Pros: An audio-video output cable for color 4G/photo iPods and 5Gs that’s nearly identical to Apple’s in design, but more than twice as long and a little less expensive. Allows you to watch photo slideshows and videos when connected to compatible iPods.
The best cable-to-dollar value of all of the AV cables we’ve tested.
Cons: Larger cable length is less convenient for travelers than Pacific Rim’s competing option.
We won’t say that we never thought we’d see so obvious a clone of Apple’s iPod AV Cable (iLounge rating: B), but Marware’s AV Cable for iPod photo/5G ($18) is quite clearly made from the same mold. Both cables have the same purpose: they connect to the top of a color-screened fourth-generation or fifth-generation iPod to let you display photo slideshows or videos through a separate TV screen.
As modestly distinguished from Apple’s cable, which is gray with white plastic plugs and a splitter between the iPod’s headphone plug and RCA-style composite video and audio plugs, Marware’s cable is all-white with virtually identical plastic pieces, and comes very close – very close – to outright duplicating the distinctive styling of Apple’s AV plugs.
Aesthetic differences aside, the only real reason to prefer one of the cables is length: Apple’s is around 6 feet long, while Marware’s stretches for 13 feet, making it the longest such AV cable we’ve seen for the iPod by a substantial margin, and yet highly comparable on price.
Despite the additional cable length, audio and video signal quality appeared to be identical between the two offerings, making Marware’s cable a better purchase and value – at least, for people who need more than 6 feet of distance between iPod and television. In fact, this much cable makes it possible to use the iPod as a wired remote control for certain sets, especially those with front-mounted composite video ports.
But it also makes the Marware AV Cable the wrong pick for space-conscious travelers, who will likely prefer the shorter and more compact Pacific Rim Technologies Retractable AV Cable for iPod (iLounge rating: B+).
