Is hdmi backwards compatable with dvi? I was under the impression that it was suppose to be. But it didnt work out very well on my first attempt that ended in failure after a week of trying and finally just giving up.

Describe what you did. DVIout to HDMIin? HDMIout to DVIin? Are both units HDCPcompatible?

piece of cake. a sony dvp70h dvd player with hdmi connected to the westinghouse lvm37w1 through DVI (both are hdcp compliant). I tried different settings with the dvd player. the only thing i can get out of the dvd player is 480p. I went as far as contacting sony and they led me throught the same exact things i tried. it all failed. so just using the component connections now. doesnt really matter as the blacks are better through component anyway. and i really like to be able to use the zoom function on the tv when dealing will pillar boxes created by 480 non-anamorphic stuff. the other thing i didnt like with the dvd player is the shift issue with hdmi but thats another issue.

So is HDMI suppose to be backwards compatable with DVI? Or is it just a hit and miss type of thing? if its just a hit and miss type of thing then i know i dont have to ever worry about hdmi until my tv does not work anymore.

Cable companies have been caught recently messing up the output of HDMI connections when DVI is detected...this happened all around in various areas in the overnight "upgrades" to cable boxes.

Cable companies have been caught recently messing up the output of HDMI connections when DVI is detected...this happened all around in various areas in the overnight "upgrades" to cable boxes.
I would never notice that as HDMI through the cable box sucks. Its hooked up to component. Also i expect it from the cable company. They would mess up a free lunch and they wouldnt know how to pour piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel.

But then do you have an answer to my question?

But then do you have an answer to my question?

The answer is "it should be, unless someone is bent against it">

More than a couple HDMI output DVD players have had problems changing resolutions when connected to a DVI display. The player has to let you select the resolution without any knowledge of what the display supports. Sometimes the last/current resolution of the DVI display is reported back and that is the only one the player will allow. If the player allows you to select any resolution and some don't work, then it sounds like a display issue. Make sure you check over in the LCD forum. It's also possible that it's a HDCP issue but more than likely the Sony is using HDCP for 480p so I wouldn't make that a prime suspect.

larry

with the three responces i have gotten i have come to the conclusion that HDMI is NOT backwards compatible with DVI due to the restrictions of the hardware manufacturers who have problems with implementation. ie: you have to use the correct manufacturers together for the equipment to work properly.

thanks to everyone involved. :) I will continue to pass on HDMI for now.

In the case of the cableboxes , the cable company has recently begun to make backwards compatability with DVI impossible, on purpose.

HDMI requires that all HDMI devices be able to go into a "DVI mode", meaning it turns off the audio and info packets, and send a strict DVI compliant video stream. From a video resolution perspective, we only spelled out that all HDMI devices must support 480p or VGA resolution in the DVI mode at minimum, and it appears this minimum "safe mode" is what the DVD player is going to. There are a few possibilities of why this is happening:

1) the video timings that the TV is reporting on its EDID are somehow not recognized by the DVD player, and thus the DVD player goes into "safe mode." I noticed that your particular TV is a little on the older side, so this might be the case.
2) the DVD player was designed to simply go into 480p only when put into DVI mode.

Sorry that you're not having a good experience here. The problem is that TVs that use DVI have a great deal of variance in their implementations (such as EDID design) since DVI has no compliance program or compliance spec. We have seen manufacturers design their products with more PC-centric EDID's because this is what is written in the DVI spec.

We recommend that consumers try to use HDMI end to end in order to get a more consistent, higher quality experience. Since DVI was created as a PC technology with no compliance or design criteria enforcement, it's difficult to ensure the quality of a HDMI to DVI connection.

Now that is the specific information i was looking for. Now i understand completely.
Thanks a bunch!
i just purchased this tv just over a year ago. I cannot afford to purchase another. So i will jsut live with it like i mentioned earlier. i guess i have a date with HDMI to HDMI in about 10 years.

Again thanks a bunch. :)