HDMI to VGA and RGB Component Converter

HDMI or High Definition Multimedia Interface is an interface for transferring uncompressed video and audio data. The keyword here is "digital". VGA and component video are both analog transferring methods.

In order for you to convert a HDMI source to an analog VGA or component video, you will need a digital to analog converter. If you are unaware of this may just go and buy a HDMI to VGA or component cable and find that it does not work. The cable does not convert the digital signal to analog and therefore the signal is not recognized.

What you require is a proper digital HDMI to analog VGA or component signal converter. HDMI transmit both video and audio on a single cable so you will need the converter to split the digital audio signal and separate it.

The digital audio signal can either be preserved in digital format and output via a SPDIF port (either optical or RCA) so that you can send the audio signal to an AV receiver or it can be down sampled to analog stereo via RCA stereo ports.

The HDCP HDMI to VGA + SPDIF RGB Component Ypbpr Converter v1.3b from Amazon is an ideal HDMI to VGA converter as it converts the HDMI video to both VGA and Component and the audio is preserved in both digital format and also down sampled to stereo so you can use any combination of video and audio according to your equipment capability.

Using the HDCP HDMI to VGA + SPDIF RGB Component Ypbpr Converter v1.3b is quite straight forward and simple. It does not come with any cables except for the power adapter so you will need to prepare a few cables.

1. HDMI cable
2. VGA cable (if you are connecting via VGA to your TV)
3. Component cable (red/blue/green RCA cable if you are connecting via component to your TV)
4. Optical SPDIF (if you are going to pass thru the surround sound digital signal to an AV receiver)
5. RCA stereo cable (if you are going to connect to the TV speakers)

Here are the steps to connecting your HDMI source to the HDMI to VGA converter and from the converter to your TV.

1. Connect one end of the HDMI cable to your HDMI source (BluRay player, media player, etc).
2. Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI to VGA converter's HDMI input port.
3. Attach one end of the VGA cable to the VGA output of the converter (if using VGA) and attach the other end to the VGA input on the TV or
4. Attach one end of the component cable to the component output of the converter (if using component) and connect the other end to the component input on the TV.
5. Attach one end of the optical SPDIF cable to the SPDIF port on the converter and the other end to your AV receiver SPDIF input port or
6. Attach one end of the stereo RCA cable to the stereo output on the converter and the otehr end to the TV's stereo input.
7. Switch the output selector switch to either VGA or component depending of which method you are using.
8. Connect the power adapter to the power port on the converter and plug it in.
9. Select the correct video source on the TV.

Please take note that the HDCP HDMI to VGA + SPDIF RGB Component Ypbpr Converter v1.3b does not scale the video source. It supports up to 1080p and any signal it receives is just converted from digital to analog but it does not scale the video source resolution.

If your TV does not support 1080p video and it does not have a built-in scaler, it will not be able to support a native 1080p source even if converted to an analog signal by the converter.

However, there are converters available that are able to down scale images to lower resolutions. I have listed these HDMI to VGA converters below if you need this function. Please check your TV's capability to decide if you need scaling capability.