[RaginAsian55]

Hey all.

I want to get my hackintosh running with my LCD tv as an extended display so I can watch movies and what not on a bigger screen. My tv doesn't have a VGA port though, only DVI, HDMI or RCA. Does anyone have suggestions on how to hook up my hackintosh?

I know it works because when I tried on a VGA monitor the display worked perfectly. I just want it working on my lcd tv. I heard HDMI doesn't work because going from analoge to digital requires some special converter box. I already have a cable for audio, which works beautifully. Now I just need something to get the picture over... any suggestions?

All help is appreciated! Thanks!

[Leewave]

You just need the appropriate adapter cable, search Google "vga to rca", or "vga to dvi"

[RaginAsian55]

Just any VGA to DVI cable? Is there a difference between DVI-A, DVI-I, and DVI-D?

[reflex]

A simple, cheap VGA-DVI converter will NOT WORK. The cheap converters are generally intended for connecting a device with DVI-I output (analog or digital) to a VGA monitor.

Cheap converters work because DVI has the ability to carry legacy analog signals, which make DVI-VGA "conversion" easy. But a TV's DVI input is almost certainly DVI-D, which means digital only. To convert from VGA to DVI-D takes an expensive converter ($50 maybe?).

HDMI is largely the same as the digital part of DVI, so it'd work with a expensive converter (or an expensive converter plus a cheap HDMI-DVI adapter).

[Leewave]

The short answer is I don't know. I think the DVI to VGA cables only convert DVI to VGA, you need to convert the other way, VGA to DVI. Look at the TV manual to see what it requires for input, there are different DVI specs.

I think you would be better to get a VGA to RCA (component) video cable like this VGA to 3 RCA Component Cable

Just check carefully what inputs the TV has, and that the ports match the cable before you buy.

Wikipedia has detailed info on VGA and DVI standards, and explains the differences between DVI connectors here:

The DVI connector on a device is therefore given one of four names, depending on which signals it implements:
▪ DVI-D (digital only)
▪ DVI-A (analog only)
▪ DVI-I (integrated - digital and analog)
▪ M1-DA (integrated - digital and analog, and USB)

Wikipedia VGA

Wikipedia Component video

Wikipedia DVI

I'm not an expert on this, maybe wait for someone else to chip in.

[reflex]

Originally Posted by Leewave

The short answer is I don't know. I think the DVI to VGA cables only convert DVI to VGA, you need to convert the other way, VGA to DVI. Look at the TV manual to see what it requires for input, there are different DVI specs.

I think you would be better to get a VGA to RCA (component) video cable like this VGA to 3 RCA Component Cable

A cheap DVI-VGA adapter is two-way. But since every TV and monitor I've ever seen has DVI-D (not DVI-I) inputs, in practice cheap adapters are one-way. They're only useful going from a DVI-I output to a VGA input.

I'm not sure that component cable will work. It might only work on specific graphics cards that can send component video from their VGA outputs (and probably not the Intel graphics common to most netbooks).

The most certain solution for the OP might be a VGA to HDMI converter box. Something like this: Amazon.com: VGA + Audio to HDMI Multimedia Digital Converter (100~240V AC): Everything Else (I don't know how well this specific one works, but you get the idea).

A VGA to DVI-D converter box would work, too. But they're harder to search for (you find alot of the cheap adapters). An HDMI box can also have the advantage of audio.

[Gnom]

Well components signals are quite similar to VGA ones. The difference os the sync method used : component uses a negative peak on the green signal for every line when VGA uses two separate signals for horizontal and vertical syncing. Anyway, it is possible to have some cheap converters for this since the signal conversion is really simple. The other aspect you have to consider is the resolution, since VGA can carry any resolution (though they are standardized) while components inputs can theoretically recognize only sd and hd resolutions.

[swfrx]

I've been trying to get the VGA output to work, I can't get anything but vertical lines. Did I need to download a different driver?

thanks

[krs9999]

Originally Posted by Leewave

The short answer is I don't know. I think the DVI to VGA cables only convert DVI to VGA.........

The DVI to VGA cables actually do not convert anything.
These cable just pick up the VGA signals that are already present with the DVI-A and DVI-I outputs.
If the DVI output doesn't already have the VGA signals present, the cable will do absolutely nothing.

What make and model is the LCD TV?
That info would allow people to make some suggestions how to hook it up to a VGA output of the Mini.

---------- Post added at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:52 PM ----------

Originally Posted by swfrx

I've been trying to get the VGA output to work, I can't get anything but vertical lines. Did I need to download a different driver?

thanks

Maybe this should be a separate thread.
I tried hooking my Mini 10v to the VGA input of an LCD TV for the first time last night.
First I only got part of the screen on the TV, then only part of the screen on the Mini, then only vertical lines like you did and eventually, by fiddling around, I did get the whole picture on the LCD TV but at a low resolution of 800x600 and with only a blue screen in the centre part of the Mini.
Don't know how I got there, that requires more experimenting - but I think basically the LCD TV and the Mini have to be set to the same resolution somehow,
No specual drivers required - the trouble is that the 1024x600 resolution is not an option on my LCD TV.

[Rendihearts]

I know this is a super old post, but I am hoping someone can tell me what audio cable I would use, like the original poster, to get audio through my TV when using it as an extended monitor? I'm using an HDMI cable for the video and have a hackintosh running OSX 10.5.8. I wouldn't ask on the boards, but I am seriously technically challenged, have spent an hour on Google looking for an answer already, and am not permitted to send a PM to the original poster. Therefore, any guidance would be really appreciated.