# Component output confusion



## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

The pictures of the back of the Roamio Pro and Plus clearly show component output connectors.

The tivo.com feature comparison web page for the Roamios clearly shows an X (nada) for component output for all 3 models.

Various reviews say it does have component output.

Will someone who couldn't wait and got next day shipment please report on the actual state of affairs? Are the component output connectors only there for decoration, or can you get a picture on them?

Thanks in advance.

(I would vastly prefer that the component output works - I have nothing but trouble with HDCP - things like switching the TV input for a minute then switching back sometimes takes forever to decide that it is valid to send a picture again. There are so many incompetent implementations of HDCP on devices with HDMI output, and I know what category I'd expect the TiVo engineers to fall in .


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

Component output is there and it works.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Basic...








Plus/Pro...









The A/V port on the basic unit is the same as the composite (RCA) breakout port on the Mini. So it does not look like it has component video.


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## series5orpremier (Jul 6, 2013)

For the AV breakout cable, will any 3.5mm to composite cable like for camcorders work or must the cable be supplied by Tivo? No specific cable accessory on Tivo.com says it's for Roamio. Or will an AV breakout cable be included in the Roamio box?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

On the Mini it took a specific one because the ground was in a different place then most breakout cables (which are typically designed for Apple devices) But as long as the ground is in the right spot the other 3 cables are interchangeable so it'll work even if you have to mismatch the colors.

I have no idea if they include one in the box. They didn't with the Mini. And the cables for the Mini didn't show up for like 2 weeks after the Mini was released. I bet the Mini one would work, but those are sold as a set and relatively expensive, and you'd end up with a component cable you didn't need.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> On the Mini it took a specific one because the ground was in a different place then most breakout cables (which are typically designed for Apple devices) But as long as the ground is in the right spot the other 3 cables are interchangeable so it'll work even if you have to mismatch the colors.
> 
> I have no idea if they include one in the box. They didn't with the Mini. And the cables for the Mini didn't show up for like 2 weeks after the Mini was released. I bet the Mini one would work, but those are sold as a set and relatively expensive, and you'd end up with a component cable you didn't need.


A 1/8th inch phone plug with ground somewhere other than where it's been for the last half century or so?

And someone got paid to come up with that idea?

Seriously?


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

Dan203 said:


> Basic...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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

The mini accessory has component video.

ah, but looking at the back of the mini, it has 2 breakout plugs.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

I finally found the webmaster feedback form on tivo.com and mailed them pointing out that the pictures of the pro and plus clearly show component out connectors and the "specifications" tab on the "shop for Roamio" page clearly says none of the models support component output. Maybe they'll fix the web page or clarify that the connectors are just there for decoration.

I still hope to hear from someone who actually hooked up component cables to a pro or plus model and got a picture from them on their TV .


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## jessehere (Apr 14, 2010)

hope they have the component connectors like shown in the start page!


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

jessehere said:


> hope they have the component connectors like shown in the start page!


The back of the Roamio basic shows a port labeled "A/V".
The Back of the Mini has a port labeled "A/V" and a port labeled "Component".

On the Mini the A/V port is for the composite video and L/R stereo audio breakout cable.
While the port labeled Component is for the RGB breakout cable.

So I would think the Roamio Basic only has Composite video and L/R stereo audio for an analog output.

I'm actually surprised the Plus and Pro still have component outputs.


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## Big Boy Laroux (Oct 10, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> I'm actually surprised the Plus and Pro still have component outputs.


I'm actually ecstatic about that. I still have a big ol' mitsubishi HD tv that I'm going to run into the ground, and it doesn't have HDMI.

And all receivers that convert hdmi to component downgrade signal to 720p (at least last time i researched).


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## HenryFarpolo (Dec 1, 2008)

tomhorsley said:


> I finally found the webmaster feedback form on tivo.com and mailed them pointing out that the pictures of the pro and plus clearly show component out connectors and the "specifications" tab on the "shop for Roamio" page clearly says none of the models support component output. Maybe they'll fix the web page or clarify that the connectors are just there for decoration.
> 
> I still hope to hear from someone who actually hooked up component cables to a pro or plus model and got a picture from them on their TV .


I have the Plus and have both component and HDMI connected to my TV. As with prior TIVO's they are both active, and in my case, both work.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

I've seen video components that have only component (RGBHV, YCbCr, YUV, etc.) connections on them, but the Y (green colored luminance +sync/color difference signal) also carries the composite video feed if so selected in the menu. This could be the case with the 1/8" A/V jack on the Basic.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

HenryFarpolo said:


> I have the Plus and have both component and HDMI connected to my TV. As with prior TIVO's they are both active, and in my case, both work.


Excellent! Thanks for the confirmation they connectors work.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

HarperVision said:


> I've seen video components that have only component (RGBHV, YCbCr, YUV, etc.) connections on them, but the Y (green colored luminance +sync/color difference signal) also carries the composite video feed if so selected in the menu. This could be the case with the 1/8" A/V jack on the Basic.


I forgot about those. My GFs Vizio Tv does that. I had not run across it before until I went to hook up an old analog device to the TV.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

HarperVision said:


> I've seen video components that have only component (RGBHV, YCbCr, YUV, etc.) connections on them, but the Y (green colored luminance +sync/color difference signal) also carries the composite video feed if so selected in the menu. This could be the case with the 1/8" A/V jack on the Basic.


Maybe. That would be pretty cool if that's how it worked.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

tomhorsley said:


> I finally found the webmaster feedback form on tivo.com and mailed them pointing out that the pictures of the pro and plus clearly show component out connectors and the "specifications" tab on the "shop for Roamio" page clearly says none of the models support component output. Maybe they'll fix the web page or clarify that the connectors are just there for decoration.


Hey! They actually fixed the web page to show the Pro and Plus have component out now. Maybe the folks complaining about the base model showing gigabit ethernet support could get them to fix that as well


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## bucm4sko24wle2mi (Aug 17, 2009)

tomhorsley said:


> Maybe the folks complaining about the base model showing gigabit ethernet support could get them to fix that as well


I hope so, too.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> ...I'm actually surprised the Plus and Pro still have component outputs.


For us Slingbox Pro users, they're essential...


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Bierboy said:


> For us Slingbox Pro users, they're essential...


But with built in Streaming and out of home Streaming coming soon I wonder how many people with the Plus/Pro will continue to use a Slingbox?


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## MScottC (Sep 11, 2004)

Dan, my guess is anyone who wants to sling a premium channel recording if those aren't allowed to stream out of the local network.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

MScottC said:


> Dan, my guess is anyone who wants to sling a premium channel recording if those aren't allowed to stream out of the local network.


The should be... Stream should work while copy should fail - have we heard something different with stream away from home?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> But with built in Streaming and out of home Streaming coming soon I wonder how many people with the Plus/Pro will continue to use a Slingbox?


I plan to keep my Sling Box 350 connected. But I'll probably retire my Hava HD. Although I need to get the adapter for the Mini so I can connect my Slingbox to it. Currently it's on one of my Elites.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

bradleys said:


> The should be... Stream should work while copy should fail - have we heard something different with stream away from home?


It's unclear. A couple of the reviewers mentioned that they were unable to stream premium channels outside the home. The CableCARD spec doesn't really cover this scenario so who knows what they'll have to do to prevent from getting sued.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> But with built in Streaming and out of home Streaming coming soon I wonder how many people with the Plus/Pro will continue to use a Slingbox?


 Sling has years and years of experience in adaptive encoding. I doubt very much Stream will be better at adapting to low and changing WAN bandwidth while providing a good picture. Plus at least for me if there is no PC client such that I can use a laptop then out of home streaming is of little to no value - I don't use Apple or Android devices. Finally, being able to capture/record Sling output is a recent capability I find very useful and a way to circumvent CCI byte if needed, something that cannot currently be done with Stream output. For in home use Stream is a more elegant solution, but if I'm at home then I'd rather use a real TV to stream to, and all my TVs have a series 4 or higher stream client ready to serve that purpose. Those are some reasons why Stream is of little value to me compared to Slingbox and will likely continue to be so for years.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Isn't capturing from Slingbox the same as "Download" on the Stream? (Minus the CCI limitation) I'm betting if they had a PC client you'd find the Stream a lot more useful.

Although you're probably right about the adaptive encoding part. But I had one of the original Slingboxes, which wasn't very hood at it either, and it was still watchable most of the time. Plus TiVo has the advantage of learning from what Sling has done.


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## hybucket (Nov 26, 2004)

It's been a while, but rather than start a new thread, I"ll see if this is still active.
Is there any particular reason the basic Roamio doesn't have component video output? I'm not too tech savvy, but I ask because I have an older HDTV and there is only one HDMI input, which now is being used by a blu-Ray player, leaving no room for HDMI output from the Roamio. I could move the player to component, I suppose, if HDMI is the only output to get HD.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

Dan203 said:


> On the Mini it took a specific one because the ground was in a different place then most breakout cables (which are typically designed for Apple devices) But as long as the ground is in the right spot the other 3 cables are interchangeable so it'll work even if you have to mismatch the colors.
> 
> I have no idea if they include one in the box. They didn't with the Mini. And the cables for the Mini didn't show up for like 2 weeks after the Mini was released. I bet the Mini one would work, but those are sold as a set and relatively expensive, and you'd end up with a component cable you didn't need.


Is this true? I found 2 of these Red/White/Yellow breakout cables in my 'box of cables' and they worked fine on the mini. They were old cables. I'm not sure where they came from.

There is no breakout cable included with the mini.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

hybucket said:


> It's been a while, but rather than start a new thread, I"ll see if this is still active.
> Is there any particular reason the basic Roamio doesn't have component video output? I'm not too tech savvy, but I ask because I have an older HDTV and there is only one HDMI input, which now is being used by a blu-Ray player, leaving no room for HDMI output from the Roamio. I could move the player to component, I suppose, if HDMI is the only output to get HD.


You'll have to move the bluray player to component, or you can get a mini and use the component output from the mini.


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## hybucket (Nov 26, 2004)

SugarBowl said:


> You'll have to move the bluray player to component, or you can get a mini and use the component output from the mini.


Thanks - I'm not familiar with the mini...I"ll check it out. (ANd I apologize for the duplicate posting on another thread).


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

hybucket said:


> It's been a while, but rather than start a new thread, I"ll see if this is still active.
> Is there any particular reason the basic Roamio doesn't have component video output? I'm not too tech savvy, but I ask because I have an older HDTV and there is only one HDMI input, which now is being used by a blu-Ray player, leaving no room for HDMI output from the Roamio. I could move the player to component, I suppose, if HDMI is the only output to get HD.


Check out item 8202 at monoprice.com. Add HDMI ports to your setup.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

hybucket said:


> It's been a while, but rather than start a new thread, I"ll see if this is still active.
> Is there any particular reason the basic Roamio doesn't have component video output? I'm not too tech savvy, but I ask because I have an older HDTV and there is only one HDMI input, which now is being used by a blu-Ray player, leaving no room for HDMI output from the Roamio. I could move the player to component, I suppose, if HDMI is the only output to get HD.


Get an HDMI switch from Monoprice. That is a much better solution than using analog connections.

EDIT: Whoops! i guess DeltaOne already posted about an HDMi switch.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

SugarBowl said:


> Is this true? I found 2 of these Red/White/Yellow breakout cables in my 'box of cables' and they worked fine on the mini. They were old cables. I'm not sure where they came from.
> 
> There is no breakout cable included with the mini.


Yes it's true there's no cables other than hdmi included with the mini. Also FYI, the red/white/yellow cables aren't component, those are composite and you will NOT get HD from that connection.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

HarperVision said:


> Yes it's true there's no cables other than hdmi included with the mini. Also FYI, the red/white/yellow cables aren't component, those are composite and you will NOT get HD from that connection.


I meant, is it true that a special cable is required, because that was not my experience.

And the colors don't really mean anything. You can definitely transmit a component HD signal with a Red/Yellow/White cable.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

SugarBowl said:


> I meant, is it true that a special cable is required, because that was not my experience.
> 
> And the colors don't really mean anything. You can definitely transmit a component HD signal with a Red/Yellow/White cable.


But the connection signal itself from the basic Roamio doesn't support component video, only composite and L/R audio.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

Maybe I am confused, but I do not see how the Roamio Basic has Component.

If you look at the Mini it has both A/V (Composite) and Component ports. If you do not have HDMI on your TV, you could use the Component out for HD video and the A/V out for audio. No problem...

On the Roamio Basic, it only appears to have A/V (Composite) which would include: White - Left Channel, Red - Right Channel, yellow - Composite Video



















You could do this for either the Mini or the Roamio Basic and it would work just fine @ $5 from Amazon:


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

bradleys said:


> Maybe I am confused, but I do not see how the Roamio Basic has Component.


It doesn't have component, only composite through the breakout cables. The Plus and Pro models have component though.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

bradleys said:


> You could do this for either the Mini or the Roamio Basic and it would work just fine @ $5 from Amazon:


You'd only be able to do that with that breakout cable if the source device (mini, Roamio, etc) has the capability to output an analog component video signal from its hdmi port, similar to a DVI-I connection.


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## aghusker (Dec 31, 2009)

HarperVision said:


> You'd only be able to do that with that breakout cable if the source device (mini, Roamio, etc) has the capability to output an analog component video signal from its hdmi port, similar to a DVI-I connection.


Can anyone with a Mini share if this type of basic HDMI to component/stereo cable (not a conversion box, just a cable) works with Mini?
I'm 90% sure the answer is No, it won't work.

You have to use the breakout cables with mini to get component and sound, I believe.


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