Vga to Hdmi adapters

[fmatthew5876]

I'm running a FreeBSD server that only has a vga port. My monitors and keyboard are all connected using an hdmi kvm. Ideally I'd like to be able to also plug the server into the kvm.

This necessitates a vga to hdmi converter but all of the ones I have tried don't work at all in console mode. I've tried 2. One of them just has a black screen and the other flickers between showing the console text and black.

I need something that will be reliable for BIOS screens, freebsd console mode, booting into freedos for firmware upgrades etc.. Most of them only seem to work with higher resolutions or graphical environments like Xorg on Unix or Microsoft windows.

Has anybody discovered one of these devices that doesn't suck?

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 278999]

I believe you'll need an active switch for this. HDMI to VGA isn't difficult but VGA to HDMI is.

 

[Viper GTS]

Any chance your 'server' has IPMI? That's going to be the reliable route.

It sounds like you're already aware of the need for active adapter (if you've had it working at all), which ones have you tried that sucked?

This is likely to be a case of reliable = expensive, this one for example has potential:

Kramer VP-425 PC / Component to HDMI Scaler VP-425 B&H Photo

Also this one:

Ocean Matrix Component and VGA to HDMI Pro Mini OMX-COMPVGA-HDMI

Viper GTS

 

[fmatthew5876]

I've tried these:
Amazon.com: VicTsing VGA to HDMI Adapter HD 1080p Output TV AV HDTV Video Cable Converter Plug and Play Adapter with Audio Input for Laptop Desktop - Black: Computers & Accessories - All black screen
https://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Hamme...=1468548082&sr=1-1&keywords=sewell+hammerhead - Flashing screen

I think I will probably just stick with IPMI. I was able to configure Serial over Lan for the Bios and OS and it works reliably. Those ones you listed look somewhat promising but I don't think its worth the expense for how little I actually use the physical console.

Thanks!

 

[fmatthew5876]

So I just upgraded my box to FreeBSD 11 which also happens to use the new vt console driver over the older syscons by default.

The vt driver uses graphical mode instead of text mode, and because of that the cheap vga to hdmi adapter I have now works perfectly at least once the OS is booted.