How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

amc252 · 2023-04-28 23:28:12

Hello everybody,

My system is Devuan Chimaera with ALSA and mpv.
I'm trying to connect my laptop to a digital TV using a USB connector (to the laptop USB port) and RCA audio/video plugs on the TV input, so that I can see images and hear sound played on the laptop on the TV.
Is it possible? and if so, how do I go about configuring the system?

Thanks for your suggestions

steve_v · 2023-04-29 06:22:08

Step one: Ship me a crystal ball, so I have some idea what this "USB to RCA" device you intend to use actually is, and what video and audio chipsets it uses.
USB and composite video + analog audio (which I assume is what you mean by "RCA") are about as completely different as one can get, and anything connecting the two will effectively be a whole video card and sound card, with all the usual faffing around mirroring your screen to two video cards and configuring two audio outputs entails.

This is exactly why laptops used to include "TV out" composite or s-video from the onboard video card, for connecting to TVs and projectors. Maufacturers love to remove useful features for more "thinness" though, so good luck finding that on anything made in the last decade.

Last edited by steve_v (2023-04-29 06:25:29)

amc252 · 2023-04-29 06:58:48

Thanks for your reply.

in case it was not clear enough, what I meant is I would like to connect my laptop to a digital TV using the video and audio output from the laptop's USB port to the RCA video and audio entrey on the TV, and do so by mean of a connecting cable which has a USB plug on one side and 3 RCA video plugs on the other.
The laptop has a TV-out connection, I just wanted to know if I could use the USB port instead.
Since there are headphones that use USB ports and cameras, I assumed there might be a chance to connect a TV the same way.

Camtaf · 2023-04-29 07:35:33

Judging by the prices I see in these, you wouldn't want to......

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ftsa&q=usb+to … ble&ia=web

alexkemp · 2023-04-29 09:29:53

Hi amc252.

Every electronic component within your computer has a driver associated with it that allows that component to "play along". Monitors are no different to anything else. Therefore, your first search can involve finding a Chimaera driver for the digital TV.

The miracle of modern electronic equipment was made far easier with the introduction of PnP ("Plug 'n' Play"). That relies on a digital connection & various subsystems, and is what allows something like a monitor to be plugged in, auto-detected by the computer, recognised, the driver auto-located via the internet, auto-downloaded & auto-installed. Now, a USB connection is certainly digital but is more used for modems or HDD & little used for connecting monitors - HDMI connections are the standard for that.

Check your computer: does it have a HDMI port?
Check your digital monitor: does it have a HDMI port?

If the answer to the two questions above are both "yes" then you may be in business very quickly; just make sure that both ports are switched "on" in the setup for both machines, and that your computer is connected via an Ethernet port to the internet before you make the HDMI connection (Ethernet is 'old school' & thus provides few problems cf WLAN).

If the above is not possible & you are determined to go ahead with RCA & such-like then bring your will up-to-date so that afterwards others can realise the reasons for your suicide.

Good luck.

Altoid · 2023-04-29 12:09:27

Hello:

amc252 wrote:

... do so by mean of a connecting cable which has a USB plug on one side and 3 RCA video plugs on the other.

Right ...

Do you have such an thing in your posession?
I don't know of any, but ...
... if you do, please tell us about it.

ie:
Plug it in, open a terminal, type lsusb and hit enter.
You should get a printout of all the USB devices plugged into your system.

~$ lsusb
Bus 008 Device 002: ID 0458:6007 KYE Systems Corp. (Mouse Systems) 
--- snip ---
Bus 007 Device 002: ID 05e3:0626 Genesys Logic, Inc. 
~$

Best,

A.

steve_v · 2023-04-29 13:28:12

amc252 wrote:

I would like to connect my laptop to a digital TV using the video and audio output from the laptop's USB port to the RCA video and audio entrey on the TV, and do so by mean of a connecting cable which has a USB plug on one side and 3 RCA video plugs on the other.

Again, there is no "cable" that will convert USB to analog video + audio. They are completely different signals, and would require a non-trivial interface device, the equivalent of an external video card + video converter (as modern video cards no longer have analog out), and sound card. Such devices do exist, but they're a long way from "a connecting cable".

Converting HDMI, displayport or either of those running over USB-C "alternate mode" to analog video is easier, as you only need the analog encoder. A cursory search search indicates such devices are readily available and relatively cheap... But until one falls out of the sky for me to play with, I have no Idea WRT to compatibility or configuration.
You'd also need an HDMI, displayport or modern USB-C port to use with it, obviously.

FWIW, video out from a USB-C port isn't really USB at all, it's effectively just repurposing the USB connector for HDMI digital video (one of the reasons USB-C has 24 pins, vs 4 for USB A & B). Getting analog video from that is still not a simple "connecting cable", but it's closer.
Have a look at the Alternate Mode protocol support matrix table here, you want "Component video". Note that all those entries specify "construction" as "active"... Anything labeled as an "active" cable is far more than just a cable, and implies a converter of some kind.

amc252 wrote:

The laptop has a TV-out connection, I just wanted to know if I could use the USB port instead.

Then I suggest you use it, that's exactly what it's for. Why bugger about with any of this when you already have the right electrical signal, the right video format, and the right connector already present?

Last edited by steve_v (2023-04-29 13:55:41)

amc252 · 2023-04-29 18:14:41

Thanks for all the feedback.
Just to be clear, my doubt is not how can connect the laptop to the digital TV. As I said, it has the monitor port so I could use that.
The USB to RCA audio & video does exist and you can see a pic here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7DbXk … share_link
The fact that I found such a cable is in fact what got me wondering if connecting this way was possible.

iThen I suggest you use it, that's exactly what it's for. Why bugger about with any of this when you already have the right electrical signal, the right video format, and the right connector already present?

I don't understand what gives you the right to patronize anyone, or assume I haven't already tried what you suggest.
A forum is to ask questions depending or what people need to know, right?
If you cannot answer--or don't like--the question asked why posting an "answer" at all?

Last edited by amc252 (2023-04-29 18:15:12)

chris2be8 · 2023-04-30 15:59:10

You would probably have got a better response if you had started by saying what make and model of laptop you have and what make and model of TV you would like to connect it to. And putting the above link in your first post would have been more helpful (or just saying what make and model it is).

As it is no one could offer any specific help since they could only guess what you were trying to connect.

pcalvert · 2023-04-30 17:57:50

amc252 wrote:

Just to be clear, my doubt is not how can connect the laptop to the digital TV. As I said, it has the monitor port so I could use that.
The USB to RCA audio & video does exist and you can see a pic here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7DbXk … share_link
The fact that I found such a cable is in fact what got me wondering if connecting this way was possible.

Even though there are companies selling such cables, don't misinterpret that and assume that they must work. There are plenty of companies willing to sell worthless products if people are willing to buy them. I looked at the reviews for two such cables that I found on Amazon. For both cables there are multiple reviews claiming that the cables don't work and are worthless. If they do work at all, it's possible that the cables only work for very specific use cases.

Is there a good reason that you are considering doing this instead of using the simplest and most straightforward solution possible?

amc252 · 2023-04-30 18:09:16

chris2be8 wrote:

You would probably have got a better response if you had started by saying what make and model of laptop you have and what make and model of TV you would like to connect it to. And putting the above link in your first post would have been more helpful (or just saying what make and model it is).
As it is no one could offer any specific help since they could only guess what you were trying to connect.

It seemed rather clear to me, then again perception is everything.

If they do work at all, it's possible that the cables only work for very specific use cases.

That's precisely what I asked.

Is there a good reason that you are considering doing this instead of using the simplest and most straightforward solution possible?

Curiosity.

delgado · 2023-05-01 08:09:39

amc252 wrote:

USB to RCA audio & video (...) pic here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j7DbXk … share_link

I would guess the shown cable is an analog input, not an output.

It is made for digitisinging (recording) analog TV signals consisting of composit-video and audio, e.g. from video-tape-recorders (VHS/BetaMax/video8/whtever) or old video-cameras with TV-out.

chris2be8 · 2023-05-01 16:34:02

amc252 wrote:

chris2be8 wrote:
You would probably have got a better response if you had started by saying what make and model of laptop you have and what make and model of TV you would like to connect it to. And putting the above link in your first post would have been more helpful (or just saying what make and model it is).
As it is no one could offer any specific help since they could only guess what you were trying to connect.
It seemed rather clear to me, then again perception is everything.

And it seemed as clear as mud to me. You still havn't answered my questions:

What make and model of laptop do you have?
What make and model of TV would you like to connect it to?

Without that information we can't offer any specific advice.

amc252 · 2023-05-01 16:59:46

I would guess the shown cable is an analog input, not an output.
It is made for digitisinging (recording) analog TV signals consisting of composit-video and audio, e.g. from video-tape-recorders (VHS/BetaMax/video8/whtever) or old video-cameras with TV-out.

Makes sense to me.

What make and model of laptop do you have?
What make and model of TV would you like to connect it to?

Toshiba Satellite
Samsung Tantus Digital TV

chris2be8 · 2023-05-02 16:05:39

Thanks, that gives us something to go on.

There are a *lot* of models of laptop you might have and a lot of models of TV you might be trying to connect to. So telling us what you have makes it a lot easier to offer useful advice.

Let us know if you get it working or find it won't work. That would help someone else in a similar situation.

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#1 2023-04-28 23:28:12

How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#2 2023-04-29 06:22:08

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#3 2023-04-29 06:58:48

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#4 2023-04-29 07:35:33

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#5 2023-04-29 09:29:53

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#6 2023-04-29 12:09:27

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#7 2023-04-29 13:28:12

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#8 2023-04-29 18:14:41

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#9 2023-04-30 15:59:10

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#10 2023-04-30 17:57:50

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#11 2023-04-30 18:09:16

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#12 2023-05-01 08:09:39

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#13 2023-05-01 16:34:02

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#14 2023-05-01 16:59:46

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

#15 2023-05-02 16:05:39

Re: How do I get USB to RCA connection to work?

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