VGA to HDMI: Introduction

With HDMI HDTVs becoming the norm, many are wondering how to get their computer to play on their HDTV, especially if it is a VGA signal coming from your source. To convert VGA to HDMI can be difficult because of some essential differences between the two signals. It is a lot like converting an apple to an orange since it is converting an analog signal to a digital one. Hence, a conversion box is needed. After a year of research below are our top picks:

Best Value: VGA to HDMI 720p Scaler

We've tested this VGA to HDMI 720p scaler and it works really well. We take VGA to HDMI quite seriously, having tested many units over the last year or so. This unit has the best value on the market, converting up to 720p perfectly without any bands of color, artifacts, or blips that other modestly priced VGA to HDMI scalers can sometimes have. Of course, if you're wanting 1080p, you'll need to invest more than 3 times the money.

Scaling is when you convert a video format and you need to go to a different resolution. For instance, if your VGA resolution is 1024 x 768 and you are converting to 720p, you will need this scaler.

720p or 1080p?: If you're trying to decide whether you really want to invest the extra money for the 1080p capabilities, maybe this will help. How big is your HDTV? If it's 37 inches or smaller, chances are your TV either doesn't even support 1080p or it doesn't matter because it looks virtually the same, especially as you approach 32 inches or smaller. If you've got a 42 inch TV or larger, and you plan on using this scaler to read text from your VGA source, 720p will actually work out well since the text will be larger. You'll find yourself using 720p for reading normal sized text from across the room. If it's mainly video that you'll be watching and you have a TV larger than 37 inches, and you consider yourself a "videophile" or one the obsessively loves high definition, then the extra money for a 1080p VGA to HDMI scaler is recommended.

We Suggest You Use This for Straight Format Conversion (without scaling):

We suggest you use AITech's VGA to HDMI Format Converter for converting VGA to HDMI. This box handles the job cleanly without artifacts or other unfixable problems. This box does not scale, however. This means that there are very limited resolutions available. We tested it to display 1024x768, but better resolutions are probably possible depending on your VGA source. This option also allows the addition of analog stereo audio (RCA) that allow you to embed audio into your HDMI signal and also allows you to choose whether you are converting an RGB (VGA style) or Component signal.

We Suggest You Use this for VGA to HDMI Format Conversion and Scaling up to 1080p

As stated above, Scaling is when you convert a video format and you need to go to a different resolution. For instance, if your VGA resolution is 1024 x 768 and you are converting to 1080p, you will need a scaler. Again, we recommend AITech's VGA to HDMI Scaler handles the job cleanly with easily adjustable resolutions (that will actually fit your HDTV unlike some other models we've tested), and without staticky artifacts.

Also, a great fix-all feature on it allows you to give it a hard reset by holding down the menu button while you unplug and plug the unit back in to the AC adapter. This might become handy for you down the road when your HDMI TV and the converter don't see eye to eye which can be expected, even with the most expensive professional scalers.

Other Suggested Options

Another options is the Startech VGA to HDMI converter. This converter is very similar to AITech's VGA to HDMI Format Converter in functionality but is provided as another option. Unfortunately, the Startech part is rarely in stock. Both of these options also provide a way to include stereo audio, turning their VGA and Audio sources into a single HDMI audio/video signal.

Why The Conversion Box?

You might be wondering why you would need to purchase a conversion box that is obviously more expensive than your average little inexpensive passive adapter. The reason lies within the type of signal that is being transmitted. VGA (or Video Graphics Array) is purely an analog signal. There have been several successors to VGA (like SVGA, XGA, all the way to QXGA) but this only refers to the resolution at which the signal can be viewed (QXGA supports a resolution of up to 2048x1536). HDMI on the other hand is a digital signal, using a DVI type of video signal (Digital Video Interface). So the main reason for the converter box is to translate an Analog signal to a digital one.

Component and VGA

Not very many people know that the component signal and the VGA signal use essentially identical standards (RGB), except in how the display sync is handled. Some equipment that has a VGA input port on it can also support YPbPr (component) signals through the same port. When that is the case you can use a simple passive straight-through solution to convert component and VGA, making the VGA to Component adapter a good compliment to that type of equipment. AITech's VGA to HDMI Format Converter comes with an adapter cable just like that so that you can use a component source with it. This would allow you to use either component or VGA through the same converter.

If you're only using a component video source instead of VGA, we suggest Gefen's Component to HDMI conversion box. This part is great for converting those older component sources to use on your HDMI displays. Gefen is a very high quality manufacturer and their equipment is generally some of the best.