FAQ - What's The Difference Between DVI Types?

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Hello, and welcome to Show Me Cables. Today we’ll be taking a look at the different styles of DVI.

DVI is a common video type used on many computers and monitors. It stands for Digital Visual Interface…but that doesn’t really tell you anything you need to know.

What you DO need to know are the different styles, because it can often cause confusion.

There are 3 styles of DVI: DVI-A, DVI-D, and DVI-I.

Let’s start off by looking at DVI-A. DVI-A has pretty much been phased out and isn’t used on newer equipment. The “A” stands for Analog and carries an analog signal. We’ll get to why this is important in just a moment. DVI-A is capable of a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. The pin arrangement features 4 pins around a flat pin. And 12 additional pins.

DVI-D is much more common and the “D” stands for Digital and carries a digital signal. Because DVI-D is a digital signal and DVI-A is an analog signal, you are not able to use a DVI-D cable with DVI-A equipment. Or vice versa. Because the signals are incompatible.

DVI-D is available in two styles, Single Link and Dual Link.

DVI-D Single Link uses a pin arrangement of a single flat pin. And two blocks of pins, each with 9 a piece. It is capable of maximum resolution of 1920x1080 at 4.59 Gbps.

DVI-D Dual Link uses a pin arrangement of a single flat pin. And 3 solid rows of 8 pins each. It is capable of maximum resolution of 2048x1536 at 9.9 Gbps.

A Single Link cable sends one digital signal at a time, while a Dual Link can send two signals. This is what allows for the higher data flow and larger resolution.

A Dual Link cable can always be used in place of a Single Link cable with no problems. A Single Link cable can sometimes be used in place of a Dual Link cable, but it would depend on your system requirements.

DVI-I is also very common and the “I” stands for Integrated and is capable of carrying either a Digital or Analog signal. So it can be used with either DVI-D or DVI-A.

DVI-I is also available in both Single Link and Dual Link styles.

DVI-I Single Link uses a pin arrangement of a flat pin surrounded by 4 pins. And two blocks of pins, each with 9 a piece. It is capable of resolution up to 1600x1200 at 4.95 Gbps.

DVI-I Dual Link uses a pin arrangement of a single flat pin surrounded by 4 pins. And 3 solid rows of 8 pins each. It is capable of resolution up to 2048x1536 at 9.9 Gbps.

If you still have any questions, you can call our customer service department at 888-519-9505.

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