Itunes and flat screen
 

After a weekend of trying to hook up Apple TV (no luck - port issue - took it back) - I have purchased a Pioneer receiver to play my Ipod through. It works ok, but the menu that appears on my TV is awefull looking.

My question: Does anyone have a recomendation for how I can play my Ipod Nano 4th gen (money btw) through my stereo system and have cover flow art, videos, etc. show on my HDTV? (assisde from the previossly mentioned Apple TV)

Thanks for your insight.

I would imagine using the Apple Composite or Component cables?

What ports do you have available on your TV to connect to? For most flat-panel screens there should be some combination of HDMI, DVI, component (3 x connectors, red / green / blue), S-Video (single round connector with multiple pins), and composite (single yellow connector). For connecting the Apple TV, you should be aiming to use HDMI or component and it should work fine.

Let us know what ports are on the TV and I can suggest what the best way to connect the iPod will be...

Thanks - sorry - by Port, I meant firewall issue with my laptop and the Apple TV.

My flat screen has all the requisite connections - and works well with HDMI cables to my receiver, Comcast box, etc - I can play the ipod through the receiver - but there is a 'lame' on screen menu fron the Ipod and Pioneer receiver - I was really just trying to replicate the Apple TV interface which was a high definition display of all of the suff on my ipod - including photos and videos, etc.

The issue there is the output resolution of the iPod is much lower, so it's not going to be as clear a picture as you'd get from the AppleTV...

A Nano 4g with Apple Component cable should be able to support up to 480p video, though I'm unsure why you'd encode at such a high resolution on a portable device (I almost always encode to the device's native resolution). The benefit of using your receiver's connection is remote control... the downside it the horrible terminal-text interface. There are some 3rd party docks that include remotes and pass the iPod GUI on to the TV, but can't can't comment on which.

EDIT: The Classic and Nano 3g/4g will output 480p, not 720p... sorry about that.

So you can use the Nano as portable storage device for watching TV shows and movies on a TV at a watchable resolution?

Well thats what I use mine for anyway.

I just didn't find the Apple TV solution that compelling.

The Nano 3g, Nano 4g, and Classic are capable of outputting 480p, the Touch and iPhone can only output 480i. If you're using the device for storing large amounts of video at TV resolutions then I would recommend a Classic. A a full season of a half-hour sitcom at 848x480p will fill up 8gb pretty quickly. The Apple Component Cable should also be compatible with the Apple AV Dock which will give remote control. The two together will run you around $100.

Great responses - thanks.

By video - I assume you mean individual 'files' rather than how my menus display on my Ipod screen (flipping on side allows for cover flow mode)

Ideally, I would like to be able to 'flip' through and see my album cover art on my TV - the video stuff seems do-able. Getting the actuall interactive interface is what I am looking for (similiar to Apple TV but without it) -