Video Connectors and Their Names

Learn to love your video connectors by learning their names and features - hover over them!
Video Connectors: HDMI Mini, HDMI, Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI, USB, Mini DisplayPort, DVI-I, VGA Connector, Composite Video (RCA), S-Video, DVI-D, Mini-VGA, ADC

HDMI Mini (Type C)

Maximum Resolution is 2560x1600 @ 75fps or 4096x2160 @ 24fps. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). Encryption is mandatory.

HDMI Full Size (Type A)

Maximum Resolution is 2560 x 1600 @ 75fps or 4096 x 2160 @ 24fps. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). Encryption is mandatory.

Mini-DVI Male

Mini-DVI connectors on Apple hardware are capable of carrying DVI, VGA, Composit Video, or S-Video signals through the use of adapters. Mini-DVI does not support dual-link connections and hence cannot support resolutions higher than 1920x1200 @60 Hz.

Micro-DVI

Used by the Asus U2E Windows Vista PC and Early 08 Apple MacBook Air laptop computers. This port carries both digital and analog video signals.

USB A

Not for video, this is here for size comparison only. Universal Serial Bus is for cameras, sound systems, keyboards, mice, hard-drives and other peripherals.

Mini DisplayPort

This is the new standard. Max resolution 2560 x 1600 @ 75. With a suitable adapter, Mini DisplayPort may be used to drive displays with a VGA, DVI or HDMI interface. Some MacBook Pro's have audio out capabilities in this connector. This connector will also support data transfers like a firewire or USB port and Apple is planning on using this one connector to replace firewire all together.

DVI-I Male

The "I" stands for integrated digital and analog: Notice the extra 4 pins around the flat pin, this is an integrated version of the DVI cable which means it carries both digital and analog video. A Female connector (video source) of this kind can connect a DVI to VGA adapter. This DVI-I female connector can be found on some laptops and can be connected to a VGA monitor with use of a converter.

VGA Connector Female

This analog video connector is by far the most common connector. The same VGA cable can be used with a variety of supported VGA resolutions, ranging from 640×400px @70 Hz (24 MHz of signal bandwidth) to 1280×1024px @85 Hz (160 MHz) and up to 2048×1536px @85 Hz (388 MHz). There are no standards defining the quality required for each resolution, but higher-quality cables typically contain coaxial wiring and insulation which make them thicker. A quality cable should not suffer from signal crosstalk which occurs when the signals in one wire induce unwanted currents in adjacent wires, ghosting which occurs when impedance mismatches cause signals to be reflected (note that ghosting with long cables may not be the fault of the cable but may instead be caused by equipment with incorrect termination or by use of passive splitters), and other signal degradation effects; shorter VGA cables are less likely to introduce significant degradation. Some higher-end monitors and video cards featured 5 separate BNC connectors for RGBHV signal, allowing highest quality connection using five 75 ohm coaxial cables.

Composite Video- RCA Female

This is the lowest quality video signal. Video signal= NTSC, PAL or SECAM video. (analog)

S-Video Female

Better then composite video as some of the analog video signal is carried on separate pins rather then the Composite that merges all the data onto one pin. S-Video can be easily converted to a composite video signal.

DVI-D Female

This DVI version is only digital and, therefore, can not be converted into to VGA with a connector.

Mini-VGA Male

Used on some laptops and other systems in place of the standard VGA connector this connector carries the same analog signal is a VGA connector. Apple and HP have separate implementations using the same name. Apart from its compact form, mini-VGA ports have the added ability to output both composite and S-Video in addition to VGA signals through the use of EDID.

ADC Male

Apple Display Connector is a proprietary (Apple) modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals, USB, and power all in one cable. A smple cable dongle can converte this video output to a DVI display. An ADC monitor normally receives power from this connector, so you can not simply use a DVI to ADC cable to run an ADC monitor from a DVI port on a computer.