Is there a way to connect HDMIi to RCA?

Answer 1

Most laptops are now equipped with a DisplayPort interface (or similar) which, with the correct adapter, may be connected to televisions with an HDMI or DVI interface.

Older laptops may have an S-Video connection (analogue audio/video), or simply a DVI port. If your television has an S-Video port, you may use this for standard definition audio/video. Alternatively, using an adapter, the DVI port may be connected via the HDMI interface on a newer television.

When using a DVI connection, you must provide an alternative connection for audio, as unlike HDMI, DVI does not carry audio. This can be problematic when using a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, as most consumer televisions provide no way to map separate audio and video sources to the same channels, or for mixing analogue and digital sources.

Some televisions also include VGA connections, though they do not tend to provide high-definition output (despite VGA having more than adequate bandwidth) as they expect XGA standard input (1024x768). If a VGA interface is available on your television, there will normally be an audio jack interface for audio too.

DVI-I ports on computer equipment provide piggy-backed analogue connectivity (unlike digital-only DVI-D interfaces) via a DVI-to-VGA adapter. To determine which type of interface is provided should be as simple as looking at the port.

If the port includes a cross-shaped 'hole' (i.e- if it looks like [+::::::] ), it is usually DVI-I, though some cheaper graphics cards manufacturers have been known to use the DVI-I port on a DVI-D interface, possibly in order to trick consumers into buying an inferior product. If it is more like a hyphen ( [ - ::::::] ), it is definitely DVI-D and can only be connected to a digital interface (such as DVI or HDMI).

Answer 2

HDMI is a digital video and audio interface. RCA is a connector used for analog audio and analog domestic video. HDMI cannot be run directly into RCA connectors.

Although it is technically possible to convert an HDMI signal to analog, the licensing conditions for using HDMI technology make it virtually impossible to produce an HDMI to analog converter. Any converters that are offered for sale are almost certainly unlicensed and unauthorized. Because they are unlicensed, there is no guarantee that they will work or keep working in the future.

Sadly, the restriction generally means once the signal is HDMI, there is no going back.

Answer 3

There is. You can buy commercial VGA or HDMI to anything-you-want framebuffer converters, even online. (though in fairness they do tend to cost an arm and a leg)

If your TV supports Component Video (YPbPr), use a HDMI-to-Component converter. If your TV supports RGB Video instead, use a VGA-to-RGB+CSync converter or VGA-to-Composite Video converter (probably much more accessible).

Please take care to check with your TV's manual, because both RGB and Component connectors use the same color coding (red, green, blue), so it may be impossible to tell otherwise. A good bet is if your TV does not have HDMI, it probably doesn't support Component Video (YPbPr).

A particular problem you may face is that the laptop's VGA or HDMI output may be powered off on startup, and the laptop won't turn it on without sensing a proper link to a TV (it won't even give you the option to override it). Intel video cards are particularily fond of this. But the card usually has an S-Video connector which you can use instead. The downside is that you can't use RCA connectors with S-Video - you must either have an S-Video connector on your TV (it is round with 4 pin holes and a square hole), or a SCART connector to which you can connect a converter (which usually has S-Video on it).

Hint: SCART has RGB in/out, S-Video in/out, Composite Video in/out, stereo audio in/out and some other nifty things, all in one package. If you have SCART, you can hook up more than one device at a time and just use the TV's remote to switch between input modes (AV = Composite Video in almost all instances).

-----------------------

Or you could go the DIY way... VGA has almost everything you need! VGA uses five lines: Red, Green, Blue, Horizontal Sync and Vertical Sync. You need Red, Green, Blue and Composite Sync. There are countless circuits online to convert HSync+VSync to Composite Sync, and they're easy to construct as well, if you have a Radioshack and some soldering experience. You *will* need a SCART connector on your tv (sometimes called "EURO"), since they provide a Blanking input (ready-to-solder plugs are a dime a dozen). Otherwise if your TV does not have SCART, you may need to modify the circuit to include Sync-on-Green instead.

Once you have your TV hooked up (Red to Red, Blue to Blue, Green to Green, CSync to Blanking... and maybe some 12V bias voltage on the Enable-RGB line, if required...), you then have to use some software (ex. PowerStrip on Windows) to force the graphics card into a non-standard output. Most graphics cards won't want to go below 800x600 at 60Hz Progressive, and the output you need will be either 720x576 at 50Hz Interlaced for PAL, or 720x486 at 60Hz Interlaced for NTSC. Some nudging of control values may be required to get good results.

The upside? You probably won't be able to tell that the thing wasn't designed to work as a monitor in the first place. The RGBS approach gives the best picture quality available for RGB SD TV connections.

(The best results may require fidgeting with the TV's picture controls to better match it to the card instead of the other way around, but do this only if you intend to use the TV exclusively as a PC monitor, and even then it will work best only with that particular PC/card; THIS IS DANGEROUS. PLEASE HAVE SOMEONE ASSISTING YOU, IN THE ROOM WITH YOU, BECAUSE VOLTAGES IN A RUNNING TV ARE DEADLY MANY TIMES OVER; PUT ISOLATING TAPE ON EVERYTHING EXCEPT 3mm OF THE SCREWDRIVER TIP USED TO REGULATE THE KNOBS, AND ALWAYS KEEP YOUR LEFT HAND IN YOUR BACK POCKET TO AVOID CLOSING THE CIRCUIT THROUGH YOUR HEART.You may also want to have a mirror so that you can see what you're doing...)

Answer 4

You can with some laptops. Check to see if there is a HDMI input in your laptop.

Answer 5

Connect one end of the cable to the TV and the other end to the headphone jack on the computer.