This is a list of physical RF and video connectors and related video signal standards.
Contents
- By signal standard
- Physical connectors
- D-subminiature family
- DVI-related
- DIN/Mini-DIN
- Others
- See also
- References
- External links
This is a list of physical RF and video connectors and related video signal standards.
| Signal standard name | Introduction year | Connector | Type | Max. resolution | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite video | 1956 [1] | 1 RCA, BNC, TV Aerial Plug, Mini-VGA, DIN 5-pin , [2] SCART 21-pin | Analog | 576 lines tv compatible 625 lines tv compatible | Consumer electronics, including VCR and LaserDisc, 1970–1980s home computers like the VIC-20, 1980s–1990s video game consoles, some laptops, some single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi | Used with PAL, NTSC or SECAM color. |
| RGBS | 1977 | SCART 21-pin (a.ka. Peritel), JP-21 | Consumer electronics, Early home computers such as Commodore Amiga, Acorn Archimedes and various gaming consoles such as the Mega Drive and Super NES | SCART is a European "unified" A/V interface for bi-directional stereo audio, composite video and s-video, and unidirectional RGBS and data. YPBPR is also available in some non-standard set-ups via the RGB pins. | ||
| S-Video (a.k.a. separate video, split video, super-video, and Y/C) | 1979 | 1 Mini-DIN 4-pin, 1 Mini-DIN 7-pin, 1 Mini-VGA, 2 BNC, 2 RCA connectors, 8-pin DIN, [2] SCART 21-pin | S-VHS, some laptop computers, analog broadcast video, 1980-1990s home computers including the Commodore 64 , C128 and Atari 8-bit | The 4-pin mini-DIN that is most common in consumer products today debuted in JVC's 1987 S-VHS. The 7-pin mini-DIN is commonly used on laptops. Used with PAL, NTSC or SECAM color. Where two connectors are used, they are labeled Chroma and Luma. | ||
| MDA | 1981 | DE-9 | Digital | 720 × 350 @ 50, Text only | IBM PC, PC/XT, PC/AT and compatibles | |
| RGBI (CGA) | 640 × 200 @ 60 | |||||
| DE-9 | ||||||
| HGC | 1982 | DE-9 [3] | 720 × 348 @ 50 | |||
| EGA | 1984 | DE-9 | 640 × 350 @ 60 | |||
| Amiga video | 1985 | DB23 | Both, GenLock | 1280 × 400/512 @ 30/25 | Commodore Amiga | Similar to SCART, but also includes a digital RGBI signal, Genlock clock, composite sync and +12/+5VDC power [4] |
| RGBHV | 1987 | VGA connector (DE-15/HD-15), DE-9, separate BNC connectors, Mini-VGA, DVI/Mini-DVI/Micro-DVI. | Analog | 2048 × 1536 @ 85 [5] | The VGA connector was Introduced with IBM x86 machines, but became a universal analog display interface. Display Data Channel 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/Quadra DA15F | 1152 × 870 @ 75 [6] | Macintosh | Mac-DA15F and Sun-13W3 were similar in capability to VGA. Some Sun machines used 4 or 5 BNC connectors to transfer video signal. | |||
| 1990 | 13W3 DB13W3 | 1152 × 900 @ 76 | Workstations. Sun, SGI et al. | |||
| Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF) | 1996 | Digital | Automotive | Sony proprietary | ||
| OpenLDI | 1998 | MDR36 | LVDS Digital | |||
| YPBPR (a.k.a. component video) | 1990s | 3 RCA or BNC connectors, Apple-AAUI, D-Terminal, SCART 21-pin | Analog | 1920 × 1080 @ 60 [7] | Consumer electronics | Also referred to as Component video and YUV D-Terminal uses voltage levels to signal resolution. |
| Digital Visual Interface (DVI) | 1999 | DVI, Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI | Both | 2560 × 1600 @ 60 3840 × 2400 @ 33 | Video cards | Almost a ubiquitous computer display link. Uncompressed video only. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) encryption is optional. |
| 2000 | Apple Display Connector (ADC) | 2560 × 1600 @ 60 | Apple Inc. Macintoshes and monitors | Proprietary connector designed to combine DVI-I, USB, and monitor power | ||
| Serial digital interface (SDI) | 2003 | BNC | Digital | From 143 Mbit/s to 12 Gbit/s, depending on variant. 480i, 576i, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, UHDTV1, UHDTV2 | Broadcast video. Variants include SD-SDI, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, 12G-SDI. [8] | |
| High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) | 2003 | 19 pin HDMI Type A/C | 10240 x 4320 @ 120 (version 2.1) [9] | Many A/V systems and video cards (including motherboards with IGP) | High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) encryption is mandatory. | |
| DisplayPort | 2007 | 20-pin (external) 32-pin (internal) | LVDS Digital | 10240 × 4320 @ 60 15360 × 8640 @ 60 (version 2.0) | Apple Inc. Lenovo, HP, and Dell systems and monitors ATI RV670 based graphics cards and NVIDIA G92 graphics cards (both as OEM optional implementations) | DisplayPort introduced the 128-bit AES to replace HDCP. DisplayPort version 1.1 added support for HDCP. |
| DiiVA | 2008 | 13-pin | Digital | 2560 × 1600 @ 75 4096 × 2160 @ 24 | A/V systems | High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). |
| HDBaseT | 2010 | 8P8C | 4096 × 2160 @ 24 | A/V systems, data at 10.2 Gbit/s, power up to 100 watts | ||
| CoaXPress | BNC connector, DIN 1.0/2.3 | Machine vision and industrial cameras | Supports 20.83 Mbit/s uplink channel and power over the same coaxial cable | |||
| Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) | 5 pin | 1920 × 1080 @ 60 3840 × 2160 @ 30 (version 3.0) 7680 × 4320 @ 120 (superMHL) | Connecting mobile devices to TVs | Supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) |
| Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RF connectors (radio frequency signals). Generally use coaxial cable types such as RG-6 and RG-59 (except for twin-lead). | |||
 Belling-Lee/IEC 169-2 connector | TV aerial plug (a.k.a. antenna plug) | Television antenna connection for most video devices outside North America. 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 North America. |
 | BNC | Alternative to RCA for professional video electronics. Protocols:
| 75 Ω for video signal (SDI and CoaXPress) on, for example, RG59 and RG6. 50 Ω for data link, like Ethernet on RG58. 93 Ω on RG62. |
 50 Ω (white/bottom row) and 75 Ω C connectors (red/top row) | C connector (Concelman connector) | ||
 General Radio 874 connectors | GR connector (General Radio connector) | Mostly seen on the company's test equipment. | Uniquely "hermaphrodite" connector, i.e. no male/female pairing. cf. Anderson connector |
 | F connector | Used for most North American TV antenna connections, as well as satellite and cable systems worldwide. Also common in North America for early home computers and game consoles, older VCRs, RF modulators, and even CECBs due to lack of other connectors. | Once not used outside North America for TV antennas (except for satellite reception), but gaining acceptance elsewhere with advent of digital TV. |
 | N connector (Neill connector) | Mostly seen on professional quality VHF and UHF cables and equipment. | Generally 50 Ω but has been manufactured as 75 Ω; difference being thinner centre connectors; not reliably interconnected. |
 TNC connector (left), compared with BNC (right) | Threaded Neill-Concelman connector (TNC) | ||
 | Twin-lead | Used for older TV antenna installations in the US and various other countries worldwide. Current use generally limited to baluns to adapt 300 Ω twin-lead to/from 75 Ω F connector. | Replaced by F connector in North America and Belling-Lee Connector in other countries outside North America. |
 | UHF connector (e.g. PL-259/SO-239) | Despite its name, now most commonly seen on higher-power HF radio equipment, e.g. SSB transceivers. A popular choice for amateur radio enthusiasts. | 50 Ω |
| Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGA, MDA, EGA connector (DE-9) | The historical connector used by MDA, EGA and CGA graphic cards is a female nine-pin D-subminiature (DE-9). The signal standard and pinout are backward-compatible with CGA, allowing EGA monitors to be used on CGA cards and vice versa. | Early VGA cards also used this connector. | |
 | VGA connector (DE-15) | Became a nearly ubiquitous analog computer display connector after first being introduced with IBM x86 machines. Older VGA connectors were DE-9 (9-pin). The modern DE-15 connector can carry Display Data Channel to allow the monitor to communicate with the graphics card, and optionally vice versa. [10] | Being replaced by DVI from 1999 onward. | |
 | DB13W3 | Analog computer video, color and monochrome. Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, IBM RISC, Intergraph and some Apple Computer computer workstations. | Obsolete; replaced by VGA and DVI. Same connector was used by 3Com for a redundant PSU on the 3300 switch family. | |
| Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Single-link DVI-D male plug. | Digital Visual Interface (DVI). Five variants are: DVI-I single link, DVI-I dual link, DVI-D single link, DVI-D dual link, and DVI-A. | ||
 Male Mini-DVI plug on top of a 12-inch PowerBook G4; female port is second from left. | Mini-DVI | VGA, DVI, television. Apple Computer alternative to Mini-VGA. | Often now replaced by Mini DisplayPort. |
 Female Micro-DVI port (rightmost) on MacBook Air | Micro-DVI | DVI-D dual link | Replaced with Mini DisplayPort. |
 | DMS-59 | twin DVI (for two monitors via an adapter cable) | |
 | Apple Display Connector | Combines DVI, USB, and power. | |
 HDMI connector plugs (male): Type D (Micro), Type C (Mini), and Type A. | High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) | High definition digital video devices (HDMI protocol) | Electrically compatible with DVI-D and DVI-I, but not DVI-A, using a simple adapter. |
| Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | DIN-style 10-pin | CCJ connector | |
 | Mini-DIN 4-pin | S-Video (separate video, split video, super-video, or Y/C) | |
| Various Mini-DIN configurations | Various systems and protocols - see Mini-DIN for details |
| Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Three RCA connectors - yellow for composite video, and white and red for stereo audio | RCA connector | Widely used in consumer electronics for audio and video. | A single connector must be used for each signal. |
 | SCART | Consumer electronics, mostly in Europe. Carries analog stereo sound, along with composite video and/or RGB video. Some devices also support S-Video, which shares the same pins as composite video and RGB. YPBPR is also sometimes supported as a non-standard extension via the RGB pins. | |
 D4 video connector | D-Terminal | Popular in Japan for analog high definition video. Available sizes are D1 through D5. | |
 | PDMI | 30 pin receptacle including the following electrical interfaces: 2-lane DisplayPort v1.1a, USB 3.0, USB On-The-Go, Analog stereo line-out, HDMI CEC for remote control, high output power line from both host and portable device | |
 Male Mini-VGA plug on top of an Apple laptop, female port is second from right. | Mini-VGA (used for laptops) | Used for laptops, especially from Apple Computer and some from Sony. | |
  AV Multi (gold-plated male plug) | AV Multi | Sony proprietary. Combines composite video, S-Video, RGsB/YPBPR (both use same pins) and stereophonic sound (two analog channels). | Used for all analog audio and video out on for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. (A few early original PlayStation models featured RCA outs for composite video and stereo analog audio in addition to the AV Multi connector.) |
 | 35-pin MicroCross Molex connector | VESA Enhanced Video Connector 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. | Deprecated. Made obsolete by DFP and later DVI. |
 | HDI-45 | Apple proprietary. Combines Analog VGA out, stereo analog audio out, analog microphone in, S-video capture in, Apple desktop bus interface. | Proprietary connector used on Apple Macintosh Centris computers, and the Apple AudioVision 14 Display. 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 (DFP) | Used with the PanelLink digital video protocol. | Deprecated. Made obsolete by DVI. |
3D model of a UDI connector | Unified Display Interface | Proposed to replace both DVI and HDMI. Deprecated by Intel in favor of DisplayPort. | |
 3.5 mm TRRS connector (male) | 3.5 mm (1⁄8 in) TRRS and TRS connector | 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) 3.5 mm TRS connector. |
 | DisplayPort | DisplayPort (DP) was designed to replace VGA, DVI, and FPD-Link and standardized by VESA. [11] It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor. It can also carry audio, USB, and other forms of data. DisplayPort is backward compatible with other interfaces such as HDMI and DVI through the use of active or passive adapters. | |
 Male Mini DisplayPort plug | Mini DisplayPort | Proposed alternative to HDMI, used with computer displays: (VGA, DVI) Apple Inc.'s successor to their own Mini-DVI. | The same connector is used for Intel's Thunderbolt connector, developed in cooperation with Apple. |
 | HDBaseT (8P8C modular connector) | Used for transmission of uncompressed high-definition video, audio, Ethernet, high-power over cable and various controls, via a 100 m Cat5e/Cat6 cable with 8P8C modular connectors of the type commonly used for telephone and Ethernet LAN connections. |
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a computer monitor. It was developed with the intention of creating an industry standard for the transfer of uncompressed digital video content.
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the IBM PC compatible industry within three years. The term can now refer to the computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector, or the 640 × 480 resolution characteristic of the VGA hardware.
SCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual (AV) equipment. The name SCART comes from Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs, "Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturers' Association", the French organisation that created the connector in the mid-1970s. The related European standard EN 50049 has then been refined and published in 1978 by CENELEC, calling it péritelevision, but it is commonly called by the abbreviation péritel in French.
A graphics card is a computer expansion card that generates a feed of graphics output to a display device such as a monitor. Graphics cards are sometimes called discrete or dedicated graphics cards to emphasize their distinction to integrated graphics processor on the motherboard or the CPU. A graphics processing unit (GPU) that performs the necessary computations is the main component in a graphics card, but the acronym "GPU" is sometimes also used to erroneously refer to the graphics card as a whole.
The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART, 1440 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMMs, the PS/2 port, and the VGA video standard, went on to become standards in the broader PC market.
Component video is an analog video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals. Component video can be contrasted with composite video in which all the video information is combined into a single signal that is used in analog television. Like composite, component cables do not carry audio and are often paired with audio cables.
The Display Data Channel, or DDC, is a collection of protocols for digital communication between a computer display and a graphics adapter that enable the display to communicate its supported display modes to the adapter and that enable the computer host to adjust monitor parameters, such as brightness and contrast.
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 smallest connectors used on computer systems.
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device. HDMI is a digital replacement for analog video standards.
The Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector is a standard connector used for computer video output. Originating with the 1987 IBM PS/2 and its VGA graphics system, the 15-pin connector went on to become ubiquitous on PCs, as well as many monitors, projectors and high-definition television sets.
YPbPr or Y'PbPr, also written as YPBPR, is a color space used in video electronics, in particular in reference to component video cables. Like YCbCr, it is based on gamma corrected RGB primaries; the two are numerically equivalent but YPBPR is designed for use in analog systems while YCBCR is intended for digital video. The EOTF may be different from common sRGB EOTF and BT.1886 EOTF. Sync is carried on the Y channel and is a bi-level sync signal, but in HD formats a tri-level sync is used and is typically carried on all channels.
A composite monitor or composite video monitor is any analog video display that receives input in the form of an analog composite video signal to a defined specification. A composite video signal encodes all information on a single conductor; a composite cable has a single live conductor plus earth. Other equipment with display functionality includes monitors with more advanced interfaces and connectors giving a better picture, including analog VGA, and digital DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort; and television (TV) receivers which are self-contained, receiving and displaying video RF broadcasts received with an internal tuner. Video monitors are used for displaying computer output, closed-circuit television and other applications requiring a two-dimensional monochrome or colour image.
DB13W3 (13W3) is a style of D-subminiature connector used for analog video interfaces. The 13 refers to the total number of pins, the W refers to workstation and the 3 refers to the number of high-frequency pins. The connector was something of a pseudo-standard for high-end graphical workstations from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.
DisplayPort (DP) is a digital display interface developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor. It can also carry audio, USB, and other forms of data.
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. It is found on the 12-inch PowerBook G4, the Intel-based iMac, the MacBook Intel-based laptop, the Intel-based Xserve, the 2009 Mac mini, and some late model eMacs.
The VESA Enhanced Video Connector (EVC) is a VESA standard that was intended to reduce the number of cables around a computer by incorporating video, audio, FireWire and USB into a single cable system, terminating in a 35-pin Molex MicroCross connector. The intent was to make the monitor the central point of connection. The EVC physical standard was ratified in November 1994, and the pinout and signaling standard followed one year later.
The Dreamcast VGA Box is an accessory for Sega's Dreamcast video game console that allows it to connect to a video display such as a computer monitor or an HDTV set through a VGA port. Because the Dreamcast hardware can produce a VGA-compatible video signal natively, this connection provides improved picture quality compared to standard composite video or S-Video connections, along with support for progressive scan video.
The Mini DisplayPort is a miniaturized version of the DisplayPort audio-visual digital interface.
Audio connectors and video connectors are electrical or optical connectors for carrying audio or video signals. Audio interfaces or video interfaces define physical parameters and interpretation of signals. For digital audio and digital video, this can be thought of as defining the physical layer, data link layer, and most or all of the application layer. For analog audio and analog video these functions are all represented in a single signal specification like NTSC or the direct speaker-driving signal of analog audio.
The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height are standardized and typically given a name and an initialism which is descriptive of its dimensions. A graphics display resolution can be used in tandem with the size of the graphics display to calculate pixel density. An increase in the pixel density often correlates with a decrease in the size of individual pixels on a display.
