Difference Between DVI and Analog

DVI vs Analog

The Digital Visual Interface or DVI is a very recent technology that is intended to replace the very old analog interface that is being used in computers. Although computers are digital and its display data is digital, analog was the interface of choice due to the analog nature of CRT monitors which was the common output device at the time. With the advent of LCD monitors which are digital in nature, DVI quickly followed. Using an analog interface to an LCD screen would mean that the digital needs to be converted into an analog signal before transmission then converted back to digital after it gets to the LCD monitor. With DVI, the digital signal is sent as it is ,without needing any sort of conversion.

Analog cables are only capable of carrying analog signals as there was really no reason to include any other type of signal. On the other hand, DVI cables are able to transmit digital or analog signals depending on the device that is connected. The ability to transmit analog signals was retained in order to maintain backwards compatibility with CRT monitors or computers that do not have DVI connectors. DVI is also compatible with the High Definition Multimedia Interface or HDMI. This is the interface that you would commonly see on HDTV sets. With a DVI to HDMI cable, you would be able to connect your computer to an HDTV and use it for your display.

Another feature that you cannot find on analog connectors is dual link. This is the ability to use more than one set of data links in unison, in order to have a greater amount of bandwidth. Each pixel in the display consists of a fixed number of bits. Displays with an extremely large resolution needs to receive a huge amount of data for every refresh. The bandwidth requirement is further increased when using higher refresh rates. Using dual link requires cables especially for dual link applications and the common DVI cables being used are usually not compatible with dual link.

Summary:
1.    Analog has been around considerably longer than DVI.
2.    Analog is best for CRT monitors while DVI is preferred for LCD screens.
3.    Analog cables can only carry analog signals while DVI cables are capable of carrying either analog or digital signals.
4.    DVI is compatible with HDMI while Analog is not.
5.    DVI has the capability of using two sets of links at once while analog does not.

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