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    What drivers does the HDMI IN slot use?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by heywheelie, May 23, 2017.

  1. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    I have an Alienware M18x R2. I am trying to work out a way to record input from the HDM IN slot. I know the HDMI IN slot sits on the end of a long slim addon board that runs along the right hand side of the laptop.

    Does it use motherboard chipset drivers to work?

    BTW the slot seems to work fine displaying fine on my laptop screen but I don't seem to be able to find a program that detects the actual HDMI IN port.

    I want too record the input from the HDMI IN.

    Any suggestions?
     
    heywheelie, May 23, 2017
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  2. ChanceJackson

    ChanceJackson Notebook Evangelist

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    Maybe it only for displaying to the internal screen and not for capture. I'm surprised they would have even bothered to add such a nifty feature
     
    ChanceJackson, May 23, 2017
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  3. GodlikeRU

    GodlikeRU Notebook Deity

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    It's not using any drivers. It's hardware feature working even under linux. It can only also transmit sound to internal speakers if you have sound drivers installed.

    This video shows it's working under win10 -



    You can't record video using software, you can only use external capture card that will be in the middle of hdmi-in and console. This chip probably works by switching video input from LVDS->GPU to LVDS->HDMI_IN
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2017
    GodlikeRU, May 23, 2017
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  4. Tulius

    Tulius Notebook Consultant

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    :( My HDMI-in port in my M18X-R2 isn't working for some time ago, only appears a black screen when I try to connect something there. I dont know what's the cause, maybe its a gpu change(780M to a 980M) or maybe it happened after I opened it to remove the DVD drive and put a HD caddy in place.
     
    Tulius, May 23, 2017
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  5. chewbakaats58

    chewbakaats58 Notebook Evangelist

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    This is the most under-rated feature of an Alienware 18 or m18x laptop. Show me 1 other laptop on the market that has an hdmi in. Gives you the ability to plug in any gaming console on the go!
     
    chewbakaats58, May 25, 2017
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  6. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    Yes it appears I need an external HDMI capture box to capture the output from my AppleTV on my Alienware.

    Thanks for all the input.

    cheers
     
    heywheelie, May 25, 2017
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  7. ChanceJackson

    ChanceJackson Notebook Evangelist

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    what happens if you reinstall the 780?
     
    ChanceJackson, May 25, 2017
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  8. Tulius

    Tulius Notebook Consultant

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    Actually I sold my 780M gpus, so I cant say rigth now, but when I switch to Intel Graphics (Fn + F7) the same black screen appears when try to connect HDMI in.
     
    Tulius, May 25, 2017
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  9. GodlikeRU

    GodlikeRU Notebook Deity

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    Well it works with 880M and M18xR1 for sure. Can't say anything about 980M because I can't even install it.
     
    GodlikeRU, May 25, 2017
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  10. ChanceJackson

    ChanceJackson Notebook Evangelist

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    Interesting have you tried asking dell? Have you tried a non hdcp source? Is the hdmi in port on the mobo or on a daughter board?
     
    ChanceJackson, May 25, 2017
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  11. Tulius

    Tulius Notebook Consultant

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    Its a kind of daughter board. I remember the only things I connect in it were consoles like PS3 or 360 and some time later I had to disassemble that part two times the first one to change my DVD to a Blu-Ray recorder and a second time to remove it to install a HD caddy in place. Maybe I don't connect something right when I put the daugther board in place who knows.
     
    Tulius, May 26, 2017
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  12. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    Yes on a daughter board. Dell replaced mine to get the HDMI IN working
     
    heywheelie, Jul 30, 2017
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  13. imest

    imest Notebook Consultant

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    I had the same issue, black screen when I switched to HDMI in. I switched my HDMI cable to an active cable and it finally worked. By the way I am running 2 x 980m's


    -imest


    Here is a cable that will work: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=14131
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2017
    imest, Aug 1, 2017
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