HDMI to Component questions

[bloodline]

Some devices with a HDMI output can (I believe) output an analogue signal from the HDMI port, and therefore be used with a passive cable.

If your device doesn't support this, it won't work.

Any kind of digital to analogue converter is going to be a compromise, resulting in a pretty average picture.

There is no provision for analog in the HDMI spec: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

DVI does offer the option of an analog backup, but it's not used much nowadays the pins seem to be missing from modern devices.

[bloodline]

I found this one on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=171379946068

Note the description: "Some buyers said it useful, Some say it not, but the cable is the same, not the quality issue,it's the usage problem. Please consideration carefully before bidding"

This is clearly just a scam, a few $0.1 components stuck together with no hope of working, charging $2, the seller is making quite a profit per cable and it's so cheap, no one will bother to complain.