[eddielinton]

I have an NVidia Geforce 8400 GS with DVI-I output and a Samsung D5003 LED TV.

The two HDMI inputs on the TV are in use from my HD set-top box and Xbox 360, but I want a third input (ideally 1080p, but I'll settle for watchable on a 40" screen) from my Geforce's DVI-I output, so I can watch movies from my PC on the TV, and simply use it as a monitor.

I bought a 10-metre DVI to Component (RGB) cable, thinking I could just plug it in and go, after setting the Geforce to multiple monitors. No such luck.

I'm guessing this is because DVI is a digital signal, and the TV is expecting an analog input. I checked out the NVidia website for information on how to get the DVI output to send an analog signal (which is apparently possible), also with no luck.

The TV does not support "sync-on-green" if that's helpful to anybody kind enough to assist me, though I don't really know what it is. So my questions are as follows:

1. Will this setup ever work, or am I attempting the impossible?

2. Is there some other solution, with adapters, different cables etc, to allow me to go from DVI-I to Component input (YPbPr) with a successful signal input?

3. Can somebody categorically say if it's possible to tell the DVI-I to output analog, and if so, how?

4. Is 10 metres too long for such a cable?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[LINDY Chris]

Personally I'd forget the DVI to Component cable as I doubt it would ever work. Even if it used the DVI analogue part its still technically VGA which can't go direct to component.

How about using a DVI>HDMI adapter with a HDMI switch, that way you could have 3 inputs?

Something like this 3 Port HDMI 1.3b 1080p Full HD Switch. High Quality & Great Value! | LINDY UK

[EndlessWaves]

What does your TV support? Samsung of course have little information online so we'll need the full list of what the sockets support from the manual (assuming it's there).

Do you have any RGB scart inputs? VGA is RGB with HV sync so if your Component is YPbPr instead of RGB then SCART may be your best bet as that typically supports RGB with composite sync.

DVI-I will output analogue automatically when connected to an appropriate source, you don't need to set it anywhere.


Does your 8400GS have a TV out of some sort? It typically looks like an S-video socket but may have extra pins for outputting composite/component as well.


This is certainly possible with a converter but I had a quick look and VGA to Component doesn't seem to be much in demand, the only one I could see that met your requirement was a Startech model at £175 (!).


If the two sides don't have a common protocol then it's worth considering a replacement graphics card for £25-30 as an alternate option.

[eddielinton]

That's what I'd kind of feared all along! Think I'll go along with your advice and get a splitter. Thanks for getting back so quickly!

[eddielinton]

@EndlessWaves

The component input I am using is Y/Pb/Pr.

The relevant manual sections state that:

"PC(D-Sub) and PC/DVI AUDIO IN" are not supported"
"Connecting through the HDMI cable may not be supported depending on the PC"
"Separate and Composite modes are supported. SOG (Sync-On-Green) is not supported."
"Interlace mode is not supported"

The Component In works as AV too, and I have SCART (RGB) but would need a new cable/adapter anyway - and it doesn't support any higher than 480p, does it?

The Geforce 8400 only has VGA and DVI output - the VGA goes to my LCD monitor.

Think I'm just going to splash out on a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor, a 10m HDMI cable, and an HDMI Switch, since one of the HDMI inputs on the TV supports DVI. It seems to be the easiest and highest quality way to do this. Just seems a shame to have wasted my money on this huge DVI to Component cable without doing my homework!

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm very grateful for it. If anything else comes to mind, let me know!

Cheers

[EndlessWaves]

Originally Posted by eddielinton

"Separate and Composite modes are supported.

According to wikipedia's RGB article seperate sync is another name for RGBHV so if that's refering to an RGB input that might work.

Originally Posted by eddielinton

Think I'm just going to splash out on a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor, a 10m HDMI cable, and an HDMI Switch, since one of the HDMI inputs on the TV supports DVI. It seems to be the easiest and highest quality way to do this. Just seems a shame to have wasted my money on this huge DVI to Component cable without doing my homework!

Not the neatest though, another remote and no way to have the TV switching between sources on it's own (or is that part of CEC now? I don't keep particularly up to date with TV matters).

All HDMI ports should be DVI compatible because it's the same video signal, I guess what's being referred to is support for common PC resolutions like 1024x768 but given what you've said I guess you'll be sending a native resolution 1920x1080 signal.

[eddielinton]

OK, I've bitten the bullet and ordered an HDMI switch, HDMI cable and a DVI-I (male) to HDMI (female). I get what you mean about it being a little bit messy (I'm considering getting an all-in-one remote to control everything - I posted a thread called "One-For-All Remote With Obscure Devices" in the Remote Controls forum if that's your area too!), but I think the whole analog/digital RGBHV component stuff was going to make my head explode!

It cost me £35 for the lot but will be worth it if it works! It should do since, as you say, it's an all-digital signal, but if I run into any problems I'll be sure to post back!

The NVidia website states that the Geforce 8400 GS, with one single-link DVI, is "Able to drive the industry's largest and highest resolution flat-panel displays up to 1920x1200. Available on select GeForce 8400 GPUs."

I don't like the last part, since now I've ordered all that stuff, the highest I can get the second-monitor resolution to go is 1600x1200 (though, strangely, that's higher than it will allow for my Dell LCD monitor, which can only go up to 1280x1024. Could that be the monitor's max. resolution? I can't check as it doesn't have a model number! Seems a bit low though.. its prob 5 years old).

Anyway, as long as it just means a slightly lower resolution, I can live with it at 1600x1200 until I upgrade my graphics card. Or will this mean I run in to problems?

[phillyd1981]

You could use your xbox through the Component sockets and that would leave the 2nd hdmi socket free for your pc!

[EndlessWaves]

Originally Posted by eddielinton

I think the whole analog/digital RGBHV component stuff was going to make my head explode!

Well, it's 20-30 years of accretion, I'm sure HDMI will be just as bad come 2030.

Originally Posted by eddielinton

I don't like the last part, since now I've ordered all that stuff

Cards like that do have a nasty habit of being a generation or two behind the rest of the range but even an 8400GS should be new enough to support 1920x1200. The disclaimer on the nVidia site is referring to the presence of a DVI port at all rather than the resolutions it supports.

Originally Posted by eddielinton

Seems a bit low though.. its prob 5 years old).

Desktop monitors have traditionally had resolution and physical size tied together so that everything is more or less the same physical size regardless of which screen it's displayed on.

I'd expect a 17-19" screen to be 1280x1024 and a 20-22" screen to be 1600x1200.

It's been going a little wobbly lately with manufacturers not keeping up with the new sizes and jumping on the HD bandwagon for smaller screens despite the decrease in usability but it's not going to really change until operating systems and programs start supporting scaling well.

[eddielinton]

Went with Chris @ Lindy's suggestion (DVI to HDMI adapter with HDMI switch). This is definitely what I should have done in the first place!

The adapter and HDMI cable were cheaper than the DVI to Component cable
I'm getting full 1080p quality
no analog/digital grief as it's all digital
HDMI switch is quite small, with a little remote
HDMI ports to spare on the TV!

All seems so obvious now! Thanks for all the other solutions too - it would've been nice to solve the riddle with the old cable, and most other solutions would have worked too, but in case anybody's considering buying a DVI to Component cable for DVI video output into a flat screen TV, I urge you to get DVI to HDMI adapter and HDMI cable instead! if you're running low on HDMI inputs, get a switch.

[eddielinton]

Finally,

@ phillyd: That's what I had planned on doing, but the Xbox only seems to output at 480p resolution through component - as far as I can see, you have to use HDMI to get 1080p from Xbox (most games are rendered at 720p but you can watch films etc through it at 1080p).

@ Endless Waves: thanks for all the in-depth advice!