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knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
Hello all,

Can anyone confirm if this adapter, the HP HDMI to VGA Display Adapter will work with the Apple TV 2 to connect to a TV with a VGA in port?

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/computer/categories/cables/1/accessories/NP031AA%23ABA

Thanks!

PS,
I changed the title to include the device that ended up working for this, so the search engines would find this post better, since I think this device is going to help a lot of people out there. Enjoy!
 
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knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
It won't work. You'd need a active digital-to-analog converter which would cost much more than $40.

Yep, I had a feeling, figured I would see if anyone had luck with it.

I did find something that will work. I also found the same exact one on ebay for $37. If you look at the comments, tons of them say it will work with the ATV2.

I just got an ATV 1 and I have encoded bout 200 movies in the Handbrake Apple TV 2 profile, and none of them will work, im an idiot, I know. But the ATV2 Profile is much better quality so I am going to send this ATV back and order ma a ATV2.
 

fpnc

macrumors 68000
Oct 30, 2002
1,979
134
San Diego, CA
Could you post what you think will work? Note that video purchased from the iTunes Store contains DRM and it won't play unless the display that is attached to the Apple TV 2 supports HDCP. Thus, if you want to rent or purchase content from the iTunes Store you will need a converter that strips the HDCP from the HDMI signal from the Apple TV (the same may be true of Netflix, but I'm not certain about that). Also, the Apple TV 2 only outputs 720p, so make certain that you TV supports that resolution (1280x720).
 

knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
Could you post what you think will work? Note that video purchased from the iTunes Store contains DRM and it won't play unless the display that is attached to the Apple TV 2 supports HDCP. Thus, if you want to rent or purchase content from the iTunes Store you will need a converter that strips the HDCP from the HDMI signal from the Apple TV (the same may be true of Netflix, but I'm not certain about that). Also, the Apple TV 2 only outputs 720p, so make certain that you TV supports that resolution (1280x720).

Oops, sorry, I thought I pasted the link.

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-RCA-component-AV-Converter/dp/B002WBOQPU

I totally know about DRM but 99% of my library is user created, so that really isnt a concern for me. I am not sure if this device strips drm though.

When I think about it though, it might play drm protected content though. Since in essence it is downgrading the quality, it may work.

I am not concerned with 1080p, really all I want to do is play my movies in my bedroom, so quality is not a big deal. Ill end up getting 720p which is nice.

here it is with free shipping on ebay, same pics as amazon so im guessing it is the same thing, also cause they have thousands in stock.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...09324&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1528wt_1141
 

knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
Could you post what you think will work? Note that video purchased from the iTunes Store contains DRM and it won't play unless the display that is attached to the Apple TV 2 supports HDCP. Thus, if you want to rent or purchase content from the iTunes Store you will need a converter that strips the HDCP from the HDMI signal from the Apple TV (the same may be true of Netflix, but I'm not certain about that). Also, the Apple TV 2 only outputs 720p, so make certain that you TV supports that resolution (1280x720).

Thought I would give you a quick update. I received the HDMI converter today and it worked fine with the Apple TV 2.

There is a little tinny glitch, I noticed that the screen is skewed a tad to the left, and it cuts off a tiny bit of the left side of the screen, so a letter or two gets cut off. Beyond that, it is pretty good.

I think the color is a pinch washed out but overall it works like it is states. Probably the only option I think would work so it is not a bad option, considering the price.

Go for it!
 

onthewing

macrumors newbie
Mar 12, 2011
1
0
Drm

Thanks a lot for this great post. Have you also tested it with DRM protected content?
 

knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
Thanks a lot for this great post. Have you also tested it with DRM protected content?

I actually only have two DRM protected movies, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. To be clear, because I know this DRM stuff is messy, these digital versions came with the BlueRay copies I bought a ways back. They came on a DVD and I associated them with with my iTunes account through iTunes.

I wanted to make sure you knew this since I don't know if there is a difference in DRM level of protection on iTunes downloaded content and Digital copies provided when you buy BlueRay in the store.

Beyond that, these two movies played seamlessly, the same as the others. I have heard all sorts of things about conspiracies with Hollywood and component cables, them wanting to get rid of it because HDCP support doesn't work on them (cause it is analog, not digital), which is why I felt DRM would not translate over this adapter, unless you were trying to play DRM content your itunes account did not have the association or right too, but thats an itunes problem, not an adapter one. But considering you're using your ATV2 with your itunes at home, everything should all good in the hood.

Yep, pretty good device in my opinion so far. Let me know if you have any other questions!
 

jokerz126

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2010
305
64
does the HP adapter work??

so, what was the verdict? did the HP adapter work from connecting Apple TV to a VGA projector?? I'm in the same boat as a lot of people...not ready to upgrade my projector yet...but only has VGA input, and since Apple TV is HDMI out, need an adapter..

Thanks!
 

entfla

macrumors newbie
Jul 14, 2008
16
0
I actually only have two DRM protected movies, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. To be clear, because I know this DRM stuff is messy, these digital versions came with the BlueRay copies I bought a ways back. They came on a DVD and I associated them with with my iTunes account through iTunes.

I wanted to make sure you knew this since I don't know if there is a difference in DRM level of protection on iTunes downloaded content and Digital copies provided when you buy BlueRay in the store.

Beyond that, these two movies played seamlessly, the same as the others. I have heard all sorts of things about conspiracies with Hollywood and component cables, them wanting to get rid of it because HDCP support doesn't work on them (cause it is analog, not digital), which is why I felt DRM would not translate over this adapter, unless you were trying to play DRM content your itunes account did not have the association or right too, but thats an itunes problem, not an adapter one. But considering you're using your ATV2 with your itunes at home, everything should all good in the hood.

Yep, pretty good device in my opinion so far. Let me know if you have any other questions!


does Netflix work with the converter? or is there a drm problem?
 

Mr. Luigi

macrumors member
Jun 30, 2011
48
5
I started a thread connected to this..."Wireless Mirroring of iPad 2 in iOS 5"

Hi All,

I have been reading this thread with interest as it is connected to another thread I started..."Wireless Mirroring of iPad 2 in iOS 5" I am a teacher and was eagerly looking forward to iOS 5 and it full bore ability to mirror using the iPad 2 and Apple TV2. Using an iPad unencumbered by cables in the classroom would be huge...IMHO. As everyone in this thread knows the Apple TV 2 only outputs an HDMI signal (and a optical digital signal). Unfortunately, most projectors used in classrooms do NOT have HDMI inputs. Sadly, many do not have component inputs for video either. So, the converter suggestions in this thread, to date, don't solve the dilemma many teachers are facing who want to use their iPad 2 in the classroom wirelessly. For example, I teach Astronomy and Physics. There are so many great planetarium apps for the iPad. To use many of these apps you need to move the iPad around to track the sky. With cables attached to the iPad this activity almost becomes comical at times. More importantly, eventually the connector will pull out of the iPad due to the strain of all these gyrations! So, using the iPad 2 wirelessly with the Apple TV 2, for teachers, can make or break the effective use of many educational apps. I was thinking it might make sense to merge my thread with this...however they have slightly different angles of interest. I am really looking for a HDMI to VGA converter that will work with the iPad 2 and Apple TV with classroom projectors that only accept VGA. As you can imagine, I don't have the budget to buy converter after converter hoping to eventually find one that works in my setup. So, if anyone know of a converter that works, I and other teachers would be your friend for life! The folks who installed my projector over this summer did included a converter, but they didn't have an iPad to check if it worked. The converter they used, sadly, does not work with my iPad 2. It does not display video. It does output sound. Close is only good in horseshoes in this case.

Update: I have found these two converters that "strip" the DRM HDCP so that you can play HDMI sources using displays that only support VGA. The HD Fury 3 has a shift adjustment to deal with an occasional complaint that the picture is moved to the left or right causing some loss of image.

Link to HD Fury3: http://dme.ghost2.net/hdfury/hdfury-iii/specs-iii/

LInk to Altinex Converter: http://www.altinexace.com/products.cfm/VP500-100

Since iOS 5 is not out yet I have no way of knowing if either of these will allow the use of the Apple TV 2 and iPad 2 to achieve wireless mirroring. I have just bought the Fury 3 and will try to remember to update this post with information as to whether it allows the iPad 2 to display its contents using Apple's HDMI dongle. This is a hard wired approach, but if it works it would show that there is a way to output from the iPad 2 via HDMI and input to a display/projector via VGA with success.

Update: The HD Fury 3, by itself, will not work. But, the Fury (or something else that deals with the HDCP encrypted signal coming out of the Apple TV 2) is one of two necessary components. You also need a scalar to match the resolution of your VGA only projector. So, here's the setup. Apple TV 2 to your scalar input via an HDMI cable. HDMI cable out from your scaler via it's output. That HDMI cable goes into the Fury's HDMI input. Fury then outputs a non encrypted VGA signal to you projector's VGA input. The Fury does not do any scaling. That's why it will not work by itself. In another forum on MacRumors there is a post stating that if the Fury is used to only regain the ability to play HDMI sources on non-HDMI input devices its use is legal. If true, this setup is legal and works. Good luck.
 
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knemonic

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
682
153
so, what was the verdict? did the HP adapter work from connecting Apple TV to a VGA projector?? I'm in the same boat as a lot of people...not ready to upgrade my projector yet...but only has VGA input, and since Apple TV is HDMI out, need an adapter..

Thanks!

As stated above, the HP adapter will not work. Different signals. The adapter I purchased worked but I sent it back for one main reason, the horizontal of the image was off but a few inches. May have been that device was defective and the others are fine, but I ended up getting a LCD tv with HDMI, which is naturally the best solution with the least amount of issues.
 

sperratt

macrumors newbie
Oct 7, 2011
1
0
HDMI to VGA Adapter for Apple TV 2

I just purchased the HP HDMI to VGA adapter from a local vendor. I paid $45.00 for it. I hooked it into my Apple TV 2 and then into my Epson projector that only has VGA inputs.

It works very well. I was even able to mirror my iPad 2 display wirelessly. (I am beta testing iOS 5).
 

jlphotography

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2011
2
0
I will also confirm that the HP adapter does work with Apple TV 2. I hooked mine up to a projector and was able to not only view the apple tv, but screen mirror my iPad 2.

I did try and use the 30 pin HDMI connector for the iPad and plug the HP adapter in, but that did not work.
 

Sharemax

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2011
1
0
HP HDMI TO VGA Adapter & Apple TV 2

I will also confirm that the HP adapter does work with Apple TV 2. I hooked mine up to a projector and was able to not only view the apple tv, but screen mirror my iPad 2.

I did try and use the 30 pin HDMI connector for the iPad and plug the HP adapter in, but that did not work.

I just purchased the HP HDMI to VGA adapter from a local vendor. I paid $45.00 for it. I hooked it into my Apple TV 2 and then into my Epson projector that only has VGA inputs.

It works very well. I was even able to mirror my iPad 2 display wirelessly. (I am beta testing iOS 5).

Thank you for confirming that this setup works, this is a great post and many are trying to get this work. Everyone who has tried please confirm & also don’t forget to let us know if you had any hiccups & how you got round them.

I’m ordering mine & will confirm, but that will be early December, as I’m asking someone to bring an Apple TV2 & the adaptor for me from US. :apple:
 

shrek4224

macrumors newbie
Feb 25, 2008
13
0
This adapter does 100% work. I am using it with both my 4S and iPad 2 both running iOS 5 in my classroom!
 

jlphotography

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2011
2
0
This adapter does 100% work. I am using it with both my 4S and iPad 2 both running iOS 5 in my classroom!

Are you doing this via Apple TV2 and screen mirror or are you using the apple 30pin HDMI adapter and the HP one? I tried that on my iPad2 and it didn't work.
 

weirdsci

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2011
1
0
What about audio?

So, if you use the HP HDMI to VGA Adapter, what do you do with the audio?
 

Mr. Luigi

macrumors member
Jun 30, 2011
48
5
So, if you use the HP HDMI to VGA Adapter, what do you do with the audio?

Good question. Normally, with a wired system, you would use a 2.5 mm stereo audio cable and connect one end to your iPad's headphone jack and the other end to the audio input of your projector's sound system. If your projector's audio system does not accept a 2.5 mm cable then there are cables with 2.5 mm stereo pins on one end (for your iPad) and left and right RCA plugs on the other end (for your projector). But, with this wireless system, once the HDMI signal from the Apple TV passes through the HP converter I assume, like you, that the audio will be lost.

Still surprised this HP adaptor works as I thought the Apple TV outputted HDCP encrypted video. I guess that is not true as I don't believe the HP adaptor has any chips in it to "decrypt" this protection, yet folks are clearly getting their iPad to wirelessly communicate with their Apple TV and the Apple TV is clearly sending a signal to the projector that the HP adaptor is converting from HDMI to VGA successfully. I would still love to hear from more users regarding their experiences before passing on this quite inexpensive solution to all the teachers at my school. I certainly don't doubt the users who have been successful with the HP adapter. Just would like more confirmation that it works to insure that those who have had success do not have some type of unique functionalites in their projectors that are allowing this to work.
 

fpnc

macrumors 68000
Oct 30, 2002
1,979
134
San Diego, CA
Okay, since I was the first to respond (apparently incorrectly) to the OP about the $40 HP adapter I will provide a summary of what I found in the customer feedback on HP's own website.

1.) The adapter DOES work on some HDMI-only devices (but not all). It appears that some devices lack the necessary power (over HDMI) to make the device work.

2.) It does NOT support HDCP so it won't work with DRM'd content (including any movie or TV show bought from the iTunes Store and probably Netflix as well, but I can't confirm the latter). There is perhaps one caveat here, which is that if the Apple TV can detect that it is running over VGA it MAY just downsample the HD content to standard definition and allow that to pass.

3.) There is a rumor/report that the latest software update on the Apple TV2 included full-time activation of HDCP (rather than just when playing DRM'd content). If true (but I find this rumor somewhat hard to believe) it would mean that any converter that does not support HDCP will no longer work on the Apple TV2.

4.) A few have complained that the video quality isn't very good.

5.) YMMV, I found at least two posts from users who said it did NOT work on the Apple TV (but they may have been trying content that had DRM and thus HDCP may have been the problem).
 
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Mr. Luigi

macrumors member
Jun 30, 2011
48
5
Thank You Very Much fpnc,

The vendor that our school contracts to install all audio-video equipment sent their 'top dog" over to address my 1 month old VGA only input projector and its (in)ability to display the output from the Apple TV. He said that his company had just determined that the output from the Apple TV was HDCP encrypted across the board. He actually apologized for his company not researching this enough as they would NOT have installed the Epson VGA short throw projector that they did if they knew this. Much to my surprise, he offered to swap out the Epson projector and for a NEC short throw projector that accepts HDMI inputs...free. This despite the fact that the NEC projector cost more. I am now able to use my iPad 2 via wireless mirroring with the Apple TV 2 and it projects both audio and video perfectly.

I know this does not solve anyone's problem in this thread. And I would not bet my first born female child that the vendor mentioned above is accurate with his information. But, certainly he felt confident enough about his information to go through the bother and expense of dismantling the original projector, installing the new projector, and eating the extra cost of the new projector.

If he is right, then I think we are back to folks having to consider devices like the HD Fury 2 to deal with the HDCP encryption and a scalar to match the resolution of the VGA only input projector.

Apple has not made this easy for thousands of educators. :mad:
 

Cylac

macrumors newbie
Mar 18, 2012
5
0

ladysman

macrumors regular
Jan 29, 2008
186
6
so this product does work? HDMI to component/rca-audio?
my old Sony Wega 32 only has component and I'd REALLY love to be able to hook up my spare AppleTV2 to it!

thanks

I'll let you know. I ordered it. It will be here thursday. I'm using it with an ATV3 replacing an original.
 
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