List of video connectors
Encyclopedia
This is a list of physical video connectors and related video signal standards. For other video-related standards, please see the main article, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

.

By signal standard

Signal standard name Year introduced Connector Analog or digital Max resolution
(X-pix × Y-pix @ Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

)
Used for Notes
Composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

 
1956 1 RCA
RCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...

, BNC
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

, TV Aerial Plug
TV Aerial Plug
Domestic antenna plugs and sockets are devices that connect the TV set to the TV antenna so that TV signals can flow to them using a tuner .Antenna plugs are male antenna connectors that fit into female antenna sockets....

, or Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA connectors are used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector, although most laptops use a standard VGA connector. Apple and HP have separate implementations using the same name...

Analog
Analogue electronics
Analogue electronics are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two different levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal...

 
720 × 576i
576i
576i is a standard-definition video mode used in PAL and SECAM countries. In digital applications it is usually referred to as "576i", in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines"...

 @ 50
720 × 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

 @ 59.94
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

, including VCR
Videocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...

 and LaserDisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...

, 1970-1980s home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...

s like the Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...

, 1980s-1990s video game consoles, some laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

s
Used with PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

, NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

 or SECAM
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....

 color.
S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

 (Separate-Video or Y/C)
1979 1 Mini-DIN
Mini-DIN connector
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector...

 4-pin, 1 Mini-DIN
Mini-DIN connector
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector...

 7-pin, 1 Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA connectors are used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector, although most laptops use a standard VGA connector. Apple and HP have separate implementations using the same name...

, 2 BNC
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

, 2 RCA connector
RCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...

s
Analog 720 × 576i
576i
576i is a standard-definition video mode used in PAL and SECAM countries. In digital applications it is usually referred to as "576i", in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines"...

 @ 50
720 × 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

 @ 59.94
S-VHS
S-VHS
S-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...

, some laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

 computers, analog broadcast video, 1980-1990s home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...

s including the Commodore C64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, C128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...

 and Atari 8-bit
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...

 
The 4-pin mini-DIN that is most common in consumer products today debuted in JVC's 1987 S-VHS
S-VHS
S-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...

. The 7-pin mini-DIN is commonly used on laptops. Used with PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

, NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

 or SECAM
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....

 color. Where two connectors are used, they are labeled Chroma and Luma.
SCART
SCART
SCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together...

 
1977 SCART 21-pin Analog 720 x 576i
576i
576i is a standard-definition video mode used in PAL and SECAM countries. In digital applications it is usually referred to as "576i", in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines"...

 @ 50
720 × 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

 @ 59.94
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

, Commodore-Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

 and various video games 
Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 "unified" A/V interface for composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

, composite sync + RGB
RGB color model
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light is added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors...

, audio and S-video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

. Composite and s-video are used with PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

, NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

 or SECAM
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM , is an analog color television system first used in France....

 color.
CGA
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....

 
1981 DE-9  Digital 640 × 200 @ 60 Pre-i80386
Intel 80386
The Intel 80386, also known as the i386, or just 386, was a 32-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were used as the central processing unit of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time...

 x86 machines
MDA  1981 DE-9  Digital 720 × 350 @ 50, Text only
HGC
Hercules Graphics Card
The Hercules Graphics Card was a computer graphics controller made by Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. which, through its popularity, became a widely supported display standard. It was common on IBM PC compatibles connected to a monochrome monitor . It supported one high resolution text mode and...

 
1982 DE-9  Digital 720 × 348 @ 50
EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...

 
1984 DE-9  Digital 640 × 350 @ 60
Amiga video
Amiga video connector
The Amiga video connector is used on all Commodore Amiga computers. The DB23 has signals for genlocking, RGB analog video , and a digital Red-Green-Blue-Intensity signal ....

 
1985 DB23 Both, GenLock 1280 × 400/512 @ 30/25 Commodore-Amiga Similar to SCART
SCART
SCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together...

, but also includes a digital RGBI signal, Genlock
Genlock
Genlock is a common technique where the video output of one source, or a specific reference signal from a signal generator, is used to synchronize other television picture sources together. The aim in video and digital audio applications is to ensure the coincidence of signals in time at a...

 clock, composite sync and +12/+5VDC power
VGA
VGA connector
A Video Graphics Array connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. The 15-pin VGA connector is found on many video cards, computer monitors, and some high definition television sets...

 
1987 VGA connector
VGA connector
A Video Graphics Array connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. The 15-pin VGA connector is found on many video cards, computer monitors, and some high definition television sets...

 variants include DE-15/HD-15 (canonical), DE-9, RGB or RGBHV on separate BNC connector
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

s, Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA connectors are used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector, although most laptops use a standard VGA connector. Apple and HP have separate implementations using the same name...

, DVI/Mini-DVI
Mini-DVI
The Mini-Dvi connector is used on certain Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. Its size is between the full-sized DVI and the tiny Micro-DVI...

/Micro-DVI
Micro-DVI
The Micro-DVI port is a video connection port used by the Asus U2E Windows Vista PC and Early 08 Apple MacBook Air laptop computers. It is smaller than the Mini-DVI port used by its MacBook sister models. To use the port for displaying video on a monitor or television that has a different-style...

.
Analog 2048 × 1536 @ 85 Introduced with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 x86 machines, but became a universal analog display interface. Display Data Channel
Display Data Channel
The Display Data Channel or DDC is a collection of digital communication protocols between a computer display and a graphics adapter that enables the display to communicate its supported display modes to the adapter and to enable the computer host to adjust monitor parameters, such as brightness...

 was later added to allow monitors to identify themselves to graphic cards, and graphic cards to modify monitor settings.
Successor analog protocols include SVGA, XGA, etc. DVI is a more modern digital alternative. Where BNC is used, available as 3 connectors with Sync on Green, or 5 connector Red / Green / Blue / Horizontal Sync / Vertical sync.
Mac-II
Macintosh II
The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintosh line and the first Macintosh to support a color display.- History :...

/Quadra
Macintosh Quadra
The Macintosh Quadra series was Apple Computer's product family of professional high-end Apple Macintosh personal computers built using the Motorola 68040 CPU. The first two models in the Quadra line were introduced in 1991, and the name was used until the Power Mac was introduced in 1994...

 
1987 DA15F
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....

 
Analog 1152 × 870 @ 75 Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 
Mac-DA15F and Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...

-13W3 were similar in capability to VGA. Some Sun machines used 4 or 5 BNC
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

 connectors to transfer video signal.
13W3
DB13W3
DB13W3 is a particular style of D-subminiature connector commonly used as an analog video interface connector that was used primarily on Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and IBM RISC workstations, as well as some displays from Apple Computer, NeXT Computer and Intergraph Corporation...

 
1990 DB13W3 Analog 1152 × 900 @ 76 Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...

 computer systems
OpenLDI
OpenLDI
OpenLDI is a high-bandwidth digital interface standard for connecting flat panel LCD monitors to computers. While it is virtually unknown in standalone displays, it has a strong basis in the interconnect for internal displays, as in laptops. OpenLDI is based on the de-facto FPD-Link specification...

 
1998 MDR36 LVDS Digital
YPBPR
YPbPr
' is a color space used in video electronics, in particular in reference to component video cables. is the analog version of the YCBCR color space; the two are numerically equivalent, but YPBPR is designed for use in analog systems whereas YCBCR is intended for digital video. cables are also...

 
1990s 3 RCA
RCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...

 or BNC
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

 connectors
Analog 1920 × 1080 @ 60 Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

 
Usually known as component video.
Apple-AAUI
Apple Attachment Unit Interface
Apple Attachment Unit Interface is a mechanical re-design by Apple of the standard Attachment Unit Interface used to connect Ethernet transceivers to computer equipment...

 (D-Terminal)
D-Terminal uses volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

age levels to signal resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...

.
Digital Visual Interface
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

 (DVI)
1999 DVI, Mini-DVI
Mini-DVI
The Mini-Dvi connector is used on certain Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. Its size is between the full-sized DVI and the tiny Micro-DVI...

, Micro-DVI
Micro-DVI
The Micro-DVI port is a video connection port used by the Asus U2E Windows Vista PC and Early 08 Apple MacBook Air laptop computers. It is smaller than the Mini-DVI port used by its MacBook sister models. To use the port for displaying video on a monitor or television that has a different-style...

 
Both 2560 × 1600 @ 60 3840 × 2400 @ 33 Recent video cards Almost a ubiquitous computer display link. Uncompressed video only. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections...

 (HDCP) encryption is optional.
2000 Apple Display Connector
Apple Display Connector
The Apple Display Connector is a proprietary modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals, USB, and power all in one cable...

 (ADC)
Both 2560 × 1600 @ 60 Apple Inc. Macintoshes and monitors Proprietary
Proprietary hardware
Proprietary hardware is computer hardware which is owned by the proprietor.Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, when IBM PC changed this paradigm...

 connector with DVI signals
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

 (HDMI)
2003 19 pin HDMI
Type A/C
Digital
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...

 
2560 × 1600 @ 75
4096 × 2160 @ 24
Many A/V systems and video cards (including motherboards with IGP) High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections...

 (HDCP) encryption is mandatory.
DisplayPort
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...

 
2007 20-pin (external)
32-pin (internal)
Digital 2560 × 1600 @ 75 Apple Inc. Lenovo, HP, and Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...

 systems and monitors
ATI RV670
Radeon R600
The graphics processing unit codenamed the Radeon R600 is the foundation of the Radeon HD 2000/3000 series and the FireGL 2007 series video cards developed by ATI Technologies...

based graphics cards and NVIDIA G92
GeForce 8 Series
The GeForce 8 Series, is the eighth generation of NVIDIA's GeForce line of graphics processing units. The third major GPU architecture developed at NVIDIA, the GeForce 8 represents the company's first unified shader architecture.-Naming:...

graphics cards (both as OEM optional implementations)
DisplayPort
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...

 introduced the 128bit-AES
Advanced Encryption Standard
Advanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...

 to replace HDCP
High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections...

. DisplayPort version 1.1 added support for HDCP
High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections...

.
DiiVA
Digital Interface for Video and Audio
The Digital Interface for Video and Audio is a bi-directional audio/video interface for transmitting both compressed and uncompressed digital streams. DIVA supports a downstream data rate of 13.5 Gbit/s which is capable of Deep Color at resolutions higher than 1080p...

 
2008 13-pin Digital 2560 × 1600 @ 75
4096 × 2160 @ 24
A/V systems High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across connections...

 (HDCP).
Serial digital interface
Serial Digital Interface
Serial digital interface is a family of video interfaces standardized by SMPTE. For example, ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video...

 
BNC Digital From 143 Mbit/s to 2.970 Gbit/s, depending on variant. 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

, 576i
576i
576i is a standard-definition video mode used in PAL and SECAM countries. In digital applications it is usually referred to as "576i", in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines"...

, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p.
Broadcast video. Variants include SD-SDI, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI, 3G-SDI.

Physical connectors

Image Class or connector name Used for Notes
RF connector
RF connector
A coaxial RF connector is an electrical connector designed to work at radio frequencies in the multi-megahertz range.RF connectors are typically used with coaxial cables and are designed to maintain the shielding that the coaxial design offers. Better models also minimize the change in transmission...

s (analog radio frequency
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...

 signals). Generally use coaxial cable
Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...

 types such as RG-6
RG-6
RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. The term "RG-6" itself is quite generic and refers to a wide variety of cable designs, which differ from one another in shielding characteristics, center conductor composition, and...

 and RG-59
RG-59
RG-59/U is a specific type of coaxial cable, often used for low-power video and RF signal connections. The cable has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. The 75 ohm impedance matches a dipole antenna in free space. "RG" was originally a unit indicator for bulk radio frequency cable in the...

 (except for twin-lead).

Belling-Lee connector / IEC 169-2 connector
TV aerial plug
TV Aerial Plug
Domestic antenna plugs and sockets are devices that connect the TV set to the TV antenna so that TV signals can flow to them using a tuner .Antenna plugs are male antenna connectors that fit into female antenna sockets....

, (a.k.a. PAL connector in Europe)
Television antenna
Television antenna
A television antenna, or TV aerial, is an antenna specifically designed for the reception of over the air broadcast television signals, which are transmitted at frequencies from about 41 to 250 MHz in the VHF band, and 470 to 960 MHz in the UHF band in different countries...

 connection for most video devices outside the U.S. Used by early home computers and game consoles to connect them to TVs because of the lack of any other connector.
Generally not used in the United States.
BNC
BNC connector
The BNC connector ' is a common type of RF connector used for coaxial cable. It is used with radio, television, and other radio-frequency electronic equipment, test instruments, video signals, and was once a popular computer network connector. BNC connectors are made to match the characteristic...

 (Bayonet Neill-Concelman)
Alternative to RCA for professional video electronics. Protocols: Serial Digital Interface
Serial Digital Interface
Serial digital interface is a family of video interfaces standardized by SMPTE. For example, ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video...

 (SDI) and HD-SDI.
75 Ω for video signal on, for example, RG59 e RG6.
50 Ω for data link, like Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

 on RG58.
93 Ω on RG62.

50 Ω (white/bottom row) and 75 Ω C connectors (red/top row)
C connector
C connector
The C connector is a type of RF connector used for terminating coaxial cable. Coupling uses two-stud bayonet-type locks. The C connector was invented by Amphenol engineer Carl Concelman. It is weatherproof without being overly bulky....

 (Concelman connector)
GR connector
GR connector
The GR connector, officially the General Radio Type 874, was a type of RF connector used for terminating coaxial cable. Designed by the General Radio Corporation, it was widely used on their electronic test equipment throughout the 60s and 70s....

 (General Radio connector)
F connector
F connector
The F connector is a type of coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" terrestrial television, cable television and universally for satellite television and cable modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or, in older installations, with RG-59/U cable. It was invented by Eric E...

Used for most U.S. TV antenna connections, as well as satellite and cable systems worldwide. Also common in U.S. for early home computers & game consoles, older VCRs, RF modulator
RF modulator
An RF modulator is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal....

s, and even CECBs
Coupon-eligible converter box
A coupon-eligible converter box was a digital television adapter that met eligibility specifications for subsidy "coupons" from the United States government...

 due to lack of other connectors.
Generally not used outside the United States for TV antennas.
N connector
N connector
The N connector is a threaded RF connector used to join coaxial cables. It was one of the first connectors capable of carrying microwave-frequency signals, and was invented in the 1940s by Paul Neill of Bell Labs, after whom the connector is named.-Design:Originally, the connector was designed to...

 (Neill connector)
TNC connector (left), compared with BNC (right) Threaded Neill-Concelman connector
Threaded Neill-Concelman connector
The TNC connector is a threaded version of the BNC connector. The connector has a 50 Ω impedance and operates best in the 0–11 GHz frequency spectrum. It has better performance than the BNC connector at microwave frequencies...

 (TNC)
Twin-lead
Twin-lead
Twin-lead cable is a two-conductor ribbon cable used as a transmission line to carry radio frequency signals.- Characteristics and uses:...

Used for older TV antenna installations in the US and various other countries worldwide. Current use generally limited to balun
Balun
A balun is a type of electrical transformer that can convert electrical signals that are balanced about ground to signals that are unbalanced , and the reverse. They are also often used to connect lines of differing impedance...

s to adapt 300 Ω twin-lead to/from 75 Ω F connector.
Replaced by F connector in the U.S. and Belling-Lee Connector in other countries outside the U.S.
UHF connector
UHF connector
The UHF connector, also called the Amphenol coaxial connector,is a World War II threaded RF connector design, from an era whenUHF referred to frequencies over 30 MHz.Originally intended for use as a video connector in RADAR applications,...

 (e.g. PL-259/SO-239)

D-subminiature
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....

 family


DE-15 male plug.
VGA connector
VGA connector
A Video Graphics Array connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. The 15-pin VGA connector is found on many video cards, computer monitors, and some high definition television sets...

  (DE-15 is a common variant.)
Became a nearly ubiquitous analog computer display connector after first being introduced with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 x86 machines. Older VGA connectors were DE-9 (9-pin). The modern DE-15 connector can carry Display Data Channel
Display Data Channel
The Display Data Channel or DDC is a collection of digital communication protocols between a computer display and a graphics adapter that enables the display to communicate its supported display modes to the adapter and to enable the computer host to adjust monitor parameters, such as brightness...

 to allow the monitor to communicate with the graphics card, and optionally vice versa.
Being replaced by DVI from 1999 onward.
DB13W3
DB13W3
DB13W3 is a particular style of D-subminiature connector commonly used as an analog video interface connector that was used primarily on Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and IBM RISC workstations, as well as some displays from Apple Computer, NeXT Computer and Intergraph Corporation...

Analog computer video, color and monochrome. Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...

, Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...

, IBM RISC
IBM System p
The System p, formerly known as RS/6000, was IBM's RISC/UNIX-based server and workstation product line.In April 2008, IBM announced a rebranding of the System p and its unification with the System i platform. The resulting product line is called IBM Power Systems.-History:It was originally a line...

, Intergraph
Intergraph
Intergraph Corporation is an American software development and services company. It provides enterprise engineering and geospatially powered software to businesses, governments, and organizations around the world. Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine and Security,...

 and some Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

 computer workstations.
Obsolete; replaced by VGA and DVI. Same connector was used by 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...

 for a redundant PSU
PSU
The initialism PSU often refers to a Power supply unit, or specifically a computer's Power supply unit .The PSU powers all the computer's main components. There are many different PSUs that can come with anywhere up to 1500 watts for a standard desktop computer. The PSU is also sometimes referred...

 on the 3300 switch family.

DVI-related


Single-link DVI-D male plug.


Dual-link DVI-D male plug.
Digital Visual Interface
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

 (DVI). Five variants are: DVI-I single link, DVI-I dual link, DVI-D single link, DVI-D dual link, and DVI-A.
Almost omnipresent for modern computer video card
Video card
A video card, Graphics Card, or Graphics adapter is an expansion card which generates output images to a display. Most video cards offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors...

s.

Male Mini-DVI plug on top of a 12-inch PowerBook G4; female port is second from left.
Mini-DVI
Mini-DVI
The Mini-Dvi connector is used on certain Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. Its size is between the full-sized DVI and the tiny Micro-DVI...

VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...

, DVI
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

 alternative to Mini-VGA.

Female Micro-DVI port (rightmost) on MacBook Air
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air family is a line of Apple ultraportable Macintosh notebook computers.The first-generation MacBook Air was a 13.3"-only model, previously promoted as the World's Thinnest Notebook, introduced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008. It featured a custom Intel Merom CPU...

Micro-DVI
Micro-DVI
The Micro-DVI port is a video connection port used by the Asus U2E Windows Vista PC and Early 08 Apple MacBook Air laptop computers. It is smaller than the Mini-DVI port used by its MacBook sister models. To use the port for displaying video on a monitor or television that has a different-style...

DVI
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

-D dual link
DMS-59
DMS-59
DMS-59 is a 59-pin electrical connector generally used for computer video cards. It provides two DVI or VGA outputs on a single connector. An adapter cable is needed for conversion from DMS-59 to DVI or VGA , and different types of adapter cables exist...

DVI
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

 dual link
Apple Display Connector
Apple Display Connector
The Apple Display Connector is a proprietary modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals, USB, and power all in one cable...

Combines DVI, USB, and power.

One of the three HDMI variants, male plug.
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

 (HDMI)
High definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...

 digital video devices (HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

 protocol)
Electrically compatible with DVI-D and DVD-I, using a simple adapter.
DIN/Mini-DIN
Mini-DIN 4-pin S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

 (Separate-Video or Y/C)








Various Mini-DIN configurations Various systems and protocols - see Mini-DIN for details
Others

Three RCA connectors - yellow for composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

, and white and red for stereo audio
RCA connector
RCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...

Widely used in consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

 for audio and video.
A single connector must be used for each signal.
SCART
SCART
SCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together...

Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

, mostly in Europe. Carries stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...

 (analog), along with composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

 and/or RGB video. Some devices also support S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

, which shares the same pins as composite video and RGB. YPBPY
YPbPr
' is a color space used in video electronics, in particular in reference to component video cables. is the analog version of the YCBCR color space; the two are numerically equivalent, but YPBPR is designed for use in analog systems whereas YCBCR is intended for digital video. cables are also...

 is also sometimes supported as a non-standard extension via the RGB pins.

D4 video connector
D-Terminal Popular in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 for analog high definition video. Available sizes are D1 through D5.
Replacing RCA connectors.

Male Mini-VGA plug on top of an Apple laptop, female port is second from right.
Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA
Mini-VGA connectors are used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector, although most laptops use a standard VGA connector. Apple and HP have separate implementations using the same name...

 (used for laptops)
Used for laptops, especially from Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

 and some from Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

.

AV Multi (gold-plated male plugs)
AV Multi Sony proprietary. Combines composite video
Composite video
Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

, S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

, RGsB/YPBPR (both use same pins) and stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...

 (two analog channels).
35-pin MicroCross Molex connector VESA Enhanced Video Connector
VESA Enhanced Video Connector
The VESA Enhanced Video Connector is a VESA standard intended to reduce the number of cables around a computer by incorporating video, audio, FireWire and USB into a single cable system. The intention of the system was to make the monitor the central point of connection...

 and VESA Plug and Display (a.k.a. M1-DA) both used this connector with slightly different pin assignments. These schemes combined VGA or digital video, audio, FireWire, and USB signals into a single connector.
Defunct, obsoleted by DFP and later DVI
HDI-45
HDI-45 connector
The HDI-45 was one of Apple Computer's proprietary cable-to-onboard video connectors. These connectors were used only in the first generation Power Macintosh computers specifically for the Apple AudioVision 14 Display. No other display uses this connector...

Apple proprietary. Combines Analog VGA out, stereo analog audio out, analog microphone in, S-video capture in, Apple desktop bus
Apple Desktop Bus
Apple Desktop Bus is an obsolete bit-serial computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. Used primarily on the Macintosh platform, ADB equipment is still available but not supported by most Apple hardware manufactured since 1999....

 interface.
Proprietary connector used on Apple Macintosh Centris
Macintosh Centris
Macintosh Centris is a line of Macintosh computers, introduced in 1993, that were built around the Motorola 68LC040 and 68040 CPUs. The name was chosen to indicate that the consumer was selecting a Macintosh in the center of Apple's product line: lower performance than the Quadra computers, but...

 computers, and the Apple AudioVision 14 Display
Apple AudioVision 14 Display
The Apple AudioVision 14 Display is a 14-inch Trinitron display that was manufactured by Apple Inc. This display is unique because it is the only display ever to use the HDI-45 connector, capable of transferring video to the screen, video capture input from an S-Video source, audio output, audio...

. An attempt by Apple to deal with cable clutter, by combining five separate cables from computer to monitor.
Female port (20-pin) Digital Flat Panel
Digital Flat Panel
Digital Flat Panel is a video connector for flat panel displays. It features 20 pins and uses the PanelLink protocol.Unlike DVI, DFP never achieved widespread implementation. The connector was used by displays such as the Compaq Presario FP400, FP500, 5204, and 5280...

Used with the PanelLink digital video protocol. Obsoleted by DVI
Unified Display Interface Proposed to replace both DVI and HDMI. Deprecated by Intel in favor of DisplayPort
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...

.
3.5mm (⅛") TRRS and TRS connector
TRS connector
A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...

Analog camcorders commonly use a 3.5 mm four-contact TRRS connector to carry composite video and stereo audio. Jack appears identical to more common three-contact stereo audio-only (Walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...

) 3.5 mm TRS connector.
DisplayPort
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...

DisplayPort is also the name of the protocol, which is proposed to replace DVI for computer monitors, and consumer electronics (such as home theater systems).

Male Mini DisplayPort plug
Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort
The Mini DisplayPort is a miniaturized version of the DisplayPort digital audio-visual interface. Apple, Inc. announced the development in the fourth quarter of 2008, and now applies it in the LED Cinema Display and in all new Macintosh computers: MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini,...

Proposed alternative to HDMI, used with computer displays: (VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...

, DVI
Digital Visual Interface
The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

) Apple Inc.'s successor to their own Mini-DVI
Mini-DVI
The Mini-Dvi connector is used on certain Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. Its size is between the full-sized DVI and the tiny Micro-DVI...

.
The same connector is used for Intel′s Thunderbolt connector, developed in cooperation with Apple.

See also

  • Computer display standard
    Computer display standard
    Computer display standards are often a combination of aspect ratio, display resolution, color depth, and refresh rate.This article describes the different display standards for computer displays.-History:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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