HDMI vs DVI

HDMI or DVI, whats better?


  • Total voters
    40

Arlichte

n00b
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
15
So I got to thinking. If a moniter had HDMI input instead of DVI, would it be better?

Vote away, and tell your 2 cents.

-Andrew
 
DVI/displayport forever. I dont need audio over my video cable, and I dont like my resolution and display options being limited by the cable I use.
 
DVI for me, if theres a problem with just the audio or video part of the cable, i like being able to replace one cheap cable, not the entire thing.
 
Id prefer HDMI. Its easy enough to get a cable with a port on each end, but HDMI gives addition options with the audio. Biggest use is as a single connection point for projectors and external screens on laptops. M1330 includes HDMI and its a huge plus for me.

Its not like DVI doesn't limit your resolutions either (dual link DVI anybody?)
 
Doesnt HDMI offer alot more then just audio over the port?

i though DVI had limitations that HDMI overcomes, like bandwidth and such.....
 
ahh, some reading

There are two important differences between DVI and HDMI. The first difference is that HDMI technology incorporates content security that is called High Definition Content Protection, also known as HDCP. The other huge difference between Digital Video Interface and High Definition Multimedia Interface is that DVI can only support digital video, and HDMI can support audio and video on the same cable.

This leads to another big difference between HDMI and DVI. The number of cables that need to be used and run during installation. With Digital Video Interface at least two cables are needed. One cable is needed to support the video signal, and one cable or cord is needed to support the audio signal, because DVI can only support video, not audio. With HDMI only one cable is needed for the installation. This is because the HDMI can support all formats of digital video plus it can support multiple channels of audio signal as well.

The good news is that despite their differences, a backward compatibility for video exists between HDMI and DVI. Because HDMI evolved from DVI, they are both identical when it comes to video. But remember, DVI can not support digital audio. A good example is an older DVI connection on the source and an HDMI connector to the display. In this case, all that is needed to see the video is an HDMI to DVI cable. However, a separate cable for audio is needed to carry the the digital audio so the sound can be heard.
 
"There are two important differences between DVI and HDMI. The first difference is that HDMI technology incorporates content security that is called High Definition Content Protection, also known as HDCP."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but DVI can have HDCP as well...
 
I voted DVI becasue I am in the camp that doesn't need to feed audio to my display through the same cable (I use superior optical out) and I don't feel that HDMI has much if any image quality improvement over DVI. To me HDMI is a lot like 1080p....nice if you really need it but still about 80% marketing genius.;)
 
Either one will do, it depend on your lcd, if it takes HDMI or DVI. in my case mine take HDMI so I use a HDMI to DVI cable.
 
I'm a little confused as to why anyone would "prefer" one over the other. Aside from the audio carried by HDMI, the video signals carried are COMPLETELY IDENTICAL. It's true that HDMI has the potential to carry higher bandwidth signals (e.g. for higher color depths, etc), but it doesn't mean squat if the panel doesn't support it -- for the time being, it's not going to improve or otherwise change your picture, but it won't hurt it one bit either. HDMI will NOT limit the resolutions your monitor supports, contrary to what someone posted above. Both support HDCP, and you can freely convert back and forth between the two without any change in the picture, so for all intents and purposes you can consider them to be the same cables whose connectors just have different shapes.

HDMI-DVI cables are cheap, so IMO there really isn't any reason to avoid purchasing a monitor or TV that's otherwise great except that it doesn't support the type of cable you prefer. I think a much bigger issue is the number of digital inputs the monitor supports, not what shape the connectors are. I'd always prefer having two HDMI to one DVI or two DVI to one HDMI. But I honestly couldn't care less about the type of connector itself. If you want to carry audio over the cable as well, that could be a reason to prefer HDMI, but I see no good reason to prefer DVI over HDMI when they're both identical as far as video goes.
 
dvi to hdmi cable, there won't be any audio eh?

ie. laptop has dvi connection, tv has hdmi...tv speakers won't produce any audio?

sorry, I didn't mean to thread jack, but I didn't want to make another thread to waste bandwidth
 
dvi to hdmi cable, there won't be any audio eh?

ie. laptop has dvi connection, tv has hdmi...tv speakers won't produce any audio?

sorry, I didn't mean to thread jack, but I didn't want to make another thread to waste bandwidth
You're correct. DVI doesn't carry audio, so DVI-HDMI won't can't carry audio either. As an aside, just because HDMI is capable of carrying audio doesn't mean that every device with an HDMI output necessarily outputs audio in addition to video.
 
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