List of video connectors
This is a list of physical video connectors and related video signal standards. For other video-related standards, please see the main article, video.
Signal standard name | Year introduced | Connector | Analog or digital |
Max resolution
(X-pix × Y-pix @ Hz) |
Used for | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composite video |
1956 | 1 RCA, BNC, TV Aerial Plug, or Mini-VGA |
Analog |
720 × 576i @ 50 720 × 480i @ 59.94 |
Consumer electronics, including VCR and LaserDisc, 1970-1980s home computers like the Commodore VIC-20, 1980s-1990s video game consoles, some laptops |
Used with PAL, NTSC or SECAM color. |
S-Video (Separate-Video or Y/C) | 1979 | 1 Mini-DIN 4-pin, 1 Mini-DIN 7-pin, 1 Mini-VGA, 2 BNC, 2 RCA connectors |
Analog | 720 × 576i @ 50 720 × 480i @ 59.94 |
S-VHS, some laptop computers, analog broadcast video, 1980-1990s home computers including the Commodore C64, 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. |
SCART |
1977 | SCART 21-pin | Analog | 720 x 576i @ 50 720 × 480i @ 59.94 |
Consumer electronics, Commodore-Amiga and various video games |
Europe "unified" A/V interface for composite video, composite sync + RGB, audio and S-video. Composite and s-video are used with PAL, NTSC or SECAM color. |
CGA |
1981 | DE-9 |
Digital | 640 × 200 @ 60 | Pre-i80386 x86 machines | |
MDA |
1981 | DE-9 |
Digital | 720 × 350 @ 50, Text only | ||
HGC |
1982 | DE-9 | Digital | 720 × 348 @ 50 | ||
EGA |
1984 | DE-9 |
Digital | 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 |
VGA |
1987 | VGA connector variants include DE-15/HD-15 (canonical), DE-9, RGB or RGBHV on separate BNC connectors, Mini-VGA, DVI/Mini-DVI/Micro-DVI. | Analog | 2048 × 1536 @ 85 | 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 |
1987 | DA15F |
Analog | 1152 × 870 @ 75 | 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. |
13W3 |
1990 | DB13W3 | Analog | 1152 × 900 @ 76 | Sun computer systems | |
OpenLDI |
1998 | MDR36 | LVDS Digital | |||
YPBPR |
1990s | 3 RCA or BNC connectors | Analog | 1920 × 1080 @ 60 | Consumer electronics |
Usually known as component video. |
Apple-AAUI (D-Terminal) | 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 | Recent 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) | Both | 2560 × 1600 @ 60 | Apple Inc. Macintoshes and monitors | Proprietary connector with DVI signals | |
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) | 2003 | 19 pin HDMI Type A/C |
Digital |
2560 × 1600 @ 75 4096 × 2160 @ 24 |
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) |
Digital | 2560 × 1600 @ 75 | 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 128bit-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). |
Serial digital interface |
BNC | Digital | From 143 Mbit/s to 2.970 Gbit/s, depending on variant. 480i, 576i, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p. | Broadcast video. Variants include SD-SDI, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI, 3G-SDI. |
Physical connectors
[spaces:0]Image | Class or connector name | Used for | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
RF connectors (analog radio frequency signals). Generally use coaxial cable types such as RG-6 and RG-59 (except for twin-lead). | |||
Belling-Lee connector / IEC 169-2 connector |
TV aerial plug, (a.k.a. PAL connector in Europe) | Television antenna connection for most video devices outside the U.S. 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 the United States. |
BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman) | Alternative to RCA for professional video electronics. Protocols: Serial Digital Interface (SDI) and HD-SDI. | 75 Ω for video signal on, for example, RG59 e 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) | ||
GR connector (General Radio connector) | |||
F connector |
Used for most U.S. TV antenna connections, as well as satellite and cable systems worldwide. Also common in U.S. for early home computers & game consoles, older VCRs, RF modulators, and even CECBs due to lack of other connectors. | Generally not used outside the United States for TV antennas. | |
N connector (Neill connector) | |||
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 the U.S. and Belling-Lee Connector in other countries outside the U.S. | |
UHF connector (e.g. PL-259/SO-239) | |||
D-subminiature family |
|||
DE-15 male plug. |
VGA connector (DE-15 is a common variant.) | 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. | 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. | |
DVI-related |
|||
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. | Almost omnipresent for modern computer video cards. | |
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 HDMI. |
Female Micro-DVI port (rightmost) on MacBook Air |
Micro-DVI |
DVI-D dual link | |
DMS-59 |
DVI dual link | ||
Apple Display Connector |
Combines DVI, USB, and power. | ||
One of the three HDMI variants, male plug. |
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) | High definition digital video devices (HDMI protocol) | Electrically compatible with DVI-D and DVD-I, using a simple adapter. |
DIN/Mini-DIN |
|||
Mini-DIN 4-pin | S-Video (Separate-Video or Y/C) | ||
|
Various Mini-DIN configurations | Various systems and protocols - see Mini-DIN for details | |
Others | |||
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 stereophonic sound (analog), along with composite video and/or RGB video. Some devices also support S-Video, which shares the same pins as composite video and RGB. YPBPY 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. | Replacing RCA connectors.[citation needed] |
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 plugs) |
AV Multi |
Sony proprietary. Combines composite video, S-Video, RGsB/[[YPBPR]] (both use same pins) and stereophonic sound (two analog channels). | |
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. | Defunct, obsoleted 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 |
Used with the PanelLink digital video protocol. | Obsoleted by DVI |
Unified Display Interface |
Proposed to replace both DVI and HDMI. Deprecated by Intel in favor of DisplayPort. | ||
3.5mm (⅛") 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 is also the name of the protocol, which is proposed to replace DVI for computer monitors, and consumer electronics (such as home theater systems). | ||
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. |