socz's Journal: Projectors M1-D DVI/USB to VGA/USB Adapter

Being that it's my first journal entry, I want to state that I've been thinking of a way to contribute interesting finds to others. Unfortunately 1 forum or several can't always do this. So what place better than on /.'s journal? My purpose of writing should always be to provide useful information.

I have recently acquired a Toshina Projector - TDP-T3. It's in working condition but was projecting everything in a green hue. So after testing with different inputs I came to the conclusion that the main cable ("M1-D to VGA/USB") was bad.

I started looking up replacement cables and found out they can be pretty expensive. Nothing less than $45 with shipping. So I came across adapters, but unfortunately no one could confirm they work.

By logical deduction I would assume they would work because the output is a DVI, it is then downgraded to VGA. So why wouldn't an adapter that connects on one end to DVI not work when the other end is also DVI?

I ordered an adapter that has the DVI/USV on the projectors end and the DVI on the other end. I asked the store selling it if it would work and they said no. Good thing I ordered it before I got their reply!

So I went from spending about $50 to ~$10.

I got the adapter on ebay from these guys: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Abacus-Cables__W0QQ_armrsZ1

And the listing at the time of writing is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260411786469&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

While the listing says it will only work on specific models listed and "some other models" it will definitely work on the TDP-T3. I also don't see why it wouldn't work on other M1 devices as well.

So now I got it working with DVI instead of VGA and it looks GREAT! Now if I could only find a place for cheap replacement bulbs for when I need one...