If you have a new TV or monitor and need to connect them to other devices like laptops, mobile phones, play stations, you may have been given any of HDMI or a DVI cable.
There is a lot of display interfaces such as VGA, SDI, Display Port, Mobile High Definition Link.
Not very many specifications on the difference between DVI and HDMI are given to you from the buyer, yet you need to know which is the best and most compatible for your use in any instance.
We are going to look at HDMI and DVI, and capitalize on which is the most compatible for your preferred use.
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and it is majorly used for transmitting uncompressed video data and digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device.
DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and its interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a computer monitor.
It is clear from the above definitions that both HDMI and DVI transmit data to display devices such as monitors or phones. This works with supported devices only.
While we navigate through HDMI and DVI, it is important to note that DVI came about before HDMI. With advancements in technology, the HDMI data transfer format was developed, and more improvements were made. This doesn’t in any way imply that DVI is not fully important that is why this article is here to help you understand the differences and make the right choice of cable.
Read Also: Difference between DDR, DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4 RAM
Contents
Similarities
- Both DVI and HDMI transfer digital video signals.
Difference Between DVI and HDMI
DVI Vs. HDMI: Interfaces
It goes without seeing that the DVI and HDMI are both different ports outwardly. The HDMI (High Definition Multimedia) looks smaller as compared to the DVI which is bigger (almost a similar size to the VGA).
Depending on the types (as we shall see below), the DVI has a minimum of 17 pins and a maximum of 29 pins.
DVI Vs. HDMI: Digital output
While HDMI supports video and about 8 channels of audio – compatible with HD content including HDCP-protected Blu-ray, DVI is video-only and lacks HDCP support (for older model DVIs).
HDCP stands for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection, and it is a copy protection scheme to eliminate the possibility of intercepting digital data midstream between the source to the display.
If you have a DVI cable and need audio, you will have to buy a set of audio connectors for your devices. The cables at the back of your device will be stuffed up and this is not the case with the HDMI, which needs just a single cable connection.
DVI Vs. HDMI: Commonly used
For many desktops and LCD monitors, DVI cables are used. On the other hand, since newer monitors have the latest advancements, HDMI cables are used for these monitors which include; HDTVs, Blue Ray players, Apple TVs, and so on.
DVI Vs. HDMI: Compatibility
HDMI supports only digital signals while DVI supports analog, digital, and both analog & digital signals, depending on the type.
You can convert from DVI to HDMI signals with the help of a DVI to HDMI plug adapter that changes the physical connections.
You can use this adapter to connect an HDMI cable to DVI-compatible devices. DVI male to HDMI female adapter. (Connector: DVI Male to HDMI Female)
You can also use an HDMI to DVI-D adapter cable into the HDMI port on your source device to convert HDMI to DVI. It is limited to the DVI-D adapter ONLY because DVI-D cables transmit digital video signals as is the case with HDMI.
NOTE: No signal conversion is necessary, nor is there a loss of video quality when a DVI-to-HDMI adapter is used.
Check out these adapters on eBay, at very affordable prices.
DVI Vs. HDMI: Gaming
If you are a gamer, you may be lost between the choice of whether to go with DVI or HDMI.
Putting into consideration that DVI has no ability to transfer sound as mentioned earlier, but if your monitor does not have built-in speakers that doesn’t matter anyway.
When it comes to quality, DVI and HDMI offer the same good quality.
In case you want to play in 3D, then you would need a DVI Dual-link cable, HDMI isn’t supported in this instance. If you want to play in 3D with HDMI, you can set up an AMD HD3D, and it works for HDMI 1.4a.
Follow this guide for the setup of AMD HD3D technology.
DVI Vs. HDMI (summarized)
| HDMI | DVI | |
| Short form for: | High-Definition Multimedia Interface | Digital Visual Interface |
| Supports | Both Audio and Video | Only Video |
| Signal transmissions | Both Digital and Analog (Depending on the type) | Only Digital |
| Compatibility | Can convert to DVI with the help of the DVI-D adapter. | Can convert to HDMI and VGA with adapters |
TYPES OF DVI and HDMI
DVI Types
DVI connectors exist in three types: DVI-A (analog), DVI-D (digital), and DVI-I (integrated; analog and digital).
- DVI – I (Single link)
- Have 23 pins
- Do not convert analog and digital signals but can accept digital or analog signals – just not both at the same time
- DVI – D (Single link)
- Have 19 pins
- They can only transfer digital video signals
- DVI – I (Dual link)
- Have 29 pins
- Do not convert analog and digital signals but can accept digital or analog signals – just not both at the same time
- DVI – D (Dual link)
- Have 25 pins
- They can only transfer digital video signals
- DVI – A
- 17 pins
- Carry only analog signals
Dual-link DVI cable allows us to go from a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1200 at 60Hz up to either 2560 by 1600 resolution (30-inch monitors use this) or 1920 by 1200 at 120Hz for 3D gaming support.
HDMI Types
| HDMI types | Defined in | No of pins | Compatible with |
| A | HDMI 1.0 | 19 | Single-link DVI-D |
| B | HDMI 1.0 | 29 | Dual-link DVI-D |
| C, the mini connector | HDMI 1.3 | 19 | Type A using a special cable |
| D | HDMI 1.4 | 19 | Type A |
| E | HDMI 1.4 |
Conclusion.
HDMI is almost similar to DVI, one of the main differences is that it is smaller. The DVI top interface is big – It supports 3D output from 3d Blu-ray players to 3d ready TVs. It is used by some PCs though it is mostly for home theatre and multi-media.
However much the HDMI signal is identical to the DVI signal, it is safer to cling to HDMI cables because they are the advancement and many newer devices to be launched in the future shall surely be HDMI supported.