USB and HDMI cable - laptop to TV (1 Viewer)

[vba_php]

hey you guys,

does it make sense to say that I could plug an external hard drive into my laptop via a USB cable, then plug another cable to the laptop that had a USB on end and an HDMI plug on the other end, then plug that other end into a TV and let AVI video files, stored on the external drive, play through the TV? I'm not really getting it, but many people have told me that it's not possible. All I'm trying to do is use the TV as a computer monitor, which I have done many times. But every other time I've done it, I've used the typical monitor cords that come with desktop towers to do that. I think the port is called VGA? The only issue is that, in this day in age, TVs no longer have ports for those cords. They only have HDMI ports.

thanks.

 

[Galaxiom]

I have never seen a "lead" per se that does USB to HDMI. Maybe they exist for USB3 or Lightning?

There are adaptors that will do USB to video. Basically it is a USB video card and has a driver installed on the PC. I have one that does USB to VGA but the same company made them for DV and HDMI too. It even worked when plugged into the UDB port on my router. (These ports are usually provided for a shared printer or USB external disk.)

 

[vba_php]

I have one that does USB to VGA but the same company made them for DV and HDMI too.

i'm thinking this is impossible, because the AVI files number 800 mb in size when totaling them up, so they can't possible be stored on the machine themselves. the external drive in 1tb in size. they must remain there. and there is VGA port on my machine or on the tv because they are both so new that the vga concept has been eliminated.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Adam,

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-SuperSpeed-Adapter-Windows/dp/B00BPEV1XK

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&st=usb+to+hdmi+cable

In theory this should work because it is all a matter of serial-to-parallel conversion, which is how old modem-connected phone lines worked. So it is old technology, just a LOT faster. You didn't say if the laptop had USB 3.0 compatibility. If it is only able to use 2.0 thgen it might not be fast enough because there is a speed standard for HDMI and USB 2.0 might be too slow.

Here is an article on HDMI standards, which includes a section on speeds.

HDMI - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[vba_php]

@The_Doc_Man Richard I ended up ordering an hdmi to hdmi cord which has HDMI ports on both ends. And yes to add to your post or to reply to your post rather the USB ports on my laptop do have the capability of 3.0. I have since learned that if I order the male to male HDMI cord that I can duplicate the laptop screen on my TV which seems to be the best I can do in this case