Tendak HDMI to VGA Converter Gold-Plated Active HD 1080P Female to Female Adapte with 3.5mm Audio for Projector HDTV Monitor Laptop PC Xbox STB Blu-ray DVD

I realized one day that using RCA composite cables (from a ROKU) in my older projector was limiting the resolution to 480p, so I researched dozens of HDMI to VGA convertors and chose this one.The first thing to notice is the build quality. You can see it is very good. Then I connected an HDMI cable from the ROKU to it, and then a VGA cable from it to the VGA port on the projector, and finally I connected a 3.5mm audio cable from it to the audio input of the projector.I showed my wife the RCA connection, which had looked great for a year, then showed her the HDMI/VGA connection and she was shocked. Instantly the picture quality was at XGA which is the maximum of my projector and looked almost HD.The audio connection works awesomely as well. Although the overall volume, or dB gain, is less then the direct RCA audio connection. This may be the projector itself or a reality of hdmi audio. It only means the maximum volume is not as loud as it was. It's not a negative. If I was going to use the same setup as above, where the volume is controlled by the projector, for an outdoor movie night an amp or louder speakers will be needed. I am, for the record using 2.1 computer speakers and they are only 5 watts.The picture quality is amazing. The colors and contrast have improved in addition to the overall resolution. I was going to buy an HD projector, but this awesome product upgraded my home cinema to the point where it would be hard to see the difference.Let me be clear. This simply allows an HDMI connection to the VGA port, so your maximum resolution will depend on your individual projector. Also since sound and video are carried through HDMI this has a separate audio output for it.This will not allow devices to recognize your projector as an HDMI device however. HDMI has coding language that transfers between devices and since this is HDMI to VGA it will consider your device a Standard definition device. This means an XBOX will not play in 1080p format (which beyond graphics affects certain features; such as no multiplayer on Minecraft). This is not a Con of this item, it's just how HDMI works.Tendak makes a version of this that has the HDMI attached, it's a smaller footprint but wouldn't have worked with the ROKU because of limited plastic space surround the HDMI port. So I chose this design for the fit I needed. It's something to think about.I highly recommend this. I would say that anyone who has a VGA input capable device get one of these right now. You will be very happy with your results.

I wanted to make use of an old flat screen monitor i paid way to much for years ago at Best Buy by being able to watch YouTube videos in my garage. With this item i was able to do just that. I bought a Google Chromecast to plug into the Tendak device, from there i plugged the vga side of the Tendak device into the vga plug on my monitor. With the monitor plugged into wall outlet for power and Presto! Im watching Netflix, hulu, YouTube and hbo go in the conforts of my garage. The Tendak device also has a head phone jack on it so i purchased a simple analog cable (red and white) with a headphone plug on the end and was now puting the sound thru my stereos reciever. I get great video and great stereo sound and all from junk you can find at rummage sales all tied together by this device. And i controll it from an old smartphone that my friend was gonna toss. Convenient and recycling. Not to mention affordable!

I have bought five of these now for the teachers in my school who have worn out their VGA connectors on their computers connecting to interactive white board projectors. At first they seemed like a wonderful solution - the HDMI connector is pretty strong in most laptops. However, there is now only one still working. The rest have quit for various reasons, but the most prevalent reason is due to how we use them: they hang off the side of the laptop and a heavy VGA cable plugs in and tugs downward. These users are not sophisticated, so there is very little I can do to stop them from stressing the HDMI connector that protrudes. This is probably a fine device, but I do not recommend it for a rugged mechanical environment. I tried the other ones with a short cable, but the plastic case around the VGA connector came off too often under the same use. I'm looking for an inexpensive metal box that I can connect with cables. Wish me luck!LATER ADDITIONAL INFO: The manufacturer contacted me through Amazon and sent me a more mechanically stable unit. They were prompt and courteous; they seemed concerned about keeping their customer base happy. The replacement unit is, indeed, more stable as it has all its connectors within the envelope of the case. Please understand that these units do what they claim they will do: they convert HDMI to separate video and audio, and, speaking as an engineer, they do it well. There is no ghosting and the definition is excellent to my eyes. My only problem was the harsh mechanical environment I use them in (see above), and I am still evaluating the replacement. To use it I will have to get a short male-male HDMI cable - a good mechanical idea - and obtain a female-female adapter to handle the male plug from the interactive white board.