PC monitors: How to buy the best LCD computer monitor Monitor video connections
Video connections
VGA socket
Monitors generally have a standard analogue VGA (15-pin mini D-sub) socket, often coloured blue, for connecting to most graphics cards.
DVI sockets
Digital connections give better picture quality than analogue. The most common digital socket on monitors and graphics cards is a DVI socket, usually coloured white.
There are two types of DVI sockets on typical LCD monitors: DVI-D is digital-only, while DVI-I can accept either an analogue or digital input. A DVI-I socket allows you to connect an analogue VGA output from a computer to your monitor via a converter.
Check that your monitor is HDCP compliant – meaning that its DVI input supports HDCP, a digital copy protection system used on Blu-ray disc players and other HD video sources such as PVRs.
DisplayPort
Some monitors from Dell, HP and Lenovo have a DisplayPort socket instead of DVI. DisplayPort is a relatively new standard for display connections and is still quite rare.
HDMI sockets
HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) sockets are becoming more widespread on larger widescreen LCD monitors, as well as on graphics cards and laptops.
On laptops, HDMI sockets are more common than DVI sockets, however HDMI and DVI sockets are compatible with an HDMI to DVI digital adaptor cable.
HDMI can carry both digital video and audio signals between devices, but, unless your monitor has built-in speakers or an audio pass-through socket, you’ll need to use a separate audio cable to carry the sound.
An HDMI socket on a monitor means you can connect any HD source to it, including Blu-ray disc players, Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes, plus many PVRs, DVD recorders and games consoles.
Other connections
Some high-end monitors have connections that are more common on LCD and plasma TVs, such as S-video, component and composite video inputs.
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