DVI-I output, HDMI input

by Krosan • 8 Feb 2010, 12:27 • Journals
Hey folks,

I've got a graphics card with DVI-I output (ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS (320MB)), and a television with HDMI input (Sony 40Z5500) and Component input.

Now I'm not sure what would be the best solution to getting the best possible quality between these two devices.

Should I use a DVI to HDMI cable? If so, then what to do with the audio?
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2YGPh4RUnY9O3M:http://www.compupack.com.tw/photo/hdmi-dvi.jpg[/img]

Or should I buy a new graphics card that outputs HDMI?

If I choose for the first option, will there be a drop in quality or resolution in any way?
Comments
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 12:32
dvi to hdmi is fine
both send digital signals

for the sound: you need a y-adapter and 2 cinch sound cables (red & yellow)image: swa3032s_10-gal-globaqusx


or just such a cable :P
sorry for my dirty & 2 years old qck+ :(

image: foto365k529
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AM1G0 8 Feb 2010, 12:47
second option is ok, i have it the same way.
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 12:49
ye, bought it also for tv :P
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 13:46
will the sound & the video be synced?
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 13:47
I had no problems :P
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:19
Why not just a green 3.5mm audio plug? (male to male)
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 14:26
that could be also possible
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Shuki 8 Feb 2010, 12:41
Depends if the resolution required is great enough to require a dual-link dvi-i to a 340mhz hdmi, or if it just needs the standard single link dvi-i for a 165mhz hdmi.
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 13:44
I want to view 1080p on my television (so windows resolution should be that high too)
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unblind 8 Feb 2010, 12:54
i go DVI - > HDMI into the tv
but i play sound through my speakers
and headphones plug into speakers and re-route the sound if i dont want speakers on !
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Xo 8 Feb 2010, 13:01
can i add you're the king of making 360's?
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 13:03
The best bet is HDMI direct out from your pc otherwise what's the point in having a HD quality picture with 2.1 sound when you could just get a card that outputs sound and video direct out of the HDMI port.

Also its unlikely that the TV would output sound through a component input shown in the picture above whilst taking video signals from the HDMI port, it simply wont know to pair the two together.

Solution, new card, HDMI out to HDMI in. Problem solved!
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overdrive 8 Feb 2010, 13:10
I ended up doing this also for optimum quality. Had to show high resolution pictures on a 1080p HD tv and getting a mediadrive with HDMI output was the best solution.
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 13:12
I do the same, i have a popcorn hour connected to my AV Receiver by HDMI which in turn is connected to my TV via HDMI. The popcorn hour has a gigabit connection to my Netgear ReadyNAS Drive with 4 x 2TB hard disks in Raid and that contains all my HD movies and content. Cant beat the solution :)
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overdrive 8 Feb 2010, 13:19
Sending by wireless is nice indeed. Currently using that for internet audio and playing youtube playlists on some old stereo with bad reception. The HDTV + mediadrive I installed at work. Its great when you have digiterati who need to be able to turn on the shit on monday and get it running when im not around :) At home I allways watch movies on my PC screen or I plug in my EEE into the TV. I've been thinking of getting my parents a mediadrive but maybe I should go for one of those wireless media things :)
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 13:33
You can use wireless but i connect it to my switch using gigabit network, wireless doesn't manage the high data rates very well
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overdrive 8 Feb 2010, 13:37
We are using fiber optic for data network. Its pretty fast, just been installed for a month or two now :p The mediadrive only needs new pictures added every six months or so, I just plugin the usb cable into a laptop.
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:00
I've got the popcorn hour A110 but it lags a lot. When I use an USB external drive, or when I use an internal HDD, streaming 1080p/24 lags a LOT, while it doesn't lag on my pc monitor. That's why I decided to throw that popcorn shit out of the loop, and go PC -> TV directly.
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 14:34
I have the same model and never have an issue with 1080p and DTS HD. You must have a fault or require a firmware update, you should never get any lag with it. I could understand it with a USB hard drive perhaps and the internal ones can do that sometimes if they overheat i heard but typically that shouldn't happen especially not if you use a 2.5" internal drive. Mine is streaming to it over the LAN and i get 0 lag.
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:39
I'll look into the firmware update... It's pretty damn weird though
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 13:33
dvi to hdmi is fine, there shouldn't be much difference compared to hdmi output (that won't give sound anyway)

and well, you should take sound out with a 3,5 plug and lead it to anywhere you want it out from. Personally I would take it to an amplifier. TV sounds just never are worth it
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:18
So I don't need RCA plugs like PeterPan suggested? (http://www.crossfire.nu/?x=journal&mode=item&id=92319#comment2020188)
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:22
3,5 on other end and RCA on other end would be easy and cheap solution
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FaTTony 8 Feb 2010, 14:19
HDMI gives sound...otherwise u wouldnt hear anything of a PS3
its a WIN prob that can be fixed

if he goes via DVI, he wont have sound without additional chinch cables
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:20
ofc hdmi can carry sound, but how do you get sound out of a gfx card?
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 14:36
Sorry but your wrong, and why would you want 2.1 sound with a HD video source, that just makes no sense. HDMI can carry video and sound of course all the way up to DTS HD sound, he just needs a HDMI out capable card supporting the sound and video.
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:40
I only have 2 stereo soundboxes, so I don't think I need DTS HD sound
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:21
which gfx cards can carry out sound then?

and well, to my understading he is going to use TV's loudspeakers, so that's 2.1 sound anyway :)
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 17:23
Well HDMI output carries sound, but since I don't have HDMI output, I'll just have to use the 3.5mm jack I suppose :s
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:28
for a cheap solution yeah that's the best way.

and well, do all gfx cards with hdmi give out sound as well then :o ? maybe mine does it too :D
anyway, if you use 2.1 sound, it doesn't really matter much if you take it out with a RCA-3,5 plug
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 17:29
Ye my thoughts exactly. I think you need the 1.3 HDMI interface to get sound on it too, but not too sure.
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:31
ok, gotta check which one I have :)
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 17:30
Not all graphics cards do no, some do some dont :) But yes he never said about only having 2 speakers before that hehe
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Spirea 8 Feb 2010, 17:32
well, how can I know if mine does it or no? or is it like krosan said with that hdmi 1.3?

and well, he didn't say anything about a 5.1 system either, so I think he is intending to use TV's loudspeakers :)
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 17:39
I think if you look up the spec on your GPU it should say somewhere, it says when you buy them these days specifically if they support HDCP (i think)
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 17:32
my apologies :P
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FaTTony 9 Feb 2010, 12:51
it´s a WIN-prob that can be fixed easily
but yes, only stereo-sound

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=435733&docname=c01059842
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Spirea 9 Feb 2010, 15:47
umh, at least I can't find such thing on my xp, so is it possible with xp also or am I just too stupid to find it :S ?
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FaTTony 10 Feb 2010, 09:23
i´ve never tried...but:
control panel -> sound control -> set HDMI output as default device

if u dont have the option for HDMI output, update ur drivers
otherwise google is ur friend :)
http://www.google.de/search?source=ig&hl=de&rlz=&q=activate+sound+HDMI+WIN+XP&meta=lr%3D&aq=f&oq=
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kot 8 Feb 2010, 14:41
it should be possible to send audio over dvi-to-hdmi
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 14:46
hm? what do you mean exactly?
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kot 8 Feb 2010, 18:17
just google "audio over dvi", it IS possible, even though evo says it isn't :D
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 17:31
lol no it isn't
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Baz 8 Feb 2010, 15:25
What eVo said, HDMI out to HDMI in and you cant go wrong :-)
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 15:46
Ye but I seek the most cheap solution without quality loss. Simply buying a new graphics card would mean a big investment...
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beggin 9 Feb 2010, 16:10
HDMI is exactly the same as DVI. The only difference is HDMI can transfer sound, and that's it. You don't need a new graphics card.

For the sound, simply get a sound card than can output via component. You can get one for around £10.
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Krosan 9 Feb 2010, 16:11
A soundcard that can output via component? Shouldn't I buy a more decent soundcard then? :s
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beggin 9 Feb 2010, 16:22
Since your TV is stereo there is no need for a high end sound card.

Anyway, I just noticed your TV actually doesn't have an optical input. If you want sound through your tv speakers from your PC, your only option is to use the first method from PeterPan or buy a new graphics card than can output sound through hdmi (that's kinda complicated because then you will have to connect your graphics card to the sound card/motherboard and you may not be able to). Your TV only inputs analogue audio and hdmi audio, so go with the first method.

Nice tv btw, expensive :o http://www.sony.co.uk/product/t32-z-series/kdl-40z5500
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Cwrd 8 Feb 2010, 16:10
for the audio i use image: 851031side

and ofc it goes to my "amplifier" aka dvdplayer with 5.1 sound :D
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 16:22
what the hell is that? ^^
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Anarkii 8 Feb 2010, 16:25
optical
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 16:26
Is that like analog? Or whut? :D
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Anarkii 8 Feb 2010, 16:29
digital afaik
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 16:26
S/PDIF

:P
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 16:26
This is way out of my league :P
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 16:30
your mainboard has S/PDIF btw
so if your TV supports S/PDIF you also can buy this cable :P
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 16:30
These are the specs of my TV:

image: 1zf4z0m
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 16:32
yepp, your tv got an optical jack :P
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 16:33
So what do you propose?
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strN 8 Feb 2010, 16:37
I'd recommend you a S/PDIF cable since it gives you very good sound :o
And you can also use it with a 5.1 System or w/e
Cable costs around 15e afaik
image: 1571996
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 17:33
no no no thats an optical out from his freeview not optical in. Krosan if you have a half decent amp it'll support optical in. They also carry a digital signal, next best thing to HDMI for sound.
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 20:16
I've got this thing: http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/2230.html :)
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Cwrd 8 Feb 2010, 20:27
yep if you should use TOSLINK optical fo sho! gives nice quality from computer for example!
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Krosan 8 Feb 2010, 20:30
That will work for my amp from 1974?
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Cwrd 8 Feb 2010, 20:54
oh there was a pic :D no it doesnt work on that thing!! :(
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eVo 8 Feb 2010, 21:29
fuck me thats old :D
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