DVI to HDMI cable question

[TheXeelee]

Hey guys,

This constitutes my first post here, so pardon any uninformed questions or comments. I got an HDTV for x-mas and have recently decided to try and hook up my laptop and use the TV as a monitor occasionally. The TV is a 27" LCD capable of 720p and the laptop is a Dell Inspiron 9100 with an ATI Radeon 9700 video card. It has a DVI port on the back and my TV has an HDMI input. So I figured I could hook them up with a DVI/HDMI cable, but I've read in a few threads on this site and others about people having lots of problems getting this to work. Any helpful advice or comments appreciated. Thanks.

 

[OttoMatic]

I have had no troubles using HDMI-DVI adapter with a Dish VIP-622 DVR and a Denon DVD-1910 DVD player, previously running through an Outlaw 990 (for sale, PM me). The 990 has DVI ins, the Denon has DVI out, the Dish box has HDMI out and the TV has HDMI in.

I've been using various adapters on the ends of HDMI cables, as well as HDMI to DVI cables (i.e., a different connector on each end, no adapter).

I'm now running through a Monoprice HDMI switch, again using some adapters based on my cabling, and again, no problems.

Now, I do have some trouble going DVI out of my PC and directly into the TV's HDMI input. But that's more about the TV and the resolution of the PC itself, not the cabling or adapters.

I think you will be OK -- give it a try with a short cable and see how it goes. Monoprice and others have them for about $10 IIRC.

Good luck!

 

[TheXeelee]

Yeah, I actually ordered a 6 ft HDMI/DVI cable (no adapters, just one cable with different connectors on each end) from Monoprice yesterday. I found several recommendations for that website on these forums and it was way cheaper than the rip-off's at Best Buy so I figured what the heck.

My computer has several resolutions available, and I think one of them is 1024x768 (could be wrong, I'm not on it right now) and my TV's max resolution is somethingX768 so hopefully I won't have any issues with resolution. Hopefully the cable will come before the week is over so I can see if it works out.

Thanks for the input.

 

[mike c]

i think it would depend on the vid card of the PC.
my vid card is capable of outputting to both it's DVI and VGA connectors and even with different resolutions to each output. (my LCD TV is widescreen and my LCD monitor is 4:3)

 

[OttoMatic]

i think it would depend on the vid card of the PC.

That's correct. There's also a liittle program out there called PowerStrip that will allow you to tweak every possible option on many video cards (IIRC, I'm using an ATI x600). If you have trouble with the native resolutions of your video card, give it a try.

That said, I could never, ever get my DVI output to look right on my TV. I don't know if it's the output of the video card, or the HDMI input on the TV.

The same video card sending a VGA signal to the same TV's VGA input is fine (with lots of tweaking in PowerStrip).

My DVI/HDMI outs from the Dish and DVD player are fine on the TV's HDMI input.

Bottom line -- getting a TV to work nicely may require some video card tweaks. FWIW, I'm using a Mitsubishi WD-52725, which is well discussed at some forums...

Smart man for not buying at Best Buy, etc. Too expensive for the same stuff!!!

Good luck!

 

[TheXeelee]

How awesome is this... I came home from work yesterday, to find my laptop's screen completely dead. I think the backlight burned out (almost 4 years old). However the cable arrived yesterday, plugged it in, it worked great on the TV. That's what I call perfect timing.

Some graphics are a bit stretched so I may try using the PowerStrip program that was recommended. My only concern there is that I read an article on this website about using PowerStrip and it warned that its possible to completely screw up your computer so it won't display anything if you don't really know what you're doing. Which is me, I'm pretty inept with computers as it is. The article said to have a spare CRT monitor to test settings on before saving them and trying on an HDTV so that if you screw up the display you can fix the settings using the CRT. I dont' have a spare CRT so I may just deal with the slightly stretched graphics. Aside from that, they are nice and sharp at 768 resolution and everything fits on the screen.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[OttoMatic]

My only concern there is that I read an article on this website about using PowerStrip and it warned that its possible to completely screw up your computer so it won't display anything if you don't really know what you're doing.

Well, I just lost a nice post I just wrote to answer this concern, so this one's going to be a little shorter...

The CRTL+ALT+S sequence returns you to adapter defaults in PowerStrip (at least for my version, make sure your version uses that same sequence before you get going). I've used it a couple times to get out of that jam.

You can also do a Remote Desktop to the stuck PC if that's an option for you.

I think you would also be able to boot Windows to "Safe Mode" and work around it that way. I have done the former two procedures to get out of this problem, but not the latter.

Anyway, if you're having video problems, give it a try. I don't think I could use my PC and my TV together if I didn't use PowerStrip (and it's free!).

Good luck!

 

[hex]

i have only tried hdmi to hdmi but my brother uses both with no problem. check your input config.