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Any VGA-to-DisplayPort converters?

10,941 20,771 May 28, 2010 at 05:49 AM
I am trying to connect VGA output from a PC into the DisplayPort input on a 27" iMac.

I am not looking for one of the cheap $20 converter cables. That won't work. Please don't post and tell me they will work. If you make such a post you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. On the 27" iMac those will only work for output frmo the iMac to a VGA display and I'm trying to go the other direction.

There is something on the market that will allow you to use PC's DVI output on an iMac (Atlona AT-DP200) and the lowest price anywhere is $120. Wondering if anyone knows of something similar that will do the job for VGA?
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jjm004
05-28-2010 at 06:13 AM.
05-28-2010 at 06:13 AM.
The Atlona product goes from digital DVI-D to a DisplayPort.
You cant go from an analog VGA source to a DisplayPort.
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Original Poster
uscpsycho
05-28-2010 at 06:17 AM.
05-28-2010 at 06:17 AM.
Quote from jjm004 :
The Atlona product goes from digital DVI-D to a DisplayPort.
You cant go from an analog VGA source to a DisplayPort.
I know for a fact that you can go from DisplayPort to VGA with one of the cheaper adapters. Are you sure there is no way for a converter to go the other way?
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noaht
05-28-2010 at 07:09 AM.
05-28-2010 at 07:09 AM.
I'll say, I've looked for this before and haven't been able to find it. I ended up going VGA to HDMI with an atlona box.
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Justmtnb44
05-28-2010 at 07:27 AM.
05-28-2010 at 07:27 AM.
I agree with jjm004, you can't go from computer VGA to monitor DisplayPort with an adapter. VGA is analog and DisplayPort is digital. At the very least, it would require some sort of powered converter module, but I have never seen one for DisplayPort, only HDMI. It would probably be easiest and cheapest to get a new video card with DVI output, since they do have DVI to DisplayPort adapters.
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Jeffbx
05-28-2010 at 07:40 AM.
05-28-2010 at 07:40 AM.
Agree with above - you can't go from analog to digital without a coverter box, and a new video card w/DVI-D or DP out would probably be cheaper.
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euuser557579
05-28-2010 at 08:11 AM.
05-28-2010 at 08:11 AM.
Have you tried Gefen EXT-VGA-2-DVISP VGA to DVI Scaler PLUS [amazon.com] before ? It is from VGA to DVI and you can buy another DVI to mini DVI adapter maybe...
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fyu
05-28-2010 at 09:17 AM.
05-28-2010 at 09:17 AM.
Quote from uscpsycho :
I know for a fact that you can go from DisplayPort to VGA with one of the cheaper adapters. Are you sure there is no way for a converter to go the other way?
digital to analogue is apparently easy
but analogue to digital is a little harder.

and the lack of a market for such an adapter.
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Original Poster
uscpsycho
05-28-2010 at 12:17 PM.
05-28-2010 at 12:17 PM.
Quote from noaht :
I'll say, I've looked for this before and haven't been able to find it. I ended up going VGA to HDMI with an atlona box.
Quote from Justmtnb44 :
I agree with jjm004, you can't go from computer VGA to monitor DisplayPort with an adapter. VGA is analog and DisplayPort is digital. At the very least, it would require some sort of powered converter module, but I have never seen one for DisplayPort, only HDMI. It would probably be easiest and cheapest to get a new video card with DVI output, since they do have DVI to DisplayPort adapters.
Well based on existence of VGA to HDMI converters I would assume VGA to DVI is at leasi possible.
Quote from WindRider :
Have you tried Gefen EXT-VGA-2-DVISP VGA to DVI Scaler PLUS [amazon.com] before ? It is from VGA to DVI and you can buy another DVI to mini DVI adapter maybe...
And there it is. But at $200+ just to get to DVI and then needing another $100+ converter to complete the trip from DVI to DisplayPort I think I will pass. Thanks for digging that up for me!

Quote from Jeffbx :
Agree with above - you can't go from analog to digital without a coverter box, and a new video card w/DVI-D or DP out would probably be cheaper.
The PC in question runs XP Media Center, and I believe it handles the video in/out (not sure about that). So I'm not sure I'm going to find a replacement card with DP. Plus the damn thing is a Sony and we all know that Sony PCs don't play well with non-stock components.



This really sucks. I partly based my decision to buy the iMac on its ability to receive video in. I realize Apple has it's head up its ass a lot of the time, but I didn't think the video input would be so crippled that it's unusable except for a handful of Apple products.

And it also kills me that any computer maker would supply such a stunning 27" display without a stock Blu-ray capable disc player, but with Apple it's not even a freaking option. Apple is literally the only computer maker in America that doesn't offer Blu-ray. At least Apple got their act together in 2009 and started offering SD card readers ten years after everyone else (so long as you don't buy their top of the line computers (17" MBP or PowerMacs).
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Justmtnb44
05-28-2010 at 01:12 PM.
05-28-2010 at 01:12 PM.
Quote from uscpsycho :
Well based on existence of VGA to HDMI converters I would assume VGA to DVI is at leasi possible.

The PC in question runs XP Media Center, and I believe it handles the video in/out (not sure about that). So I'm not sure I'm going to find a replacement card with DP. Plus the damn thing is a Sony and we all know that Sony PCs don't play well with non-stock components.

This really sucks. I partly based my decision to buy the iMac on its ability to receive video in. I realize Apple has it's head up its ass a lot of the time, but I didn't think the video input would be so crippled that it's unusable except for a handful of Apple products.
VGA can be converted to anything with the proper powered adapter, it's just a matter of cost and availability really. Probably the simplest way to go here is a VGA to HDMI adapter, then a HDMI to DisplayPort cable. VGA to HDMI Converter [bhphotovideo.com] and HDMI to DisplayPort cable [amazon.com]. I can't vouch for either of those parts but they may work for you. Total cost around $100.

Do you use the video in/out feature of the media center PC? If not, I would still just replace the video card. I don't see why Sony PC's are that much more troublesome than anything else, all PC components are basically the same and it's running Windows.

Hmm, Apple make a crappy product with limited and/or proprietary connectivity? Never would have guessed, lol. The monitor has no inputs other than DisplayPort?
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Original Poster
uscpsycho
05-28-2010 at 02:49 PM.
05-28-2010 at 02:49 PM.
Quote from Justmtnb44 :
VGA can be converted to anything with the proper powered adapter, it's just a matter of cost and availability really. Probably the simplest way to go here is a VGA to HDMI adapter, then a HDMI to DisplayPort cable. VGA to HDMI Converter [bhphotovideo.com] and HDMI to DisplayPort cable [amazon.com]. I can't vouch for either of those parts but they may work for you. Total cost around $100.

Do you use the video in/out feature of the media center PC? If not, I would still just replace the video card. I don't see why Sony PC's are that much more troublesome than anything else, all PC components are basically the same and it's running Windows.

Hmm, Apple make a crappy product with limited and/or proprietary connectivity? Never would have guessed, lol. The monitor has no inputs other than DisplayPort?
Hmmm... That VGA to HDMI converter is made by Kanex and they also make an HDMI to DisplayPort adapter. I wonder if you can daisychain them to go from VGA to DisplayPort? That would cost about $115 and would be worth it to me instead of dealing with the headaches of changing the video card. Since they seem to have the technology to do it I wish they'd produce a VGA to DisplayPort adapter. (EDIT: Actually, it would be about $180 for both converters, that's quite a bit less appealing.)

I use the video in/out on the media center PC extensively so I must have that.

Sony has a habit of tightly integrating custom drivers/software with their hardware so changing something like a video card has been known to cause serious headaches.

The monitor is on an iMac so the only input is the DisplayPort connection. That's a big deal for Apple, the 27" iMac is the only one to ever offer any kind of video input. But it's super restricted which sucks.
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Last edited by uscpsycho May 28, 2010 at 10:36 PM.
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uscpsycho
05-28-2010 at 04:38 PM.
05-28-2010 at 04:38 PM.
For anyone reading this in the future, I asked Kanex about daisy chaining and here's their response:
Quote :
Date: 5/28/2010 3:18:30 PM
You would need to set your VGA source to 1280x720 and connect the source to the VGA to HDMI converter and it should work with the 27" iMac using the Kanex XD, for the 24" Cinema Display you would need to set the output resolution of the VGA source to 1920x1200 and it should work on the 24" Cinema Display.
Too bad you get higher resolution on a 24" monitor than on the 27" iMac. Gonna have to think about this...
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noaht
05-28-2010 at 10:25 PM.
05-28-2010 at 10:25 PM.
Ouch man. That's rough.
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Jeffbx
06-01-2010 at 07:17 AM.
06-01-2010 at 07:17 AM.
Quote from uscpsycho :
The PC in question runs XP Media Center, and I believe it handles the video in/out (not sure about that). So I'm not sure I'm going to find a replacement card with DP. Plus the damn thing is a Sony and we all know that Sony PCs don't play well with non-stock components.

This really sucks. I partly based my decision to buy the iMac on its ability to receive video in. I realize Apple has it's head up its ass a lot of the time, but I didn't think the video input would be so crippled that it's unusable except for a handful of Apple products.
Oooh that does suck - Sony machines are indeed some of the most proprietary out there, which is why I try to steer people away from them. So yeah, you could try swapping the card but you're right that it'll probably be a big headache.

And to be fair, DisplayPort is the new standard for digital video out - most higher end laptops & desktops now come with a DP connection (I have one on my laptop). But leave it to Apple to have ONLY DP and no DVI or VGA. That's where Dell monitors shine - grab a U2711 or U2410 & there are more inputs on those than you would know what to do with - DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, Component & HDMI. Not that that helps you now that you have that iMac....
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