Is HDMI a Deal Breaker on an LCD?

December 26, 2007 9:58 AM

I'm looking at getting a new LCD that I'll be using with my computer and really like the HP 2408 & LP2465. However, will I end up shooting myself in the foot for not having HDMI?

Primarily I'll be using it with my Vista workstation doing 3D and other media production. I also use this workstation as a Media Center, DVD player and TV (web based, don't have a tuner card--yet) and a PC gaming machine. Finally, I'll be getting an Xbox 360 and probably the HD-DVD add-on before too long that I would also like to run through the LCD.

I've read that DVI is very similar to HDMI (without audio) and that you can just put an adapter on and it works just as well.

I assume this workaround would still support 1080P? If I did do this would I be losing HDCP support?

I've done some searching and a lot of the information I'm finding is either too over simplified or they expect you to know all about it already so I'd really appreciate your help!

posted by chrisWhite to computers & internet (8 comments total)

I guess I should also mention that my current graphics card (NVIDIA Geforce 7600GT) only has DVI out, but I'll probably be upgrading to a new one over the summer.
posted by chrisWhite at 10:01 AM on December 26, 2007

HDMI-DVI conversion cables certainly do support HDCP.

The more important question is whether your monitor's DVI input supports the 1080p 24hz/60hz outputs of "full HD" (the HD-DVD / Blu-Ray standard). It's only been in the last year or so that most televisions marketed as 1080p could do this; many could take only 1080i or 720p signals and then deinterlaced or upscaled to generate what they called their 1080p picture.
posted by MattD at 10:14 AM on December 26, 2007

(These psuedo-1080p televisions mostly had HDMI input, so even the HDMI port is no assurance that you can get the highest fidelity.)
posted by MattD at 10:15 AM on December 26, 2007

Yeah, 1080p should be perfectly doable - after all, it's just a 1920x1080 resolution.

DVI can do HDCP, though the monitor has to support it. And DVI-HDMI converters are pretty cheap.

Until someone with better AV chops leaps in and shouts "Dear god, stop!" I say you should feel free to go for it.
posted by Tomorrowful at 10:15 AM on December 26, 2007

FWIW, I don't believe the computer will be able to detect the native resolution over HDMI. I had this issue come up with my Plasma TV/Monitor. I went with DVI for the computer connection because my video card was able to detect the native resolution of my TV (1366x768) over DVI, but not HDMI.

On a computer monitor, it doesn't really matter, as its running a pretty standard resolution. And yes, DVI-HDMI adapters work just fine.
posted by mphuie at 10:22 AM on December 26, 2007

Thanks guys, that really helps!

I do have one more question then, if I'm going to lose any quality or the HDCP if I run the monitor through a KVM switch connected to the computer and an Xbox?
posted by chrisWhite at 11:04 AM on December 26, 2007

Not directly answering your question, but by far the most useful resource I've seen for helping to research monitors is this thread at Anandtech, in case you haven't seen it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:44 PM on December 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Thanks Stavrosthewonderchicken, that looks like a good link!

To answer my question, not all KVM switches support HDCP and those that do tend to be more expensive. The better option might be to get a HDMI KVM switch and do the DVI conversion on either end to make sure it works.
posted by chrisWhite at 7:47 PM on December 27, 2007