HDMI for a standard definition tv

whats the best way to hook up a streamer like roku or fire tv to a tv without an hdmi input?

I think the best way is to ask for solid advice from friends you trust.

Using a Roku with an old SD tube TV A) is retarded, and B) may not even work. Stuff like Netflix is copy protected and old TVs don't have the copy protection stuff. All the content will have the wrong aspect ratio for old TVs. Lastly the converter to do this properly will cost as much as a new TV.

I would have thought those boxes (the Roku, Fire, etc.) had RCA plugs, as well as HDMI.

I guess not.

[ATTACH]57211[/ATTACH]

$2.99

From here.

Here's the deal man. That cable is not a converter, it's a passive adapter...

HDMI cables can carry two signals. One is the digital video signal that we're all looking at on our monitors right now, and that our new TVs use. The other is the old analog video that old TVs do.

If your device sends the analog signal, than that cable will split it off and send it into the three plugs on the TV. That cable does nothing to the digital signal

If it's a Roku 3 it won't send the signal at all.

OLDER Rokus MAY send the signal, but probably only if it's not copy-protected.

Hence the $100 HD Fury which actually converts the digital signal to analog and "removes" the copy protection.

Well, shit.

So for $100 I can record Verizons digital signal on my VCR?

Not the digital signal, a bad SD analog version of it. Although I've never actually used one so I don't know. Hollywood has gone after Chinese converters that remove copy protection from HD digital feeds. But for an analog SD version the signal might be downgraded enough to be legal.

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Undertoad;963460 wrote:

Not the digital signal, a bad SD analog version of it.

xoxoxoBruce;963450 wrote:

So for $100 I can record Verizons digital signal on my VCR?

I think Bruce would be OK with that.

Yes, I think so. Maybe the $250 version would be better.

Answer starts by learning some basic technology.

Early video was RGB - provided by three colored RCA jacks. Or a composite video (one jack). TV stations started recording in S-video - higher resolution. Then retransmitting that to what was then obsolete technology RGB or composite video.

Eventually a better technology was promoted along with HD (also called digital) video -HDMI. Fortunately this standard was not subverted by Congress that created a HDTV standard that does not exist anywhere in the world - 8VSB.

Converting from high tech to low tech is often easy. Converting from low tech to high tech is harder to locate - because it makes no sense. Why would anyone display crappy video on a better display.

Usually an HDMI source also has some obsolete technology outputs - to output standard technology digital video video into obsolete technology RBG. Better and cheaper is to obtain a low cost video display that does HDMI and other obsolete technology video inputs such as RGB, composite, or S-video. Solution - spend less on a better (current technology) video display.

Just cos I find it interesting,

The three colored RCA jacks are actually not RGB. They are component video, which shows all (visible) colors into two color maps and one luminance (brightness) level.

On this image from the Wikipedia page on YUV color, you can see how the three different levels map to a single color image.



This approach saves bandwidth because less room can be devoted to the color spaces. Then it also works well with human perception of color, even when broadcast screws things up. So it's a remarkable olden times analog hack.

crossflix;963394 wrote:

whats the best way to hook up a streamer like roku or fire tv to a tv without an hdmi input?

what kind of inputs does the tv you have, have?

why are you devoted to an antique tv?

if you're interested, I have a couple vintage Roku streamers with (let me look...) more than just HDMI out. we should talk.

eta: I have an old N1100 or N1101. Interested?

BigV;963977 wrote:

why are you devoted to an antique tv?

'Cause new TVs cost money? Admittedly, not as much as a couple years ago, but, still...