any use for HDMI (esp. audio?)

**psychotic** · 07-19-2008, 10:06 AM

I have an extra laptop that I plan on using for the carputer very soon. (I installed TinyXP BARE installation on it, which is XP SP3 with a bunch of reg. mods and *crap* cut out to make it run as fast as can be.
Anyways, the laptop has HDMI output and the HDMI can be used for audio only as well.... Is there any advantage to using the HDMI, or HDMI to DVI/VGA + Optical converters? They seem to cost at least $100, where the USB to optical devices are much less, and then it would be USB to optical + VGA.

any use for the hdmi? usb is digital too... so i'd assume there is not reason to use it, right?

**warnockm** · 07-19-2008, 12:10 PM

Unless your display accepts DVI-D inputs, no.

Most motherboards have SPDIF outputs on them, even if your case does not have port for it. You can hook a connector up to these pins to get an COAX output. An optical digital audio port uses the SPDIF signal and a +5v to run the LED, but the signal is the same.

**psychotic** · 05-24-2009, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by warnockm

Unless your display accepts DVI-D inputs, no.

Most motherboards have SPDIF outputs on them, even if your case does not have port for it. You can hook a connector up to these pins to get an COAX output. An optical digital audio port uses the SPDIF signal and a +5v to run the LED, but the signal is the same.

this is a laptop, it happens to have an hdmi port for the higher quality digital audio... It doesn't have either coax or optical SPDIF.... but I wanted to use optical... basically, I can get a converter for the HDMI audio to convert to optical, or I can get a usb plug-in that converts to optical... since USB and HDMI are both 'digital' - I'm guessing there wouldn't be any benefit to using the hdmi port, or maybe there is?? I don't know..

**rodweb** · 05-24-2009, 09:41 PM

Some 7" monitors like my xenarc 706-TSA have a DVI-D input.
See http://www.xenarc.com/product/706tsa.html

I think I must be too old fashioned with this video stuff because I have not yet worked out what you could do with it. Maybe your HDMI on your laptop could go straight into this input. Not sure if the touch screen is active in this mode though.

**Ramb0_Command0** · 05-26-2009, 11:26 AM

I'm not really sure how well those USB -> Optical cables would work. I would probably just go with a separate sound car. You would need an amplifier with optical in connections to be able to use the optical cable anyway. And if you are spending that kind of money on the audio equipment I would think you would be willing to do it properly with a full sound card solution. The HDMI for video is perfectly legitimate, HDMI to DVI cables are pretty cheap I recommend Monoprice for any cables, they are awesome.

**Flaring_Afro** · 05-26-2009, 11:41 AM

Best buy is a rip off when it comes to accessories. I got a 15' hdmi cable thats good quality off amazon for like $12 shipped. Also, hdmi is not as good quality as optical, in a car. In a home there shouldnt be a difference but since optical CAN"T pick up distortion it really is perfect for car use, besides the fact that little to no amplifiers accept optical.

**Crinos** · 05-26-2009, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by Flaring_Afro

Best buy is a rip off when it comes to accessories. I got a 15' hdmi cable thats good quality off amazon for like $12 shipped. Also, hdmi is not as good quality as optical, in a car. In a home there shouldnt be a difference but since optical CAN"T pick up distortion it really is perfect for car use, besides the fact that little to no amplifiers accept optical.

HDMI cables are crap for audio.... but without a mach when it comes to video

I read an article about the newest standard of hdmi that will support touch, but the current standard do not support touch.

**Flaring_Afro** · 05-26-2009, 03:59 PM

^ depends on what kind of hdmi port hookup you have. i have 2 laptops with it. one is an hp with an integrated intel graphics chip and the audio isnt that great, but on my gateway fx with a nvidia 9800 gts and that thing sends very good audio. its sending the digital format so unless you have a crappy cable or software it will be very good.

**PaulF** · 05-26-2009, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Crinos

HDMI cables are crap for audio.... but without a mach when it comes to video

I read an article about the newest standard of hdmi that will support touch, but the current standard do not support touch.

Touch works regardless of the image type. The touch drivers work over USB and that's that. You can use any kind of video between there. That said, what kind of device are you using that can accept optical input?

**Ramb0_Command0** · 05-26-2009, 09:21 PM

HDMI is equivalent to optical when it comes to audio quality but really neither of them is going to do you any good in the car environment unless you are using an amp that will accept one of them as an input source. Pretty much non-existent, since it would require the amp to decode the digital signal. Just get an external sound card and hook it up the normal way, and use a hdmi->cable if you get a touchscreen with a DVI connection, or just regular VGA otherwise.