this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2026
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Converting HDMI to composite (piefed.blahaj.zone)
submitted 3 days ago by cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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This may seem like a dumb idea considering how bad composite is, but I have a couple CRTs that I'd love to use as computer monitors, and I'm not in the position to mod them for component or RGB. I want them to "just work" for the time being. I'm looking for a device that converts modern HDMI to analog, but the only good options seem to be really high end devices with support for every format under the sun, which are great, but way more then I need. Otherwise, what am I left with? Cheap, no-name boxes that'll die in two weeks and add half a second of lag? I'm not sure if the product I need exists, but I figured this would be a good place to ask since I can't find a dedicated CRT community. Any help is appreciated!

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[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You might want to purchase a scaler rather than connect your computer directly to the screens.

justification: those old screens are going to need a low resolution like 480i and modern games/apps are just not designed for that so they may not run at all, or you may find that some elements like menu items are cut out and don’t render properly.

[–] cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Thankfully, Mint allows me to output in 4:3 aspect ratio. Now, if the actual resolution will still be an issue, then yeah, I suppose I'll need that. But if I send a converter a ~720p 4:3 signal and it outputs it to composite, what does it matter to the CRT that doesn't have pixels anyway?

[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I suppose it depends if your CRT is capable of displaying a 720p signal. If it’s not, then it won’t work.

Likewise if your converter requires the input format to match what the CRT expects (i.e. it doesn’t have scaling built in), then the converter may not work either.

[–] cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Right, thank you I'll try to keep this in mind. What do you mean by the TV supporting it though? Like I said, CRTs have no pixels to the best of my understanding, so how would it be aware of the resolution in order to reject it? I can understand it causing problems, but how exactly can a CRT outright reject a signal like that?

[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If you send a CRT an image larger than it can display, it will either display nothing, some garbage or as much of the image as it possibly can - normally cropping the top left corner.

[–] cloudskater@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Okay, I see. Thanks for the heads up. Are there any specific scalers I should consider for minimizing latency that you're aware of?

[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

I would only buy Extron, Crestron or Kramer for that use case, but if you’re on a budget and need to compromise then also consider Cyp, Atlona, Lindy, Blustream or everyone’s favourite SY Electronics.