Is there any DVI to HDMI converter with audio?

Question

I have a laptop with VGA and DVI outputs, but no HDMI. I want to connect it to a HDMI TV.

Is there any DVI→HDMI converter that also grabs audio? Obviously, the DVI port does not carry audio signal, so the converter must grab the audio from somewhere else (either a USB or the headphones plug).

This is what I want: {DVI + audio from laptop} → {HDMI to the TV}

Notes:

• It is a laptop, I can't change the video card. (and no, I don't want to buy another laptop now)
• Yes, I can use the VGA-in at the TV. In fact, I'm already using it, but as the signal is analog, the image quality is not as good.

Solution 1

Maybe such adapter is not needed at all!

Some/many TVs have a HDMI/DVI port that accepts either HDMI or a DVI-through-HDMI-adapter. On such port, the audio comes from the RGB/DVI Audio-in.

So... It should be possible to use a simple DVI-to-HDMI adapter in addition to a standard audio cable. No expensive or bulky adapters needed.

References:

• The third picture from this product explains this solution. (picture reproduced above)
• LG 32LB9RTA manual, page 21

Solution 2

Yes. Both models with a 3.5mm stereo plug and with digital input (S/PDIF) exist.

Solution 3

DVI is capable of having audio on it, with the correct graphics device, and the correct simple adaption to HDMI , many people have suceeded in having thier HDMI tv connected with audio from a DVI. They have achieved this with both ATI and Nvida cards on Desktops. They read the wiki (which says it doesnt happen) and talked to ATI who stated it wasnt there, but it was? It aparentally is non standard, but I thought I had read the "standards" when they first came out, and that existed along with analog VGA connection points?

Like you said though, Note , it is a laptop , and the video device isn't going to change. I am just indicating that it very well is possible on some devices with the correct (simple) adapter.

Did your DVI connecting laptop happen to come with a DVI to HDMI adapter? Did you install the Audio for the video card driver? or does the system even show one existing? Is the laptop carrying one of the popular video chips , was it made in the last few years?

Solution 4

I have been looking for the same kind of adapter. Found one on amazon...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fosmon-Audio-HDMI-Converter-Adapter/dp/B008TV4BCU/ref=sr_1_192?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358946558&sr=1-192

make sure it supports 1080p or whatever you need though.

Solution 5

Yes, there do exist DVI+Audio ⇨ HDMI cables. They have an HDMI connector on one end and a DVI connector plus a standard 3.5mm TRRS cable on the other. Here are some examples.

When searching for such cables online, be sure to look specifically for the audio component because some sellers (like on eBay) will indiscriminately keyword spam and include the word audio in the product description even though it has absolutely no audio capability.

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Comments

[Denilson Sá Maia]

"Did your DVI connecting laptop happen to come with a DVI to HDMI adapter? Did you install the Audio for the video card driver? or does the system even show one existing?": No, no and no. The card is Nvidia GeForce 9500M GS, from 2007/2008, and I bet it doesn't have built-in audio. (BTW, the audio card is Realtek HDA)

[Psycogeek]

Agree, adapter needed. or just feed headphone plug out to seperate speakers. Here we can get a set of powered speakers that are way better than what they stick into a flat screen, for less money than an adapter that will feed analog audio into the digital HDMI. Which just leaves any delay issues. some hdmi tvs can have a 1-2 frame delay when processing the video in the display engine in the tv.

[Denilson Sá Maia]

The only one I found was amazon.com/StarTech-com-DVI2HDMIA-Video-Converter-Audio/dp/… , which seems quite big and expensive. Not exactly what I expected. I won't ask for suggestions, since shopping recommendations are off-topic. But... If the models you mention do exist, could you add a link or something? (this is the equivalent of [citation needed])

[Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams]

There's this one, which I found in the "Also Viewed" section of that page. You won't find one for much less, since injecting the audio into the HDMI signal is not somehting to be taken lightly.

[Psycogeek]

monoprice.com/products/… from the other thread S/PDIF only it looks like.

[Mikhail Batcer]

These cables are actually DVI+Audio ⇨ HDMI+Audio. They don't and can't embed audio signal into HDMI, they just carry it along with digital video signal in analog form.

[Waylon Flinn]

I can confirm that DVI sometimes carries audio. I have an NVIDIA card with a DVI to HDMI adapter connected to a television. That single connection carries both video and audio to the television. My previous NVIDIA card had exactly the same functionality.