Make Dumb TV Smart

Diyisfun

Diyisfun

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I have an old TV that doesn't have HDMI socket (it has scart).
I have a visitor staying for 4 weeks, i would like to convert the TV in the bedroom to smart.
I have a Amazon PRIME account so I would like them to be able to watch this as well as IPlayer.
I don't want to spend a lot of ££ as its a short term thing.
Recommendations & advise welcomed.
Thanks
 
You could probably buy a flat screen TV from eBay/Facebook/gumtree with an hdmi socket for less than £20. Not worth messing about with converters. There even some smart TV’s for that money.

Have you a friend or relative with a spare set they could lend you for a month?
 
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You would want an HDMI to SCART converter, but it's going to be a bit of a faf.
I'm afraid I can't vouch for their efficacy, but there are plenty available for around £10 on Amazon.
While you are at it, get a FireTV stick!

Although, it would probably be worthwhile upgrading your TV to one with an HDMI socket - out if curiosity, what make and model is the TV?
 
Mottie said:
You could probably buy a flat screen TV from eBay/Facebook/gumtree with an hdmi socket for less than £20. Not worth messing about with converters. There even some smart TV’s for that money.

Have you a friend or relative with a spare set they could lend you for a month?
Click to expand...
Not the answer I was looking for..
 
RandomGrinch said:
You would want an HDMI to SCART converter, but it's going to be a bit of a faf.
I'm afraid I can't vouch for their efficacy, but there are plenty available for around £10 on Amazon.
While you are at it, get a FireTV stick!

Although, it would probably be worthwhile upgrading your TV to one with an HDMI socket - out if curiosity, what make and model is the TV?
Click to expand...
It's about 10yr old LG..I doubt if its had 100hrs of use. When I buy new tv's, I move them about, but if one didn't break, I won't be getting a new one for a good few years. I can buy the hdmi/scart & Roku kit for about £25.
Thanks
 
Diyisfun said:
It's about 10yr old LG
Click to expand...
I may be wrong, but have read that most LG's from around 2009 would have had HDMI?
Is it flat panel or CRT?
It might be worth double/triple checking it doesn't have HDMI, early ports weren't always obvious! ;)
 
Honestly, borrow a friend's bedroom TV, one that has a HDMI input.

Converting HDMI to SCART is not going to end well. For a start, the video chips in these cheap convertors are not great. Second, they don't output RGB video. It comes out as composite (the yellow connector equivalent), and that's about as low as it's possible to get on the hierarchy of video picture quality.

Your picture from the Fire TV / Roku will start like this if you had a HDMI connection...

fire_HDMI.jpg


but by the time the convertor has mangled it you'll be lucky to get this...

fire_nonHDMI.jpg



You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. These convertors are sow's ears. Save yourself a whole load of hassle and just borrow a TV with a HDMI input.
 
Ok thanks all. TV dosnt have HDMI..Decide my guest can stick to the ipads etc. Was just trying to make things easy.
The way to go is new tv in bedroom 1, move 1 to 2, then 2 to 3. To much flaffin so it stays as is.
 
Diyisfun said:
Ok thanks all. TV dosnt have HDMI..Decide my guest can stick to the ipads etc. Was just trying to make things easy.
The way to go is new tv in bedroom 1, move 1 to 2, then 2 to 3. To much flaffin so it stays as is.
Click to expand...
You could always be a selfless host and let your visitor have one of the TV's from bedroom 1 or 2 for the duration of their stay or are you all going to be in separate bedrooms in the evening needing to watch something on a smart TV?
 
RandomGrinch said:
Last shot... high density 15 pin RGB D-sub connector?
Click to expand...
That would be a good shout if it wasn't for HDCP, the content protection system that software-blocks non-compliant displays from being able to display any protected digital media.

With unprotected content such as games console output then converting isn't an issue so long as the resolution and refresh rate fits the standard. As soon though as you try to watch a film or TV show then the system will throw its Teddy bear out of the cot, figuratively speaking.

I used to do quite a bit with high-end CRT projectors for the home cinema market. Getting digital sources to work with analogue displays was a common requirement. A couple of hundred quid for a HD Fury would nail this, but human nature being what it is there were always customers who decided to go cheap. I always kept a backup on the van for when their budget solution failed to work.
 
Lucid said:
That would be a good shout if it wasn't for HDCP, the content protection system that software-blocks non-compliant displays from being able to display any protected digital media.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I had forgotten about the HDCP - I have connected hundred's of laptops to lecture theatre AV systems (pre-refurbishment), where only RGB was available.
The dongles worked well enough with windows laptops. (Mac's were always more finicky to connect!).
But with only PPT's, or at most, YouTube videos to display, I hadn't ever run into copy protection issues :)
 
Look on Facebook for a smart TV being sold, or an older HDMI flatscreen.
 
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