Audio and video interfaces and connectors
Interfaces and Connectors Table
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Interface |
Connectors |
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Audio Only |
Analog |
PC System Design Guide. Audio Colour Coding |
3.5mm TRS |
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Digital |
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format). Via Coaxial or Optical cables. |
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Video Only |
Analog |
Video Graphics Array (VGA) |
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Composite. Often designated by the CVBS acronym, meaning any of "Color, Video, Blank and Sync", |
RCA jack, normally yellow (often accompanied with red and white for right and left audio channels respectively |
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S-Video aka Separate Video. Carries standard definition video and does not carry audio on the same cable. |
4 Pin Mini-DIN |
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Component. In popular use, it refers to a type of analog video information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals. Either RGB Interfaces or YPbPr |
3 X RCA Jacks |
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VIVO = 9 Pin Mini-DIN with breakout cable. |
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Digital And Analog |
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) |
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Video and Audio |
Digital |
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Interfaces
S/PDIF
Generally via electrical coaxial cable (with RCA jacks) or optical fibre (TOSLINK).
Note that there are no differences in the signals transmitted over optical or coaxial S/PDIF connectors—both carry exactly the same information. Selection of one over the other rests mainly on the availability of appropriate connectors on the chosen equipment and the preference and convenience of the user. Connections longer than 6 meters or so, or those requiring tight bends, should use coaxial cable, since the high light signal attenuation of TOSLINK cables limits its effective range.
Connectors
Audio Connectors
TRS
A TRS connector (tip, ring, sleeve) also called an audio jack, phone plug, jack plug, stereo plug, mini-jack, or mini-stereo
RCA Jack
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An RCA jack, also referred to as a phono connector or Cinch connector.
DIN
A DIN connector is a connector that was originally standardized by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN),
Mini Din
The Mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector. Both are standards of the Deutsches Institut für Normung, the German standards body.
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector used particularly in computers. Calling them "subminiature" was appropriate when they were first introduced, but today they are among the largest common connectors used in computers.
BNC
The BNC (Bayonet Neill Concelman) connector is a very common type of RF connector used for terminating coaxial cable.
TOSLINK
TOSLINK or Optical Cable is a standardized optical fiber connection system. Its most common use is in consumer audio equipment (via a "digital optical" socket) where it carries a digital audio stream
XLR
The XLR connector is an electrical connector design. XLR plugs and sockets are used mostly in professional audio and video electronics cabling applications.
Video Connectors
Video In Video Out
Video In Video Out, usually seen as the acronym VIVO (commonly pronounced vee-voh), is a graphics card port which enables some video cards to have bidirectional (input and output) video transfer through a Mini-DIN, usually of the 9-pin variety, and a specialised splitter cable (which can sometimes also transfer sound).
VIVO is found predominantly on high-end ATI video cards, although a few high-end NVIDIA video cards also have this port. VIVO on these graphics cards typically supports Composite, S-Video, and Component as outputs, and composite and S-Video as inputs. Many other video cards only support component and/or S-Video outputs to complement Video Graphics Array or DVI, typically using a component breakout cable and an S-Video cable.
DVI Connector
The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors. It is designed for carrying uncompressed digital video data to a display.
There are three basic connectors:
- DVI-D (digital only)
- DVI-A (analog only)
- DVI-I (integrated, digital & analog)
The connector also includes provision for a second data link for high resolution displays, though many devices do not implement this. In those that do, the connector is sometimes referred to as DVI-DL (dual link).
So we need to know two things about the connector. 1. Whether it carries, analog, digital, or both. 2. For connectors that carry digital links, if it is single or dual link.
Audio and Video Connectors
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a compact audio/video standard for transmitting uncompressed digital data.
There are three HDMI connector types. Type A and Type B where defined since the HDMI 1.0 specification. Type C was defined since the HDMI 1.3 specification.
Type A is electrically compatible with single link DVI-D. Type B is electrically compatible with dual link DVI-D but has not yet been used in any products.
Display Port
DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard (approved May 2006, current version 1.1a approved on January 11, 2008). It defines a new license-free, royalty-free, digital audio/video interconnect, intended to be used primarily between a computer and its display monitor, or a computer and a home-theater system.
The video signal is not compatible with DVI or HDMI, but a DisplayPort connector can pass these signals through. DisplayPort is a competitor to the HDMI connector, the de facto digital connection for high-definition consumer electronics devices.