My wife is a teacher at a small private school who just purchased Apple TVs for use in their classrooms. I am trying to help her get it set up and have run into a strange problem. When I connect the projector (the very old projector with no HDMI input) using a 3ft VGA cable with the HDMI to VGA converter it works great, but when I use a 25ft VGA cable it has no signal, can anyone help me with this problem?
Apple sells HDMI to VGA converters for non-protected content (ideal for the classroom) in conjunction with the Apple TV, I'd be surprised if they weren't guaranteed to work.
Hi bbuchanan316. It sounds like the converter simply doesn't have the power to drive the long cable. The best solution would be to mount Apple TV and the converter near the projector, using short cables. Since you connect to Apple TV by WiFi, it doesn't need to be accessible.
I'd like to remind you that you will likely not be able to play DRM videos, like those from iTunes, with this setup. That should not be a problem in the school setting.
It may also depend on the quality of the cable but generally speaking long cables are problematic, avoid them where possible and in some cases, as you've discovered they may not work.
The only supported method is HDMI so there will never be a guarantee with any converter. Even if it does work you would be unable to view protected content and functionality could cease at any time.
Apple TV used with HDMI to VGA converter
