Apple TV HMDI to VGA - will it stream?

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Level 1

59 points

Apple TV HMDI to VGA - will it stream?

Dear Apple TV experts

I have an older Toshiba CRT 36-inch flat screen TV 1080i (circa 2005), its one of the last of its kind before everything went non-CRT flat screen. It doesn't have HDMI, and its two Component Video Inputs are already being used for Bluray and a PVR. It does, however, have an RGB VGA port for say a computer input.

Question: can I connect Apple TV into this port and get full Apple TV functionality ? I know I can get an HDMI to VGA cable (e.g. Belkin or Kanex) as well as port the Apple TV optical audio into my (old) Denon receiver. BUT from my research so far, although this may allow say Airplay mirroring of music/video from my iPhone/iPad, it WILL NOT allow regular Apple TV streaming because the HDMI to VGA cable cannot overcome "HDCP" ie. high definition copy protection, which is part of all modern digital streaming. Do I have this right ? This is why such cables are touted as "HDMI to VGA Airplay adapters" rather than "HMDI to VGA Apple TV streaming adapters".

Solution: I need a new TV...? Thanks, Fox! :-(

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 2.0 GHz, 4GB RAM

Posted on Jul 13, 2015 11:24 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 14, 2015 1:47 AM in response to fox27

Do I have this right ?

Unfortunately, yes.,

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Answer 2

fox27 Author

Level 1

59 points

Jul 14, 2015 3:51 AM in response to Winston Churchill

Winston, thank you for your prompt honestly.... Frakking dammit...!!!

Cheers, Fox 😢

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Answer 3

fox27 Author

Level 1

59 points

Jul 14, 2015 5:40 AM in response to fox27

Hi Winston, Fox again. OK, in that case, do you think it might be worth a gamble trying one of these HMDI to VGA powered converters? A little searching on Amazon and the web seems to suggest one of those HDFury boxes might do the trick. Sometimes they say 'supports Apple TV', notwithstanding what that 'really' means in terms of the HDCP issue. Would I be wasting my time and money...? (My TV has a great picture for its size and vintage, my sound system is great, and I just don't have the funds to go for a new flat screen... just at the moment...)

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Answer 4

Jul 14, 2015 5:53 AM in response to fox27

Difficult subject... Technically anything that would work can't be talked about here in these communities. Here's my usual splurge on the matter.

DVI

Some users with DVI have managed to get their TV's to work with DVI-HDMI cables. DVI carries no audio, so alternative connections need to be explored to enable audio. DVI doesn't necessarily support HDCP as well as other standards used by HDMI (which may or may not be an issue)

Analogue (component, composite etc)

There are hardware converters that will convert HDMI to various other types of output, however there are some issues with doing so that you should be aware of.

HDCP

HDCP compliant converters will not allow you to watch HDCP protected content such as that from the iTunes Store. Non compliant converters exist but we cannot discuss them under the Terms of Use for these communities.

Resolution and aspect ratio

I'm not aware of any converters that will scale the output from the Apple TV, any TV or projector which is used will ideally need to be widescreen and support resolutions of 720p (Apple TV 2), 720p/1080p (Apple TV 3), although the Apple TV does have a number of 4:3 resolutions it supports, but these may not be available if the TV doesn't broadcast them.

DAC

Most types of HDMI to non HDMI connectors or converters won’t carry audio, in such cases you may also need to convert your optical output to an analogue signal using a DAC.

DAC (Example Only - Not a recommendation or suggestion that this is suitable in your circumstances)

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Answer 5

Rudegar

Level 10

180,570 points

Jul 14, 2015 6:39 AM in response to fox27

vga dont do hdcp of cause so one of 2 scenarios would happen

1

the converter would not do anything and everything which require hdcp like well everything apart from your home movies would not work

2

the converter would be attempting to remove the hdcp well even hdmi splitters and switches which dont try to remove hdcp seem to have a poor track record working with the appletv's or maybe I get the impression because we get all the posts with people whos receiver hdmi splitter or their manual ext one don't work and the likes here

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