Transition to HDMI

[King of Heroes]

Right now the 'standard' interface for video cards and PC monitors is still DVI. But with HDMI being as widespread as it is now in consumer electronics, do you think its time for DVI to be phased out as the standard connection for that hardware in exchange for HDMI? HDMI 1.3 eliminates the distinction between single and dual-link, and from what I can observe reading threads on this board, multiple HDMI ports on LCDs are most preferred, with multiple DVI being second. You also have the benefit of eliminating the need for adapters and unquestioned digital audio support (yes, DVI does this, but I get the impression thats not always the case?).

Of course, this will just be a holdover until DisplayPorts ramps up and takes over. But thats still a few years down the road.

 

[TheArTcher]

I think in a couple of years we are all going to remember the good old days when everything had a VGA connector, and wish it were still that easy to connect a computer to a monitor. Displayport and hdmi 1.3 are both capable of supporting the same resolution that dual-link DVI can, but that doesn't mean video board makers will implement the full resolution. And good luck figuring out what each connector on a video card is capable of. Board makers are so stingy with that kind of information it's hard to believe. Plus there are some mysterious problems with the latest digital connections.

If you read the AV forums, you've heard that hdmi has some inexplicable compatibility problems between different types of equipment. Single link DVI is supposed to be fully compatible with hdmi but I've read a few cases on this forum where people are unable to get their DVI video adapter to work with an hdmi monitor. Displayport is capable of passing through a DVI compatible signal. Will the board makers tell us if that capability is built into their boards? Not likely.

Since dual-link DVI, hdmi 1.3, and displayport have about a 90% overlap in capability, there is no obvious choice for monitor and video board makers. I saw a new 4670 video card today that has 4 connectors on it: hdmi, displayport, dvi, and vga. That may be the norm in the near future. They are already loading up new monitors with a variety of inputs.

Bottom line, getting your monitors to work with your computers is going to be a lot more challenging in the future. Especially if you use 30in QXGA monitors.