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    External LCD display blew up; Help me make an Envy 14 play nice with a CRT!

    Discussion in 'HP' started by garetjax, Aug 24, 2011.

  1. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    My flat-panel display took a crap on me the other day and so now I'm relegated to using my old 19" CRT for now. The problem is that my CRT uses a VGA cable while my laptop, an Envy 14, offers a dual-mode Mini DisplayPort and HDMI only.

    So the question is, what kind of adapter/cable should I get so that I can get my Envy 14 to play nice with my CRT monitor? Do I get a VGA to HDMI adapter/cable, or do I get a VGA to Mini DisplayPort adapter/cable? Which option is "better" and which will be easier to use and not cause any problems as far as connectivity is concerned?

    Thanks!
     
  2. yknyong1

    yknyong1 Radiance with Radeon

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    VGA to HDMI
     
  3. Szadzik

    Szadzik Notebook Evangelist

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    Mini Display port to vga.
     
  4. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    Argh~! I think you guys did that on purpose! :eek:
     
  5. KLF

    KLF NBR Super Modernator Super Moderator

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    Neither of those would work, because VGA doesn't have digital signal in it. :p
    (just couldn't resist saying that :D)

    You want either HDMI to VGA or Displayport to VGA. First check that your laptop outputs supports analog video in the first place. No adapter will help if there's no analog signal at all.
     
  6. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    Well, the laptop is fairly new, it was purchased this past February. I'm not sure if that qualifies my laptop as offering an analog output for my display options or not but I guess I could always get an adapter and try and least.

    I kind of figured that everything was backwards compatible? I don't see why a company would alienate those that still use VGA devices from time to time...

    Thanks again!
     
  7. eafd

    eafd Notebook Deity

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    The Dynex mDP -> VGA has been reported to work multiple times.

    It's not an active adapter. For some reason the Envy can output analog to mDP...
     
  8. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    Thanks for all the suggestions! I went to Worst Buy and got an Apple-branded mini-DisplayPort to VGA adapter cable. The best part? It works! The worst part? I paid $35.00 for the privilege because Worst Buy was completely out of their RocketFish in-house brand. =(
     
  9. wetwillycf

    wetwillycf Notebook Consultant

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    Amazon.com: Mini DisplayPort to VGA Female Adapter for Mac: Electronics