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DVI-HDMI Any Advantage?

cpals

Diamond Member
Mar 5, 2001
4,494
0
76
I currently have my computer hooked up via VGA to my 1080p TV. It doesn't have DVI input or else I would use that.

Would getting a DVI-HDMI look any better or have any advantage than using my VGA cable? The computer is currently displaying 1920 x 1080
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
81
Yes. Rather than attempting to paraphrase, I'll just cut and paste from Wikipedia:

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.

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.

However, when using digital displays (such as LCD) with analog signals (such as VGA), there is an array of discrete pixels and a single brightness value must be chosen for each. The decoder does this by sampling the voltage of the input signal at regular intervals. When the source is also a digital device (such as a computer), this can lead to distortion if the samples are not taken at the center of each pixel, and there are also problems with crosstalk.

So DVI or HDMI will give you a clearer picture as you are not converting digital to analog to digital.
 

cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
You'll be very hard-pressed to notice any difference between vga & dvi. I've seen one after the other with a 24" 1920x1200 lcd monitor, and I couldn't tell one bit of a different. Hdtvs are really no different.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
The cost is insignificant (certainly no more than VGA anyway) and results in the best image possible. My only caveat would be not to waste moolah on an adapter cable since DVI is obsolete. Rather get an HDMI cable and DVI adapter, then replace with DP adapter as necessary.
 

jkresh

Platinum Member
Jun 18, 2001
2,436
0
71
dvi should look better then vga but if your set has a very good adc (analog to digital converter) the difference will be minimal (as far as I know all 1080p sets are digital) . I agree with Auric, get an hdmi cable with a dvi adapter to connect to your display, check out www.monoprice.com for good prices on decent cables and adapters.
 

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
4,185
29
91
Originally posted by: jkresh
dvi should look better then vga but if your set has a very good adc (analog to digital converter) the difference will be minimal (as far as I know all 1080p sets are digital) . I agree with Auric, get an hdmi cable with a dvi adapter to connect to your display, check out www.monoprice.com for good prices on decent cables and adapters.

I agreed.
Mine (Sammy 226bw, when connected to vga) the pic looks a tad noisier than using dvi at the same exact resolution at other settings.