DVD to LCD monitor?

April 2, 2007 10:52 AM

What do I need to hook up a DVD player to an LCD monitor?

My DVD player has analog, S-video, component, and HDMI outputs; the monitor is an NEC 1880sx with DVI and VGA inputs. Is there a cable that will do the trick, or do I need some sort of in-between converting gadget?

posted by sonofslim to technology (7 comments total)

It looks like these would work?
posted by aubilenon at 11:02 AM on April 2, 2007

Seconding aubilenon's link. DVI to HDMI is the best cable for the least amount of information loss (In this case, none)

Might I suggest monoprice for a possible supplier? About the cheapest price you can get.
posted by zabuni at 11:10 AM on April 2, 2007

Err, HDMI to DVI.
posted by zabuni at 11:11 AM on April 2, 2007

I second aubilenon's suggestion and recommend you buy the cable online. Fry's (in store) sells several brands of these cables but they're all over $50 (and some are over $100). So $14 is a great price.
posted by doctor_negative at 11:13 AM on April 2, 2007

I don't have any experience with HDMI -> DVI cables specifically, but I know I've been nipped in the butt several times by the difference between DVI-D(igital) and plain old DVI on my work Dell laptops. Apparently they used to shove the analog VGA signal over a cable with ends that looked like a DVI plug but wouldn't fit into a DVI-D port on the back of the newer LCD.

I imagine that since HDMI is a digital protocol, you will get a DVI-D port. Make sure your LCD has a digital DVI port.
posted by yellowbkpk at 12:50 PM on April 2, 2007

Sweet, that was about 100% easier than I thought it would be!
posted by sonofslim at 3:37 PM on April 2, 2007

A follow-up, for anyone who stumbles across this looking for answers: it ain't as easy as it sounds. Turns out HDMI comes with its own breed of bullshit DRM which prevents a signal from being output to a non-compliant devices (like most PC monitors, for example). You'll need an HDCP-compliant monitor if you want to go the HDMI->DVI route.

Fuck you and your crippled DVD players, Sony!
posted by sonofslim at 4:09 PM on April 5, 2007