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Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
A male DVI-D (single link) connector. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... DVI may refer to: Digital Visual Interface, an interface to transmit digital video data Device independent file format, a file format used by the TeX typesetting system Digital Video Interactive, an early standard for full-motion desktop video, dating from the late 1980s dvi (prefix), a prefix used to make... DVI Connector File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In electrical and mechanical trades and manufacturing, each of a pair of mating connectors or fasteners is conventionally assigned the designation male or female. ...
Type	Digital and analog computer video connector
Production history
Designer	Digital Display Working Group
Designed	April 1999
Produced	1999 to present
Superseded	VGA connector
Specifications
External	Yes
Video signal	Digital video stream. (Single) WUXGA 1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz (Dual) WQXGA (2560 × 1600) @ 60 Hz Analog RGB video (-3 db at 400 MHz)
Data signal	R,G,B data + clock and display data channel
	Bandwidth	(Single Link) 3.96 Gbit/s (Dual Link) 7.92 Gbit/s
	Max devices	1
	Protocol	3 × Transition Minimized Differential Signaling data + clock
Pins	29
Pin out
A female DVI-I socket from the front
Pin 1	TMDS Data 2-	Digital red - (Link 1)
Pin 2	TMDS Data 2+	Digital red + (Link 1)
Pin 3	TMDS Data 2/4 shield
Pin 4	TMDS Data 4-	Digital green - (Link 2)
Pin 5	TMDS Data 4+	Digital green + (Link 2)
Pin 6	DDC clock
Pin 7	DDC data
Pin 8	Analog vertical sync
Pin 9	TMDS Data 1-	Digital green - (Link 1)
Pin 10	TMDS Data 1+	Digital green + (Link 1)
Pin 11	TMDS Data 1/3 shield
Pin 12	TMDS Data 3-	Digital blue - (Link 2)
Pin 13	TMDS Data 3+	Digital blue + (Link 2)
Pin 14	+5 V	Power for monitor when in standby
Pin 15	Ground	Return for pin 14 and analog sync
Pin 16	Hot plug detect
Pin 17	TMDS data 0-	Digital blue - (Link 1) and digital sync
Pin 18	TMDS data 0+	Digital blue + (Link 1) and digital sync
Pin 19	TMDS data 0/5 shield
Pin 20	TMDS data 5-	Digital red - (Link 2)
Pin 21	TMDS data 5+	Digital red + (Link 2)
Pin 22	TMDS clock shield
Pin 23	TMDS clock+	Digital clock + (Links 1 and 2)
Pin 24	TMDS clock-	Digital clock - (Links 1 and 2)
C1	Analog red
C2	Analog green
C3	Analog blue
C4	Analog horizontal sync
C5	Analog ground	Return for R, G and B signals

The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors. It was developed by an industry consortium, the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). It is designed for carrying uncompressed digital video data to a display. It is partially compatible with the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard in digital mode (DVI-D). The Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) was organized by Intel Corporation, Silicon Image, Inc. ... VGA Connector There are at least four versions of VGA connector, the three-row 15 pin DE-15 (also called mini sub D15) in originaland DDC2pinouts, and a less featureful and far less common 9-pin VGA, plus a Mini-VGA used for laptops. ... WUXGA stands for Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array and is a display resolution of 1920×1200 pixels (2,304,000 pixels) with a 16:10 screen aspect ratio. ... WQXGA (Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2560×1600 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio. ... The Display Data Channel or DDC is a digital connection between a computer display and a graphics adapter that allows the display to communicate its specifications to the adapter. ... Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) is a technology for transmitting high-speed serial data and is used by the DVI and HDMI video interfaces. ... Image File history File links DVI_Connector_Pinout. ... Transition Minimized Differential Signaling, or TMDS, is a technology for transmitting high-speed serial data. ... For other uses, see Video (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into output device. ... Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of technologies enabling video displays that are lighter and much thinner than traditional television and video displays using cathode ray tubes, usually less than 10 cm (4 inches) thick. ... LCD redirects here. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... Projected image from a video projector in a home cinema. ... A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organisations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal. ... The Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) was organized by Intel Corporation, Silicon Image, Inc. ... Video compression refers to making a digital video signal use less data, without noticeably reducing the quality of the picture. ... For other uses, see Digital (disambiguation). ... The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a licensable audio/video connector interface for transmitting uncompressed, encrypted digital streams. ...

Overview

The DVI interface uses a digital protocol in which the desired illumination of pixels is transmitted as binary data. When the display is driven at its native resolution, it will read each number and apply that brightness to the appropriate pixel. In this way, each pixel in the output buffer of the source device corresponds directly to one pixel in the display device, whereas with an analog signal the appearance of each pixel may be affected by its adjacent pixels as well as by electrical noise and other forms of analog distortion. This article is about the picture element. ... The binary numeral system, or base-2 number system, is a numeral system that represents numeric values using two symbols, usually 0 and 1. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Liquid crystal display. ... ... For other uses, see Distortion (disambiguation). ...

Previous standards such as the analog VGA were designed for CRT-based devices and thus did not use discrete time display addressing. As the analog source transmits each horizontal line of the image, it varies its output voltage to represent the desired brightness. In a CRT device, this is used to vary the intensity of the scanning beam as it moves across the screen. Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a computer display standard first marketed in 1987 by IBM. VGA belongs to a family of earlier IBM video standards and largely remains backward compatible with them. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... Discrete time is non-continuous time. ...

DVI cable connectors are designed in such a way as not to allow the user to connect the cable in an incorrect position or orientation. DVI connectors are available in five models, differing in the way they handle analog or digital transfers.

In the digital transfer one or two channels are present. Video and monitor cards which are exclusively digital cannot be connected to analog, but can be connected to equipment that handles both analog and digital signals. The DVI standard also supports the Display Data Channel (DDC) and the Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) which allows computers to communicate with different monitor extensions. The Display Data Channel or DDC is a digital connection between a computer display and a graphics adapter that allows the display to communicate its specifications to the adapter. ... Extended display identification data (EDID) is a data structure provided by a computer display to describe its capabilities to a graphics card. ...

"DVI-I" stands for "DVI-Integrated" and supports both digital and analog transfers, so it works with both digital and analog monitors. "DVI-D" stands for "DVI-Digital" and supports digital transfers only.

Technical discussion

The data format used by DVI is based on the PanelLink serial format devised by the semiconductor manufacturer Silicon Image Inc. This uses Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). A single DVI link consists of four twisted pairs of wire (red, green, blue, and clock) to transmit 24 bits per pixel. The timing of the signal almost exactly matches that of an analog video signal. The picture is transmitted line by line with blanking intervals between each line and each frame, and without packetization. No compression is used and there is no support for only transmitting changed parts of the image. This means that the whole frame is constantly re-transmitted. The specification (see below for link) does, however, include a paragraph on "Conversion to Selective Refresh" (under 1.2.2), suggesting this feature for future devices. Silicon Image makes computer chips that implement transfer protocols such as DVI and SATA. They are based out of Sunnyvale, California. ... Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) is a technology for transmitting high-speed serial data and is used by the DVI and HDMI video interfaces. ... In information technology, a packet is a formatted block of data carried by a packet mode computer network. ...

With a single DVI link, the largest resolution possible at 60 Hz is 2.75 megapixels (including blanking interval). For practical purposes, this allows a maximum screen resolution at 60 Hz of 1915 x 1436 pixels (standard 1.33 ratio), 1854 x 1483 pixels (1.25 ratio) or 2098 x 1311 (widescreen 1.6 ratio). The DVI connector therefore has provision for a second link, containing another set of red, green, and blue twisted pairs. When more bandwidth is required than is possible with a single link, the second link is enabled, and alternate pixels may be transmitted on each, allowing resolutions up to 4 megapixels at 60 Hz. The DVI specification mandates a fixed single link maximum pixel clock frequency of 165 MHz, where all display modes that require less than this must use single link mode, and all those that require more must switch to dual link mode. When both links are in use, the pixel rate on each may exceed 165 MHz. The second link can also be used when more than 24 bits per pixel is required, in which case it carries the least significant bits. The data pairs carry binary data at ten times the pixel clock reference frequency, maximum 1.65 Gbit/s x 3 data pairs for a single DVI link. A pixel (a contraction of picture element) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computers memory. ... A pixel (a contraction of picture element) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computers memory. ... The binary representation of decimal 149, with the lsb highlighted. ...

Like modern analog VGA connectors, the DVI connector includes pins for the display data channel. DDC2 (a newer version of DDC) allows the graphics adapter to read the monitor's extended display identification data (EDID). If a display supports both analog and digital signals in one input, each input can host a distinct EDID. If both receivers are active, analog EDID is used. VGA Connector There are at least four versions of VGA connector, the three-row 15 pin DE-15 (also called mini sub D15) in originaland DDC2pinouts, and a less featureful and far less common 9-pin VGA, plus a Mini-VGA used for laptops. ... The Display Data Channel or DDC is a digital connection between a computer display and a graphics adapter that allows the display to communicate its specifications to the adapter. ... Extended display identification data (EDID) is a data structure provided by a computer display to describe its capabilities to a graphics card. ...

The maximum length of DVI cables is not included in the specification since it is dependent on bandwidth requirements (the resolution of the image being transmitted). In general, cable lengths from 1-15 feet (4.5m) will work for displays at resolutions of 1920x1200. Cable lengths up to 50 feet (15m) can be used with displays at resolutions up to 1280x1024. For longer distances, to eliminate the video degradation, the use of a DVI booster is recommended. DVI boosters may or may not use an external power supply.

Connector

Male DVI connector pins (view of plug)

Color coded female DVI connector with pin descriptions

The DVI connector usually contains pins to pass the DVI-native digital video signals. In the case of dual-link systems, additional pins are provided for the second set of data signals. Image File history File links DVI_Connector_Types. ... Image File history File links DVI_Connector_Types. ... Image File history File links DVI_pinout. ... Image File history File links DVI_pinout. ...

As well as digital signals, the DVI connector includes pins providing the same analog signals found on a VGA connector, allowing a VGA monitor to be connected with a simple plug adapter. This feature was included in order to make DVI universal, as it allows either type of monitor (analog or digital) to be operated from the same connector.

The DVI connector on a device is therefore given one of three names, depending on which signals it implements:

• DVI-D (digital only)
• DVI-A (analog only)
• DVI-I (integrated, digital & analog)

The connector also includes provision for a second data link for high resolution displays, though many devices do not implement this. In those that do, the connector is sometimes referred to as DVI-DL (dual link).

The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is wider than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat panel LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector.

DVI is the only widespread video standard that includes analog and digital transmission options in the same connector.^{[citation needed]} Competing standards are exclusively digital: these include a system using low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), known by its proprietary names FPD (for Flat-Panel Display) Link and FLATLINK; and its successors, the LVDS Display Interface (LDI) and OpenLDI. Low voltage differential signaling, or LVDS, is an electrical signaling system that can run at very high speeds over cheap, twisted-pair copper cables. ... Flat Panel Display Link (FPD-Link) is a high-speed interface connecting the output of a video card in a laptop computer to the display panel. ... OpenLDI is a high-bandwidth digital interface standard for connecting high-resolution flat panel LCD monitors to computers. ...

Some new DVD players, TV sets (including HDTV sets) and video projectors have DVI/HDCP connectors; these are physically the same as DVI connectors but transmit an encrypted signal using the HDCP protocol for copy protection. Computers with DVI video connectors can use many DVI-equipped HDTV sets as a display; however, due to Digital Rights Management, it is not clear whether such systems will eventually be able to play protected content, as the link is not encrypted. The inside of a DVD player A DVD player is a device not only playing discs produced under the DVD Video standard but also playing discs under the standard of DVD Audio. ... High-definition television (HDTV) is a digital television broadcasting system with greater resolution than traditional television systems (NTSC, SECAM, PAL). ... Projected image from a video projector in a home cinema. ... HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a specification developed by Intel Corporation to protect digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections. ... Digital rights management (DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices. ...

USB signals are not incorporated into the connector, but were earlier incorporated into the VESA Plug and Display connector used by InFocus on their projector systems, and in the Apple Display Connector, which was used by Apple Computer until 2005. USB redirects here. ... M1-P&D Plug VESA Plug and Display (P&D) is a video connector for digital monitors, such as flat panel displays and video projectors, ratified by VESA. It was introduced around the same time as DFP, marketed as a replacement of VESA Enhanced Video Connector and an extension of... InFocus Corporation is a company primarily known for developing, manufacturing, and selling a variety of digital projectors for both business and consumer use. ... The Apple Display Connector (ADC) is a proprietary connector Apple used for their flat panel LCDs and their last CRT display. ... Apple Inc. ...

Specifications

Digital

• Minimum clock frequency: 21.76 MHz
• Maximum clock frequency in single link mode: Capped at 165 MHz (up to 3.96 Gbit/s)
• Maximum clock frequency in dual link mode: Limited only by cable quality (up to 7.92 Gbit/s)
• Pixels per clock cycle: 1 (single link) or 2 (dual link)
• Bits per pixel: 24 (single and dual link) or 48 (dual link only)

• Example display modes (single link):
  • HDTV (1920 × 1080) @ 60 Hz with 5% LCD blanking (131 MHz)
  • UXGA (1600 × 1200) @ 60 Hz with GTF blanking (161 MHz)
  • WUXGA (1920 × 1200) @ 60 Hz (154 MHz)
  • SXGA (1280 × 1024) @ 85 Hz with GTF blanking (159 MHz)
  • WXGA+ (1440 x 900) @ 60 Hz (107 MHz)
  • WQUXGA (3840 × 2400) @ 17 Hz (164 MHz)

• Example display modes (dual link):
  • QXGA (2048 × 1536) @ 75 Hz with GTF blanking (2×170 MHz)
  • HDTV (1920 × 1080) @ 85 Hz with GTF blanking (2×126 MHz)
  • WQXGA (2560 × 1600) @ 60 Hz with GTF blanking (2x174 MHz) (30" Apple, Dell, HP, Quinux, and Samsung LCDs)
  • WQUXGA (3840 × 2400) @ 33 Hz with GTF blanking (2x159 MHz)

GTF (General Timing Formula) is a VESA standard which can easily be calculated with the Linux gtf utility. High-definition television (HDTV) means broadcast of television signals with a higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC, SECAM, PAL) allow. ... UXGA is an abbreviation for Ultra eXtended Graphics Accelerator referring to a standard monitor resolution of 1600 × 1200 pixels, which is exactly quadruple the default resolution of SVGA (800 × 600). ... WUXGA stands for Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array and is a display resolution of 1920×1200 pixels (2,304,000 pixels) with a 16:10 screen aspect ratio. ... SXGA (5:4) compared with the other display standards. ... A screen resolution of 1440×900 is best described as WSXGA or WXGA+. It has an aspect ratio of 16:10/8:5 (widescreen), which is one of the lesser used aspect ratios, and a resolution falling between that of WXGA and WSXGA+, and can thus be thought of as... The QXGA display standard and its derivatives are a relatively new (as of 2005) standard in display technology. ... The QXGA display standard and its derivatives are relatively new (as of 2005) resolution standards in display technology. ... High-definition television (HDTV) means broadcast of television signals with a higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC, SECAM, PAL) allow. ... WQXGA (Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2560×1600 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio. ... The QXGA display standard and its derivatives are a relatively new (as of 2005) standard in display technology. ... The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is an international body, founded in the late 1980s by NEC Home Electronics and eight other video display adapter manufacturers. ... The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is an international body, founded in the late 1980s by NEC Home Electronics and eight other video display adapter manufacturers. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ...

Analog

• RGB bandwidth: 400 MHz at -3 dB

See also

• Mini-DVI
• Micro-DVI
• ADC – Apple Display Connector, a similar, discontinued connector that can still be found on some older Macs. Based on DVI, with USB and power capabilities included.
• VGA connector, analog video (an older standard, though very common on current computer hardware)
• High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a forward-compatible standard, that also includes digital audio transmission
• Unified Display Interface (UDI), a proposed future standard to replace both DVI and HDMI. Deprecated by Intel in favor of DisplayPort.
• DisplayPort, a VESA-approved license-free DRM-cognizant standard proposed to succeed DVI
• DMS-59, a way to combine 2 analog and 2 digital signals in one connector. Commonly used to give 2 x DVI outputs from one graphics card connector.
• DFP, an older type of digital video link
• M1-DA, a proprietary plug used in some projectors and sometimes labeled as DVI-M1
• LCD TV
• List of display interfaces

The Mini-DVI plug on a 12 PowerBook G4 The Mini-DVI connector is used primarily on Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. ... The Apple Display Connector (ADC) is a proprietary connector Apple used for their flat panel LCDs and their last CRT display. ... For other uses, see Macintosh (disambiguation) and Mac. ... VGA Connector There are at least four versions of VGA connector, the three-row 15 pin DE-15 (also called mini sub D15) in originaland DDC2pinouts, and a less featureful and far less common 9-pin VGA, plus a Mini-VGA used for laptops. ... The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a licensable audio/video connector interface for transmitting uncompressed, encrypted digital streams. ... Forward compatibility (sometimes confused with extensibility) is the ability of a system to accept input intended for later versions of itself. ... Digital audio comprises audio signals stored in a digital format. ... In telecommunications, transmission is the act of transmitting electrical messages (and the associated phenomena of radiant energy that passes through media). ... Unified Display Interface (UDI) is a newly-proposed interface specification designed for HDTV and PC usage, replacing the aging VGA analog interface while maintaining compatibility with existing HDMI and DVI standards. ... Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC, SEHK: 4335), founded in 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation, is an American multinational corporation that is best known for designing and manufacturing microprocessors and specialized integrated circuits. ... DisplayPort is a new digital display interface standard (approved May 2006, current version 1. ... DisplayPort is a new digital display interface standard (approved May 2006, current version 1. ... The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is an international body, founded in the late 1980s by NEC Home Electronics and eight other video display adapter manufacturers. ... DMS-59 connector. ... Digital Flat Panel (DFP) is a video connector for flat panel displays. ... M1-P&D Plug VESA Plug and Display (P&D) is a video connector for digital monitors, such as flat panel displays and video projectors, ratified by VESA. It was introduced around the same time as DFP, marketed as a replacement of VESA Enhanced Video Connector and an extension of... Liquid crystal display television (LCD TV) is television that uses LCD technology for its visual output. ... ^ What is CVBS video format - aus. ...

External links

• Specification "Digital Visual Interface DVI", Revision 1.0, 02 April 1999
• DVI Cable and Adapter Reference Charts with Detailed Photos