HDMI to VGA... sort of

[Johnboy54]

Hi.
I've got a projector in my man-cave.
I connect my Virgin HD box via an HDFury2 with an HDMI input and VGA cable output to the projector.
Everything fine, my HD ready projector now plays HD video.
Last week I bought a £22 HDMI player from Ebay.
Plug a USB stick in with any format video on and it plays.
In the house... not the cave.
The Fury doesn't cope with the player and I get no picture.
I wrote to the Fury forum.

My question to them was -
Could I buy a VGA to VGA short cable, but split with an HDMI so I can plug my player in, bypassing the Fury which I'd just leave switched off.
Mod said it was not possible to go from VGA to HDMI.
He said I needed to buy a £65 Dr HDMI converter from them.
Looking on Google, the adapters can be bought anywhere for VGA to HDMI.
So... would one work, or are they a con?
I'll be a happy bunny if they do work and try searching for a splitter type.
Many thanks.
John

 

[Lucid]

There's no piece of wire or gender changing plug that can convert the digital signal of HDMI to the analogue format required by a VGA input. There has to be a circuit to act as an interpreter between the two. I have seen active cables with the conversion electronics built in, but those were the price of a Fury so it was obvious from cost and to some degree the size of the plug bodies that this wasn't just an ordinary cable. As for the cheap cables online, yep, they're a con. There are some Chinese karaoke machines that have hacked the HDMI output circuits so that they can route VGA or HDMI via the one output. That's what the adapter cables are for. They won't magically convert HDMI to VGA. Everyone who has bought one expecting that to work and thinking they got so.e kind of amazing bargain has been disappointed.

 

[ibruceuk]

There's no piece of wire or gender changing plug that can convert the digital signal of HDMI to the analogue format required by a VGA input. There has to be a circuit to act as an interpreter between the two. I have seen active cables with the conversion electronics built in, but those were the price of a Fury so it was obvious from cost and to some degree the size of the plug bodies that this wasn't just an ordinary cable. As for the cheap cables online, yep, they're a con. There are some Chinese karaoke machines that have hacked the HDMI output circuits so that they can route VGA or HDMI via the one output. That's what the adapter cables are for. They won't magically convert HDMI to VGA. Everyone who has bought one expecting that to work and thinking they got so.e kind of amazing bargain has been disappointed.

I have to disagree actually.

I use a cheap chinese one (£9) to convert my laptops HDMI out to VGA for the classroom projector. Yes it gets warm but it works fine.

 

[Sam Gangee]

I don't see what you are disagreeing with. Lucid stated "There has to be a circuit to act as an interpreter between the two". The fact that yours "gets warm" indicates a circuit inside.

Here's one that won't work:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-HDMI-t...394723?hash=item35f48181a3:g:Dp0AAOSwnGJWT0XZ

(Please provide a link to your type.)

 

[Johnboy54]

Thanks for the replies.
However...
I was looking at my 12 month old box in the house when I asked.
The new one has a VGA output as well as all other outputs!
So, problem solved.
Thanks again.
John

 

[fixo]

So the projector doesn't have an HDMI in? Or isn't HDCP compliant? Just wondering why the Fury is required here and not using HDMI direct from source devices to projector..

 

[Johnboy54]

Hi. The projector is about 11 years old, and still going strong.
However, it's only HD ready.
It only has VGA and S Video inputs.
Just sticking my Virgin HD box into a VGA adapter wouldn't give me HD out of the projector.
I can't remember all the details, but I looked into it a few years ago, and found I needed to convert the signal to get HD.
(No idea why now, but it made sense at the time.)
The HDFury2 was the answer, and gives a perfect HD picture.
Regards,
John

 

[fixo]

Yea the HDFury devices strip HDCP from the signal and can send the signal to a VGA output. The virgin box would be expecting an HDCP compliant display on the other end of the HDMI cable which is what the HDFury is pretending to be.
So you've got two digital sources, and one analog display. But one of the sources (the media player) isn't being converted through the HDFury?
On buying an HDMI to VGA converter, if the media player is using HDCP as well then the converter won't help as it isn't seeing an HDCP compliant display at the other end and will shutdown the output. The HDFury would be the solution there too if that's the case but that's what you're saying isn't working. Have you tried setting the output resolution (and refresh rate if it gives you the option) of the media player to the same as the virgin box? Just in case the media player is feeding the HDFury something it can't handle..?