Best video card for DVI output to HDMI input?

January 31, 2006 9:30 AM

Has anyone had success connecting a PC (DVI output) to a TV (HDMI input)? I, myself, have not tried it yet, but have a couple of questions before I do...

Reading the countless forums and webpages that discuss this, there seem to be a lot of issues (sync, overscan, etc) connecting a computer to a TV through HDMI...although theoretically it seems pretty simple to me.

I was wondering, are there specific video cards that any of you have tried that have not given you any issues? I have a Panasonic EDTV (and the only input that is currently free is HDMI), a PC with Windows Media Centre and I still need to purchase a video card.

To connect to the TV, all I know for sure is that my video card will have to have a DVI output, but will things be as simple as connecting the two together, or will I need to put more thought into what kind of video card to get?

So, is there anything to worry about, or can I go pick up an average video card (like the ATI Radeon 9500) and excpect DVI to HDMI success?

Thanks!

posted by omair to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Well, I can't comment on the DVI/HDMI interoperability situation, but I will say that if you're interested in running HD-DVD/BluRay through the computer some day, you're going to need HDMI... Windows Vista, like all other DRM monsters, will downscale HD video to 520 unless it's going through a HDMI connection.

So, if your Media Center plans hope to one day include high def DVDs, it might be smart to go with the HDMI now and be prepared...
posted by jcruden at 9:40 AM on January 31, 2006

jcruden, you're thinking of HDCP, the copy-protection standard. DVI and HDMI are the same thing, except with different pinouts. DVI/HDMI can either use HDCP, or not use it. You can easily go between DVI and HDMI with a cheap adapter.
posted by rxrfrx at 9:51 AM on January 31, 2006

Depends on your definition of "success": I have a Mac Mini running 10.3 that recognizes my Toshiba TV via a DVI cable. It displays the screen and knows the model# of the TV and everything. Only the desktop is drawn halfway down the screen, so the middle of the TV has the top of the desktop and the top of the screen has the bottom. But it's never in the same place twice and I cannot figure out how to adjust it.

My previous thread.
posted by yerfatma at 9:54 AM on January 31, 2006

To connect to the TV, all I know for sure is that my video card will have to have a DVI output

I don't know what TV you are planning to connect to, but I had no trouble connecting a Sony Vaio S360 to a Sony KDFE50A10 rear-projection HDTV with a long VGA cable. The TV also had an HDMI input, but the DVI->HDMI cable was more expensive so I didn't try that with my powerbook.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:20 AM on January 31, 2006

Whatever you do, don't buy any HDMI cables in a store like Best Buy, where the markup is 1000% or more. Buy online from someplace cheap.
posted by zsazsa at 10:33 AM on January 31, 2006

I just did this last night... DVI out to HDMI on my Philips Plasma.

All the overscan stuff was handled through the Nvidia drivers for my GeForce 6800 video card easily enough.

After reading up in the htpcnews.com forums, I ended up buying from Monoprice.com... I did a quick Google search and found no major complaints about them. The 10-ft cable ended up costing me just over $20.
posted by friezer at 10:42 AM on January 31, 2006

I bought a very affordable HDMI->DVI cable from monoprice.com and I would recommend that store.
posted by rxrfrx at 11:17 AM on January 31, 2006

Second the recommendation for monoprice.com. I just bought 2 6 foot HDMI cables from them the other day for $7 bucks a piece, and bought a 25 foot HDMI->DVI cable a while ago for $45, in-order to do what you want to do.

Worked instantly (at least with an Nvidia card, don't know about ATI's drivers)...
posted by SweetJesus at 12:07 PM on January 31, 2006

it sort of works on my sharp 45" LCD, but the TV's audio circuits get confused because there's no audio coming from the computer on the DVI connector. something to watch out for.
posted by joeblough at 3:14 PM on January 31, 2006