DVI to VGA Adapter

The term Video Graphics Array (VGA) refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution itself. While this resolution has been superseded in the personal computer market, it is becoming a popular resolution on mobile devices.

DVI, or Digital Video Interface Technology came about in 1999 as a result of the formation of the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) a year prior. Their original mission was to create a standard digital video interface for communication between a Personal Computer and a VGA monitor. Recently, however, the consumer electronics industry began implementing DVD players, set-top boxes, televisions, and LCD/plasma monitors with DVI technology.

DVI, or Digital Video Interface Technology came about in 1999 as a result of the formation of the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) a year prior. Their original mission was to create a standard digital video interface for communication between a Personal Computer and a VGA monitor. Recently, however, the consumer electronics industry began implementing DVD players, set-top boxes, televisions, and LCD/plasma monitors with DVI technology.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It represents a digital alternative to consumer analog standards such as Radio Frequency (RF) coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, and VGA. HDMI connects digital audio/video sources such as set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, personal computers (PCs), video game consoles, and AV receivers to compatible digital audio devices, computer monitors, and digital televisions. HDMI supports, on a single cable, any TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, and high-definition video, up to 8 channels of digital audio, and the Consumer Electronics Control signal. It is independent of the various digital television standards such as ATSC and DVB as these are encapsulations of compressed MPEG video streams (which can be decoded and output as an uncompressed video stream on HDMI). A Digital Visual Interface (DVI) signal is electrically compatible with an HDMI video signal; no signal conversion needs to take place when an adapter is used, and consequently no loss in video quality occurs.

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across DisplayPort, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF), or Unified Display Interface (UDI) connections. HDCP does not address whether copying would be permitted by fair use laws. The specification is proprietary, and implementing HDCP requires a license.