ᐅ Dvi: what it is and why we continue to use it

There are many types of DVI connections and during this article I explain in detail everything you need about this connection. Although we must first know that in a world in which companies advocate reducing the variety of ports and wired connections and interfaces such as USB-C and HDMI dominate the surface of most new devices that come to light on the market, it is Strange to look back and see the enormous number of ports that our computers, especially on desktop PCs, could have behind them.

The standardization and centralization of the functions and connections for which these ports were prepared was the main responsible for this, one of the clearest exponents we have with the USB interface and how it has proliferated since the late 1990s. But in the case of video connections this standardization has been later and in the same device we can find modern ports such as HDMI 2.1b and some clearly older, such as DVI, an interface from the early 2000s that refuses to say goodbye to everything even today day, but why is that so?

Index of contents

DVI: a connection from the past ready to face the future

Let's start by defining this video interface to better understand this phenomenon. DVI is the acronym for "digital visual interface" or digital visual interface in Spanish. A standard created to improve the display of digital screens that were beginning to become popular at the beginning of the century and take over from the hitherto all-powerful VGA output. The latter gives a totally analog signal, prepared for the CTR monitors that still proliferated among the desks, while the DVI is prepared to offer both analog and digital signal, this feature being the one that best defines the interface.

Pin distribution on a DVI connector (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

The digital signal arrives through the front pins of the connection, based on the TMDS (Same as HDMI) technology of 165 Mhz for the transmission of image data and that can be presented with one or two links depending on the number of inputs used in this transmission. The analog signal, on the other hand, is intended for the pins on the right side of the connector, clearly differentiated.

Differences between DVI-A, DVI-I and DVI-D

The commercialization of DVI connectors has been done in three formats depending on the type of signal and the number of links on the connector. DVI-A is the cable format for analog signal with the DVI interface, its use is rare in video transmission and is more common in other media. With digital signal we have DVI-D (Digital only) and DVI-I, which integrates digital and analog in a single cable, so DVI-A and DVI-I cables do not need any converter to work with analog outputs. Both cables with digital support can be found with one or two links, depending on the pins used in the connection.

What are its limitations and why it continues to be used

DVI was a very capable interface at launch, with a single link cable supporting a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz and reaching up to 2560 x 1600 resolution with dual link and high monitor compatibility refreshment rates. As a reference, HDMI at the time of its output supported a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz and it was not until its 1.4th iteration that it reached a maximum resolution greater than 60 Hz, while it had features that were little appreciated by some users such as HDCP Anti copy protection).

However, as its competence advanced, the standard began to appear obsolete. The popularization of HDMI and the advent of 4K resolutions eliminated it from home living room use. For gamers, the appearance of monitors with high refresh rates and high resolution was one of the main factors in the beginning of their disuse, as well as the absence of technologies such as HDR or the broadcasting of audio in addition to video, among others.

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Despite this, we have found this video output on graphics cards up to the current Nvidia Turing and RX Navi and we can still find monitors with this connector on a regular basis. Perhaps because of its widespread use, its laughable price, or because it is the only current extended interface with analog compatibility, many users still find DVI useful twenty years after its launch.

Source The Web archiveDataPro