Digital Visual Interface

Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a 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 digital video content.

The interface is designed to transmit uncompressed digital video and can be configured to support multiple modes such as DVI-D (digital only), DVI-A (analog only), or DVI-I (digital and analog). Featuring support for analog connections, the DVI specification is compatible with the VGA interface. This compatibility, along with other advantages, led to its widespread acceptance over competing digital display standards Plug and Display (P&D) and Digital Flat Panel (DFP). Although DVI is predominantly associated with computers, it is sometimes used in other consumer electronics such as television sets, video game consoles, and DVD players.

HDMI

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transferring uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed 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. HDMI is a digital replacement for analog video standards.

HDMI implements the EIA/CEA-861 standards, which define video formats and waveforms, transport of compressed, uncompressed, and LPCM audio, auxiliary data, and implementations of the VESA EDID. CEA-861 signals carried by HDMI are electrically compatible with the CEA-861 signals used by the digital visual interface (DVI). No signal conversion is necessary, nor is there a loss of video quality when a DVI-to-HDMI adapter is used. The CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) capability allows HDMI devices to control each other when necessary and allows the user to operate multiple devices with one remote control handset.

DisplayPort

DisplayPort is a digital display interface developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor, though it can also be used to carry audio, USB, and other forms of data.

VESA designed it to replace VGA, DVI, and FPD-Link. DisplayPort is backward compatible with VGA, DVI and HDMI through the use of passive and/or active adapters.

Overview

DisplayPort is the first display interface to rely on packetized data transmission, a form of digital communication found in technologies including Ethernet, USB, and PCI Express. It allows both internal and external display connections and, unlike legacy standards where differential pairs are fixed to transmitting a clock signal with each output, the DisplayPort protocol is based on small data packets known as micro packets, which can embed the clock signal within the data stream, allowing higher resolutions with fewer pins. The use of data packets also allows DisplayPort to be extensible, meaning additional features can be added over time without significant changes to the physical interface itself.