Best DVI to HDMI cable?

[RichardGrayJr]

I am looking around for a nice cable to replace my dvi/hdmi dongle that got washed in the laundry. Is it necessary to use the DVI-D cables to carry the sound over hdmi? I'm having a hard time confirmimg this. Any brand prefrences out there?

This belkin cable looks like it would do the trick.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000653J1G/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p23_t3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0PSJ07VXPDXA0N9ZDCJM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

[Adragontattoo]

Monoprice.com

search there and you'll save a ton.

I just ordered almost 250bucks worth of cables and HW from them last week (and then got laid off this week).

[RichardGrayJr]

That site is sweet. But I've got to stick with amazon so i can spend my Points2Shop credits. I've got 40 bucks worth, and this seems like a worthy cause.

[xtkxhom3r]

any cable will be fine bro...

[benbaked]

Yeah with a DVI-HDMI cable the brand name doesn't matter. That Belkin cable looks nice, but it's $30 too expensive. A generic non-branded DVI-HDMI cable from monoprice will work just as well, your $40 credit at amazon could go to something that is much more worth the price - such as some new books, or a game. :)

[RichardGrayJr]

Right on. That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks guys.

[RichardGrayJr]

Ok, one last question. I am looking to use my audio over HDMI. Will these single links cut it, or do i need a dual link cable?

[xtkxhom3r]

hmm not to sure... didnt your 4850 come with a "special" adapter to convert dvi to hdmi if it did look at it and make sure its not missing any pins if it isnt then all you need is a hdmi cable

[Randyman...]

Another STRONG vote for Monoprice.com. That place rocks!

Ok, one last question. I am looking to use my audio over HDMI. Will these single links cut it, or do i need a dual link cable?
DVI doesn't provide Audio, and the common "DVI > HDMI" cables wil not provide any provisions for embedding audio. If you want to embed digital audio into the DVI, you will need an embedder and a way to get Digital Audio into the embedder (Coax or Toslink). I'd just use the common DVI > HDMI cables and feed Coax or Toslink Digital Audio to your AVR or HDTV. The extra cost of an embedder is not worth having A/V over the single HDMI cable IMO.

:cool:

[AngelicPenguin]

DVI doesn't provide Audio, and the common "DVI > HDMI" cables wil not provide any provisions for embedding audio.

The ATI DVI-HDMI dongle that come w/ 4xxx cards provides audio. You just have to connect an HDMI cable and enable the ATI HD Audio device in windows.

[UmHelp]

I use this adapter for all my computers. I also bought all my HDMI cables from monoprice as well. It gives me an easy way to disconnect my computer without messing up all my wiring.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041902&p_id=2029&seq=1&format=2

[xtkxhom3r]

I use this adapter for all my computers. I also bought all my HDMI cables from monoprice as well. It gives me an easy way to disconnect my computer without messing up all my wiring.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041902&p_id=2029&seq=1&format=2

i think thats the adapter that doesnt transmit audio

my adapter has pins where that adapter is missing some and mine transmits audio through hdmi

[UmHelp]

That adapter does not transmit audio. I have never seen any normal adapter that would do such a thing. I have never known DVI to transmit audio either. If it actually does then it must be something special for PCs only. I just run a Digital Coax cable to my sound card works just as well.

[jason4207]

That adapter does not transmit audio. I have never seen any normal adapter that would do such a thing. I have never known DVI to transmit audio either. If it actually does then it must be something special for PCs only. I just run a Digital Coax cable to my sound card works just as well.

DVI contains pins for analog and digital video. HDMI doesn't need any analog video as it is strictly digital.

The ATI adapter uses some of the analog video pins of the DVI connector to send digital audio over a DVI-HDMI connection.

If you don't have the correct DVI-HDMI adapter you will have to use another cable. I just use 2 cables, 1 for audio and 1 for video. To me, getting everything running on 1 wire is way more trouble than it's worth and you're tied to a proprietary solution. Your soundcard (or built-in audio) should have both analog and digital audio outputs. Use them!


Edit: However, if you're trying to send some of the newer true 7.1 soundfields (DTS-HD, etc) then you might have to use audio over HDMI as I'm not sure if TOSLINK or Digital Coax support the new standards.

[UmHelp]

DVI contains pins for analog and digital video. HDMI doesn't need any analog video as it is strictly digital.

The ATI adapter uses some of the analog video pins of the DVI connector to send digital audio over a DVI-HDMI connection.

If you don't have the correct DVI-HDMI adapter you will have to use another cable. I just use 2 cables, 1 for audio and 1 for video. To me, getting everything running on 1 wire is way more trouble than it's worth and you're tied to a proprietary solution. Your soundcard (or built-in audio) should have both analog and digital audio outputs. Use them!


Edit: However, if you're trying to send some of the newer true 7.1 soundfields (DTS-HD, etc) then you might have to use audio over HDMI as I'm not sure if TOSLINK or Digital Coax support the new standards.

Interesting, smart idea using the analog pins in the DVI connector. As I thought it is a proprietary/non-standard solution. I use a receiver and have a million wires running to it and one HDMI cable running from the receiver to my TV. I hide my receiver away in the closet so no one sees the mess of wires running to it.

As for 7.1 Dolby-TrueHD and DTS-HD you need HDMI 1.3a support. I have never seen anything for a PC that can pass this through to a receiver for decoding. There is software decoding which will process it but that is no where near the same as passing it through to your receiver. I did hear that some of the newer sound cards will support it but not sure if they have come out yet and they will be like $200+. Not really worth it IMO, but then again I did spend $850 on a receiver that support these features :beer:.

[jason4207]

Interesting, smart idea using the analog pins in the DVI connector. As I thought it is a proprietary/non-standard solution. I use a receiver and have a million wires running to it and one HDMI cable running from the receiver to my TV. I hide my receiver away in the closet so no one sees the mess of wires running to it.

As for 7.1 Dolby-TrueHD and DTS-HD you need HDMI 1.3a support. I have never seen anything for a PC that can pass this through to a receiver for decoding. There is software decoding which will process it but that is no where near the same as passing it through to your receiver. I did hear that some of the newer sound cards will support it but not sure if they have come out yet and they will be like $200+. Not really worth it IMO, but then again I did spend $850 on a receiver that support these features :beer:.

With a receiver it makes even more sense to just run 2 cables. You don't need sound going to the TV anyway. Run audio and video to the receiver, and then just video from the receiver to the TV.

I thought ATI and/or nVidia had figured out how to pass 7.1 over their HDMI connection. Maybe that's slated for the next series?

Last year my buddy tried fruitlessly to get his audio problems worked out. He got an internal Blue-Ray player for his PC. But when he tried to watch BR's the audio channels were all messed up. He couldn't hardly hear any voices (center channel). I know I've encountered similar issues after messing w/ some various software players and codecs, but that was just DVD's. He then decided that upgrading his receiver so that it fully supported the soundfields he was trying to send was the best idea. I let him know that there was a good chance it still wouldn't work based on what I had read on AVS forum. Unfortunately I was right, and I'm not sure how he has his system running right now.

I'm waiting until they get this mess straightened out before I go 1080P DTS-HD. My 720P projector and DTS-ES reciever will do for now. ;)

[RichardGrayJr]

This is the type of information and advice that can only be found at OCForums. Thanks for the help guys. I think I will make use of the Toslink out on my MB. I have a great Onkyo stereo receiver that I would rather have used anyway. I was really just trinig to keep from routing cables all over the room. I'm picking up a Samsung 47" LCD today, can't wait to see Modern Warfare and Crysis: Warhead in glorious 1080p.

[The Coolest]

Why don't you just buy another ATI dongle which will do the work and save you the trouble?
As people have already said, most DVI --> HDMI cables do not transmit audio, and most standard adapters don't transmit audio either.
The 4890 can output a 7.1 channel audio at over 6mbps, while most onboard sound devices are limited to 1.5mbps and do not support 7.1 LPCM output.
My suggestion is get another ATI DVI/HDMI converter from ebay or something and use a regular HDMI --> HDMI cable.

[jason4207]

Why don't you just buy another ATI dongle which will do the work and save you the trouble?
As people have already said, most DVI --> HDMI cables do not transmit audio, and most standard adapters don't transmit audio either.
The 4890 can output a 7.1 channel audio at over 6mbps, while most onboard sound devices are limited to 1.5mbps and do not support 7.1 LPCM output.
My suggestion is get another ATI DVI/HDMI converter from ebay or something and use a regular HDMI --> HDMI cable.

Do the other 4 series cards do this as well? What about nVidia?

If the OP doesn't have a Blue Ray player in his PC and a receiver that supports 7.1 LPCM then it really doesn't matter if he gets the proprietary adapter at this point in time. It might be nice down the road, but the OP may be moved onto a better gfx card by then anyway.

It just depends on what the OP's uses are and what cables he has lying around.

[The Coolest]

I think so. Looking at the specs, all of them support 7.1 channel output, I'm assuming this is LPCM.
You'll need software which will decode the audio for you and then pack it in LPCM format, though.
Because only the higher end model support bitstreaming of anything other than AC3 (again from the specs on this page (http://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-4000/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-4000-series.aspx))

[jason4207]

Look what the 4850 has:

HDMI output support

* All display resolutions up to 1920x10802
* Integrated HD audio controller with support for stereo and multi-channel (up to 7.1) audio formats, including AC-3, AAC, DTS, DTS-HD & Dolby True-HD4, enabling a plug-and-play audio solution over HDMI


I have one. :sn:

[The Coolest]

I think the card has the capability, but from my reading it seems that the software still doesn't allow this :(

[MongGrel]

I prefer just running the DVI-D to HDMI and TOSLINK to the receiver myself then the HDMI out to the LCD.

I do that with my 47" Olevia 747i (always kinda wondered why they have an i on the end, it runs 1080P :) )

I never have the TV speakers on.

The Auzentech does 5.1 at least, I dont have a 7.1 stereo anyways I suppose. Is supposed to upsample to 7.1, but obviously I cant vouch for that.

They do have this one for 1.3a in the works it looks though.

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_hometheater_hd.php#

I'd be tempted to try one out for grins and giggles but what I have works fine for me. The nice part is the HDMI input on that, graphics card DVI to the HDMI input on it then out to video if you want to run to the tv direct without a TOSLINK and adds the sound to just the one HDMI out.

I like how mines set up atm, I wont mess with one, but for a dedicated home theatre small system would be nice.

[Randyman...]

I prefer just running the DVI-D to HDMI and TOSLINK to the receiver myself then the HDMI out to the LCD.

I do that with my 47" Olevia.

I never have the TV speakers on.

Ditto. I used a cheap DVI>HDMI adaptor at my video card and a low-cost 12' HDMI cable from Monoprice and a DIY SPDIF COAX cable. No headaches over here :) I love using FFDshow and K-Lite with WMP on the big screen - looks SO GOOD!!! Even SD DVD's look incredibly good with all of that fancy processing going on in the PC (likely equivalent to $2000-$5000 of dedciated de-interlacers and proc amps, etc)

:cool:

[Silversinksam]

Monoprice.com

search there and you'll save a ton.

I just ordered almost 250bucks worth of cables and HW from them last week (and then got laid off this week).

+1 for Monoprice. Better cable than the others guys sell, and Monoprice sells em for a LOT less.

This is the HDMI/DVI cable I use (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023102&p_id=2285&seq=1&format=1#largeimage)

Just got a Monoprice delivery on Sat. I picked up a handful of these swiveling HDMI strain reliefs. I've been trying for days to determine if using these with Monoprice's better 24AWP HDMI cables (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=3658&seq=1&format=2) is counter-productive. I can't tell if theres any signal degradation using this thing......but the juries still out on that.

You see with the articulating wall mount I have, when I'm cooking dinner and have the Flat panel telescoped and turned to face the kitchen, the stiff in wall cables were under some strain when the flat panel was turned 60* or so.

So these HDMI strain reliefs were a good purchase. :)