I'm building a new machine and although it won't be used specifically as a HTPC I want to have HDMI out to my projector so that I can display a video on occasion. Would I have to use a certain graphics card or is there some tuner and/or video output card that anyone could suggest? I currently have an ATI HD2400 (which the HDMI feature doesn't really work). I plan on using a nVidia 8800GT for my new machine's card. So it would probably be best if I could add some sort of output card in addition to the graphics card I have chosen. I'm not sure this can even be done, but I'm not running into any hardware browsing around the net that is fitting my specific needs. Any ideas?
hm, I believe the G series chipset(G33) by intel has HDMI capability built in to their boards... This could be important if you're not happy with your video card solution (you said the HD2400 is not working properly with the HDMI feature) As far as the 8800GT... kinda off topic, but save your money and buy an HD3850 or the HD2600XT has HDMI via adapter... but again, you said you were not happy with the HD2400...
Perhaps I can be convinced about using ATI, and possibly my HD2400 does work. I just can't get it to at the moment. I run dual monitors and I have the HDMI port on the card. When I swap displays I get nothing with the HDMI out. I know this isn't a troubleshooting thread, but that's why I wanted to have some sort of additional card with HDMI out. I'm not sure if I bought a G33 board with HDMI on it that it wouldn't disable once I added on a graphics card. I'm not sure how modern motherboards deal with this, but I just recall the old on-board VGA I use to have and it disabled upon addition of a graphics card. If it doesn't then it would be a viable option to buy a motherboard that includes this feature. Thanks for your feedback redZoneOS. I've got a couple of months to look around so I have plenty of time to make a wise decision.
I personally have not had the opportunity yet to test out the HDMI ports on my ATI video card, so I couldn't really help you aside from making the suggestions I made... I'm sure someone here will be able to help you troubleshoot though... Or I'm sure if you're having problems, others have had similar problems, so you should probably check out the AMD/ATI forums. Glad you have some time to figure stuff out though I'm sure prices will drop too in case you decide to purchase a new GPU/motherboard...
I was looking at my AMD/ATI alternatives this evening and ran a search on the hardware you suggested. Here are some specs on the HD 3850 I found interesting: HDMI modes (over DVI) 480p, 720p, 1080i If this is what these cards are supporting (even my HD2400 currently) then that might explain why it's not working correctly. I have an Infocus 480i. Perhaps that's the real reason I'm having issues with an HDMI solution. Now I plan on going from HDMI out of the card to HDMI into the projector. Above it does say "over DVI" which I won't have because both DVI ports will be full with the other two monitors I run. Essentially this extra port will need to act like a third monitor.
If you're using 480i, you shouldn't be using HDMI really. It's not high definition video, so it doesn't need any of the features HDMI supports - use S-Video or VGA instead.
Ah, well good information to know. I was hoping to use the HDMI because it's the only high quality port left on the back of the projector. S-video and Component are coming from different sources from the head-end of the theater equipment. I was just wanting to use the open HDMI port to feed the source from the PC. That's the only reason I'm stuck on HDMI at the moment.
HDMI resolution is only meant for high definition as sammorris said. I'm actually surprised that your infocus has an HDMI input if it only supports 480i... On a side note, assuming you can get your hands on a HD version of the infocus (or if it actually does support higher resolutions) then for the HDMI input to work correctly, I think all you need is the DVI to HDMI converter... again, I'm not too familiar with HDMI so I could be wrong.
If I go with a DVI to HDMI adapter then I potentially loose the 2nd port for my other monitor. It doesn't look good either way. Maybe I need to re-think my layout. Thank you for all who gave input.
You could potentially use a video splitter to avoid losing an input but they often lead to reduced image quality...
