HDMI to DP adapter...do they exist?

I want to occasionally plug my Latitude E6530 into my 23" Ultrasharp monitor, which doesn't have HDMI in, and my E6530 has no Displayport out, only VGA and HDMI (the monitor's VGA is being used by my desktop). I don't know all the technical stuff behind the two standards, but is there such a thing as an HDMI to Displayport adapter? I can find them the other way around, but am guessing going the other way isn't possible (?). Trying not to go HDMI to DVI and have a fat DVI cable always hanging off the monitor.

 

Short answer: Not worth the hassle.

There are plenty of DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters to convert DisplayPort output to HDMI input (commonly used by Apple MacBooks and AMD Radeon graphics cards in eyefinity multi-monitor configurations). These are called passive DisplayPort adapters, and are not bi-directioanl. If you see any kind of DisplayPort adapter / cable that is in the range of $5-$20, it is going to be a passive DisplayPort adapter.

In order to go the reverse (HDMI output to DisplayPort input), you need to buy what's called an active DisplayPort adapter. These usually run anywhere from $70-$100. They are usually a separate breakout box that requires external power, and sits on your desk. People typically buy these if they are in a situation where their display only accepts DisplayPort input (e.g. 27" Apple Cinema Display), and their computer can only output HDMI / DVI.
(example: Amazon.com: StarTech.com HDMI2DP HDMI or DVI to DisplayPort Active Converter: Electronics)

If your goal is to reduce desktop clutter, definitely do not buy this device. Just get an HDMI-to-DVI cable for $5 - $10 off of Amazon or Monoprice, and just accept the fact that there's a DVI connector going into your monitor. If your intention is to avoid having to deal with a thick, fat, bulky HDMI-to-DVI cable on your desk, then buy yourself a Male-DVI to Female-HDMI adapter ( link) and one of those ultra-thin HDMI cables from Monoprice ( link)

 

If you want to keep up-to-date with these obsolete ports you'll either have to transition to an active device or update all you equipment. The active route seems like the lesser of two evils to me.

 

Why not get a dock, you'll get your DP out from that and a ton of other ports too. It's not like you'll be moving the notebook when it's hooked to an external monitor anyways. A PR03X isn't too expensive on eBay.

 

Exactly what I found, Kent (expensive, active converter). I like the HDMI cable to DVI adapter idea...since the monitor's upside down DVI port is a pain to find and plug into, an adapter screwed to it would be easy spot to plug the HDMI cable in. I can't see the darn forest for the trees sometimes ;-).

 

Ah, this is one route that might work well. However, this method still leaves the unresolved issue of audio, which HDMI and DP were designed to alleviate.

 

If I find myself doing it often, I'll definitely consider it.Thanks

 

I haven't tried it yet, but does plugging a HDMI cable into a laptop disable the onboard speakers? Either way, without a dock it's moot since my monitor has no HDMI, and laptop has no Displayport. The monitor is hooked up to my old, slow desktop, but thought I might occasionally want to use the faster laptop on a bigger screen.

 

No..................

 

Going with female HDMI to male DVI adapter and HDMI cable to laptop

 

This will not apply to you, since you are going into DVI (no audio support).

But hypothetically if you were going HDMI to HDMI (e.g. a 1080p HDTV) your HDMI display would appear as an audio device under windows sound devices. You could choose to tell windows to use it as the default sound device, which means sound would automatically output from your HDMI display. However, you could also configure windows to use built in speakers as the default sound device, which means sound would continue to output from your laptop speakers even if an HDMI device was plugged in.

Overall, the sound output capabilities of a display are of low value when talking about computer displays. This is because most computer displays don't have speakers; or you'd rather use external speakers or headphones anyway. The only user case where you would want your display to handle audio is if you were connecting to an HDTV for media playback or living room sir couch gaming. And in that case, you can use HDMI to HDMI cables, and would never bother with DVI our display port anyway.


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You going with one of the thin red mere HDMI cables from monoprice? They are nice of you value thin cables.

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I have a couple HDMI cables laying around from cable TV installations