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    HDMI to Vga or Mini Displayport to VGA

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by adchesney, Jun 6, 2011.

  1. adchesney

    adchesney Notebook Enthusiast

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    adchesney, Jun 6, 2011
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  2. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    DMP, DVI, and HDMI are all digital. VGA is analog. You can't go from digital to analog with just a cable, you'd need a convertor box, which would be much more expensive and complicated.

    HDMI to DVI will work just fine, and mDP to DVI would work as well as long as you have a "dual mode" mDP port (most laptops do, and I know the SXPS 1645 does). HDMI to DVI would be better, because they both use the same TMDS protocol, so they are always 100% compatible. mDP to DVI only works in laptops that are designed with "dual mode" display ports. Standard DP to DVI is not compatible, because they use different signaling methods. See DisplayPort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  3. adchesney

    adchesney Notebook Enthusiast

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    adchesney, Jun 6, 2011
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  4. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    I'd have to assume that cable has a converter built-in to it (hence the large box around the VGA port side), though it's still a less-than-optimal solution, as the more conversion you have in your display path the worse the picture will look, and it will probably introduce some lag due to video processing, so it would suck for things like games. Also, a converter that cheap probably isn't the best quality in the first place.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  5. ajtmcse

    ajtmcse Newbie

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    I ordered my mini-dp to VGA & HDMI converters from monoprice.com, and they are working like a charm..
     
    ajtmcse, Jun 6, 2011
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  6. james_2k

    james_2k Notebook Evangelist

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    james_2k, Jun 6, 2011
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  7. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    Those only work with video cards that are DVI-I (which can optionally carry an analog signal), they will not work with DVI-D, nor do they actually convert the signal from analog to digital or back (similar to the way that DP to DVI cables will only work with a "dual-mode" DP port). You also can not use them to put them on the end of a HDMI-DVI cable and them plug into a VGA monitor. The OP has neither VGA nor DVI on his laptop, so this won't work for him anyway. This is a sub-optimal solution, as it basically turns the DVI port into an old analog VGA port. It would be much better to use a digital interface if you have one available. You would also be unable to watch Blu-rays when using a converter like this, as analog DVI/VGA is not compatible with HDCP.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  8. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    That's the same type of cable that OP linked to in his previous post, with a built-in signal converter, not just a 'conversion' cable, and is definitely not the way to go if he has other options available, as there is a degradation in video quality from the conversion.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  9. james_2k

    james_2k Notebook Evangelist

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    oh i see. ta
     
    james_2k, Jun 6, 2011
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  10. Brendanmurphy

    Brendanmurphy Your Worst Nightmare

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    So knowing this if i bought

    DELL Dell - Professional P2411H 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with LED : Computer Accessories and PC Components | Dell Canada

    and got a dvi to dp adapter it will work?
     
    Brendanmurphy, Jun 6, 2011
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  11. quozl

    quozl Newbie

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    Just buy one of these from Dell or any reputable computer hardware supplier

    Dell Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter

    [​IMG]

    Total Cost $30.00 from Dell, cheaper from a reseller

    Cheers Al
     
    quozl, Jun 6, 2011
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  12. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  13. quozl

    quozl Newbie

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    He really doesn't need to buy a new monitor when the above adapter will do exactly what he wants.
     
    quozl, Jun 6, 2011
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  14. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    True, but so will a HDMI to DVI cable, which is a cheaper and better (all digital video path digital, no conversion, will transmit HDCP, etc) solution.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  15. quozl

    quozl Newbie

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    But he said he wanted to go from Mini Display Port to VGA not DVI. ??
     
    quozl, Jun 6, 2011
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  16. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    How I understood the post is that he has both mDP and HDMI, and he needs either VGA or DVI. HDMI to DVI is the best solution in that scenario.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 6, 2011
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  17. adchesney

    adchesney Notebook Enthusiast

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    Dear Folks

    I have a new L702x being delivered any day now - and I have a Dell W1900 TV/Monitor (with DVI and VGA D-Sub) and a Fujitsu 22" LCD (with VGA D-Sub only) - I would like to use BOTH of these and the laptop 17" all at the same time. Hence my question on how best to do this?

    Many thanks

    ANDREW
     
    adchesney, Jun 7, 2011
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  18. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    In that case, the only way to do it would be to use HDMI to DVI to the Dell monitor, and then use one of the active converting mDP to VGA cables to power the Fujitsu monitor, knowing that the video quality of the Fujitsu monitor will be slightly degraded due to the signal conversion.
     
    seeker_moc, Jun 7, 2011
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  19. adchesney

    adchesney Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thank you - I will let you know how I get on

    Regards

    ANDREW
     
    adchesney, Jun 7, 2011
    #19