HDMI to VGA

[gadgetmo]

Just received my Raspberry Pi (yay!) and have got an old Dell monitor with a VGA port on it. Should I purchase an HDMI to VGA cable? Will it work?

Thanks,

Arthur

[Joe Schmoe]

Search the forum - it has been discussed many times (and "to death").

The short answer is that if at all possible, abandon the idea of using the VGA monitor.  That's old technology.

The mid-level answer is "You can do it, but it will cost more than the Pi" (only slightly exagerated).

The longer answers, I leave to others.

[Phil Spiegel]

Contrary to repeated comment in earlier threads; there ARE some economical HDMI to VGA adapter-'cables' available! Presumably powered off the HDMI voltages.

I've just received my  Neewer Black HDMI Input to VGA Adapter Converter For PC Laptop

Sold by: TCT ( seller profile ) ordered from Amazon, and, in the absence of my RPi, I've tested it with the hdmi output of a Philips Blue Ray player - and with the expected absence of sound it works into my TV's VGA input without a problem. (UK <16GBP)
For those wishing to spend more money, there are similar offerings from HP, at HP prices.
Note that a review, read before ordering, reminded one that  it is not changing resolution.
It's (presumably) simply D to A converting the HDMi signal, and providing trhe required answer-back to the source equipement.  I tried it with the Hdmi  outout set to 2 different resolutions, but admittedlyt didin't check for any reported resolution on the TV because that was having to rescale to 768 lines anyway (DLP rearProjector)

[Bluemerlin]

Currently unavailable.

[JeremyF]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1080P-.....0885651197

$17 / 14 pounds.

You'll also need a physical/passive adapter to go from HDMI type C to HDMI type A.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gold.....2eb13eae13

[bwoodbury]

The cable Phil referenced is available from Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/Black-In.....038;sr=8-1

[Uaneme]

This one looks interesting. Though it is still under construction so it seems (the page changed several times today so I'm not sure that you will see what i saw)

https://sites.google.com/site/scidiy/pc-diy/hdmi-to-vga

It also links to http://www.linusakesson.net/ha.....rd/vga.php.

[mahjongg]

A user that tried one of the cheaper adapters similar to the ones considered here reports dissatisfaction with the result, see this thread:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/for.....-convertor

[Impulse405]

I am wondering if a USB dvi video card would work. dvi has vga signals in it. Yes VGA is outdated. and unfortunately is still used by laptop manufactures.  This could work

[mahjongg]

do you mean an USB device that contains the complete video logic of a system, discrete and apart from its own video logic. That will only work if there is an alternative video driver for the USB device, and as the GPU of the PI isn't used things like GPU accelerated video decoding and 3D support will not work. Also the USB speed will be a limiting factor.

A small addendum only DVI-A outputs VGA compatible (A for analog) signals, the DVI-D signals that are available from the HDMI port of the R-pi are digital (D for digital) and not suitable for a monitor that only supports VGA.

[Impulse405]

Try something like this, with a large powered hub you could in theory do a very nice multi monitor setup

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ.....agazine-20

[Uaneme]

Mahjonng : yes, the cheap HDMI -> VGA converters don't seem to work though it looks like it should be possible to DIY a converter that actually will work and doesn't cost a leg.

I'm just wondering if THAT DIY project is going in the right direction.

If someone has a cheap and working HDMI to VGA converter (and low shipping price) then let us know.

Impulse 405 :  Have a look at this topic: http://www.raspberrypi.org/for.....38;ret=all

I hope someone is able to give it a try ASAP, I don't have mi Pi yet…

Don't expect high performance over USB, but at least you would be able to connect a VGA (or a display with DisplayLink USB)

I doubt if the Pi CPU is powerful enough for multi display,  though some kind of multi display time table system should be possible I guess.

THOUGH we need someone to test and see if it is already working on the Pi.

Can you imagine the power of such a display with a touchscreen????

[emg]

FYI - I have this: KanaaN HDMI to VGA Adapter Converter

and it seems to work well for standard PC monitor resolutions. I would not watch video with it but as the initial release was supposed to be aimed at 'developers' and the hacking community, it is perfect. I'm driving an old monitor at 1184x928 and the resolution is plenty good for coding and playing about.

Those who are looking for HDMI high quality resolutions should stick with...HDMI.

[mahjongg]

perhaps we could add something about reasonable priced and working HDMI to VGA converters in the Wiki, together with the other "working for R-PI" stuff like WiFi adapters and stuff. here:

http://elinux.org/RPi_Screens

Also, if we have conformation, we could edit the wiki to say there -are- cheaper adapters available, here:

http://elinux.org/RPi_Hardware.....up#Display

But note we must first be fairly certain that the stuff we recommend really works, so ideally a well known poster here should confirm it.

[Uaneme]

@emg: thx, pitty that they only ship in the UK., hope i can find one of those

@mahjongg: yes a 'proven to work' list for this kind of peripherals would be helpful specially for people on a low budget, so they can look at forehand if their current owned stuff is able to interface with a Pi.

[hexelpdkk]

@emg: What settings are you using in config.txt? I have the same adapter, and I haven't managed to get better than 640x480, but only tried a few values.

[JeremyF]

mahjongg: http://elinux.org/RPi_Verified.....y_adapters

I've been trying to make a list.

[Uaneme]

@Jeremy great!  Could you please add as

13.5 USB -> VGA/DVI/UbiSync/DisplayLink

UbiSync aka DisplayLink devices are USB to VGA converters there are several display's fitted with this port.

Even when it would be definite not working.. then everone can find the answer and hopefully why.. then someone can look into it.

I don't know if the ARM kernel supports these and/or if it is even implemented in the various distro's.

Fed days ago i started this topic:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/for.....ue=UbiSync I hope someone is able to test it. I still don't have my peice of Pi.

[hexelpdkk]

Seem to have sorted out my issues with the Kanaan adapter (removing hdmi_mode from config.txt certainly helped) so have added it to the wiki page.

[emg]

hexelpdkk

No idea, whatever the default is. I've made no changes to config.txt...

[emg]

Uaneme: Protip: google the ASIN: B007QT0NNW. It turns up this: KanaaN HDMI zu VGA Adapter on Amazon.de. Any use?

[emg]

Also, direct from Leicke. They have a lots of interesting looking converters...

[Uaneme]

Thx! Leicke is the better option, they accept iDeal and ship to .nl

Though the total price will be more then the Pi itself, so for now my hopes are still on  DisplayLink.

[na1pir]

This one works with my rpi: http://www.ebay.com.hk/itm/ws/.....0628153937

I think this two should work as well because it looks the same to me: http://dx.com/hdmi-male-to-vga.....0cm-119691

http://dx.com/hdmi-v1-4-male-t.....5cm-130458

[penguintutor]

I have one working which cost just over £15, but at the moment only running at 720p. The description on the website says it does work at 1080, but I don't believe that is the case.

The cable came from amazon.co.uk Neewer Black HDMI Input To VGA Adapter Converter For PC Laptop

Once connected you see the initial boot screen, but then it goes blank when it tries to run at 1080p. To get this to work you need to edit the config.txt file, or create if it doesn't already exist (/boot/config.txt on Linux - or just config.txt if you have the SD card in a Windows machine) and add the following entry:

hdmi_mode=4

This forces it into 720p60 mode.