DVI to HDMI cable, different connections?

 

New member
Username: Kevinrob

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-08
I have a Samsung 50" DLP TV that only has a DVI connection, no HDMI. I bought it in January 2004. My DirecTv receiver and DVD player both have HDMI connections, no DVI.

I have an HDMI to DVI cable, but it looks different than the ones I have seen posted here and online. The one I have has all pins (maybe 24 or so) and just 1 space for a single pin. The ones I see here and at the stores all have 9 pins, then 1 pin, 9 pins, then 1 pin.

Do I just have an older version? The cable does match the DVI connection on the back of my TV.

Thanks,
Kevin
 

Gold Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 2040
Registered: Feb-04
You have a combination DVI which has both digital and analog connections. Your Samsung needs the digital portion and will not use the pins that carry analog video. A DVI-D connector looks like this:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t171/JohnS45/20293.jpg

Your sat box and player output digital video only, so some of the pins won't be used to carry a signal. The DVI cable should fit the TV and work OK.
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Gold Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 2041
Registered: Feb-04
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Since HDMI is digital only, I find it curious the maker of your cable has all the pins on the DVI end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI#Connector
 

New member
Username: Kevinrob

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jan-08
Thanks John. I checked eBay for a cable like mine but couldn't find one. They are all like the one in your first post. Its been awhile since I bought new equipment and I can't remember where this cable came from.

I just bought the DirecTv HR21 and am waiting for it to be installed (I need the new dish on my roof). My TV manual says to hook-up the audio cables through the PC connection so I will give it a try. This helps a lot!

Thanks again!
 

New member
Username: Aldijada

Ocean Pines, Maryland USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-08
I have 42" Zenith Plasma Monitor EDTV with DVI Input and a new cable box with HDMI output. I have tried to hook it up with a HDMI cable and DVI adapter (Pins identical to original DVI cable)but all I get on the screen is 'NOT ACCEPTED'. I've talked to Zenith help desk and they said I could not convert from HDMI to DVI on this TV which I think is wrong based on this forum. Any suggestions?
 

Gold Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 2076
Registered: Feb-04
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HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI. I know, because my HDMI®HDMI®DVI adaptor works very well on my display. The question is whether your Zenith is HDCP compliant.

Also, consumers may want to confirm that the DVI interface supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), as content that requires HDCP copy protection will require that both the HDMI and DVI devices support HDCP to properly view the video content.

Is HDMI backward compatible with DVI?
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New member
Username: Aldijada

Ocean Pines, Maryland USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-08
John, my TV is a EDTV (Enhanced Digital TV ) and I found no reference to HDCP in the Zenith manual. Since it is not HDTV is it safe to assume this TV is not HDCP compliant?
 

Gold Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 2078
Registered: Feb-04
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I did not find a download of your manual, but several sources claimed that the P42W34's DVI has HDCP. Is this your model? If so, I would go back and ask Zenith about this. If they confirm that the DVI has HDCP, then they are blowing smoke up your --- about not using HDMI on this TV.

I think the real problem is with the cable box. There have been many many complaints about cable box DVI/HDMI not working with a wide variety of TV makes and models. You should press your cable co about this problem.

Finally, let me say that if this problem isn't solved you could always use the cable box's component output into the TV. It's not the end of the world. I frankly doubt you would see much difference between the TV's DVI and component inputs, especially considering this display's native resolution.
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New member
Username: Aldijada

Ocean Pines, Maryland USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-08
Thanks for the info John... I talked to Zenith again and did find that my TV is HDCP compliant but they said that my DVI input can only handle up to 480 and they expect the cable box output is higher than that. I did hook up the video using the s-video interface and that seems to working pretty good. Thanks again for your help.
 

Gold Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 2085
Registered: Feb-04
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"they said that my DVI input can only handle up to 480 and they expect the cable box output is higher than that."

If true, you're wasting money on an HD cable box.
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