I have a Mitsubishi HDTV ready monitor. It has a DVI input and component cables. I was going to purchase a DVI to HDMI adaptor to play HD DVD and Blu Ray discs but a buddy of mine mentioned to me that HD DVD and Blu-Ray will downconvert on this type of setup because of the discs encoding. He said it has to be HDMI to HDMI. Am I screwed? Do I have to buy a new TV? Or is there something i can do? Any information would be great. Thanks!

Your buddy is wrong. You can do HDMI - DVI, or component. Nothing will be downrezzed, but regular DVD will not upscale over component.

But if the monitor does not display 1080p then what is really the point.

But if the monitor does not display 1080p then what is really the point.Most monitors don't natively anyways. 1080i will look just as good.

You will also lose the audio in an HDMI to DVI conversion.

Nothing is 100% but dvi is hdmi without the sound. If you already have the hd player, the adapter is pennies in comparison. I have a dvi to hdmi cable connected to an hdmi to M1 adapter and play hd on my projector all the time. And the cable is from radio shack.

HDMI to DVI doesn't downconvert at all for the time being. There is a clause in the HDMI specification that allows content owners to publish their work with the ICT (Image Constraint Token) enabled, but no one has really used this feature, and won't for a number of years.

You'll have to find another way to connect audio, however, as (as mentioned above) you'll lose the audio portion of the HDMI signal since DVI only carries video.

You need to plug in audio cables but DVI will work for upconversion for DVDs and for HD DVD. The Component video in will also allow for HD DVD playback at 1080i and 480p playback of DVDs which your set can then upscale to 1080i. If the set is under 50 inches you might be hard pressed to see a difference. If it under 42 inches the 480p upconverted to 1080i on your display will look pretty good.

Remember to set the output of the player to 1080i and set any overscan options on the display to 100%.

Yep, you can use DVI (via HDMI to DVI) or commponet. The DVI will have a set of analog audio jacks so you can use that for audio. Or if you have a amlplifer you can use the optical or 5.1 analogs if it has them.


But I was using a HDMI to DVI cable for a few years never had a issue...

But if the monitor does not display 1080p then what is really the point.

No need for asshat remarks. You know full well the point is viewing movies in HD, which the OP can do. Are you saying the ONLY HD worth watching is 1080p? That's patently absurd.

Let's clear something up for a moment.

All non-CRT flatscreen HDTVs are progressive displays..

LCD. Plasma. DLP. LCos/SXRD. They all display progressively.

The only difference is if the internal hardware can accept a 1080p or 1080i signal, and what it does with that signal once it is received.

Hell, I have an HD CRT Monitor without DVI or HDMI and I still am able to watch my HD DVDs with just component and it looks amazing. Granted it may only be 1080i, anything under 42 inches anyone would be hardpressed to notice a difference between that and 1080p. With DVI you will get a great picture even at 1080i.

Thanks for all the information everyone! I got a little worried that I was going to have to get another TV if I went with the new formats.

HDMI to DVI doesn't downconvert at all for the time being. There is a clause in the HDMI specification that allows content owners to publish their work with the ICT (Image Constraint Token) enabled, but no one has really used this feature, and won't for a number of years.

You'll have to find another way to connect audio, however, as (as mentioned above) you'll lose the audio portion of the HDMI signal since DVI only carries video.

ICT & DOT only affect analog connections (i.e. VGA and component). HDCP affects digital connections and it is required by AACS regardless of the current ICT/DOT flags.

To the OP:
The only (minor) issue would be concerning HDCP on your DVI port. All HDTVs w/ HDMI are required to support an HDCP connection (encrypted). DVI is not as clear some HDTV with DVI are HDCP compliant but some are not. The general trend was analog only HDTV -> DVI HDTV -> HDCP DVI HDTV -> HDMI HDTVs.

A DVI port that is HDCP capable looks exactly the same as a DVI port w/o HDCP capabilities. You can read your TV manual but it may not indicate the status of your DVI port one way or the other. The easiest way to find out is to connect an HD DVD/BD player to the TV by DVI. If you get a warning message about HDCP then DVI will not work for you. If the movie plays then you are good.

If you TV's DVI port can handle an HDCP signal (i.e encrypted) then you can use DVI from now till your TV burns out. ICT and DOT even when implemented will only affect analog connections. Your TV is "future proof" when it comes to new and fun types of DRM garbage.

If your TV's DVI port is one of the earlier models and doesn't support HDCP then no HD DVD or BD player will output a digital signal over DVI. The good news is that you can still use component for 720p/1080i analog connection. The small minor issues would be at some point in the distance future (2010-2012) the studios may implement ICT and then DOT which would affect your analog connection.

The preferred method would be DVI since it is future proof but ICT/DOT seems to have an uphill battle. Personally I think we will not see ICT will go into effect until much later (2015? and DOT some time after that).

I noticed my post has more acronyms than normal words. :D

The cheat sheet to HD alphabet soup.


AACS - Advanced Access Content System
Disc encryption and copyprotection method used for both HD DVD & BD. AACS requires that a player protect digital outputs (DVI, HDMI) with HDCP and implement ICT or DOT as instructed by the content.

HDCP - (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)
Encryption system used to protect the high bandwidth DVI or HDMI transmission systems. If the source is protected by HDCP and it is unable to negotiate a secure link with the sync (receiver/display) it is required to turn off the digital output and advise the user.

ICT - Image Constraint Token.
An optional flag in AACS that when enabled would require the player to downgrade the output to no greater than 960x540 (540p). To date no movies have been released with ICT Flag enabled. Depending on the source many believe an informal agreement among parties involved have pushed back ICT implementation to 2010 or 2012 at the earliest.

DOT - Digital Only Token.
An optinal flag in AACS that is a step up from ICT. When player encounters content with the DOT flag enabled it is prohibited from outputting the content over any analog connection (composite, S-Video, component, vga). The original plan was for DOT to be implemented a few years after ICT. Since ICT has been pushed back 4-6 years likely DOT will not be implemented until 2015ish?

NameChamps, Awesome information. I looked through my manual and here is what I found regarding HDCP. I have a Mits. WS-55315. In the manual under the Specifications section it lists

Inputs(Digital)
- MonitorLink/ DVI(HDCP) with Analog Stereo Audio

Sounds like my TV should be ok then with the DVI to HDMI adapter??

NameChamps, Awesome information. I looked through my manual and here is what I found regarding HDCP. I have a Mits. WS-55315. In the manual under the Specifications section it lists

Inputs(Digital)
- MonitorLink/ DVI(HDCP) with Analog Stereo Audio

Sounds like my TV should be ok then with the DVI to HDMI adapter??Your set is safe. I have the same model.

One way to deal with the HDMI to DVI is to run HDMI from your HD-DVD or BD player into a Receiver that has HDMI inputs. The audio can be split out and you have the potential to enable full audio decoding (PCM, TrueHD, and maybe DTS-HD-MA in the future) and then you can run the HDMI to DVI cable from the receiver.

That way you have your audio and video properly taken care of assuming your DVI port can handle HDCP. If not, well there are other ways, but probably not a good idea to publicly post them. PM me if you need more info.

-Splints