Digital Visual Interface: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:51, 20 May 2025

Revision as of 10:24, 24 May 2025

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'''Digital Visual Interface''' ('''DVI''') is a [[video display interface]] developed by the [[Digital Display Working Group]] (DDWG). The [[Digital data|digital]] interface is used to connect a video source, such as a [[video display controller]], to a [[display device]], such as a [[computer monitor]]. It was developed with the intention of creating an industry standard for the transfer of [[data compression#Lossless|uncompressed]] digital video content.

DVI devices manufactured as DVI-I have support for analog connections, and are compatible with the analog [[VGA]] interface<ref name="2000 Press Release">{{cite news|url=http://www.ddwg.org/articles.asp?id=22|title=Digital Visual Interface adoption accelerates as industry prepares for next wave of DVI-compliant products|date=February 16, 2000|publisher=DDWG, copy preserved by [[Internet Archive]]|access-date=29 March 2012|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828233809/http://www.ddwg.org/articles.asp?id=22|archive-date=28 August 2007}}</ref> by including VGA pins, while DVI-D devices are digital-only. This compatibility, along with other advantages, led to its widespread acceptance over competing digital display standards [[Plug and Display]] (P&D) and [[VESA Digital Flat Panel|Digital Flat Panel]] (DFP).<ref name="Competing standards">{{cite web|url=httphttps://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tft-guide-part-3,117.html|title=TFT Guide Part 3 - Digital Interfaces|last=Eiden|first=Hermann|date=July 7, 1999|publisher=TomsHardware.com|access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> Although DVI is predominantly associated with computers, it is sometimes used in other consumer electronics such as [[television set]]s and [[DVD player]]s.

==History==

An earlier attempt to promulgate an updated standard to the analog [[VGA connector]] was made by the [[Video Electronics Standards Association]] (VESA) in 1994 and 1995, with the [[VESA Enhanced Video Connector|Enhanced Video Connector]] (EVC), which was intended to consolidate cables between the computer and monitor.<ref name=VESA-stds>{{cite web |url=http://www.vesa.org:80/standards.html |title=VESA Standards |publisher=Video Electronics Standards Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080256/http://www.vesa.org:80/standards.html |archive-date=January 17, 1999 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Manchester99>{{cite report |first=Gary |last=Manchester |date=1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112151649/http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/informatik/RA/news/stack/kompendium/vortraege_99/peripherie/standards/dfp/DFPwhitepap.PDF |title=The VESA Digital Flat Panel (DFP) Standard: A White Paper |publisher=VESA Marketing Committee |url=http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/informatik/RA/news/stack/kompendium/vortraege_99/peripherie/standards/dfp/DFPwhitepap.PDF |archive-date=January 12, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> EVC used a 35-pin [[Molex]] MicroCross connector and carried analog video (input and output), analog stereo audio (input and output), and data (via [[USB]] and [[FireWire]]). At the same time, with the increasing availability of digital flat-panel displays, the priority shifted to digital video transmission, which would remove the extra analog/digital conversion steps required for VGA and EVC;<ref name=DVI-whitepaper/>{{rp|5–6}} the EVC connector was reused by VESA,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vesa.org:80/public/Intellectual%20Property/MolexPnD.PDF |title=Molex PnD intellectual property letter |author=Manchester, Gary |date=October 7, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030222125034/http://www.vesa.org:80/public/Intellectual%20Property/MolexPnD.PDF |archive-date=February 22, 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which released the [[VESA Plug and Display| Plug & Display (P&D)]] standard in 1997.<ref name=VESA-stds/> P&D offered single-link [[Transition-minimized differential signaling|TMDS]] digital video with, as an option, analog video output and data (USB and FireWire), using a 35-pin MicroCross connector similar to EVC; the analog audio and video input lines from EVC were repurposed to carry digital video for P&D.<ref name=DVI-whitepaper/>{{rp|4}}<ref name=VESA-P&D>{{cite web |url=http://www.vesa.org/public/PnD/pnd.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030704041337/http://www.vesa.org/public/PnD/pnd.pdf |archive-date=July 4, 2003 |url-status=dead |date=June 11, 1997 |title=VESA Plug and Display (P&D) Standard, Version 1 |publisher=Video Electronics Standards Association}}</ref>{{rp|§1.3.3}}

Because P&D was a physically large, expensive connector, a consortium of companies developed the DFP standard (1999), which was focused solely on digital video transmission using a 20-pin [[micro ribbon connector]] and omitted the analog video and data capabilities of P&D.<ref name=Manchester99/>{{rp|3}}<ref name=DVI-whitepaper>{{cite report |url=https://www.fpga4fun.com/files/WP_TMDS.pdf |title=Digital Visual Interface & TMDS Extensions |date=October 2004 |publisher=Silicon Image |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>{{rp|4}} DVI instead chose to strip just the data functions from P&D, using a 29-pin MicroCross connector to carry digital and analog video.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.molex.com/mx_upload/family/microcross_dvi/082mcdvi.pdf |title=MicroCross DVI Connector System: Digital Visual Interface Standard |publisher=Molex |date=December 2000 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> Critically, DVI allows dual-link TMDS signals,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/276/2/molex_dvi%20technical1-1185865.pdf |title=MicroCross DVI (Digital Visual Interface) Connector System |publisher=Molex |date=November 1999 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> meaning it supports higher resolutions than the single-link P&D and DFP connectors, which led to its successful adoption as an industry standard. Compatibility of DVI with P&D and DFP is accomplished typically through passive adapters that provide appropriate physical interfaces, as all three standards use the same DDC/EDID handshaking protocols and TMDS digital video signals.<ref name=DVI1.0 >{{cite web |url=httphttps://glenwing.github.io/docs/DVI-1.0.pdf |title=Digital Visual Interface Revision 1.0 |date=2 April 1999 |publisher=Digital Display Working Group |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>{{rp|§1.3.7}}

DVI made its way into products starting in 1999. One of the first DVI monitors was [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] original [[Apple Cinema Display|Cinema Display]], which launched in 1999.

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** [[WQUXGA]] ({{resx|3840|2400}}) @ 30&nbsp;Hz with CVT-RB blanking (2 pixels per 146&nbsp;MHz TMDS clock)

[[Generalized Timing Formula]] (GTF) is a [[VESA]] standard which can easily be calculated with the [[Linux]] gtf utility. [[Coordinated Video Timings]]-Reduced Blanking (CVT-RB) is a [[VESA]] standard which offers reduced horizontal and vertical blanking for non-CRT based displays.<ref>{{cite news |url=httphttps://www.nvidia.com/object/advanced_timings.html |title=Advanced Timing and CEA/EIA-861B Timings |publisher=NVIDIA |access-date=2008-06-18}}</ref>

====Digital data encoding====

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To promote interoperability between DVI-D and HDMI devices, HDMI source components and displays support DVI-D signaling. For example, an HDMI display can be driven by a DVI-D source because HDMI and DVI-D both define an overlapping minimum set of supported resolutions and frame buffer formats.

Some DVI-D sources use non-standard extensions to output HDMI signals including audio (e.g. [[Radeon R600|ATI 3000-series]] and [[GeForce 200 series|NVIDIA GTX 200-series]]).<ref name="HDMI2006SpecsAppC">{{cite news |title=HDMI Specification 1.3a Appendix C |publisher=HDMI Licensing, LLC. |url=httphttps://www.hdmi.org |format=PDF |date=2006-11-10 |access-date=2009-11-18}}</ref> Some multimedia displays use a DVI to HDMI adapter to input the HDMI signal with audio. Exact capabilities vary by video card specifications.

In the reverse scenario, a DVI display that lacks optional support for [[High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection|HDCP]] might be unable to display protected content even though it is otherwise compatible with the HDMI source. Features specific to HDMI such as remote control, audio transport, xvYCC and deep color are not usable in devices that support only DVI signals. HDCP compatibility between source and destination devices is subject to manufacturer specifications for each device.