Mini-Display Port to VGA

Instead of launching into a rant about the lack of a VGA port on the Envy, im going to take the high road and order one online.

Living in Jordan, the only one I could find here was the official Apple one for 60 Bucks!!!

Ive found a bunch online for a lot cheaper, but ive read on places that not all of them work.

So is there one that has been tested to work? If so which one.

Thanks.

 

They need to be the powered kind. I've already purchased one from Apple and it didn't work. The powered kind I believe require a USB slot too. Use an HDMI -> DVI cable or VGA or then to VGA, it's much better. Whatever you can do. The HDMI out is probably the way to go. That miniDP is useless.

 

Well im trying to connect it to an older screen so it doesnt have HDMI.

I searched all over for that but couldnt get it to work. I first tried a HDMI to Compononent and then Component to VGA, but it didnt work.

Then I found an HDMI to VGA cable but that didnt work; not even sure what thats supposed to be used for.

Last resort is the mDP, I dont really care about quality or resolution since the screen is a 17" with lower resolution than the BV Envy. I just want it to work.

 

I bought a cheap non-powered mDP->VGA from Amazon, $10 and works flawlessly on a 17''. You have to be absolutely sure that you're using the ATI card instead of the intel integrated one. At first I though it didn't work, then I switched to the descrete graphics and worked like a charm.

What I believe won't work is if you try to use the same mDP->VGA on a much higher res screen.

Edit: this is what I bought. Altough the one that they delivered looked a little bit different, less rounded.

 

It seems that the rumors of the Apple adapters not working aren't true (im thinking those people just didnt switch the Graphics Cards).

I just used one I got from my brother and it worked fine. Im ordering a generic one online so hopefully that works out.

Ordered this one:
Amazon.com: Mini Display Port to VGA Male / Female Adapter for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro...: HDE

It different than the one fixr suggested, but according to the reviews on fixr's that one has defective issues and people were recommending the HDE one. Also that appears to be the same one that this guy reported working:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/554145-working-mini-displayport-mdp-vga-adapter.html

Fingers crossed till it reaches.

 

@ronin, did you receive it yet? Any problems with it?

 

Anyone using a miniDP to Dual Link DVI adapter (Dual Link is necessary for a 30" monitor)? There are only few of them on Amazon, and Apple's one for example gets rather poor reviews. They are quite pricey too: in the $100-$200 range!!

 

Its still on its way here, but I'll make sure to report back when I get it.

I managed to build this monstrosity:


It's the VGA cable + a VGA to DVI adapter + a DVI to HDMI adapter but it didnt work.

Which is a shame, i'd have loved to show it off to all my friends; it's quite sporty after all

 

Apple has a couple different ones, they have one thats powered through USB (thats the pricey one) and they have a little dongle as well (around 30 Bucks).

I tried out the little dongle and the screen would flicker on and off, i've read that that means that there's too little power so its possible that the one thats powered over USB should work.

 

You think wrong. There are a great number of us whose mDPs do nothing at all. Supposedly HP was going to release a BIOS update according to someone here, but that never happened.

 

Apple's mDP -> DVI works

Apple's mDP -> VGA doesn't.

 

It was pretty much the opposite for me *shrug*


Either way, just got the piece in the mail today (finally) and it's working perfectly. Right when I plugged in the other monitor the ATI card asked me if I wanted to switch graphics cards (I was on the Intel card) and it switched them and the screen worked fine.

Some shots of the adapter and screen:



For reference the one I ordered was this:
Amazon.com: Mini Display Port to VGA Male / Female Adapter for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro...: HDE

 

Probably why it worked is because it's not made by apple, but looks like one.

It certainly works a lot better than the Apple one...

 

I give up on mDP->VGA.

I'm just going to pony up the big bucks and get this - HP HDMI to VGA Display Adapter | HP® Official Store

and report on whether it works.

 

Just had a painful disussion with HP support Chat, they pretty much told me to totally forget about the mDP...it is pointless, they don't know anything, even about the eyefinity certified Accell adapter (b101b-002b).
So I really don't know what to do, here is what happened to me:
I went to an Apple store and asked if I can try out their adapter, and they let me do it. So I connected the adapter to my Envy 14 and the other end to an older 15" LG LCD display.
Now really strange things happened: I was on ATI graphics, but it showed me there is no external monitor or anything connected to my Envy. However when I went to Control Panel -> Connect to an external display in the drop-down list it said this: "Graphic output available on Intel HD Graphics" or something really similar. I was really surprised and sad (if it is true then I can say goodbye to eyefinity), but I changed to Intel Graphics. It detected my external display, but I still got no image on it, so I tried duplicating and later extending, but totally nothing on the screen. However when I changed to duplicating my resolution changed to match the resolution of the external display (1024x768 instead of my envy's 1366x768) which shows that there was some kind of connection between the computer and the display, but still no image on the external screen.
If I plug in an HDMI cable my Envy acts like Ronin786's: it asks me to switch to ATI graphics and the HDMI output works flawless...

I asked HP at least 4 times about my issue, but they stated that the mDP is definitely (physically) connected to the ATi card not the Intel card. My drivers are the latest, my BIOS is F.12, I might try to flash it to F.23, but as far as I see it there is not much difference.

If anyone has any idea please tell me

 

Flashing the bios is worth a shot. Especially since it seems to partially detect the monitor.

 

I am thinking about getting a Moshi adaptor from ebay, since those seem to be working with the Envy 14, however I haven't found any definitive reference about this, just some Chinese forum topics...really annoying, but I hope the Moshi will solve all my problems.

edit:
I have already flashed my BIOS but I can't go back to an Apple store for more than a week cause I'm not home...I will get the moshi and pray to God...

 

Good luck! Let us know how it goes/

 

I changed my mind to get a Dynex adapter, it seems that all people who has one say it works with the envy...it is the only one without any negative experiences. Will tell you how it goes once I got it in the mail

 

I had a similar problem trying to connect to a projector at work...

Apple mdp-vga didn't even make the screen flicker. Ordered - HP HDMI to VGA Display Adapter - and it worked first try.

From what I understand, either the mdp doesn't work on the i7s or the Apple mdp-vga doesn't convert the digital signal to analog.


________________________________________
HP | Envy | 14 | i7 | Q720 | 1599x899 Radiance

 

I have an i5

 

Using the Dynex adapter (search specifically for this manufacturer if you want to get the right one for sure) it works like charm, none of the issues I had before showed up.
Having the latest BIOS and drivers.

Will try Eyefinity soon.

AWESOME, finally I can present with my Envy

Tried Eyefinity with 2 displays (and added the laptop's as a third one) and with my old 15" LCD (1024x768) it worked like charm. No problems at all, really good.
My other display was a 37" LCD TV cnnected via HDMI.

 

Guess the consensus is to get the Dynex one.

 

Yeah, that's right, it has been proven to work in every case

 

I have bought a similar mDP to VGA converter on eBay as Ronin786 has reported. It works good when I connect my HP Envy 14 1100er to 17'' LCD display but refuse to work with a projector . I can see the name of projector in Catalyst Center but projector somehow don't wanna show an image.. When I connect the same projector via the converter to Mac Book, everything works good. Have tried different resolutions without any result. Any suggestions??

 

Have you tried using the F4-key?
And also have you tried forcing windows to show the image on the output? Like extending your desktop or something like that?

 

Using F4 key I can connect my LCD display in Duplicate mode. Doing the same with projector gives no result.
What do you mean by "forcing Windows"? I tried all of the modes - Duplicate, Extend, Projector only with no result

 

Really crazy, I have never heard of such an issue, with mine I had no problems at all (tried with an old 15" and a projector...).

Could you tell me a little bit about the projector (manufacturer and product number), maybe I'll find something regarding this issue.

When I said forcing windows I meant trying all the modes you said, but also going into the Control Panel and trying the Connect to a projector option, and also trying to mess around with the display settings, like which one is your primary desktop and so on.
I remember in XP doing this stuff was pretty successful in fixing projector issues...not sure if it helps in Windows 7.

 

The producer is InFocus. I can not tell a product number right now, since the projector is at work and I am at home but looking through the models at their web site I found that it is either LP 240 or LP250.

Yes, I tried messing around with different options and settings. It is strange though, that I can connect LCD display but not a projector and that Mac Book connects to the projector without any problems. It just seems that somehow HP Envy 14 is not compatible with the projector I have which is really strange..

 

I see that there is a new firmware available for LP 240, so if it is the model I have, will try installing it tomorrow.

 

Good idea...it is really strange, can't say anything more to it right now....