Short for Digital Visual Interface, DVI is a video display interface. It was developed to be an industry standard for transmitting digital video content to display devices at resolutions as high as 2560 x 1600. Common devices that utilize the DVI connection are computer monitors and projectors. DVI can even be used with some TVs, although HDMI is more common as only some DVI cables can transmit audio signals. The DVI connector (shown below) may have one of three names depending on the signals it supports: DVI-A (analog only), DVI-D (digital only), or DVI-I (both digital and analog).

DVI or VGA?

If your monitor and GPU support both DVI and VGA, we suggest using a DVI cable. With DVI (digital), the picture quality is always be at least equal to VGA (analog), and possibly better.

Does DVI require software or drivers?

No. If your devices support DVI no additional software or drivers need to be installed. However, keep in mind that a computer video card does require drivers and is one of the most updated hardware device in your computer.

Cable, Computer acronyms, Connection, Data cable, Hardware terms, HDCP, Resolution, Video card terms, Video converter

  • How to convert DVI to VGA or VGA to DVI.
  • Video card help and support.