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Video: Hidden Video-Out On iPhone 3G

Officially speaking, Apple says the iPhone and iPod touch don't have video-out support, but Erica Sadun's iPhone framework-dumping skills have uncovered a hidden feature added in the latest update to the software and SDK for the iPhone 3G. After tinkering with it, she has managed to get the iPhone to send a live video feed from it's camera to her TV.

The MPTVOutWindow class allows your iPhone to send its video to a connected TV rather than to the built-in screen. Intended to be used with movies, the unpublished class creates a live video feed that is sent out through the iPhone's connector port. End-users will need to buy a video adapter or cable to use this functionality.

After a little more tinkering, she has managed to get her iPhone 3G to take the video from the camera and display it on the TV screen over the dock connector. She also created a button with the help of hacker Greg "go2" Hartstein to make a simple on-screen control button for the app:

Updated iPhone with live Video Out from Ars Technica on Vimeo.

We're not sure what this means, if anything, in the short run, but in the long run Apple may be planning to use this feature somehow. We have no idea how, but it's an exciting development nonetheless.

[via Ars Technica]


Hmmmm...

That would be pretty sweet if you could play a movie straight from an iPhone to a TV.

i have done this with my iphone 3g since i got it in september. I didn't have cable for a month so i downloaded a bunch of video podcasts and movies and hooked up some component cables that i got at best buy which connected to the dock connector and have never had an issue. THe only thing i couldn't do is do live video from my camera. Is there something that I am missing here? I thought every iphone could do this.

This is not new

im running software 1.1.4 and i have a setting under preferences/ipod for video out. The only thing it wont do is stream the camera and play a movie when hooked up to my pioneer D3 in my truck.

Say what?

Quote:
Officially speaking, Apple says the iPhone and iPod touch don't have video-out support
Then how come there is a page on the Apple support site from October 14, 2008 telling you how to do it?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1454