DVI vs VGA

[satyanjoy]

My viewsonic 19" LCD nonitor does not have DVI output(only VGA)..my graphics card(nvidia 7300gt512mbddr2) supports DVI.does DVI really gives lots better visuals thn VGA in gaminng and DVD??

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: satyanjoy
My viewsonic 19" LCD nonitor does not have DVI output(only VGA)..
my graphics card(nvidia 7300gt512mbddr2) supports DVI.does
DVI really gives lots better visuals thn VGA in gaminng and DVD??

Say it did produce 500% better visual quality in games & watching DVDs...
What could you do about it?

Are you ready to buy a DVI supported monitor?

 

[Tsuwamono]

They say 500% better but to be honest i see a very slight difference. nothing for me to really cry about. All though i do use DVI

 

[pukemon]

I notice very little difference between using DVI and VGA. I prefer DVI because it will autoconfigure the geometry of the screen. Basically what that amounts to is, you don't have to push the "Auto" button on your monitor.

 

[imported_wired247]

My 720p plasma TV supports VGA and HDMI but not DVI... and I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

Thinking about getting a DVI -> HDMI converter and seeing if that fixes the problem.

 

[Yetiman]

I have a 22" LG LCD display. I have two desktop computers that have the same video card in them (EVGA Nvidea 7900 GS). They are both connected to the same monitor, one to the DVI input, the other to the VGA input with an adapter at the card connection.

I don't use the second computer very often (data backup mostly). But I see no difference whatsoever when switching between them.

 

[PHiuR]

I can't really see a difference, but i'm using two 17" LCDs.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i don't notice a difference...

 

[satyanjoy]

I have done lil googling on this topic and found that difference very hard find with eyes unless u have a monitor which supports HD(22" or more)

 

[satyanjoy]

500% is theoritical..i am not going to buy a new one..

 

[imported_wired247]

bought a $4.00 DVI to HDMI cable. Worth a try.

The noise on this VGA cable is bugging the crap out of me

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: satyanjoy
My viewsonic 19" LCD nonitor does not have DVI output(only VGA)..
my graphics card(nvidia 7300gt512mbddr2) supports DVI.does
DVI really gives lots better visuals thn VGA in gaminng and DVD??

Say it did produce 500% better visual quality in games & watching DVDs...
What could you do about it?

Are you ready to buy a DVI supported monitor?

Originally posted by: satyanjoy
500% is theoritical..i am not going to buy a new one..

Exactly...

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: satyanjoy
500% is theoritical..i am not going to buy a new one..

He was using 500% to make the point that even if DVI was 25 million times better, there is nothing you can do about it since your monitor doesn't support DVI. Its actually neither 500% nor 25 million times better.

 

[jdkick]

I use DVI (single 20") at home and VGA (dual 17") at work - no differences to note. If there's no pressing need to replace your existing display, continue being happy with VGA.

 

[imported_wired247]

I have used D-sub (VGA) versus DVI on desktop-size (17-24") LCD monitors with little or no difference.

Howver, I just received in the mail the DVI to HDMI cable for my computer --> 42" panasonic 720p plasma TV, and the difference between VGA and DVI->HDMI is night and day.

Text is much clearer and easier to read.

On the VGA cable, white and bright screens showed very clearly some interference or some other type of slowly-upward-scanning-lines. Very dark backgrounds in games (i.e. the witcher) showed some strange vertical discontinuities in textures. Now these are gone as well.

Now, everything is flawlessly displayed with no apparent interference as i was experiencing before.

Probably the best $4 + $4 shipping I've ever spent.

So the short answer is, if you are happy with VGA cable then that's excellent.... But for larger displays at less than ultra-high resolution, DVI/HDMI is definitely worth the very cheap upgrade.

 

[chinaman1472]

Currently, I'm using DVI-I to VGA from my PC to my TV/Monitor, but from what wired247 just said, I'm gonna go make a cheap investment on a DVI-I to HDMI cable and see if there's a difference. My TV manual says it doesn't support PC connections through the HDMI/DVI port, but a few on other forums (with similar models) have had success. I'll get back to this in a few days.

 

[UTFan81]

text looks a lot clearer over DVI to me.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Aren't there VGA to DVI converters? Or is it the other way around? Is that the same thing? I'm confused.

Oh, and I noticed a slight difference between a Dell 19' and an Acer 20', probably because of the higher resolution... But take it for what you will.

 

[nordloewelabs]

Originally posted by: wired247
I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

if by "tv lines" you mean "wide scrolling horizonal lines", i have a few suggestions. i had this problem before and got it improved after some research online.

1. make sure both the PC and the monitor are plugged to the very same surge protector.

2. make sure your surge protector is decent.

 

[Modelworks]

Are you using one of those adapters on the back of the video card to allow you to connect a vga connector , or does the video card have a vga port ?

If your using the adapter I highly recommend buying a dvi-A to vga cable and not using the adapter. Quality is better without it.

Make sure you buy a dvi analog cable. The regular dvi cables will not work with a vga monitor.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: wired247
My 720p plasma TV supports VGA and HDMI but not DVI... and I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

Thinking about getting a DVI -> HDMI converter and seeing if that fixes the problem.

Weird. I have a 720p LCD TV and I use a VGA cable when I want to put stuff from the PC on it, and I get perfect screen signal.

 

[nordloewelabs]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: wired247
My 720p plasma TV supports VGA and HDMI but not DVI... and I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

Thinking about getting a DVI -> HDMI converter and seeing if that fixes the problem.

Weird. I have a 720p LCD TV and I use a VGA cable when I want to put stuff from the PC on it, and I get perfect screen signal.

the cause of wired247's problem is not the VGA interface. i've been playing DVDs on my PC and watching it (via VGA) on my 37" HDTV LCD for over a year. picture quality is beautiful.

- either he got a really, really bad VGA cable (unlikely); or
- he got a house with a bad electrical wiring (very common).

he should try the suggestions i gave a few posts before. if neither suggestion works, he can try (with the help of an extension) plugging both his PC and his LCD to a different electrical outlet altogether.

and, if that doesnt work either, he can call an electrician to fix the electrical wiring of his house (expensive) or resort to a different kind of cable, ie HDMI, DVI or Component. just as VGA, all 3 support high resolution signals. the main difference is that VGA and Component are analog, and therefore more prone to interference.

 

[Anubis]

i have 2 22in LCDs and i could definitly see the difference, im also one of the people who coudl see the screen flicker on a CRT at anything less then 85 HZ

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: nordloewelabs

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: wired247
My 720p plasma TV supports VGA and HDMI but not DVI... and I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

Thinking about getting a DVI -> HDMI converter and seeing if that fixes the problem.

Weird. I have a 720p LCD TV and I use a VGA cable when I want to put stuff from the PC on it, and I get perfect screen signal.

the cause of wired247's problem is not the VGA interface. i've been playing DVDs on my PC and watching it (via VGA) on my 37" HDTV LCD for over a year. picture quality is beautiful.

- either he got a really, really bad VGA cable (unlikely); or
- he got a house with a bad electrical wiring (very common).

he should try the suggestions i gave a few posts before. if neither suggestion works, he can try (with the help of an extension) plugging both his PC and his LCD to a different electrical outlet altogether.

and, if that doesnt work either, he can call an electrician to fix the electrical wiring of his house (expensive) or resort to a different kind of cable, ie HDMI, DVI or Component. just as VGA, all 3 support high resolution signals. the main difference is that VGA and Component are analog, and therefore more prone to interference.

Yeah, I was thinking it's just interference. I get terrible DTV signal reception when my PC is on because it's right beside the TV and having a windowed case it's not very good at insulating EMI.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: wired247
My 720p plasma TV supports VGA and HDMI but not DVI... and I bought a very decent / well shielded VGA cable but I still get significant noise / "TV lines" on the screen (particularly when the screen is white, i.e. web browsing) that is not present with a digital signal such as HDMI.

Thinking about getting a DVI -> HDMI converter and seeing if that fixes the problem.

Weird. I have a 720p LCD TV and I use a VGA cable when I want to put stuff from the PC on it, and I get perfect screen signal.

To answer some of the other questions:

yes, the PC and TV are plugged into a good surge protector. Not some cheap power strip.

The TV's native input for PC was VGA, but on the back of the computer I have DVI only, so I used a DVI->VGA converter. Perhaps this was part of my problem.

However, we know that analog signals are subject to interference to a much worse degree than digital signals. So I think honestly this is what made the most difference.


I think plasma is inferior with respect to detail, almost like a CRT.

LCD is probably the way to go in the future, but blu-rays etc. look quite good on the plasma, so I'm still undecided as to which is "better"


The VGA cable is quite "good" ... it's a belkin, nice gold contacts and well shielded. However, it is a long cable, about 25 ft.

Digital signals are practically lossless especially over such short distances. Also the plasma TV seems to have more display options for a digital signal (AKA HDMI)

It sucks because at the time, I spent a little more money on an otherwise identical plasma TV just because it had the VGA input...