up vote 6 down vote favorite
1
share [g+] share [fb]

My monitor supports full-resolution display (2560x1440) only when connected to through either the DVI-D dual link port, or the DisplayPort.

My laptop, though, has neither of these two kinds of output. Instead, all it's got is a HDMI port (which is version 1.3, and I also read that the laptop's graphics chipset supports 2560x1440 at 60Hz).

So I'm wondering whether anyone has ever seen an HDMI-to-DVI dual link adapter, which will carry my ultra-highres signal to the monitor I just bought. So far I haven't seen any, and don't even know whether such an adapter (which I understand would have to be active, USB-powered and expensive (but I don't care)) exists.

link|improve this question
You're new to this site. Please read the faqs Shopping questions are not allowed. – wizlog Sep 5 '11 at 14:35
I am. Thanks for pointing me to the faqs. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 14:38
Did you Google it, I got several hits...encrypted.google.com/… – Moab Sep 5 '11 at 14:53
2  
Those adapters are all "dumb", i.e. they claim to be "dual link" because they've got all the pins on the DVI side to look like a dual link cable, yet they only pass the entire HDMI signal through one of the two links of the DVI part. Hence they only support resolutions of up to 1920x1080 (and they all say so, I've never seen such an adapter claim to support 2560x1440 or higher), and won't work with the full resolution of my monitor (at least not higher than 35Hz refresh rate) – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 15:48
What I need is an adapter that's "active", i.e. will split the HDMI signal to both links of the dual link DVI port. I don't expect such an adapter/cable to come cheap. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 15:49
show 1 more comment
feedback

4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

I normally shy away from shopping recommendations, but this is not your run of the mill requirement and requires a bit of specialist insight. These are the guys to talk to about standards conversion:

Kramer Electronics

They have a distribution amp that takes HDMI and sends it out on HDMI + displayport at resolutions up to 2560x1600 but it states hdmi 1.4: http://www.kramerus.com/products/model.asp?pid=1213

As I understand it, there are technical issues converting hdmi to true DVD-D, but these are the guys to advise you.

link|improve this answer
Thank you very much. I sent them an e-mail, let's see what they suggest. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 19:56
They said they have nothing for my case. :-( – alex k Sep 11 '11 at 13:31
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

I used to have one of these to play a PS3 on my computer monitor. I think I got mine from Best Buy. They also appear to sell them on Newegg though.

link|improve this answer
Thanks, but those only support resolutions up to 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. I need something that can do 2560x1440 or 2560x1600. See my comments above for more. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 15:50
I looked at all the HDMI cables & adapters (with both displayport output or DVI output), and none claim to reach resolutions above 1920x1200. Thank, anyway. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 20:10
Oh, okay. Good luck finding the right one then. – Robert Sep 5 '11 at 20:15
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

It does exist. Search DVI-D to HDMI in Google

DVI-D Dual Link Male to HDMI Female Adapter - Adapts DVI to HDMI - Vice Versa

You want it to look like this, right?

link|improve this answer
1  
If you look at the DVI part of the photo you attached, it's got teeth missing, which is what a single-link DVI cable looks like. Besides I need a HDMI-to-DVI cable, not the opposite, since I need to convert my laptop's HDMI signal to a DVI port. – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 15:53
@alex: I have a dual-link version of the above cable. I got it from eBay. – paradroid Sep 5 '11 at 16:38
1  
Most of these cheap cables have "fake teeth" that make them look dual-link, when in reality the entire HDMI signal goes through one of the two links of the "dual-link" cable. Until someone tries and sees that they can get 2560x1440 resolution (which is highly unlikely) they should all be considered plain HD (1920x1200). – alex k Sep 5 '11 at 17:35
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

http://www.ldlc-pro.com/fiche/PB00034665.html or similar; price < $10. It's usually provided with new laptops anyway, I didn't even have to buy one. Such adapters really work (tested yesterday), but of course you need a dual-DVI-D cable. And a female HDMI to female HDMI adapter.

If like me you can't get a higher res that 1080p, this is most likely due to the HDMI component of the motherboard; but there is a neat workaround for this : simply go in the drivers settings, and create a new custom resolution.

At least NVIDIA has such an option; I don't know about AMD. It will display a "we take no responsability for this !" warning, btw. Some users report that using 60Hz work fine at first, but crashes at restart. Use 35Hz instead.

For information, I have a Dell laptop with NVIDIA Optimus ( GTX 525M and Intel GMA 3000 at the same time ) and a Dell U3011 monitor. This solution works at 2560x1600 @ 35Hz

link|improve this answer
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.