Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple TV on non-HD television???
- Thread starter AeroBar
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
To add to what others have said, 
TV has never required an HD capable TV, just ED or HD, but it does 'require' a widescreen TV. From Apple's Tech Specs page for the TV:
If your TV is 4:3 the image will be distorted (compressed horizontally, so everything's tall and skinny), unless your TV has a 16:9 mode, where it letterboxes the image.
Having said that, the other hurdle is getting your TV connected. TheTV only outputs component (not composite) and HDMI, so you need a way to connect to one of those. There is a hack (cited above) for using the component output to connect to a composite input, but I don't have any direct experience with that. I wish I could give you some advice about SCART; I know there have been several discussions about that. I think it requires a converter of some kind, and if I recall correctly it may not be cheap to go from component to SCART (rather than the other way around), which is what you need. You might try searching the forums for 'SCART' and see what you turn up.
TV has never required an HD capable TV, just ED or HD, but it does 'require' a widescreen TV. From Apple's Tech Specs page for the TV: Compatible with enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable of 1080p/1080i 60/50Hz, 720p 60/50Hz, 576p 50Hz (PAL format), or 480p 60Hz.
If your TV is 4:3 the image will be distorted (compressed horizontally, so everything's tall and skinny), unless your TV has a 16:9 mode, where it letterboxes the image.
Having said that, the other hurdle is getting your TV connected. The
TV only outputs component (not composite) and HDMI, so you need a way to connect to one of those. There is a hack (cited above) for using the component output to connect to a composite input, but I don't have any direct experience with that. I wish I could give you some advice about SCART; I know there have been several discussions about that. I think it requires a converter of some kind, and if I recall correctly it may not be cheap to go from component to SCART (rather than the other way around), which is what you need. You might try searching the forums for 'SCART' and see what you turn up.Here's some info
http://patchstick.wikispaces.com/Composite+video
I never tried it myself, having an HD TV connected via HDMI. Good luck
http://patchstick.wikispaces.com/Composite+video
I never tried it myself, having an HD TV connected via HDMI. Good luck
Another way to enable composite output is given in post #2 of this thread. Don't know if it works, but this method doesn't require any software hacks. I think that the previously popular method was similar but involved shorting some pins on the adapter. Not sure I'd wanna do that...