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  1. Novice
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    Apr 2014
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    Hello. I have a laptop that I use for various tasks, including watching T.V. with Windows Media Center on a 19 inch external monitor. I also have an old Sony Trinitron CRT T.V. in my room that sits beside my desk, and I thought that it would be great if I could use it as a second external monitor for watching and recording T.V. with WMC, and if possible, maybe even playing a few old games (nothing next-gen), but that's not a priority.

    On Amazon there are several inexpensive options hovering around $17 that can convert an HDMI signal to a composite signal, but from reading the reviews, it mostly seems to be hit-or-miss, which is a shame. Here is a link to the one I'm most interested in based on the price.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CL8NH0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1RCQ...L2E1OA6K&psc=1

    On YouTube, there have been videos mentioning this specific brand, but it's priced at around $30. Here is the link.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FO7PQA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1RCQ...NK3JCMD0&psc=1

    I could always purchase an HDTV to replace my CRT in my room, but I couldn't bear to part with it, let alone stop using it. Are there any reliable HDMI to composite converters out there that any of you would recommend?
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  2. Member
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    Aug 2006
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    United States
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    The low resolution of an SD TV is going to make it problematic as a secondary monitor for watching TV shows with WMC, PotPlayer or another software player. Even with a good HDMI to composite converter, you won't be able to see tiny letters or small controls very well.

    You might be better off to get a streaming media player of some kind with composite video and stereo audio connections and convert your WMC recordings from wtv to ts or mpg for streaming. This is a good one that will work with a HDTV when your CRT TV finally dies. A refurbished unit would save you some money if you don't mind buying used items.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th Aug 2014 at 13:56.
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  3. Novice
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The low resolution of an SD TV is going to make it problematic as a secondary monitor for watching TV shows with WMC, PotPlayer or another software player, even with a good HDMI to composite converter. You won't be able to see tiny letters or small controls very well.

    You might be better off to get a streaming media player of some kind with composite video and stereo audio connections and convert your WMC recordings from wtv to ts or mpg for streaming. This is a good one that will work with a HDTV when your CRT TV finally dies. A refurbished unit would save you some money if you don't mind buying used items.
    Thanks for the suggestion. As for not being able to see small details very well, can't I just lower the resolution so Windows Media Center's controls can be legible, kind of like lowering a computer's resolution from 1920x1080 to 1366x768 on an HDTV, thus making the Windows icons and taskbar appear larger, etc.?

    I already have a LG BD610 Blu-ray player hooked up to my CRT T.V. via composite that has a USB input, but I don't think it can handle every profile or level, such as High@L5.1, so obviously there is some editing or conversion involved. That's not the route I would like to go in to be honest since it takes considerable time, and obviously the fact that I can't use Windows Media Center on the T.V., but I will keep streaming and USB boxes in mind.
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  4. Member
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    Aug 2006
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    United States
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    One can try changing the font size to improve legibility, but sometimes it just makes a mess of the layout. Read this post and the post here that contains screenshots of a PC window downscaled to 640x480 or 720x480 .

    If you still think hooking a PC up to an SD TV is a good plan, and like the way the screens look, buy either converter. It doesn't much matter which one you pick.

    Converting your own WTV captures to .TS or .MPG would be fairly quick and easy. You didn't mention that you also wanted to play random videos encoded by other people (who probably don't know what they are doing) that you downloaded from the Internet.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 9th Aug 2014 at 17:18.
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  5. Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    Memphis TN, US
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    Originally Posted by Duder_Me View Post
    Are there any reliable HDMI to composite converters out there that any of you would recommend?
    Yes, but they cost more than you want to spend.

    I just couldn't resist the thread's title, though:
    Thread: Best and cheapest way to convert HDMI to composite?
    That's like asking for the biggest and smallest and tallest and shortest.

    - My sister Ann's brother
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