Hi All,
So I had what I thought was the genius idea of buying a Chrome Cast to hook up to my old projector for instant Netflix et al. cinema in my living room, it's all set up... screen, speakers everything but there's just one small problem, no picture.
The reason it isn't straightforward forward is that my projector is old enough not to have an HDMI port, though it does say that it supports HDMI on it's DVI port using an adaptor. (Which I can't find). Also of course I'd have no sound.
What I have...
So with a little research I bought this HDMI to VGA + 3.5mm Jack Audio Cable Video Converter Adapter, I also bought a couple of gender changers, one VGA and one HDMI to get the whole lot to stick together.
The projector is an Optoma ThemeScene H57, so quite old but actually pretty decent (hence reluctance to take the plunge on a new one and also because this was supposed to be a cheap project)
What is happening...
What I'm experiencing is a black screen, which I am now attributing to HDCP problems... the projector scans and detects that there is a source plugged in the way you'd expect and looks like it's gone through the process of adjusting to that source signal and then just happily displays a black screen. Occasionally it also says "Out of Range". The sound comes out garbled when trying to play netflix or youtube.
I have tried it with a VGA to DVI adaptor into the DVI input to witht he same result.
I have also tried plugging my Nexus 10 into the HDMI input on the convertor, this yields a different result, white static, but still no picture.
The projector does work... it's even briefly displayed a chrome logo when I tried factory resetting the Chromecast while it was plugged into the projector (via the adaptor obviously) but then just returned to the black screen.
A weird caveat to all this is if I play something on Play Music then I still get a black screen but the sound comes out fine.
What I plan to try
I read that HDCP can cause problems like this and that it can sometimes be fixed using a powered HDMI splitter. Apparently this negotiates the HDCP handshake with the Chromecast and then passes on the signal to the two output ports, which sounds a bit dodgy, why is it so simple to bypass? Plus it's £30 for one of those which means my cheap project is getting more and more expensive.
So...
Any help on this would be really REALLY appreciated. Please.
Crin said:
Hi All,
So I had what I thought was the genius idea of buying a Chrome Cast to hook up to my old projector for instant Netflix et al. cinema in my living room, it's all set up... screen, speakers everything but there's just one small problem, no picture.
The reason it isn't straightforward forward is that my projector is old enough not to have an HDMI port, though it does say that it supports HDMI on it's DVI port using an adaptor. (Which I can't find). Also of course I'd have no sound.
What I have...
So with a little research I bought this HDMI to VGA + 3.5mm Jack Audio Cable Video Converter Adapter, I also bought a couple of gender changers, one VGA and one HDMI to get the whole lot to stick together.
The projector is an Optoma ThemeScene H57, so quite old but actually pretty decent (hence reluctance to take the plunge on a new one and also because this was supposed to be a cheap project)
What is happening...
What I'm experiencing is a black screen, which I am now attributing to HDCP problems... the projector scans and detects that there is a source plugged in the way you'd expect and looks like it's gone through the process of adjusting to that source signal and then just happily displays a black screen. Occasionally it also says "Out of Range". The sound comes out garbled when trying to play netflix or youtube.
I have tried it with a VGA to DVI adaptor into the DVI input to witht he same result.
I have also tried plugging my Nexus 10 into the HDMI input on the convertor, this yields a different result, white static, but still no picture.
The projector does work... it's even briefly displayed a chrome logo when I tried factory resetting the Chromecast while it was plugged into the projector (via the adaptor obviously) but then just returned to the black screen.
A weird caveat to all this is if I play something on Play Music then I still get a black screen but the sound comes out fine.
What I plan to try
I read that HDCP can cause problems like this and that it can sometimes be fixed using a powered HDMI splitter. Apparently this negotiates the HDCP handshake with the Chromecast and then passes on the signal to the two output ports, which sounds a bit dodgy, why is it so simple to bypass? Plus it's for one of those which means my cheap project is getting more and more expensive.
So...
Any help on this would be really REALLY appreciated. Please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid the only solution is to get an HDCP compliant projector...
CCast will only pass on HDCP info from the Device it is plugged into, but has no HDCP of it's own. And it can not be faked.
The Adapter will also break any HDCP as HDCP is meant to deny you the ability to do what your trying to do in the name of not letting you make copies of the content.
You will be fine with Content that does not require a HDCP signature to play (self ripped movies or non-DRM materials) but something like Netflix has little chance of working without some HDCP compliant device being connected the the CCast.
You can get a standard HDMI DVI adaptor for cheap, and maybe this will allow HDCP information to be kept. However you may be unable to keep the audio stream without a more elaborate device.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
According to this page...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-H57.htm
It is actually HDCP compliant... so does that mean it's the adaptor that's breaking it? Is there such a thing as an HDCP respectful adaptor with an Audio splitter?
Crin said:
According to this page...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-H57.htm
It is actually HDCP compliant... so does that mean it's the adaptor that's breaking it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you're essentially converting a Digital signal to analog and HDCP only works via Digital.
A Real HDMI to DVI adapter as suggested may help but make sure in the specs it says it will pass HDCP.
And do make sure it also has Audio Breakout.
Crin said:
According to this page...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-H57.htm
It is actually HDCP compliant... so does that mean it's the adaptor that's breaking it? Is there such a thing as an HDCP respectful adaptor with an Audio splitter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your projector is a little newer than my Sony VPL-HS10, but it might have the same issue - the marketing wasn't 100%. My VPL-HS10 initially said it was HDCP-compliant on the DVI-D port, but ended up that it isn't. Well, it might be for a few select devices, but it isn't up-to-spec for the general standard.
What you really need is an HDCP stripper, but those are illegal in most parts (especially the US).
Your other potential problem is that the adapter may not be converting the HDMI timings over to VGA, and rather expecting the receiving device to compensate. Some can, some can't.
The specs for your projector says it has a DVI-I port, so it might accept analog on that port.
So first I'd try connecting DVI-to-VGA adapter (the ones that normally come with video cards to get VGA out of the DVI port) and connecting Chromecast --HDMI--> HDMI-to-VGA --VGA--> DVI-to-VGA adapter --DVI--> Projector and see if you get a different result on the DVI input - sometimes the scaler is separate or different for different inputs.
If that doesn't work, I recommend HDfury2 or newer - beware of counterfeits as there are many fakers online. I have successfully used HDfury products with my Sony projector from various sources. You'll want the HDfury2 or newer to get the audio breakout, which is a 3.5mm (1/8-inch) analog stereo and digital (optical TOSlink).
bhiga said:
What you really need is an HDCP stripper, but those are illegal in most parts (especially the US).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to mention probably as expensive as a new Projector with HDMI and HDCP support! LOL
Crin, did you ever get this solved?
I bought the same stupid converter you showed in the image.
Related
Has anyone else got a home dock and is having problems getting it to output video?
I have 4 mpeg-4 files that work on the standard player brilliantly, but if I ask it to output via HDMI, the monitor/ TV stays blank although the video no longer shows on the Streak screen.
As the Streak asks me if I want to Switch to HMDI I presume it knows there is a connection... plus on both my monitor (using an HMDI to DVI cable) and TV (HDMI to HDMI cable) the monitor/ TV doesn't go into standby, which it would if there was no signal being received. If I take the HMDI cable out of the dock, the monitor says no signal being received but plugging it back in doesn't make it show the video that's playing...
I know it can work as in between all the failures, just once I have had the video playing on my monitor through the cable as expected (I did nothing different but can't make it do it again)
Am I missing something obvious to make it work?
All the other functions seem to work fine - though I was surprised that if you plug in speakers (or headphones) sound still comes out of the Streak. Is it meant to?!
Mine should be here tomorrow so will let you know then
I've still had no joy with the dock... Tried all sorts of file types and conversions but nothing works. The Streak registers the HDMI cable is inserted, asks me if I want to output, if I say yes, the vid disappears from the Streak screen but the other end never gets it apparently.
I phoned Dell who, after 20 minutes of really lame questions - had I plugged the cable in... - and being put on hold, told me to take the phone back to O2 and ask for another . As my Streak is over 28 days old I'll be Streak-less for at least 10 days.
And then if the problem is with the dock not the Streak?!!
Any other home dock users out there, got any suggestions?
Sorry if this is too obvious, but have you tried a different hdmi cable? My dock works fine but I' ve had a similar problem with a htpc.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
My dock is working fine
I have tried three different HDMI cables, although through the same TV as we only have one with HDMI. I also tried an HDMI to DVI to my monitor which also doesn't work.
Dell think it might be the Streak, O2 think the dock... Neither want responsibility!
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
samstables said:
Has anyone else got a home dock and is having problems getting it to output video?
I have 4 mpeg-4 files that work on the standard player brilliantly, but if I ask it to output via HDMI, the monitor/ TV stays blank although the video no longer shows on the Streak screen.
As the Streak asks me if I want to Switch to HMDI I presume it knows there is a connection... plus on both my monitor (using an HMDI to DVI cable) and TV (HDMI to HDMI cable) the monitor/ TV doesn't go into standby, which it would if there was no signal being received. If I take the HMDI cable out of the dock, the monitor says no signal being received but plugging it back in doesn't make it show the video that's playing...
I know it can work as in between all the failures, just once I have had the video playing on my monitor through the cable as expected (I did nothing different but can't make it do it again)
Am I missing something obvious to make it work?
All the other functions seem to work fine - though I was surprised that if you plug in speakers (or headphones) sound still comes out of the Streak. Is it meant to?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this may be something to consider:
Are you sure that the DVI monitor you are connecting is able to decode HDCP signals?
The HDMI output of the Streak may be HDCP encoded, and though the monitor might see the connected input, it may not be able to decode it. Your source files may not be HDCP encoded, but the output channel (your Dell Streak Dock) probably is. Have you tried to output your dock in a different system? An HDMI-equipped TV perhaps?
See here:
http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/hdmidvihdcp.htm
and here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-bandwidth_Digital_Content_Protection
PS.
After reading your post again Iss that you have tried in two different devices, and they both fail... there are region locks in the HDCP interface as well, so you may have incompatible outputs on the digital side.
I would still try more combinations (or even ROM builds) before I rule out the issue as being your Streak and/or your dock.
Do you have anyone with another Streak/Dock/Monitor to rule out all possibilities?
It is sad that we have to go through that mess at times, but there are lots of digital devices, that make the 'Plug and Play' , 'Plug and Pray' Sadly :$
Thanks for the comprehensive reply vagelis (which by the way comes out as "bagels" using Swype!)
I don't have access to any other DVI or Hdmi screens - I'm sure my other half is taking it as a sure sign we should buy a new tv!
Dell have, thankfully, agreed to replace my dock so hopefully tomorrow I can feel not quite so stupid when/if it works or not!
Perhaps O2 may have even released the promised 2.1 update & really make my day!
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
I recently purchased a 3.5mm to video/audio cable for my samsung captivate and I am noticing that the quality of the videos on the 46" LCD TV is not that great compared to when i watch the same videos on my computer. The cable I purchased is a Scoshe brand that I found locally from Fry's Electronics.
Is the sub-par quality due to the phone output or the cable itself? What has been your experiences with TV-Out?
Thanks.
You're using a VGA cable, you'll never get HD quality content. It's akin to trying to run a VHS on your new 46" TV. It'll just never look as good as the HD content you've come to expect in the last few years.
For me, it works well enough on my GF's old 90's tv if we're going to watch a movie or some TV shows. I would never use it on my TV at home though.
dude not vga, rca, aka composite video. composite is a notch above vhs and a notch below dvd. so yeah it's the tv out and the cable.
hopefully the micro usb to hdmi will work on the captivate with a future update. there are reports that it works on the epic. if not you can share with dlna via allshare.
i have a $50 media box thing from netgear and it works but the phone cant push the video to it you can only tick the video for playback (dont add to playlist) and let the other end play the video. also windows media center can be a dlna server and an xbox can play it as a media center extender, the ps3 is also dlna certified. there are also upnp apps in the market that should work with xbox. and ftp and webdav apps that will let you mount the phone as a webdrive or access with a browser. i know many of those options are great in the home but useless for travel and if your home you dont need it anyway.
the netgear device i have is very portable but unfortunately you still need a usb wireless adapter to use it, im sure there are similar devices that have built in wireless but may be more expensive.
Thanks for the respones. Would you suggest getting a "higher quality" cable or am I just basically stuck with what I got? The pictures and videos look blurry (and pixelated) when I view them on the TV and I just want to know if it has anything to do with the cable.
gormander said:
Thanks for the respones. Would you suggest getting a "higher quality" cable or am I just basically stuck with what I got? The pictures and videos look blurry (and pixelated) when I view them on the TV and I just want to know if it has anything to do with the cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
live with it till the usb to hdmi thing works
edit; if the cable feels very thin and fragile it may have poor noise rejection, some are not sheiled very well. also if the you had to mix the colors around to get it to work that's not good. video cables are a different impedance so you need to use the yellow one for video. i know 3.5mm av cables dont follow a standard format and i dont know if you had to mix and match connectors to get a picture. but on a 46 inch tv you wont get good quality no matter how high the cable quality is, it's just an old inferior technology and why the make s-video, componant video, vga, dvi and hdmi.
I have a 46 inch LCD and have attached the phone to it. A HD movie looks ok, but not near as good as running via the PC at 1080p via HDMI. When and if they get the microUSB to HDMI working, we should see an improvement.
Hi all.
I have used a MHL cable with my Xperia T ever since I got it.
With the original firmware, it would work fine with a basic HDMI cable and pretty much any TV with a HDMI input.
I've just been on holiday for 2 wks and discovered on day 2 that the latest firmware had a different MHL driver that requires HDCP. Apart from needing a newer spec cable, I also need a TV which supports HDCP - which the one at the holiday home didn't. My 5 year old was not impressed with not being able to watch any of his films for 2 wks!
So, anyone know of a way of getting back to a state where MHL is more user friendly? (Without having to rip back to earlier firmware.)
Seems mad Sony would force the feature since a lot of TVs don't support HDCP.
After no responses and my own continuing investigations I've solved my own problem and thought I'd post the outcome in case anybody else has a similar issue...
The MHL functionality works fine if both the TV and the cable are pre-HDCP. The problem I must've actually had was that the TV was HDCP compliant but my cable isn't HDMI v1.3+ (so didn't support HDCP.)
Basically, the solution to the problem I was experiencing is to use a HDCP compliant cable in all cases. That way it'll work on HDCP compliant and older spec TVs regardless. My confusion was caused by the message the phone prompted, which said the TV had to support HDCP - when in fact it did and the cable was the problem!
Ok I'd like to know if an HDMI to composite converter will work with chromecast...?? And I have some answers.
An HDMI to VGA converter . i can confirm that definitely DOES NOT work.
An HDMI to composite (cvbs) converter DOES work. I have one of the cheap small square white ones you see a lot with phono audio outputs and the yellow av out. it requires USB power to give me a signal so sorting out 2 USB ports for use with a CC is a minor pain.
Picture quality is clearly not close to Hdmi , think 'fuzzy'. but on our lcd, with a boost of saturation, noise reduction etc watching material is perfectly acceptable. Sound seems good as I'd expect.
Problem is our TV has HDMI but no hdcp (dont ask) rendering it mostly useless and new TV is not on the cards yet, so this has helped.
Sent from my Nexus 7
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2393029
Sent from my XT897 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Taa, however not super helpful as there's only one post with a definitive 'yes it works' not specifying what was being used, rest is conjecture and fluff. But positive signs.
Consider this the fluff-free thread on all non HDMI solutions
Have Ordered HDMI to composite so will update on success and type of unit.
Sent from my Nexus 7
I updated OP with findings.. HDMI to composite works, had a few flake outs reboot seemed to sort. picture ok/acceptable
Sent from my Nexus 7
bkmaracas said:
Ok I'd like to know if an HDMI to composite converter will work with chromecast...?? And I have some answers.
An HDMI to VGA converter . i can confirm that definitely DOES NOT work.
An HDMI to composite (cvbs) converter DOES work. I have one of the cheap small square white ones you see a lot with phono audio outputs and the yellow av out. it requires USB power to give me a signal so sorting out 2 USB ports for use with a CC is a minor pain.
Picture quality is clearly not close to Hdmi , think 'fuzzy'. but on our lcd, with a boost of saturation, noise reduction etc watching material is perfectly acceptable. Sound seems good as I'd expect.
Problem is our TV has HDMI but no hdcp (dont ask) rendering it mostly useless and new TV is not on the cards yet, so this has helped.
Sent from my Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Calrad makes an HDMI to Component video adaptor that should work for you, providing your TV has component video inputs. part number is 40289. It should cost around $179 retail though, so my recommendation would be to take the $150 and invest in a newer TV!
I have a Chromecast connected to an old Sony 20-inch 4:3 (not widescreen) tube standard definition TV with only S-Video and Composite inputs.
Here's how mine is connected:
Chromecast
HDMI to HDfury2 Component (bought for I forget... more than $100 a long while ago, from a previous setup)
Component to AVT-3190 HD/VGA to Component/S-Video/Composite down converter (bought for $119 used on eBay)
S-Video to TV
Audio (analog) to TV
Both the HDfury and Chromecast require USB power, but I have them both connected to an iGo MicroJuice power adapter that has 2 USB outputs ($9.99 from Best Buy clearance).
The down converter has a wall wart too, so it's 2 power plugs.
Result:
Video
It's a bit fuzzy, but what do you expect for 720p/1080p being downconverted to 480i?
Aspect ratio is correct, because the AVT-3190 down converter has switchable aspect ratio conversion (ARC), so not only is my video downscaled to 480i, it's also being letterboxed, so the vertical resolution is even less than 480i for widescreen casts. This wouldn't be a problem if you have a widescreen display.
Audio
Is fine. I'm getting analog output from the HDfury2. It also has optical digital output, but I haven't tried it as I'm just using the TV speakers.
What doesn't work:
Automatic power/input control via HDMI-CEC. Obviously this doesn't work because HDMI-CEC isn't supported by the HDfury2 as there's no way to translate that into its just video and audio output.
Given that this is about $200+ of gear to make a $35 device work, it's probably not smart. But my case is special, and I'm sure there are others with special cases as well (projectors, in-wall displays, etc), so there you go.
If you have a HD-capable display that just lacks an HDMI input, you would just need the HDfury2, not the down scaler, so that cuts the cost in half. That's how Chromecast works with my old HD projector.
Hi everyone!
Does anyone knows a method (either hardware or software) to force the Chromecast to output at 720p?
Background:
I have a DVI monitor and I used a simple HDMI to DVI adapter to plug my laptop in it.
My laptop died and I decided to use a Chromecast and my phone as a replacement.
After the Chromecast arrived and I plugged it in, I turned on screen mirror and hooked my kb/m to the phone and everything, only to realize that the sound was also being streamed to the Chromecast.
Needless to say that my monitor doesn't have audio output.
So I got one of those HDMI audio diverter to draw the audio and feed it to my audio system, so far so good.
I used my laptop to game was well, so after starting some withdraw from games, I decided to grab my PS2 console and got on of those PS2 to HDMI dongles and play some old-school games, then I started facing an issue: swapping cables.
To fix that I got one of those 3 port HDMI hubs and plugged both devices to it.
However the monitor is 720p, the HDMI audio diverter knows that and replicates this information to it's input port which makes the Chromecast display in 720p.
But the hub does not, it report it's 1080p making the Chromecast send 1080p video signal and the display only shows a black screen because of it not knowing how to deal with that.
So if there's a way to force the Chromecast to display in 720p it would be my salvation.
So if anyone out there knows any possible solution, please, I would be really grateful.
Thanks everyone!