Can an HDMI to VGA adapter have a resolution limit?

Question

I purchased an HDMI to VGA adapter but when I connected the HDMI part to my laptop and the VGA part to my monitor, laptop told me that the optimal resolution for that device was 1024x768 even though I was able to use 1680x1050 when I connected the monitor directly to the VGA socket of my laptop. Somewhere along the line, something caps the maximum resolution I think. Could it be the HDMI socket of my laptop or the HDMI to VGA adapter?

Solution

Yes, HDMI to VGA conversion must be limited because VGA standard is limited by the frequency of 400 Mhz. This means you cannot get above ex. 2581 * 2581 * 60 Hz = 400 Mhz, even if the hardware (ramdac) is premium. Usually there is an arbitrary limit because of quality loss already at 1440 and even 1280 lines.

Comments

[TheKB]

Could you edit in what HDMI to VGA adapter you have? HDMI and VGA are fundamentally different, so you need a powered adapter.

[Gappy Hilmore]

There is no brand name at all on the device. Even the invoice just says hdmi to vga adapter. Lets say this will not work well, would a cheap hdmi to dvi be a problem, since they are just supposed to connect the wires together?

[TheKB]

If your monitor supports DVI-D then, yes, an HDMI to DVI adapter will work as well, if not better than VGA.

[sawdust]

An HDMI-to-VGA converter will certainly have a resolution limit, and very likely convert only specific resolutions, e.g. 1024x768, 1280x720p, 1920x1080p. The converter I have uses an EP9851 chip.

[Gappy Hilmore]

vga works fine when connected directly to the vga output of the laptop, so there can't be anything intrinsic about the vga interface that causes this problem. and a limit of 2581x2581 is certainly good enough. I just purchased a hdmi to dvi cable and it was also able to display the full 1680x1050, so there can't be anything wrong with the hdmi output of the laptop. this can only mean the hdmi to vga adapter had a limit which was not mentioned at all by the vendor. I would be right to be mad at them at this point?

[Frank Sixteen]

Yes, anything that can't support full HD today is good enough reason to claim and get full refund. I doubt you will find a better HDMI2VGA converter. It is an interface few care to support anymore. You won't have any trouble with HDMI2DVI because they support the same resolution and is in fact electrically the same. DP on the other hand support even higher resolution than HDMI.