Question Why DVI???

[Geos54]

Just out of curiosity - what is the point of DVI ports? Why not standardize on DP & HDMI? How many standards do we need?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

DVI is the standard BEFORE HDMI. Some people like me still have a DVI monitor that has no HDMI hookup.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Most graphics cards don't have DVI these days. However, cheap mobos may not have DP and instead go with HDMI, D-Sub or DVI ports.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Most graphics cards don't have DVI these days. However, cheap mobos may not have DP and instead go with HDMI, D-Sub or DVI ports.

Correct because the current standard is HDMI. I had trouble finding a video card in 2019 that had DVI. Low end models had them but mid range was lacking.
Point being DVI was fine for its time and that is why it exists, low end stuff still has DVI because there is a strong chance it will be plugged into an old display. Expensive cards will almost certainly be plugged into something with HDMI.

 

[Joe NYC]

Correct because the current standard is HDMI. I had trouble finding a video card in 2019 that had DVI. Low end models had them but mid range was lacking.
Point being DVI was fine for its time and that is why it exists, low end stuff still has DVI because there is a strong chance it will be plugged into an old display. Expensive cards will almost certainly be plugged into something with HDMI.

I also have a couple of old 30" 2560x1600 dual link DVI in the office. They are still great, and I like the 16:10 ratio for office work (taller than 16:9).

I was able to get a DP to dual link DVI adapter, that is powered by USB to generate the signal. Another, new option is, there is a similar adapter out there that takes the video from USB4 DisplayPort Alt-mode and generates dual link DVI output.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I also have a couple of old 30" 2560x1600 dual link DVI in the office. They are still great, and I like the 16:10 ratio for office work (taller than 16:9).

I was able to get a DP to dual link DVI adapter, that is powered by USB to generate the signal. Another, new option is, there is a similar adapter out there that takes the video from USB4 DisplayPort Alt-mode and generates dual link DVI output.

Yeah I know, I just don't like adaptors. Sucks to have a problem and you do all sorts of stuff to fix it then you remember there is an adaptor and its probably loose. I like to avoid stuff like that as much as possible.
Been very happy with my Acer(?) 1050 monitor but its time has come.

 

[Joe NYC]

Yeah I know, I just don't like adaptors. Sucks to have a problem and you do all sorts of stuff to fix it then you remember there is an adaptor and its probably loose. I like to avoid stuff like that as much as possible.
Been very happy with my Acer(?) 1050 monitor but its time has come.

Up to 1080, if you don't need dual link DVI, you don't need an adapter. You can just do it with a cable. HDMI to DVI cable. That doesn't really cost anything over the price of any regular cable...

 

[Joe NYC]

Yeah I know, I just don't like adaptors. Sucks to have a problem and you do all sorts of stuff to fix it then you remember there is an adaptor and its probably loose. I like to avoid stuff like that as much as possible.
Been very happy with my Acer(?) 1050 monitor but its time has come.

BTW, this may be for another section, but state of the monitors is quite bad. After a bit of a dive, no one makes the ideal monitor.

In ideal monitor, you would want OLED, ability to have higher (variable) refresh rates (120-144 Hz), RGB subpixel layout to get sharp text. All this, at good range of sizes and competitive prices.

It appears, you can't have it all. Main sticking point seems to be RGB subpixel layout at reasonable prices and size or monitor I want.

So, I am sticking with my old monitors for now...

 

[VirtualLarry]

Been very happy with my Acer(?) 1050 monitor but its time has come.

Have you thought of putting that thing on the National Historic registry?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Just out of curiosity - what is the point of DVI ports? Why not standardize on DP & HDMI? How many standards do we need?

HDMI is DVI with a different plug/socket design. The electrical signalling is the exact same up to 1200p. DVI doesn't do above that, except in dual link mode. But that isn't used much today. That's why there are cheap HDMI-to-DVI (and reverse) adaptors.

Fun fact; the HDMI standard actually provides an option for dual link with the Type B connector. It's just that it was never used.

 

[aigomorla]

Im scared to even ask the OP how old he is to not remember DVI.
It wasn't that long ago, or is it that we all here that know it are just too old.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Im scared to even ask the OP how old he is to not remember DVI.
It wasn't that long ago, or is it that we all here that know it are just too old.

I still have several monitors that have VGA ports. In my triple monitor setup, one of the monitors is using Dual Link DVI right now. It's all based on what video connections you have on your computer or GPU. At the end of this week. I will be exclusively Display Port on my triple monitor setup.

I still have a 25ft VGA cord with a 3.5mm sound cable built in.

DVI as a video connection is perfect for what it is. I have never had a problem with any monitor using DVI. It's always been extremely reliable. The only problem is the limitations of the standard. I think 60hz is all you get but the resolution can go up to 2k (1440p) with a dual link connection.

 

[Joe NYC]

I still have several monitors that have VGA ports. In my triple monitor setup, one of the monitors is using Dual Link DVI right now. It's all based on what video connections you have on your computer or GPU. At the end of this week. I will be exclusively Display Port on my triple monitor setup.

I still have a 25ft VGA cord with a 3.5mm sound cable built in.

DVI as a video connection is perfect for what it is. I have never had a problem with any monitor using DVI. It's always been extremely reliable. The only problem is the limitations of the standard. I think 60hz is all you get but the resolution can go up to 2k (1440p) with a dual link connection.

Yeah. Not being able to increase frequencies, and instead having to go to dual link is less than ideal design, that ended up not being fully supported, and ended up a bit of an orphan.

I am able to get 2560x1600 at 60 Hz. But from a modern card, without DVI, I have to use an adapter, which is less than ideal. Gives me a bit of a flicker during the boot time. Also, the card detecting resolution of the monitor, gang through the adapter is not fool proof.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Yeah. Not being able to increase frequencies, and instead having to go to dual link is less than ideal design, that ended up not being fully supported, and ended up a bit of an orphan.

I am able to get 2560x1600 at 60 Hz. But from a modern card, without DVI, I have to use an adapter, which is less than ideal. Gives me a bit of a flicker during the boot time. Also, the card detecting resolution of the monitor, gang through the adapter is not fool proof.

One of my 32" 1440p 144hz monitors is on DVI. Max hz is 60. I am glad to be going full DP later this week. I used DVI because my 1660super had a DP, HDMI and DVI connections. So I had to use all three different connections. I will not miss the DVI connection simply because the cable is super thick. On a single monitor setup, I am more than happy to use DVI to this day.

 

[mv2devnull]

DVI as a video connection is perfect for what it is. I have never had a problem with any monitor using DVI. It's always been extremely reliable. The only problem is the limitations of the standard. I think 60hz is all you get but the resolution can go up to 2k (1440p) with a dual link connection.

We did use active 3D stereo (NVidia 3D Vision) on workstations (Quadro and Linux). 120 Hz at 1080p via dual link DVI. The HDMI of the time had no support for that, IIRC.
The latest workstations had DP, rather than DVI (because HDMI was still not considered an option).
There was Sony TV (last generation with 3D support) and for that the "HDMI 3D" was the only option. A 59.9 Hz mess, but "mess or no stereo" were the choices.

 

[igor_kavinski]

There was Sony TV (last generation with 3D support) and for that the "HDMI 3D" was the only option. A 59.9 Hz mess, but "mess or no stereo" were the choices.

Still using that or switched to some VR solution?

 

[mv2devnull]

Still using that or switched to some VR solution?

In a classroom. We have about dozen pairs of Sony active shutter glasses for it (unless stolen).

 

[Heartbreaker]

HDMI is DVI with a different plug/socket design. The electrical signalling is the exact same up to 1200p. DVI doesn't do above that, except in dual link mode. But that isn't used much today. That's why there are cheap HDMI-to-DVI (and reverse) adaptors.

Fun fact; the HDMI standard actually provides an option for dual link with the Type B connector. It's just that it was never used.

Yes. I remember when HDMI first came out(only on TVs initially). It was just one channel of DVI in a smaller connector for consumer electronics. It was considered inferior for monitors, because it was only single channel, while DVI could be dual channel to drive higher resolution monitors, and/or higher refresh.

But the signally rate of HDMI kept improving, while DVI froze where it was, probably because Display Port came out around the same time HDMI upgraded, and Display Port was anointed as the new computer standard.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Have you thought of putting that thing on the National Historic registry?

Not yet, still looks & works well. Over the years I have acquired a stuck pixel however it’s in the upper right of the screen. I can’t think of the last time I noticed it.

 

[MrTeal]

My wife's PC is running a HD5770 because one of the monitors is an early Korean 27" 1440p ones that require dual link DVI.

As an aside, the big OEMs really screwed up the transition to DP. Dell kept shipping DVI only(or DVI/VGA) monitor way too long, after most business desktops had switch their digital outputs to DVI.

 

[Ranulf]

I've been suprised at how vga has outlasted dvi and will soon hdmi as well. A basic HP monitor I picked up two years ago was just dp, hdmi and vga.

 

[igor_kavinski]

A basic HP monitor I picked up two years ago was just dp, hdmi and vga.

They realize that lots of people have no interest in upgrading from ancient PCs when their daily use isn't pushing them too hard. My main work PC (few browser tabs, Outlook Web, few Excel sheets) is still i5-2500 with 16GB RAM and 750GB SSD on Win7.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I've been suprised at how vga has outlasted dvi and will soon hdmi as well. A basic HP monitor I picked up two years ago was just dp, hdmi and vga.

I think VGA is an open standard thus no payments to a body that owns the standard.
Not an expert but I sort of remember reading that somewhere.

 

[aigomorla]

I think VGA is an open standard thus no payments to a body that owns the standard.
Not an expert but I sort of remember reading that somewhere.

Many many many server boards and intigrated components also still use VGA.
Its never going to go away, until they start changing to HDMI.

 

[A///]

In ideal monitor, you would want OLED,

yup yup love me some burn in!