DVI to HDMI quality loss?

T

thegermankid

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Hi, I just bought a video card on eBay without researching enough. ;) Its a EVGA Geforce 9800 GTX 512MB for 61€.
Initially I was looking for a HDMI connection with a HD TV but it only has two DVI outs. Now I know you can connect DVI to HDMI with a special cable but does the picture quality suffer in any way? Even the tinyest bit? The additional audio cable hassle isnt a problem for me.

Thanks,
Ric
 
DVI and HDMI carry an identical signal, just audio is missing. Some cards have Audio headers on them so that audio can be connected to the video card and carried through the DVI port , while some of the ATI cards have an onboard audio chip to supply audio through the DVI port.

www.monoprice.com is the cheapest place to get a DVI to HDMI cable, cost you $5-9 shipped for a 6 to 10 foot cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/s...deo+Cables+-+<b>HDMI/DVI</b>&keyword=dvi hdmi
search listing

6 foot cable
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2404&seq=1&format=2

10 foot cable
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2405&seq=1&format=2
 
Nope, don't worry about the signal quality.
I have never used those adapters, so I can't really comment on them.
I would like to assume that it would work fine, but like the saying goes....
 
Gonna throw in my opinion since I briefly used a 8800 card (just 1 generation older) with a HDTV.

At the end of 2006 I bought a Sony LCD HDTV that supported 1080p (1080p was just taking off back then so it was a major advertised feature) and my rig had a 8800GTS. I used a DVI->HDMI adapter to connect my PC to the TV. I clearly remember that the picture quality was not very good. Pictures were fuzzy and lacked sharpness. Just didn't look good. I even tried it on a X800XL I remember the Radeon card having slightly better picture quality than the Geforce, but it was still bad. I don't know if it was the adapter or the DVI ports. I remember dropping down to 1366x768 or w/e resolution it was to have better PQ.

I still have the TV today and it's hooked up to my HTPC and using the native onboard HDMI on the HD4200 IGP and the PQ is perfect. Nowhere near as good as my 30" Dell however :D
 
only been using 1080p HDTV over digital since late 2009, so I can't really say what it was like prior to that, as my only previous HDTV exploits were 1366x768 screens over VGA running off an Intel IGP, so bad picture would be easily explicable. My 3008WFP was the HDTV for quite a while before that, and the 3007WFP before that (though granted, only a PC source for that).
 
u might have to adjust the resolution/scanning/settings on your GPU

my tv is 720p(accepts 1080p inputs)

if I set it to output at 720p or 1366x768, its a little fuzzy(tv reportts 1366x768)

if i set it to output at 1920x1080, everything looks a lot better(tv reports 720p input)
 
You will have to adjust the overscan/underscan for sure. You will want to set the resolution to the native resolution for the tv, e.g. 1280x720@60hz,1366x768@60hz,1920x1080@30hz,1920x1080@60hz, etc. whatever the tv supports. One thing to keep in mind is don't expect the exact same picture quality as a monitor. Tvs have a higher dot pitch, i.e. the pixels are further apart. To give you an idea my 24" dell 2408wfp(1920x1200) has more pixels than my 46" samsung 1080p tv. So text will not be as clear on a tv as a monitor.
 
That display should work fine. Like I said just run it at the right resolution and what not. Samsung tvs even have an option called screen fit that dumps the overscan (at least on my tv). That's almost the same tv I have just with an led backlight.
 
i can confirm that there's no quality loss between em you just need to have right setting like others mentioned
 
Both carry same digital video signal. No quality difference between the two. Biggest problem at the TV end is how it handles PC signal, is there a working PC mode or not. Samsung for example has it hidden, you have to "rename" the HDMI port as PC and picture becomes as good and sharp as PC monitor, no fuzzy "enhancements" that is.
 
I have one of the DVI to HDMI cables for my MacBook Pro. They work fantastic. Picture looks as good as HDMI would. And they're very cheap off of monoprice.com (which is where I got mine). Highly recommended for anyone looking into getting one. Plug in an optical cable for sound and I'm good to go.
 
Jon55 said:
I have one of the DVI to HDMI cables for my MacBook Pro. They work fantastic. Picture looks as good as HDMI would. And they're very cheap off of monoprice.com (which is where I got mine). Highly recommended for anyone looking into getting one.
Click to expand...

Seconded. Mine even transmits Audio (GTX 460) A 9 series won't however, and you might have to explicitly tell the card to not try, or your TV might no accept auxiliary audio (happened to me, google around for the solution)
 
Rockferd said:
Seconded. Mine even transmits Audio (GTX 460) A 9 series won't however, and you might have to explicitly tell the card to not try, or your TV might no accept auxiliary audio (happened to me, google around for the solution)
Click to expand...

agreed. In fact im using a gtx460 currently and it does indeed transmit sound over the dvi to hdmi cable. I had come from a 9800gtx+ and it DID NOT transmit audio and required a separate line run. Thank god it works great in the 460. Avoid adapters at all costs if you can and get a dedicated cable.
 
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