Ordering the stuff (hdmi converter + hdmi cable) from walmart it was going to be shipped in two separate lots delivered on two separate days spread over the holidays, so I located it in-store at a local pc dealer. Slightly more expensive, a lot less hassle.

Aye, it's still worthwhile browsing the high street.

Still, take a picture and show us what it's like.

bought the stuff today, will try it out on the weekend.

You'll have to upload a photo of it all.

Yeah I will when I get it hooked up. The hdmi --> RCA adaptor is really small, like a pack of cigarettes.

Mrs. broke her toe Fri. night, so never got a chance to hook it up. Probably have to wait 'til xmas  :-(

(I expect it will make fuckall difference to our old tv, assuming it works properly)

Did she kick the TV?

Haha! No, she kicked the steel bed frame.

Did she trip over all the cables and adapters trailing across the floor?

No, the cables and adaptors are neatly tucked into a nest of snakes under the tv stand.

As promised, I will post pics whenever the new ones get piled on.

Finally hooked up the frankenadaptor. It works!

Hmph, can't upload

Cabling is dodgy AF.

Still got your tree up?!?

What's the picture like?
And your TV really doesn't accept AV/composite?

Taking it down today.

Picture's ok. TV only takes coax.

Still a few hiccups when powering on the player, which also powers on the original d/a converter box, and the new hdmi-rca converter (the little white thingy in the pic), which currently draws usb power from the player. It starts up with color bars on the tv and is unresponsive to the clicker except for the tray.

When working properly, it shows a big, ugly fullscreen menu on the tv, though it's probably less ugly on a modern widescreen digital display (strangely, 1080p doesn't look great on 4:3 NTSC), and responds to play pause etc. buttons on the remote.

Loading a dvd, then powering it off, then powering it back on usually works, but sometimes it takes a couple of cycles to catch. I'm thinking there's a power up delay in the new converter, so I may hook it up to a usb charger so it's always powered on, to see if that makes a difference. Right now it's actually more of a hassle than our old player with its sticky tray (which we still have).   :-S

Could be a power up delay or it may not initially give enough power over the USB. A lot of USB ports can't provide more than 500mA, your adapters may require more.

Yeah the port on the player is 500mA, so I'll hook up the adaptor to a charger tonight and see if it helps.

The old rca - coax adaptor doesn't require an external power source.

Yep, the usb charger did the trick.