TechRise

I used this to connect my (HDMI) laptop to an ancient projector, for a large art project. Contrary to other, more negative reviews, this adapter works perfectly for me.A key piece of info:99% of the time, an adapter will work just as it should (they're incredibly simple, technologically, and cheap to make; manufacturers have little incentive to produce duds, or to scrimp on easily conducted quality control), providing the user knows what they're doing. Often, users blame the adapter when it's in fact a software problem, because they don't know/haven't researched how to set up a smaller resolution or different frequency screen mirror.Just to be on the safe side, I use the adapter with both the USB (power supply) and the audio jack plugged in, to ensure enough power is delivered to the adapter.Bare in mind that this adapter DOES require power, as it's converting a digital (HDMI) signal to analogue (VGA) signal, and has a little circuit board within the plastic housing. As HDMI isn't typically a power delivery medium, you'll need to plug the USB into a device at the same time. The adapter should turn on automatically. With my laptop, only one USB port is designed for sharing information AND power (instead of just information, which the other three are), so this is the only USB port that'll power the adapter - it has a little battery icon next to the usual USB icon that it shares with the other three. I imagine this is a common problem; users plugging their USB power supply into a non-power delivery port - check it's delivering power before giving up!

One of the last things you need when you buy a new PC is to find that connections have changed and you can't plug your monitor in, a situation made more frustrating when this wasn't pointed out when you bought the PC and the shop you bought the PC from can't supply you with a connector to do the job, though they were very keen to sell me a new monitor. All in all, it's fair to say I wasn't in a good mood when I had to use my phone to look for something to do the job online. Harrumph!However, ordering this connector based on the reviews on here (plus the price, which seemed like a bargain after being offered a new monitor which I didn't want to buy, especially at £80 or more) started to make me a bit happier. It was delivered next day thanks to my Prime membership, and everything looked good when I opened the package. There was the main connector with its HDMI and VGA bits, plus a short wire for the audio socket of which more in a moment. Connecting this to my new PC and monitor was the work of a few moments, as was plugging the audio cable which I had previously had between the monitor and my old PC back into the monitor and the appropriate socket on the connector. Then I started the PC and hey presto, everything worked. Result!So for me, everything's been just fine. However, a word about the audio cable that's supplied with this device; it's 60 cm (2 feet) long from the tip of one socket to the tip of the other, and that wasn't long enough to stretch between my PC and monitor. I was lucky enough to already have a cable and, if you're thinking of buying this, you will probably have one too; just bear this in mind before purchasing.Otherwise, it's happy days for me. Buying this cable saved me from having to spend money on a new monitor and it's lurking somewhere round the back of my PC doing the job I wanted it to without any problems and I'm happy to recommend it. Five stars!

These days many laptops do not include a VGA port but instead have an HDMI output, so if you need to connect an older monitor you need some kind of adaptor. The TechRise adaptor is very reasonably priced and does the job very well. It's a dongle that connects to a full sized HDMI socket via a short cable and contains a VGA socket like the ones you get on older PC's. The set also includes a short mini-jack to mini-jack cable to connect up audio if your monitor has speakers - and a short USB cable to boost the power to the adaptor if the HDMI port doesn't provide enough. You have to supply a VGA cable to connect the adaptor to the monitor.After connecting the adaptor I found that no signal was getting through at first. After a while I realised that the monitor I needed it for doesn't have full HD resolution. I was able to change the monitor resolution using the Display settings on the computer and after that it works fine.

I use this for connecting various devices to my desktop VGA monitor. I have a number of other adapters, from various vendors, all of which work to some extent. The problem, however, is my NVidia Shield K1 tablet, which seems fussy about what its HDMI output is plugged into. This is the only adapter I have found that works with the Shield tablet. I thought at first that the colours were under-saturated when using the adapter, compared to other things I have plugged into the same monitor. However, I've since found that the Shield HDMI output has that characteristic when plugged into other monitors with real HDMI support, so I don't think that's a fault of the adapter.My monitor supports 1080p natively, and all the devices with which I use this adapter output at 1080p, so in a sense its job is being made easy. I can't comment on how well it would work in situations where the monitor and the source are less compatible.Incidentally, this adapter won't work with any device that requires HDCP copy-protection support. I tried playing Netflix on my tablet with a VGA monitor, and just got a copy protection error. I think this is to be expected -- there's just no way to carry the HDCP codes over VGA. So although it's irritating, it's not the fault of the adapter, and doesn't affect my rating.I've found that these devices don't typically have long service lives -- perhaps a couple of years. But for £5 that's not a big deal. I've not had this one long enough to comment on its lifespan.