying anything. As for having the order right if you get a picture then you have them right. If you mix up any two cables on a component video cable it'll either not work at all or the color will be completely off.


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## aaronwt

I wish I had seen this thread a few weeks ago. I ordered two sets of cables from TiVo which was around $40 shipped.

I could have saved at least $25.


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## lessd

aaronwt said:


> I wish I had seen this thread a few weeks ago. I ordered two sets of cables from TiVo which was around $40 shipped.
> 
> I could have saved at least $25.


But with TiVo your getting 4 cables 2 composite sets and two Component sets, with Amazon your only getting 2 composite sets of cables.


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## andrews777

lessd said:


> But with TiVo your getting 4 cables 2 composite sets and two Component sets, with Amazon your only getting 2 composite sets of cables.


2 sets? The Tivo page indicated 1 of each, not 2 of each.

I will note that the Amazon works great. I got that and now have resolution on my old Emerson TV. Ironically I can get more display modes with the AV only connection, but the component one looks better.

I used

Yellow -> Green
White -> Blue
Red -> Red

for using the Amazon AV cable to connect the component elements. It took some trial and error to figure that out, so hopefully this helps someone else benefits by knowing it.

This seems like another overpriced addon option from Tivo (think DVR expanders) that could have been solved by using standard items.

I do have much more cable there than I would like, but that will go back out of the way once I rearrange my setup later on.


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## lessd

andrews777 said:


> 2 sets? The Tivo page indicated 1 of each, not 2 of each.
> 
> .


aaronwt said (post #16) he purchased *two* sets from TiVo, each set has two types of cables in the set, composite and component, it cost him $25 more than two Amazon sets, but he got 4 cables not two.


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## andrews777

lessd said:


> aaronwt said (post #16) he purchased *two* sets from TiVo, each set has two types of cables in the set, composite and component, it cost him $25 more than two Amazon sets, but he got 4 cables not two.


I see that, but I am not sure how that is different than ordering the same quantity from Amazon. You do have to figure out the color mapping I noted, but that is the only challenge.

Of course I am assuming he is a Prime member of Amazon and has free shipping there, vs. paying for it with Tivo. Timeliness is also better with Amazon.


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## aaronwt

Four of the cables from Amazon have a cost of $17.88. My two sets of cables from TiVo, including shipping and tax cost me $42.27. So that would have saved me $24.39.

Although that was before Amazon started charging tax in Virginia. As of 9/1 I have to pay tax on Amazon purchases so it would cost a little more for me to order from Amazon now.


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## moyekj

andrews777 said:


> 2 sets? The Tivo page indicated 1 of each, not 2 of each.
> 
> I will note that the Amazon works great. I got that and now have resolution on my old Emerson TV. Ironically I can get more display modes with the AV only connection, but the component one looks better.
> 
> I used
> 
> Yellow -> Green
> White -> Blue
> Red -> Red
> 
> for using the Amazon AV cable to connect the component elements. It took some trial and error to figure that out, so hopefully this helps someone else benefits by knowing it.
> 
> This seems like another overpriced addon option from Tivo (think DVR expanders) that could have been solved by using standard items.
> 
> I do have much more cable there than I would like, but that will go back out of the way once I rearrange my setup later on.


So what about audio??


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## aaronwt

moyekj said:


> So what about audio??


The colors are already set up for the audio cable. Red and white for right and left audio channels.

Audio is from the connection that has the composite video output.


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## moyekj

aaronwt said:


> The colors are already set up for the audio cable. Red and white for right and left audio channels.
> 
> Audio is from the connection that has the composite video output.


 Yes, but the breakout cable being used is intended for composite and so there is only 3 of them. So I'm guessing there's a 2nd breakout cable with the 2nd Mini analog output being used for audio.


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## aaronwt

moyekj said:


> Yes, but the breakout cable being used is intended for composite and so there is only 3 of them. So I'm guessing there's a 2nd breakout cable with the 2nd Mini analog output being used for audio.


There are two output ports. One provides RGB from the three RCA cables(labeled component) and the other one(labeled A/V) provides stereo audio and composite video from the three RCA cables..


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## onovotny

I had an old Tivo breakout cable from years past that seems to work with the Mini.

The colors are a bit off as White/Yellow seem to be swapped (or at least yellow is one of the audio's, dunno if it's R or L yet ).

Anyway, I have the two audio chans hooked up to my receiver's input (it's an old one w/o HDMI). For most TV channels, I get audio out of both speakers. When I'm in the Tivo menu though and clicking around, the Tivo ding/bong only comes to the right speaker though.

Also, some shows/channels appear to only have sound in the right speaker. 

Any ideas? Is this normal...?


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## cuda74360

brbrem said:


> This is the one i used. Works fine.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0


Did you use this for the component or composite output? Did the colors match up?


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## brbrem

cuda74360 said:


> Did you use this for the component or composite output? Did the colors match up?


A\V output only. Video to TV is via HDMI. I don't use the composit out.


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## go470sailing

We used a Samsung LED TV Breakout Cable to make it work. Seemed ok.


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## dslunceford

Dan203 said:


> I bought this one and it worked fine....
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Digital-TV-Live-Plus-Composite-AV-Cable-/370675838597


Works great, but cable is short. Was a pita to get into my av stack, so can't take back out to measure, but I guess it's around 3' long, maybe 4'?


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## hsawtelle

Scooby Doo said:


> You are using the wrong type of cable. Each port has three outputs: one port has audioR, audioL, and composite video; the other has component video (red,green,blue). You are using a cable for a port with only two outputs and the video is mixing in with the audio. Probably best to use the breakout AV cable sold by Tivo.


I'm getting the horrid buzz WITH the tivo branded breakout cable. BOOOOO. Any fix for this? If not I'll have to return the mini. ..


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## andrews777

hsawtelle said:


> I'm getting the horrid buzz WITH the tivo branded breakout cable. BOOOOO. Any fix for this? If not I'll have to return the mini. ..


I don't have their cable, but I used 2 from Amazon and they work fine. I did have to play around a bit to get them matched the right way, but mine have white, red and yellow for both of them. I currently have red to off red, white to blue and yellow to green, in case that helps. Everything is fine.

If you still have problems it is likely a problem with the cable, mini or your TV. Get the right one replaced and it should work fine.


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## hsawtelle

andrews777 said:


> I don't have their cable, but I used 2 from Amazon and they work fine. I did have to play around a bit to get them matched the right way, but mine have white, red and yellow for both of them. I currently have red to off red, white to blue and yellow to green, in case that helps. Everything is fine.
> 
> If you still have problems it is likely a problem with the cable, mini or your TV. Get the right one replaced and it should work fine.


Thanks for the reply.

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the horrid buzz you experienced was fixed by experimentally swapping where the plugs of the breakout cables were plugged into your TV until you found a configuration that worked?

My understanding was your buzz was coming from the A/V plug (breaks out to left, right, and composite video), not the component video plug. The component video is working fine for me, but I am getting the horrible buzz from the A/V plug. I will try swapping the wires around but since I'm using the Tivo brand wires and taking red --> red and white --> white it seems like that should have worked. I'm getting stereo sound, but with a loud background buzz.

I know it's not the A/V receiver because it plays other sources fine through that input. I do have another cable set because I accidentally bought two; I will try the other cable.

If that doesn't work I guess I will return the mini for a replacement. Maybe something is shorted out internally.

Here's another random factoid: in the course of troubleshooting, I tried plugging in a two-conductor (earphones) miniplug into the A/V Breakout jack, and there are positions of that plug (partial insertion) that yield clean mono or stereo sound with no buzzing. However, there is NO position or amount of manipulation of the Tivo-branded three-conductor plug that gives clean audio. (unfortunately, full insertion of the two-conductor plug leads to buzzing, so that is not a permanent solution).

Thanks again for the help!


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## andrews777

hsawtelle said:


> If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the horrid buzz you experienced was fixed by experimentally swapping where the plugs of the breakout cables were plugged into your TV until you found a configuration that worked?


I don't remember exactly what happened, I just remember that I had some big troubles until I got things plugged in right. YMMV of course.

It could be that this does not apply to your situation. It would be nice to try a replacement audio cable in your case. Your description here does make it sound like either the cable or that port in the Mini is messed up.

Does the TV have just the red/white/yellow connectors? Have you tried that? How does the sound work in that case? It would seem to imply the problem was outside the cable and Mini port if that worked.


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## hsawtelle

andrews777 said:


> I don't remember exactly what happened, I just remember that I had some big troubles until I got things plugged in right. YMMV of course.
> 
> It could be that this does not apply to your situation. It would be nice to try a replacement audio cable in your case. Your description here does make it sound like either the cable or that port in the Mini is messed up.
> 
> Does the TV have just the red/white/yellow connectors? Have you tried that? How does the sound work in that case? It would seem to imply the problem was outside the cable and Mini port if that worked.


HUGE troubleshooting breakthrough - buzz goes away when coax (I'm using MoCA) is disconnected from the mini...

off to the crawlspace now to see where the coax is coming from...


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## cuyahoga

hsawtelle said:


> HUGE troubleshooting breakthrough - buzz goes away when coax (I'm using MoCA) is disconnected from the mini...
> 
> off to the crawlspace now to see where the coax is coming from...


I'm having the same issue. I wonder if it can be fixed at the TiVo end instead of somewhere else in my coax run.


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## hsawtelle

cuyahoga said:


> I'm having the same issue. I wonder if it can be fixed at the TiVo end instead of somewhere else in my coax run.


There is hope! I bought this at Radio Shack (stereo audio ground loop isolator):

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPHFo4K3mrwCFQt1QgodegUAjg

And it worked! for the Audio. I am still getting some pretty severe banding (scrolling lines) on the component video. So I ordered this (coax ground loop isolator):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070Q6URO/

I'm going to try hooking it up at the Tivo Mini (since this is the only place in my house where the ground loop is a problem). Don't know if it will work, or if it does whether it will kill MoCA.

If that doesn't work, I think an HDMI -> DVI adapter should do it. I have a DVI in on the TV, and I've never had any banding with that input. And I have the audio sorted separately as explained above.

I have learned a lot!

Good luck


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## lgnad

hsawtelle, not to scare you, but your symptoms are likely caused by improper grounding... either in the cable system, or in your home's electrical system. The differences in the level of "ground" causes the hum.

On the cable tv side, they used to drive a rod into the ground and attach it at the point of entry. More commonly these days, in residential settings I've seen a grounding wire run to a water pipe in the basement. (Google pictures of coax splitters and you'll find lots that have a ground screw on em.)

Long-term, the current flowing through anything connected to the two systems probably isnt going to be super healthy for them.

Google "ground loop" and "open ground"

A friend of mine, a good number of years back, blew up lots of equipment until they diagnosed that his whole house mis-wired, was trying to dump a lot of power into ground, and wasn't grounded... *boom* goes the cable box, receiver, tv, poor cable installer guy who got zapped, etc.

To quote wikipedia:
"In an electrical system, a ground loop usually refers to a current, almost always unwanted, in a conductor connecting two points that are supposed to be at the same potential, often ground, but are actually at different potentials.

Some of the most notorious effects of ground loops are the noise and interference that can become present in audio, video, and radio transmission systems. They can also create an electric shock hazard, since ostensibly "grounded" parts of the equipment, which are often accessible to users, are not at ground potential."


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## hsawtelle

lgnad said:


> hsawtelle, not to scare you, but your symptoms are likely caused by improper grounding... either in the cable system, or in your home's electrical system. The differences in the level of "ground" causes the hum.
> 
> On the cable tv side, they used to drive a rod into the ground and attach it at the point of entry. More commonly these days, in residential settings I've seen a grounding wire run to a water pipe in the basement. (Google pictures of coax splitters and you'll find lots that have a ground screw on em.)
> 
> Long-term, the current flowing through anything connected to the two systems probably isnt going to be super healthy for them.
> 
> Google "ground loop" and "open ground"
> 
> A friend of mine, a good number of years back, blew up lots of equipment until they diagnosed that his whole house mis-wired, was trying to dump a lot of power into ground, and wasn't grounded... *boom* goes the cable box, receiver, tv, poor cable installer guy who got zapped, etc.
> 
> To quote wikipedia:
> "In an electrical system, a ground loop usually refers to a current, almost always unwanted, in a conductor connecting two points that are supposed to be at the same potential, often ground, but are actually at different potentials.
> 
> Some of the most notorious effects of ground loops are the noise and interference that can become present in audio, video, and radio transmission systems. They can also create an electric shock hazard, since ostensibly "grounded" parts of the equipment, which are often accessible to users, are not at ground potential."


Not scared. Thanks for the info.

I've lived here 10 years with many devices hooked up to cable & power; nothing fried (or failed to work for that matter) yet, so I don't think my issue is as severe as what you've described.

Swapping my Comcast box for this Tivo Mini is the first time the problem has come up in 10 years. I'm sure the problem is likely systemic, but if I can fix it at the one point it's causing trouble, I'm totes going for it.


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## hsawtelle

hsawtelle said:


> There is hope! I bought this at Radio Shack (stereo audio ground loop isolator):
> 
> http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPHFo4K3mrwCFQt1QgodegUAjg
> 
> And it worked! for the Audio. I am still getting some pretty severe banding (scrolling lines) on the component video. So I ordered this (coax ground loop isolator):
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070Q6URO/
> 
> I'm going to try hooking it up at the Tivo Mini (since this is the only place in my house where the ground loop is a problem). Don't know if it will work, or if it does whether it will kill MoCA.
> 
> If that doesn't work, I think an HDMI -> DVI adapter should do it. I have a DVI in on the TV, and I've never had any banding with that input. And I have the audio sorted separately as explained above.
> 
> I have learned a lot!
> 
> Good luck


Final update: the cable ground loop isolator (Amazon link above) worked great and solved the audio buzzing AND video banding issues. I screwed it right into the back of the Mini and screwed the coax into the isolator. MoCA connection is still strong.

Returned the audio GLI to Radio Shack.


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## Bigg

Get a new TV. You're dropping $250 on a TiVo Mini, and hooking it up to something that was obsolete 5 years ago so you can get a blurry picture from your HD equipment? Do it right.


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## hsawtelle

Bigg said:


> Get a new TV. You're dropping $250 on a TiVo Mini, and hooking it up to something that was obsolete 5 years ago so you can get a blurry picture from your HD equipment? Do it right.


To whom are you replying? Write a letter to Tivo and tell them to remove the outputs you find personally abhorrent. Do it right.


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## drjlb

hsawtelle said:


> If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the horrid buzz you experienced was fixed by experimentally swapping where the plugs of the breakout cables were plugged into your TV until you found a configuration that worked?


That's what happened with me. I tried a 3.5mm to a two audio out cable (red and white) and there was a horrible buzzing. Tried it on my second Mini, same problem. I then used a breakout cable with red, white, and yellow outputs and got the same buzzing on both Minis when I used the red and white plugs (no yellow). I swapped the yellow for the white, and the sound was normal on both Minis. I think TiVo messed up the 3.5mm jack. Anyway, swapping the jacks worked for me.


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## hsawtelle

drjlb said:


> That's what happened with me. I tried a 3.5mm to a two audio out cable (red and white) and there was a horrible buzzing. Tried it on my second Mini, same problem. I then used a breakout cable with red, white, and yellow outputs and got the same buzzing on both Minis when I used the red and white plugs (no yellow). I swapped the yellow for the white, and the sound was normal on both Minis. I think TiVo messed up the 3.5mm jack. Anyway, swapping the jacks worked for me.


Swapping didn't stop the buzzing for me, but the GLI did. I'm on the red/white plugs with good stereo. So if they messed up the jack, it's only in some Minis apparently. Two solutions for people to try! yay


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## Bigg

hsawtelle said:


> To whom are you replying? Write a letter to Tivo and tell them to remove the outputs you find personally abhorrent. Do it right.


To the OP. It's not a bad idea to have them on there for testing/ temporary setups, connecting to a Slingbox or whatever, but in this day and age, when you can get an HDTV for so cheap, it's pretty stupid to put a $250 box on an old standard def set.


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## andrews777

Bigg said:


> To the OP. It's not a bad idea to have them on there for testing/ temporary setups, connecting to a Slingbox or whatever, but in this day and age, when you can get an HDTV for so cheap, it's pretty stupid to put a $250 box on an old standard def set.


Not necessarily. I removed the TivoHD I used to have on my home office TV and now have a Mini there. No more cable fee for the cable card, even though my TV was just prior to HD mania.

Still about $200 for a "new" TV (I need a 24" one or so for where I have it, larger is too big).


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## Bigg

andrews777 said:


> Not necessarily. I removed the TivoHD I used to have on my home office TV and now have a Mini there. No more cable fee for the cable card, even though my TV was just prior to HD mania.
> 
> Still about $200 for a "new" TV (I need a 24" one or so for where I have it, larger is too big).


And that's still less than the cost of the Mini. There's just no reason to have SD sets around anymore.


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## andrews777

Bigg said:


> And that's still less than the cost of the Mini. There's just no reason to have SD sets around anymore.


So you are sending me the money for that? How nice of you....


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## Bigg

andrews777 said:


> So you are sending me the money for that? How nice of you....


I've been all-LCD and all-HD for several years now.


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## ncfoster

Bigg said:


> And that's still less than the cost of the Mini. There's just no reason to have SD sets around anymore.


I get what you are saying, but there are some edge cases where I think it makes sense. In my bedroom, for example, we have an old piece of furniture that fits the SD set, but might be tricky to fit an HD set in, much less a decent-sized one. At the same time, having seen how the Minis work, I am tempted to get a second one (especially if I can get as good of a deal on it as I did on the first). At the end of the day, the set gets very little use, and will be more likely to be used to schedule the random recording when we've retired for the evening, rather than actual viewing.


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## Bigg

ncfoster said:


> I get what you are saying, but there are some edge cases where I think it makes sense. In my bedroom, for example, we have an old piece of furniture that fits the SD set, but might be tricky to fit an HD set in, much less a decent-sized one. At the same time, having seen how the Minis work, I am tempted to get a second one (especially if I can get as good of a deal on it as I did on the first). At the end of the day, the set gets very little use, and will be more likely to be used to schedule the random recording when we've retired for the evening, rather than actual viewing.


Ugh. I have seen this example too many times. People (my parents included) bought these giant cabinets for TVs that now make no sense in the modern context of HDTVs. My parents have one that they are holding on to, because they paid some absurd amount of money to buy it to hide a big old CRT, and now it has the downstairs TV limited to 37". I've tried to convince them to move it upstairs and use it for storage, and get something more appropriate downstairs. One of their friends limited himself to a 47" TV in their main viewing area, which is very spacious, because of an old cabinet, which sucks, because the room could easily use a 70-80" TV.

That being said, if you really deem that the furniture is more important than the TV, there are HDTVs that will fit literally any space.

If all you need is scheduling, just use the smartphone or iPad apps.


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## ncfoster

Bigg said:


> Ugh. I have seen this example too many times. People (my parents included) bought these giant cabinets for TVs that now make no sense in the modern context of HDTVs. My parents have one that they are holding on to, because they paid some absurd amount of money to buy it to hide a big old CRT, and now it has the downstairs TV limited to 37". I've tried to convince them to move it upstairs and use it for storage, and get something more appropriate downstairs. One of their friends limited himself to a 47" TV in their main viewing area, which is very spacious, because of an old cabinet, which sucks, because the room could easily use a 70-80" TV.
> 
> That being said, if you really deem that the furniture is more important than the TV, there are HDTVs that will fit literally any space.
> 
> If all you need is scheduling, just use the smartphone or iPad apps.


It seems like you are quite concerned with being right about this, rather than accepting different strokes for different folks.


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## eochs

I called tivo today after getting a mini two weeks ago. Said I wasn't told when ordering that I needed to buy another cable to do component. She immediately sent me the av cable for free! My bedroom tv has only one HDmi port, and I have a roku 3 on that for prime and hbo go


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## Bigg

ncfoster said:


> It seems like you are quite concerned with being right about this, rather than accepting different strokes for different folks.


I know I'm right about it.



eochs said:


> I called tivo today after getting a mini two weeks ago. Said I wasn't told when ordering that I needed to buy another cable to do component. She immediately sent me the av cable for free! My bedroom tv has only one HDmi port, and I have a roku 3 on that for prime and hbo go


It's called an HDMI switch. They have ones that are auto-switching and don't require external power for 2-3 sources.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011001&p_id=8147&seq=1&format=2


----------



## ncfoster

Bigg said:


> I know I'm right about it.


Just keep telling yourself that.



Bigg said:


> It's called an HDMI switch. They have ones that are auto-switching and don't require external power for 2-3 sources.
> 
> http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011001&p_id=8147&seq=1&format=2


I have a Monoprice HDMI switch in my setup, and while it helps me solve some problems, it is not perfect, especially for someone not very technically inclined. This one replaced another model, which was just completely unusable.


----------



## sathead

Bigg said:


> And that's still less than the cost of the Mini. There's just no reason to have SD sets around anymore.


We have a old 5" LCD TV on the shelf in front of our treadmill- I have the A/V Breakout cable (with 20' extension) from the TiVo connected to it's A/V in connector.
On that 5" screen while walking on the treadmill- there would be no difference between sd screen resolution and a hd screen. It also lets me use an existing piece of hardware I already own with no additional cost- so that's useful too.


----------



## Bigg

sathead said:


> We have a old 5" LCD TV on the shelf in front of our treadmill- I have the A/V Breakout cable (with 20' extension) from the TiVo connected to it's A/V in connector.
> On that 5" screen while walking on the treadmill- there would be no difference between sd screen resolution and a hd screen. It also lets me use an existing piece of hardware I already own with no additional cost- so that's useful too.


You could get an LCD HDTV to watch instead that would support the full resolution of the TiVo Mini. And a 5" screen for video? That's awful. That's worse than an iPad!


----------



## MichaelCoffin

Drat! I wish I had bothered to look at the audio-out on the mini, or had seen this thread! I recently installed a Roamio and 3 minis. All use HDMI, except the home theater. The signal breaks out to an HDMI distributor and one of the feeds is an LED TV that does not understand Dolby Surround signals. No problem, I have a dedicated stereo feed to that TV. I had not gotten around to plugging in the mini stereo to RCA dongle until just now, hours before the Super Bowl. But it's not an audio-out port, it's a proprietary composite with stereo port!!!!!

Since I have no time to procure the proprietary Tivo AV dongle, I set the mini to PCM stereo out (I'll have to give up the surround sound, but at least the home theater and bar systems will all have the same synchronized audio).

Note to Tivo: Would it REALLY have been so hard to have a dedicated stereo-audio output on the mini?!?!? And if you insist on using your own proprietary port, how about including the required dongle to use it?!?!?! :down:

-MC


----------



## Bigg

MichaelCoffin said:


> Note to Tivo: Would it REALLY have been so hard to have a dedicated stereo-audio output on the mini?!?!? And if you insist on using your own proprietary port, how about including the required dongle to use it?!?!?! :down:


No one cares, because everyone just uses HDMI.


----------



## DaveMN

I care, and don't use HDMI for one of my TVs. Please don't speak for me.


----------



## aaronwt

DaveMN said:


> I care, and don't use HDMI for one of my TVs. Please don't speak for me.


And it's just a matter of purchasing one. The install guide shows how to connect.


----------



## Bigg

DaveMN said:


> I care, and don't use HDMI for one of my TVs. Please don't speak for me.


Well there's very, very few of you who aren't using HDMI, so it would be pretty stupid on TiVo's part to waste money on a cable that 99% of their customers aren't going to use anyway.


----------



## Arcady

I use component on one Mini (which requires both the AV cable and a component cable) and I use an HDMI to DVI cable plus the AV cable for audio on another Mini. Only one of my Minis is connected to the monitor with HDMI.


----------



## Bigg

Arcady said:


> I use component on one Mini (which requires both the AV cable and a component cable) and I use an HDMI to DVI cable plus the AV cable for audio on another Mini. Only one of my Minis is connected to the monitor with HDMI.


That's highly unusual. Most people are using all HDMI at this point.


----------



## Arcady

Bigg said:


> That's highly unusual. Most people are using all HDMI at this point.


I thought about replacing the kitchen TV with something more modern. It only has DVI and component inputs. I use the component input with a DVD player, and the DVI/analog audio input with a TiVo Mini. This same set used to have a TiVo/DVD combo Series 2 connected to it.

I'm sure there are lots of people who have connected a Mini to an older, less-used TV in their house. Many people I know have CRT sets with only composite inputs in a back room.

The fact is, I probably won't replace this little TV (it is a 17-inch) until it breaks down. I can't find a new one of this size with front-facing stereo speakers. The Mini fits in the space between the stand and the actual monitor, so it uses zero room.


----------



## MichaelCoffin

Bigg said:


> Well there's very, very few of you who aren't using HDMI, so it would be pretty stupid on TiVo's part to waste money on a cable that 99% of their customers aren't going to use anyway.


You are missing the point Bigg, if Tivo is going to provide a composite or component port with a non-standard proprietary port, they should provide the proprietary cable (or dongle) to actually USE the port. If they used standard ports it wouldn't be an issue.

What would it cost to mass-manufacture these dongles? I don't know, maybe 4 cents each? I don't think that's going bankrupt Tivo. 

And FYI, I am doing HDMI->out but you must have missed the part about the Tivo feeding into an HDMI distributor that services multiple devices that must keep the audio and video in synch, and that the home theater audio wants Dolby 5.1 from the Tivo, but at least one TV panel doesn't understand 5.1 and requires linear PCM (or analog stereo). So it's a little more complex than a simple living room Tivo driving one output device.....

PS: I bought the proprietary dongle on Amazon for $2.72 with free shipping, not the $20 that Tivo charges:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ

-MC


----------



## Arcady

MichaelCoffin said:


> PS: I bought the proprietary dongle on Amazon for $2.72 with free shipping, not the $20 that Tivo charges:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ
> 
> -MC


I bought that same dongle from Amazon. Mine had a right-angle connector on the mini-jack end. It fits and works, but was a little annoying.


----------



## aaronwt

MichaelCoffin said:


> You are missing the point Bigg, if Tivo is going to provide a composite or component port with a non-standard proprietary port, they should provide the proprietary cable (or dongle) to actually USE the port. If they used standard ports it wouldn't be an issue.
> 
> What would it cost to mass-manufacture these dongles? I don't know, maybe 4 cents each? I don't think that's going bankrupt Tivo.
> 
> And FYI, I am doing HDMI->out but you must have missed the part about the Tivo feeding into an HDMI distributor that services multiple devices that must keep the audio and video in synch, and that the home theater audio wants Dolby 5.1 from the Tivo, but at least one TV panel doesn't understand 5.1 and requires linear PCM (or analog stereo). So it's a little more complex than a simple living room Tivo driving one output device.....
> 
> PS: I bought the proprietary dongle on Amazon for $2.72 with free shipping, not the $20 that Tivo charges:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ
> 
> -MC


Seems like a waste to include them if the vast majority of people don't need them. I don't even use the HDMI cables included with devices. I prefer to use the ones I've purchased from Monoprice.

I purchased two sets of the breakout cables from TiVo for two of my Minis. One uses component out for a Slingbox 350. The other uses the composite output for an old DVD burner.


----------



## lessd

aaronwt said:


> Seems like a waste to include them if the vast majority of people don't need them. I don't even use the HDMI cables included with devices. I prefer to use the ones I've purchased from Monoprice.


The Roamio does not include the HDMI cable as the older models did.


----------



## Arcady

lessd said:


> The Roamio does not include the HDMI cable as the older models did.


Apparently the new version of the Mini no longer includes an HDMI cable.


----------



## Bigg

Arcady said:


> I thought about replacing the kitchen TV with something more modern. It only has DVI and component inputs. I use the component input with a DVD player, and the DVI/analog audio input with a TiVo Mini. This same set used to have a TiVo/DVD combo Series 2 connected to it.
> 
> I'm sure there are lots of people who have connected a Mini to an older, less-used TV in their house. Many people I know have CRT sets with only composite inputs in a back room.
> 
> The fact is, I probably won't replace this little TV (it is a 17-inch) until it breaks down. I can't find a new one of this size with front-facing stereo speakers. The Mini fits in the space between the stand and the actual monitor, so it uses zero room.


That's fine, but a tiny minority of people using ancient TVs aren't a good enough reason for TiVo to bundle cables in that 99% of the users have no want or need for.



MichaelCoffin said:


> You are missing the point Bigg, if Tivo is going to provide a composite or component port with a non-standard proprietary port, they should provide the proprietary cable (or dongle) to actually USE the port. If they used standard ports it wouldn't be an issue.


No. They shouldn't. It's a specialty use case. The TiVo Mini has a standard HDMI port on it, and that's all that 99% of it's users need.



> What would it cost to mass-manufacture these dongles? I don't know, maybe 4 cents each? I don't think that's going bankrupt Tivo.


More cables, more packaging, more weight... it all adds up.



> And FYI, I am doing HDMI->out but you must have missed the part about the Tivo feeding into an HDMI distributor that services multiple devices that must keep the audio and video in synch, and that the home theater audio wants Dolby 5.1 from the Tivo, but at least one TV panel doesn't understand 5.1 and requires linear PCM (or analog stereo). So it's a little more complex than a simple living room Tivo driving one output device.....
> 
> PS: I bought the proprietary dongle on Amazon for $2.72 with free shipping, not the $20 that Tivo charges:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ
> 
> -MC


So you're the 1% of the 1%. That's a highly unusual case, and hardly a reason to TiVo to bundle in cables that 99% of it's users don't need or want.


----------



## Arcady

Bigg said:


> That's fine, but a tiny minority of people using ancient TVs aren't a good enough reason for TiVo to bundle cables in that 99% of the users have no want or need for.


I didn't say they should bundle them. Somebody else did.

I just don't think a couple 50 cent 3.5mm to RCA cables should cost $20. And why did they need to use a weird pin-out scheme? Just wire it like hundreds of existing cables. I have bags of iPod to video cords that use the same connectors, but TiVo chose a different pin-out.

They used to fill the TiVo box with all kinds of junk nobody wanted. Did anyone actually use those crappy AV cables that came with a Series 2? Or that push-on coax cable? I guess they got tired of wasting money on including cables.

I'd rather they included the proprietary cables (or dongles at least) and left out the HDMI. I buy HDMI cables in bulk for like $3 each. All three of my Mini-included HDMI cables are still wrapped up in the boxes.


----------



## Bigg

Arcady said:


> I didn't say they should bundle them. Somebody else did.
> 
> I just don't think a couple 50 cent 3.5mm to RCA cables should cost $20. And why did they need to use a weird pin-out scheme? Just wire it like hundreds of existing cables. I have bags of iPod to video cords that use the same connectors, but TiVo chose a different pin-out.
> 
> They used to fill the TiVo box with all kinds of junk nobody wanted. Did anyone actually use those crappy AV cables that came with a Series 2? Or that push-on coax cable? I guess they got tired of wasting money on including cables.
> 
> I'd rather they included the proprietary cables (or dongles at least) and left out the HDMI. I buy HDMI cables in bulk for like $3 each. All three of my Mini-included HDMI cables are still wrapped up in the boxes.


You were kind of trying to argue that they should.

Apple used a weird pin-out that was different from all the camcorders that used them before. And who cares what the pin-out is, you can just swap the connectors if the pin-out is different. The only difference is what color goes to what pin.

True, but that was in a different era. They did include a lot of crap with the S2 boxes. I still have their crappy IR blasters, a serial cable, and some other crap laying around from that thing, although we got a pretty good coax with ours.

That makes no sense. Why would they put those cables in that virtually no one wants and not put HDMI cables in, which almost everyone wants? You can get them on eBay for $5, and a lot of people probably have old iPod or camcorder ones laying around anyway, so it's not that big of a deal.


----------



## Arcady

Bigg said:


> Apple used a weird pin-out that was different from all the camcorders that used them before. And who cares what the pin-out is, you can just swap the connectors if the pin-out is different. The only difference is what color goes to what pin.


No. WRONG. This type is cable is not automatically interchangeable.

The ground connection could be on what would have been a signal connection. All three RCA jacks share a ground. If the ground is not on the same pin as the TiVo cable, then the cable will not work. You will get noise, distorted video, or nothing. There are lots of threads on here about it.

There is no standard for this type of connection.

However, the way Apple chose to do it made it so the connector would work for headphones, stereo 3.5mm line plugs, or video/AV. Tivo's way of doing it will mix ground and right channel audio on a standard stereo jack, making a horrible noise. So you have to buy their cable even if you just want audio out.


----------



## Bigg

Arcady said:


> No. WRONG. This type is cable is not automatically interchangeable.
> 
> The ground connection could be on what would have been a signal connection. All three RCA jacks share a ground. If the ground is not on the same pin as the TiVo cable, then the cable will not work. You will get noise, distorted video, or nothing. There are lots of threads on here about it.
> 
> There is no standard for this type of connection.
> 
> However, the way Apple chose to do it made it so the connector would work for headphones, stereo 3.5mm line plugs, or video/AV. Tivo's way of doing it will mix ground and right channel audio on a standard stereo jack, making a horrible noise. So you have to buy their cable even if you just want audio out.


I know that the Apple ones work with camcorder plugs if you change the plug colors around.

You can also buy ones that are specifically intended for the TiVo Mini on eBay for $5.


----------



## MichaelCoffin

Arcady said:


> No. WRONG. This type is cable is not automatically interchangeable.
> 
> The ground connection could be on what would have been a signal connection. All three RCA jacks share a ground. If the ground is not on the same pin as the TiVo cable, then the cable will not work. You will get noise, distorted video, or nothing. There are lots of threads on here about it.
> 
> There is no standard for this type of connection.


That has been my point all along. This is a proprietary port, and Tivo should provide the dongle to actually USE it, or use industry standard RCA connections on the device. Same with the component port.

The argument that "nobody needs this" is irrelevant, if Tivo provides the port they should provide the means to use it. It just makes good sense, and if you don't want/need the dongles just throw them away. The reason Tivo loaded up the S2 boxes with every possible type of cable (and even RJ11 phone line splitters if I recall correctly) was to ensure that the customer could open the box and be up and running right away, without having to go out and find/buy a bunch of additional cables.

We wouldn't be having this discussion if the mini had a proprietary HDMI port that required a special dongle/cable to use. I'm sure EVERYBODY (even Bigg) would agree that Tivo needs to provide the interface to use the proprietary port on their device.

-MC


----------



## Bigg

MichaelCoffin said:


> The argument that "nobody needs this" is irrelevant, if Tivo provides the port they should provide the means to use it.
> 
> We wouldn't be having this discussion if the mini had a proprietary HDMI port that required a special dongle/cable to use. I'm sure EVERYBODY (even Bigg) would agree that Tivo needs to provide the interface to use the proprietary port on their device.


So by that logic, every port on every device should have a cable for it? That makes no sense when 99% of the customers don't care about those ports and are just going to use HDMI anyway.

That's a total false equivalence. Virtually everyone using a Mini uses HDMI, virtually no one uses the other two ports. Just pretend that the Mini doesn't have the two analog ports, and you'll be fine as long as you don't want to connect a Slingbox.


----------



## h2oskierc

MichaelCoffin said:


> That has been my point all along. This is a proprietary port, and Tivo should provide the dongle to actually USE it, or use industry standard RCA connections on the device.


By that logic, my car should come with the fuel to use it?

I'll take the cost savings, and buy the necessary cables.


----------



## lessd

MichaelCoffin said:


> That has been my point all along. This is a proprietary port, and Tivo should provide the dongle to actually USE it, or use industry standard RCA connections on the device. Same with the component port.
> 
> The argument that "nobody needs this" is irrelevant, if Tivo provides the port they should provide the means to use it. It just makes good sense, and if you don't want/need the dongles just throw them away. The reason Tivo loaded up the S2 boxes with every possible type of cable (and even RJ11 phone line splitters if I recall correctly) was to ensure that the customer could open the box and be up and running right away, without having to go out and find/buy a bunch of additional cables.
> 
> We wouldn't be having this discussion if the mini had a proprietary HDMI port that required a special dongle/cable to use. I'm sure EVERYBODY (even Bigg) would agree that Tivo needs to provide the interface to use the proprietary port on their device.
> 
> -MC


The Roamio Plus does not even have the HDMI cable, the Roamio does need a special dongle to use a phone in place of the internet, If you need the analog cables you can get them on E-Bay for little money. A proprietary HDMI port that required a special dongle/cable to use is another story, and not part of any problem the Mini or HD TiVos have.


----------



## Bigg

lessd said:


> The Roamio Plus does not even have the HDMI cable, the Roamio does need a special dongle to use a phone in place of the internet, If you need the analog cables you can get them on E-Bay for little money. A proprietary HDMI port that required a special dongle/cable to use is another story, and not part of any problem the Mini or HD TiVos have.


That's actually amazing that they even support a phone line on the Roamio. Even at a vacation home, it would be cheaper to have a slow DSL line than a telephone line at this point...

They all do all the normal stuff without adapters at this point.


----------



## philt56

I had to buy the av cables since I bought the mini to use the P&P on my Sony TV (replacing a HD tivo). You can't use hdmi input for both of the P&P windows. It only allows a hdmi and an analog input to be used.


----------



## abeln2672

drjlb said:


> That's what happened with me. I tried a 3.5mm to a two audio out cable (red and white) and there was a horrible buzzing. Tried it on my second Mini, same problem. I then used a breakout cable with red, white, and yellow outputs and got the same buzzing on both Minis when I used the red and white plugs (no yellow). I swapped the yellow for the white, and the sound was normal on both Minis. I think TiVo messed up the 3.5mm jack. Anyway, swapping the jacks worked for me.


You, sir, are a GENIUS! :up: I have both a Mini and a Roamio, and I need to use the analog breakout port on both (Mini --> old Slingbox, Roamio --> receiver for Zone 2 analog audio). I bought the cheap(er) WD breakout cables on eBay, but just kept getting horrible buzzing from both devices. Was about to break down and buy the Tivo branded cables, but decided to Google the problem first. Found this thread, saw your post, swapped white for yellow, and things are working perfectly on both devices! The cynical side of me would say Tivo intentionally swapped lines/colors so people would buy their breakout cable, but my real guess is they either used proprietary tech or screwed up production of the 3.5mm ports like you said. Either way, it's working...so THANKS AGAIN!


----------



## krkaufman

Arcady said:


> Apparently the new version of the Mini no longer includes an HDMI cable.


This hasn't been my experience. I've installed around 8 Mini v2 units, both purchased direct from TiVo and picked-up at Best Buy, and they've all included an HDMI cable.


----------



## thefisch

So I am considering adding a mini to my setup for my bedroom which has an older TV with no hdmi. My preference is to connect the mini via the composite for now. An upgraded TV may come later but let's put that aside for now.

I took the mini from another room that was working fine using hdmi and set it up in the bedroom to test out moca, etc. I did not purchase the TIVO AV breakout cable yet (or an alternative like the less expensive WD TV Live cable mentioned in this thread) as I already have two AV breakout cables for camcorders (one Sony and one Canon) that I wanted to try. I tested these breakout cables with the HD camcorder on the bedroom TV beforehand and had no issues with video or audio quality. It looks pretty good for an old TV.

Now the mini worked great in the bedroom after connecting it via moca - no issues with playing shows, navigating, surfing live TV, etc. so that's the good news. The bad news is that both the camcorder breakout cables didn't work so well. First, the wiring was a little off. With the camcorder, it is the standard yellow for video and white and red for audio. However, when connected to the mini the video was coming out the white cable with audio coming from the yellow and red. No problem - just swap the white and yellow connections and the video shows up looking good on the screen while paused. That is until I connect the yellow and red for audio. Then I get a buzzing like others have described here. And when I play the video or use the tivo remote and I get banding on the screen in the video that seems in sync with audio on the feed (even the remote blips). This second issue concerned me that there could be an issue with the mini mixing the feed.

After reading this entire thread and this other one (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=502081), I think the issue is where the ground is on the camcorder cables I am trying to use. To make sure it wasn't any of the other problems noted on here about interference, I removed the moca connection so only the AV cable and power were connected to the mini and TV. That didn't make a difference so it must be the cables. So much for saving old cables to use again.

I assume that when I get the right cable with the ground in the right place I will be fine. Can't seem to find any alternatives at local stores to try before purchasing something online. If anyone thinks I should try another test to make sure it isn't the cable or something else, let me know.


----------



## fcfc2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TiVo-Mini-3...site-Cables-/281524478340?hash=item418c2aa184

Both sets $11 delivered


----------



## krkaufman

fcfc2 said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/TiVo-Mini-3...site-Cables-/281524478340?hash=item418c2aa184
> 
> Both sets $11 delivered


Or just $6 total if you're ONLY looking to make the composite connection.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261498388148


----------



## thefisch

Thanks for those suggestions. I was also looking at this one mentioned earlier for $2 although the reviews seem hit or miss and the ship time is much longer.



brbrem said:


> This is the one i used. Works fine.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008SO5LDQ/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0


Actually, after seeing this shorter cable on Amazon I recalled that I may have one of those short breakout cables with some old 7 inch lcd monitors from a cheap car dvd player for the kids. Sure enough I dug out the box and found it. A quick test with my multimeter confirmed the ground was closest to the sleeve which was not the case with the other breakout cables I tried. Just wired up it up and it works. It pays to save old cables - only about $2 but it pays.

And now that we can use a mini in the bedroom I expect I will be shopping for a replacement TV come Black Friday. Looks like I need to invest that two bucks.


----------



## peakay

Deleted - just bought breakout cables referenced above on ebay.


----------



## punklux

abeln2672 said:


> You, sir, are a GENIUS! :up: I have both a Mini and a Roamio, and I need to use the analog breakout port on both (Mini --> old Slingbox, Roamio --> receiver for Zone 2 analog audio). I bought the cheap(er) WD breakout cables on eBay, but just kept getting horrible buzzing from both devices. Was about to break down and buy the Tivo branded cables, but decided to Google the problem first. Found this thread, saw your post, swapped white for yellow, and things are working perfectly on both devices! The cynical side of me would say Tivo intentionally swapped lines/colors so people would buy their breakout cable, but my real guess is they either used proprietary tech or screwed up production of the 3.5mm ports like you said. Either way, it's working...so THANKS AGAIN!


Are you running audio out of the HDMI and breakout cable for zone2 at the same time? I have a Roamio and a Sonos connect that I want to connect together.


----------



## Oregon

Hey all just registered to reply to this thread which helped me solve my buzzing issue trying to use a standard 3.5mm audio wire with a mini.

for the composite, I actually *found an **A/V breakout adapter in the closet*. I believe it came with my *Samsung TV* (in the other room).

So just for others that will inevitably read this thread, before you run and buy a break out cable, *maybe you have one*! (Looks like this)

Anyway the way i use this mini, is A/V Breakout audio out to the LINE IN on my PC. Then use the HDMI out to my second LCD monitor which doubles as TV viewing while i'm gaming!

Anyway, thanks for the thread guys.


----------



## unitron

Oregon said:


> Hey all just registered to reply to this thread which helped me solve my buzzing issue trying to use a standard 3.5mm audio wire with a mini.
> 
> for the composite, I actually *found an **A/V breakout adapter in the closet*. I believe it came with my *Samsung TV* (in the other room).
> 
> So just for others that will inevitably read this thread, before you run and buy a break out cable, *maybe you have one*! (Looks like this)
> 
> Anyway the way i use this mini, is A/V Breakout audio out to the LINE IN on my PC. Then use the HDMI out to my second LCD monitor which doubles as TV viewing while i'm gaming!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the thread guys.


Welcome to TCF.

Make yourself at home, take your shoes off, set a spell.


----------



## mmmm_beer

Not all the cables are equal. I tried a couple I had laying around and they just were not wired correctly. I ended up find a couple on Ebay that were labeled for the Roku an those worked perfectly and only cost about $2-3 a piece, well below what TiVo was asking for theirs.


----------



## Drlink

Oregon said:


> for the composite, I actually *found an **A/V breakout adapter in the closet*. I believe it came with my *Samsung TV* (in the other room).


I love you! I was ready to pull the trigger on $20-27 worth of cables to connect my TiVo Mini to my Panny plasma via Component/Composite when I saw your post.

I found the Component and Composite A/V breakout adapters from a Samsung television I bought 2 years ago and they work perfectly.

Kudos!


----------



## bob3iii

dslunceford said:


> Works great, but cable is short. Was a pita to get into my av stack, so can't take back out to measure, but I guess it's around 3' long, maybe 4'?


I used the one that came with my LG 55" tv. One was for audio and composite video out and other was to provide the component video out. It worked perfectly providing the audio out to my Vizio sound bar.


----------



## OhFiddle

Just hooked up a new mini to an old tv with only composite and s-video inputs. I found a couple of the proper cables in my basement that I had for some reason. I did have to switch the white and yellow plug connections to the tv like mentioned here. But I still had a horrible picture with interference, buzzing audio, and the screen would flicker with every button press on the remote. The other cable didn't work at all. After some fiddling I found out that if I don't plug the cable in all the way on the Tivo Mini, everything was fine. So maybe the "official" Tivo cable has not only the white and yellow cables switched, but also a slightly shorter plug that misses hitting something inside the box that causes issues. 

Picture is doable temporarily but the the HD menu layout is hard to read and I see no option to switch to SD menus like with older Tivos.

In regards to the "why don't you just get a new tv" discussion. One issue is what to do with the old one. Here all the resale shops and electronics recycling services are so overrun with old tvs and monitors that they aren't taking them anymore. It is illegal (for good reason) to throw them away. Freecycle or free on Craigslist are already full of free working old tvs that are unwanted. 

Upgrading the tv is also not much of a priority when it is not your main tv, and not used much for shows you would really want to see in hd.

Plus there are still people who don't really care much about HD. When I ask my mom why she isn't watching something in HD she says, "I honestly can't even tell the difference."


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## mdavej

OhFiddle said:


> I found a couple of the proper cables in my basement ...But I still had a horrible picture with interference, buzzing audio, and the screen would flicker with every button press on the remote... After some fiddling I found out that if I don't plug the cable in all the way on the Tivo Mini, everything was fine.


All of the above means you DIDN'T actually find the proper cable. The proper one is $3 on ebay. Why not just buy one?

But I am glad somebody out there can make good use of old CRTs. Years ago when they were first being phased out, I picked up a nice 32" for $20. Got several years of use out of it, and a couple of hernias, and ultimately sold it to someone else for $25. I don't miss it one bit.


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## thefisch

Yeah, sounds like the ground is not in the right place on the pin connection in addition to the yellow and white being in different places. Should be fine if you get the right cable.


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## OhFiddle

Yup, after thinking about it last night, I went back and looked at it again. Not plugging it in all the way means I am not getting the right audio channel. Got out the multimeter and tested the two cables I tried. They are wired differently. The one that I thought sort of worked (not plugged in all the way) was:

base of plug>red wire>shared ground>yellow wire>white wire>tip of plug

considering I had swapped the white and yellow plugs on the back of the tv (left audio and video) that means the connections I think were actually:

base of plug>right audio>shared ground>left audio>video>tip

Then would the correctly wired plug actually be?

base of plug>shared ground>right audio>left audio>video>tip

So I guess I do need to get the other cable. It looks like this is the cable that others got that worked, correct?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-WD-Western-Digital-TV-Mini-Live-Plus-Media-Player-RCA-Composite-AV-Cable/371085459053?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D35625%26meid%3D201add45ff7049d6aa002b51218bf168%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D370675838597


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## mdavej

Correct


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## Leon WIlkinson

So the reason I have Audio buzz with both of my 3.5mm cable connections is do to the lack of the Video input? ((((Edit)))) and or Ground location

I have a wooted TV (sanyo) that has terrible audio so I use a sound bar, this was I known issue when bought, ok it was worse then I thought it might of been. YES


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## mdavej

Leon WIlkinson said:


> So the reason I have Audio buzz with both of my 3.5mm cable connections is do to the lack of the Video input? ((((Edit)))) and or Ground location
> 
> I have a wooted TV (sanyo) that has terrible audio so I use a sound bar, this was I known issue when bought, ok it was worse then I thought it might of been. YES


Are you using the completely wrong cable like the previous poster which is shorting the video and audio pins, or the correct one? If you are using the right cable, you should have no buzz. The audio is perfect on my Mini's output. Buy the right cable, then post back if you still have issues.


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## OhFiddle

I did get the correct cable from that link on ebay and it works great now. I have stereo audio and no buzz. Thanks for the help. It is too bad these types of cable aren't standard or at least labeled with some code to indicate how they are configured.


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