• VGA to HDMI Converter

    From Jeff Gaines@21:1/5 to All on Mon Aug 19 13:42:46 2024
    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    If Björn & Benny had been called Syd and Dave then ABBA would have been
    called ASDA.

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  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to Jeff Gaines on Mon Aug 19 14:58:25 2024
    Jeff Gaines wrote:

    can anybody recommend a make/model for a VGA to HDMI converter that works?

    Yes, a Startech VGA2HDU, I use it on the occasions I have a VGA only
    computer to look at (all my KVM connected stuff is DVI/HDMI/DP)

    It requires a USB port for power.

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  • From Jeff Gaines@21:1/5 to All on Mon Aug 19 13:46:37 2024
    Must curb my enthusiasm for pressing the send key.

    I have an ATI graphics card in my N54L with a wobbly HDMI connector.

    VGA will do all I want, can anybody recommend a make/model for a VGA to
    HDMI converter that works? As usual searches on Amazon turn up zillions
    that work the other way round so I have little confidence on their coming
    up with a working device. Not worried about sound.

    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks

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  • From Jeff Gaines@21:1/5 to All on Mon Aug 19 15:18:52 2024
    On 19/08/2024 in message <lih1c4Fdes7U1@mid.individual.net> Andy Burns
    wrote:

    Jeff Gaines wrote:

    can anybody recommend a make/model for a VGA to HDMI converter that works?

    Yes, a Startech VGA2HDU, I use it on the occasions I have a VGA only
    computer to look at (all my KVM connected stuff is DVI/HDMI/DP)

    It requires a USB port for power.

    Many thanks Andy :-)

    I always seem to need to convert things in the expensive direction...

    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation

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  • From Jeff Gaines@21:1/5 to Gaines on Wed Aug 21 16:16:08 2024
    On 19/08/2024 in message <xn0opr9ll5ws6g000j@news.individual.net> Jeff
    Gaines wrote:

    On 19/08/2024 in message <lih1c4Fdes7U1@mid.individual.net> Andy Burns
    wrote:

    Jeff Gaines wrote:

    can anybody recommend a make/model for a VGA to HDMI converter that >>>works?

    Yes, a Startech VGA2HDU, I use it on the occasions I have a VGA only >>computer to look at (all my KVM connected stuff is DVI/HDMI/DP)

    It requires a USB port for power.

    Many thanks Andy :-)

    I always seem to need to convert things in the expensive direction...

    Just for info I managed to find a rather cheaper VGA to HDMI converter on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K14NR8P

    It's £9.99 and runs fine on a 1920 x 1080 60 Hz screen. Fine for what I
    want although others may want something a bit more sophisticated. They
    offer 2, one for each direction so watch what you click on!

    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    This joke was so funny when I heard it for the first time I fell of my dinosaur.

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Jeff Gaines on Fri Aug 23 12:38:55 2024
    Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    Just for info I managed to find a rather cheaper VGA to HDMI converter on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K14NR8P

    It's £9.99 and runs fine on a 1920 x 1080 60 Hz screen. Fine for what I
    want although others may want something a bit more sophisticated. They
    offer 2, one for each direction so watch what you click on!

    I've had mixed results with conversion on the Microservers. Sometimes the
    BIOS screens don't appear, which is rather unfortunate when the only reason
    I want to look at the display is because the boot failed.

    (BIOS screens can be a weird resolution like 720x400 and LCD monitors
    sometimes don't lock to this. It's possible this is more of a problem with HDMI-input monitors than those with native VGA ports - by using a converter you're now using a monitor that never expected a VGA-style resolution)

    Also, speaking of wobbly ports, beware that the VGA connector on the Gen7 is quite fragile. On one of mine I have to wiggle it a lot to get a signal. I really should take it apart and resolder, but just to be aware that it can
    be a problem.

    Theo

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  • From jkn@21:1/5 to Theo on Fri Aug 23 20:10:30 2024
    On 23/08/2024 12:38, Theo wrote:
    Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    Just for info I managed to find a rather cheaper VGA to HDMI converter on
    Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07K14NR8P

    It's £9.99 and runs fine on a 1920 x 1080 60 Hz screen. Fine for what I
    want although others may want something a bit more sophisticated. They
    offer 2, one for each direction so watch what you click on!

    I've had mixed results with conversion on the Microservers. Sometimes the BIOS screens don't appear, which is rather unfortunate when the only reason
    I want to look at the display is because the boot failed.

    (BIOS screens can be a weird resolution like 720x400 and LCD monitors sometimes don't lock to this. It's possible this is more of a problem with HDMI-input monitors than those with native VGA ports - by using a converter you're now using a monitor that never expected a VGA-style resolution)

    Also, speaking of wobbly ports, beware that the VGA connector on the Gen7 is quite fragile. On one of mine I have to wiggle it a lot to get a signal. I really should take it apart and resolder, but just to be aware that it can
    be a problem.

    Theo

    I am probably not alone here in keeping an old, small-ish monitor with a
    VGA input specifically for the purpose of occasionally connecting to
    'headless' machines.

    J^n

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to jkn on Sat Aug 24 09:49:22 2024
    jkn <jkn+es@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:
    I am probably not alone here in keeping an old, small-ish monitor with a
    VGA input specifically for the purpose of occasionally connecting to 'headless' machines.

    I tend to use a PiKVM for that nowadays - smaller, neater, no physical need
    to be near the machine. I use it on a Pi Zero 2 W (until last week, a Pi
    Zero, but they don't support that any more) and an HDMI-CSI capture board.

    720x400 is an odd resolution though. The PiKVM itself should be able to
    handle it (I don't think it's fussy what it's capturing) but the VGA to HDMI adapter can be problematic. Seems like it's a common problem for people playing DOS games, so there is info out there on which to go for:

    https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=73289

    Somewhere on page 11:
    https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1061162#p1061162
    somebody recommends the Foinnex VGA to HDMI adapter, which is one of the few listed that seems to be available to the UK:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Converter-FOINNEX-Computer-Projector-Portable-VGA-HDMI-Adapter/dp/B072NCTBVP/
    (at least I think, their link is to Amazon US which is a different ASIN)

    Free returns, so in the interests of science I've ordered one.

    Theo

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  • From jkn@21:1/5 to Theo on Sat Aug 24 10:48:46 2024
    On 24/08/2024 09:49, Theo wrote:
    jkn <jkn+es@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:
    I am probably not alone here in keeping an old, small-ish monitor with a
    VGA input specifically for the purpose of occasionally connecting to
    'headless' machines.

    I tend to use a PiKVM for that nowadays - smaller, neater, no physical need to be near the machine. I use it on a Pi Zero 2 W (until last week, a Pi Zero, but they don't support that any more) and an HDMI-CSI capture board.

    720x400 is an odd resolution though. The PiKVM itself should be able to handle it (I don't think it's fussy what it's capturing) but the VGA to HDMI adapter can be problematic. Seems like it's a common problem for people playing DOS games, so there is info out there on which to go for:

    https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=73289

    Somewhere on page 11:
    https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1061162#p1061162
    somebody recommends the Foinnex VGA to HDMI adapter, which is one of the few listed that seems to be available to the UK:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Converter-FOINNEX-Computer-Projector-Portable-VGA-HDMI-Adapter/dp/B072NCTBVP/
    (at least I think, their link is to Amazon US which is a different ASIN)

    Free returns, so in the interests of science I've ordered one.

    Theo

    Interesting, I didn't know about PiKVM, thanks.

    $WORK do not enable (or allow to be enabled) Remote Desktop on my work
    laptop, which is a major pain when WfH.
    I wonder if there is a way of using something like this...

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  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to jkn on Sat Aug 24 10:45:20 2024
    jkn wrote:

    I am probably not alone here in keeping an old, small-ish monitor with a
    VGA input specifically for the purpose of occasionally connecting to 'headless' machines.

    Oh, I've got one I could drag out of the back bedroom if needed, but
    it's generally easier to use the VGA->HDMI (into a spare input on the
    monitor, as the main KVM is DP)

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to jkn on Sat Aug 24 14:22:33 2024
    jkn <jkn+es@nicorp.co.uk> wrote:
    Interesting, I didn't know about PiKVM, thanks.

    $WORK do not enable (or allow to be enabled) Remote Desktop on my work laptop, which is a major pain when WfH.
    I wonder if there is a way of using something like this...

    Secret PiKVM plus an LTE dongle/router to exfiltrate your session over the internet behind the back of IT? Can't see how that could possibly go wrong
    :-)

    I use it as a cheap management interface for servers - sometimes it's a lot cheaper to buy a desktop-ish server (eg AMD Ryzen) than a Proper Server
    (Intel Xeon Scalable / AMD EPYC), but the desktop mobos with remote video
    are limited, and sometimes you have reasons to use a particular board that doesn't have it. With a PiKVM it'll work with any board that has VGA or
    HDMI.

    Theo

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Theo on Wed Aug 28 11:31:22 2024
    Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Converter-FOINNEX-Computer-Projector-Portable-VGA-HDMI-Adapter/dp/B072NCTBVP/
    (at least I think, their link is to Amazon US which is a different ASIN)

    Free returns, so in the interests of science I've ordered one.

    Received this and can confirm it shows the Microserver N36L BIOS boot on the PiKVM, which it turns out is 640x480. Various mode changes (periods of 'NO SIGNAL') as different parts of the BIOS start up (all at 640x480). Once
    Linux is started it switches to 1400x1050 and shows some boot messages, and then it switches to 1920x1080 and the PiKVM shows no signal.

    I couldn't say for sure whether that's the Linux setup being wrong or the
    mode being beyond the reach of the VGA - it is starting gdm3 so presumably there's an X desktop running, but perhaps with a refresh rate beyond that of the VGA converter or the PiKVM HDMI capture, I don't know.

    Since I've never wanted an X desktop on this machine I'm not that bothered,
    but being able to get at BIOS and GRUB is the main thing in case the machine doesn't want to boot (and IIRC it doesn't play nicely with my main monitor
    so I can't use that to see early boot).

    Theo

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