VGA and DVI Ports To Be Phased Out Over Next 5 Years

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VGA and DVI Ports To Be Phased Out Over Next 5 Years

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 20, 2012 @04:41AM from the think-of-the-connectors dept.

angry tapir writes "Legacy VGA and DVI display ports are likely to be phased out in PCs over the next five years, according to a study by NPD In-Stat. Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are ending chipset support for VGA by 2015. The VGA interface was originally introduced in 1986 and DVI was introduced in 1999."

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why phase out DVI? by Spy+Handler · 2012-01-20 04:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

it gives me crystal-clear digital connection to my monitor, and unlike HDMI, it works every time without fail.
1. Re:why phase out DVI? by godrik · 2012-01-20 04:45 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Trying to close the analog hole I guess. Using "smart" HDMI can more easily be used with DRMs. Coupled with machine you can not choose the OS of, and you might have quite annoying copy protection schemes.
2. Re:why phase out DVI? by kimvette · 2012-01-20 04:46 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  and unlike HDMI, it works every time without fail.
  That is why it is being killed off.
  
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3. Re:why phase out DVI? by HerculesMO · 2012-01-20 04:52 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  DVI-D has copy protection just as good as HDMI. It supports HDCP.
  
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  The price is always right if someone else is paying.
4. Re:why phase out DVI? by Ynot_82 · 2012-01-20 04:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The "Analogue Hole" is unaffected by digital restrictions
  It's the illegitimate* analogue re-capturing of a legitimately decoded digital stream
  Think TV-capture card
  * From "their" POV
5. Re:why phase out DVI? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-20 04:58 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Single-link DVI and HDMI are the same signal! They have the exact same TMDS pins! The ones and zeroes are identical! It's the same thing!
6. Re:why phase out DVI? by PhrostyMcByte · 2012-01-20 05:00 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  HDCP supported DVI before it supported HDMI, and has been available on graphics cards for years. This won't be closing any holes.
7. Re:why phase out DVI? by SuricouRaven · 2012-01-20 05:03 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Indeed. Or you can use various unlicenced decryption methods, in which case you don't need an HDCP compliant anything. Pirates win again.
8. Re:why phase out DVI? by Anrego · 2012-01-20 05:04 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  DVI was confusing to non-geeks.
  You had, what..
  DVI-D, DVI-A, and DVI-I .. plus "single link" and "dual link" thrown in for good measure, and different cables supporing subsets of those and adapters and a variety of "this works with that, but not this other thing".
  HDMI is HDMI .. you plug it in and not worry about whether you are using the right mode / cable for your setup.
9. Re:why phase out DVI? by ackthpt · 2012-01-20 05:05 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Trying to close the analog hole I guess. Using "smart" HDMI can more easily be used with DRMs. Coupled with machine you can not choose the OS of, and you might have quite annoying copy protection schemes.
  Yep. Hollywood and Big Media will be pushing for a monitor standard which detects uncertified video, blocks it, reports you and sets your house on fire.
  
  --
  
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10. Re:why phase out DVI? by Megaweapon · 2012-01-20 05:06 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  DVI can support the same HDCP protection as HDMI because it's the same fucking thing with a different connector shape. The anti-HDMI fud here is idiotic.
  Making HDMI ports requires a license/royalty (whereas things like DisplayPort is an open VESA standard and requires no royalty payments).
  
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11. Re:why phase out DVI? by eobanb · 2012-01-20 05:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Then again there's HDMI 1.0, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, then for cables there's Standard, Standard with Ethernet, High Speed, plus converter cables to/from DVI, DisplayPort, VGA, and then of course there's HDCP...
  ...It's always going to be confusing to 90% of people no matter what.
  
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12. Re:why phase out DVI? by idontgno · 2012-01-20 05:44 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Because DVI is also an analog interface? Or are you forgetting the VGA-compatible (analog) C1-C5 signals? Which are, amazingly not at all present in a HDMI connection.
  The digital portion of DVI is HDMI-equivalent. The analog portion of DVI is VGA-equivalent. The intent is to demolish VGA, including its equivalents. Hence, DVI has to be banished too.
  QED.
  
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  Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
13. Re:why phase out DVI? by GrumpySteen · 2012-01-20 05:46 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Using an unlicensed decryption program to decrypt a Blu-Ray DVD that you own, rented or borrowed in order to watch it on a non HDCP compliant system it is not piracy, no matter what the MPAA tells you. It may or may not violate the DMCA, but it is absolutely not piracy.
14. Re:why phase out DVI? by cpu6502 · 2012-01-20 05:46 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  So does this phase-out mean I won't be able to use the 4 VGA CRTs and 1 DVI LCD I have accumulated over the years?
  What a waste of perfectly functional equipment.
  
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15. Re:why phase out DVI? by Fallingcow · 2012-01-20 06:02 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  As best I can tell the problem is that they created a "smart" spec for the cable then didn't force manufacturers to only put them on "smart" devices, or didn't make a certain degree of smartness and sensible fallbacks part of the spec. Consequently, we've got a bunch of idiot devices that think they're smart and do all kinds of dumb things that a "dumb" connection like VGA wouldn't allow.
  Instead of "just work" we've got "just work IF your devices like each other and IF you turn them on in the correct order (note, not always the best or most intuitive order) and IF you have a shaman do the HDMI dance first." My guess is a bit tighter spec and better testing requirements tied to using the HDMI name/logo would have reduced these problem from nearly universal to occasional, at least.
  If nothing else the devices all ought to have a "stop trying to be smart and FUCKING DO EXACTLY WHAT I TELL YOU TO DO" mode. You think your source isn't 5.1? BULLSHIT, yes it is. You think you ought to defer to another device for audio out? NO, you're the goddamn audio receiver and I want you to NEVER do that. You went to sleep, woke back up, and now you think there's no capable audio device connected to your HDMI port and you'll continue to think that until I restart you? NO, just send the goddamn bits, because you're wrong.
  Actually, that's what the override mode should be called: "Just send the goddamn bits"
16. Re:why phase out DVI? by Dogtanian · 2012-01-20 06:59 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  From your nic, I presume that you're not much up on the leading edge of computer hardware.
  You mean he has an ancient ISA one with 10Base2 BNC connectors or something like that?
  
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Interesting by Oxford_Comma_Lover · 2012-01-20 04:44 · Score: 5, Interesting

The one that was introduced 13 years later is being phased out at the same time as the one that was introduced thirty-six years ago? How odd.

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1. Re:Interesting by SirWhoopass · 2012-01-20 05:00 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I guess 25 is almost 35.
  Especially when you're 16.
All about HDCP by TankSpanker04 · 2012-01-20 04:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

I suspect the driving force toward HDMI-only is anti piracy efforts in the form of mandatory HDCP on any new display hardware.
Ain't happening by DesScorp · 2012-01-20 04:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

We've still got serial ports. There are still motherboards with a parallel port, for goodness sake. VGA ain't going away anytime soon.

--
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1. Re:Ain't happening by rubycodez · 2012-01-20 04:56 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I've never seen a motherboard *without* a parallel port or serial. they're not connected, but they are there. hell, my two month old motherboard with the trendy eSata and DVI for six core chip has floppy and "game" port on it!
Deep breath everyone. DVI==HDMI by slimjim8094 · 2012-01-20 04:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

While I like DVI and have a monitor that uses it, going HDMI only is not a big deal. HDMI is just DVI plus a little extra, for audio, and the cost of that "little extra" is already negligible.
This means that a DVI-DVI, HDMI-HDMI, and DVI-HDMI cable are the same price. I spent $5 on one a few years back.
No difference! Unbunch your panties

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30 Years of VGA by scorp1us · 2012-01-20 04:52 · Score: 5, Insightful

Lets hope that whatever follows has the same longevity as VGA. In a world where we've invented USB 3 times (USB, mini USB and micro USB) with non-compatible connectors in just 11 years, the future does not look as good.

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Awesome by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-20 05:13 · Score: 5, Funny

Now I can pull video cable up the back of a workstation without it catching on every god damned cable, wire, footstool and purse in the remote vicinity.
Re:Business use laptops and projectors by MROD · 2012-01-20 05:30 · Score: 5, Interesting

Wrong, just plain wrong.

There is little support for HDMI within the seminar room equipment available, it's practically all VGA only. It's only very high end kit which has HDMI support.
If you add to that most, if not all, "presenter" units (that is the back-lit camera systems people can use to show objects or hand-written notes) are VGA output only, the only real solution is analogue video, even though it doesn't travel long distances well (though this can be worked around with video senders).

The reason I know this is that only a couple of years ago I was on a committee running the kitting out of some lecture theatres and seminar rooms. None of the tendering A/V companies could supply a complete system using DVI, HDMI or any other digital video technology even though we asked them to look into it.

VGA is *THE* de-facto lowest common denominator computer video format, it's likely to stay that way for a *VERY* long time.

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Re:And switch to HDMI? by HerculesMO · 2012-01-20 05:37 · Score: 5, Informative

The sync of an HDMI cable isn't fast -- it's slow. So if you swap to a HDCP protected stream and then off of it, the monitor will flicker or sometimes, not come back at all. Then you need to reboot.
Just basically, it sucks. Read about HDMI handshake issues and you'll see what I mean.

--
The price is always right if someone else is paying.