Difference between DVI-I and DVI-D.

Among the most common interfaces for connecting monitors to a PC are DVI-I and DVI-D. What are the features of each of them?

Facts about DVI-I

The DVI-I interface assumes the use of two types of signal transmission channels - analog and digital. At the same time, the structure of their location in the cable may differ depending on one of the two modifications of the interface in question - DVI-I Single Link and DVI-I Dual Link.

DVI-I Single Link devices support 1 digital and 1 analog channels. Moreover, both of them function independently. Activation of any of them is associated with what specific device is connected to the PC video card and how the connection between the devices is carried out. In devices of the DVI-I Dual Link type, 3 data transmission channels are implemented - 2 digital and 1 analog.

Facts about DVI-D

The DVI-D interface assumes the use of only digital data transmission technologies. 1 or 2 channels can be used depending on the cable modification.

With a single-link DVI-D interface, you can transfer data at a resolution of 1920 x 1200 dots and a frequency of 60 Hz. However, these resources will not be sufficient to display 3D images created using technologies such as nVidia 3D on a PC monitor.

The presence of dual-link DVI-D interfaces in the cable structure allows transmitting video data in high resolution - 2560 by 1600 pixels. In addition, the presence of two digital channels makes it possible, when using such a cable, to broadcast 3D images on monitors at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a frequency of 120 Hz.

Comparison

The main difference between DVI-I and DVI-D is that the first standard supports both digital and analog data transmission technology, while the second only supports digital. Accordingly, when connecting the monitor to a PC via DVI-D, you should check if it is analog.

Visually, the DVI-D interface - in all modifications - differs from DVI-I in the absence of four holes in the side of the connector.

In fact, both standards under consideration are united by the DVI-I Dual Link connector. There is also, by the way, the DVI-A interface, which only supports analog data transmission technology.

Having determined what is the difference between DVI-I and DVI-D, let's fix the main conclusions in the table.

Table

DVI-I DVI-D
What do they have in common?
One of the DVI-I modifications - Dual Link - actually combines both standards
What's the difference between them?
The standard allows you to connect both digital and analog monitors to a PCThe standard allows only digital monitors to be connected to a PC
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