Knowing When to Use a DVI to HDMI Adapter

A DVI to HDMI adapter is an adapter that can upgrade your video output. A DVI (digital video interface) cable is best known as a monitor cable for computers that supplies a direct route from the graphics to the display. An HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) is standard on many current televisions, and if you wish to connect a computer to the TV, you may need a DVI to HDMI adapter. DVI video is somewhat compatible with HDMI in the right circumstances. The article below will lay out several circumstances in which to use a DVI to HDMI adapter.

PC Video Games

With the thousands of video games on the market today, not all of them are made for your standard video game console. These games are proprietary to the computer. Other games may be on other systems but are made differently, making them more fun on the computer. If you want to play these games on your television, you will need to use a DVI to HDMI adapter. You will lose some video and audio quality when you use a DVI to HDMI adapter, but it will be unlikely to affect playability of the game. Not every game will be compatible with this setup as far as audio is concerned. For this situation, you may need to invest in a more expensive bridge device in order to generate or decipher the audio.

Lack of Audio

Some television sets will have a connection for a DVI cable installed on them. These are mostly useful, but not all of them are compatible. This is especially the case when it comes to audio. Not every computer program will transmit audio through the DVI port. This problem can be corrected by using a DVI to HDMI adapter. Many DVI to HDMI adapters include a pin (or a number of pins) that bridges the gap from one audio source to another. These are fairly standard adapters that do not cost too much money, and nearly every electronics store carries them.

Distance to Display

When you are attempting to view a picture from a device such as the computer or trying to run video cables, you will need to take distance into account. The further the distance between the device providing the picture and the device receiving the picture, the more the picture's quality can degrade. This can be changed with two devices: a DVI to HDMI adapter and a cable bridge. You will need the DVI to HDMI adapter so that the signal can be adapted for use with the receiving device. The cable bridge is used to boost the power of the original DVI cable and often has its own power source. The DVI cable from the host device is plugged into the bridge with another cable to which the DVI to HDMI adapter is connected.

Presentations

If you have to give a presentation, using your computer monitor is not the best possible solution. You would need to have everyone huddle around a small screen. Using a DVI to HDMI adapter, you can project your presentation on a much larger screen.