List of video connectors explained

See main article: Video. This is a list of physical RF and video connectors and related video signal standards.

By signal standard

Signal standard nameIntroduction yearConnectorTypeMax. resolution (X-px × Y-px (i) @ Z-Hz)Used forNotes
1956[1] 1 RCA, BNC, TV Aerial Plug, Mini-VGA,,[2] SCART 21-pin 576 lines tv compatible 625 lines tv compatibleUsed with PAL, NTSC or SECAM color.
RGBS1977 SCART 21-pin (a.ka. Peritel), JP-21SCART is a European "unified" A/V interface for bi-directional stereo audio, composite video and s-video, and unidirectional RGBS and data. is also available in some non-standard set-ups via the RGB pins.
S-Video (a.k.a. separate video, split video, super-video, and Y/C) 1979 1 Mini-DIN 4-pin, 1 Mini-DIN 7-pin, 1 Mini-VGA, 2 BNC, 2 RCA connectors, 8-pin DIN, SCART 21-pin 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.
MDA1981 Digital720 × 350 @ 50, Text only IBM PC, PC/XT, PC/AT and compatibles
RGBI (CGA)640 × 200 @ 60
DE-9
1982 DE-9[3] 720 × 348 @ 50
1984 DE-9 640 × 350 @ 60
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 [4]
RGBHV1987 VGA connector (DE-15/HD-15), DE-9, separate BNC connectors, Mini-VGA, DVI/Mini-DVI/Micro-DVI.Analog 2048 × 1536 @ 85[5] The VGA connector was 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 DA15F1152 × 870 @ 75[6] Mac-DA15F and Sun-13W3 were similar in capability to VGA. Some Sun machines used 4 or 5 BNC connectors to transfer video signal.
1990 13W3 DB13W3 1152 × 900 @ 76 Workstations. Sun, SGI et al.
Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF) 1996 Digital Automotive Sony proprietary
1998 MDR36 LVDS Digital
(a.k.a. component video) 1990s 3 RCA or BNC connectors, Apple-AAUI, D-Terminal, SCART 21-pin Analog 1920 × 1080 @ 60[7] Also referred to as Component video and YUVD-Terminal uses voltage levels to signal resolution.
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) 1999 Both 2560 × 1600 @ 60 3840 × 2400 @ 33 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) 2560 × 1600 @ 60 Apple Inc. Macintoshes and monitors Proprietary connector designed to combine DVI-I, USB, and monitor power
Serial digital interface (SDI) 2003 BNC Digital From 143 Mbit/s to 12 Gbit/s, depending on variant. 480i, 576i, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, UHDTV1, UHDTV2 Broadcast video. Variants include SD-SDI, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, 12G-SDI.[8]
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) 2003 19 pin HDMI
Type A/C
10240 x 4320 @ 120(version 2.1) [9] Many A/V systems and video cards (including motherboards with IGP) High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) encryption is mandatory.
2007 20-pin (external)
32-pin (internal)
LVDSDigital10240 × 4320 @ 60 15360 × 8640 @ 60 (version 2.0)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 to replace HDCP. DisplayPort version 1.1 added support for HDCP.
2008 13-pin Digital2560 × 1600 @ 75
4096 × 2160 @ 24
A/V systems High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).
2010 4096 × 2160 @ 24 A/V systems, data at 10.2 Gbit/s, power up to
BNC connector, DIN 1.0/2.3Machine vision and industrial cameras Supports 20.83 Mbit/s uplink channel and power over the same coaxial cable
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) 5 pin 1920 × 1080 @ 60
3840 × 2160 @ 30 (version 3.0)
7680 × 4320 @ 120 (superMHL)
Connecting mobile devices to TVs Supports High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)

Physical connectors

ImageClass or connector nameUsed forNotes
RF connectors (radio frequency signals). Generally use coaxial cable types such as RG-6 and RG-59 (except for twin-lead).

Belling-Lee/IEC 169-2 connector
TV aerial plug (a.k.a. antenna plug)Television antenna connection for most video devices outside North America. 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 North America.
BNCAlternative to RCA for professional video electronics. Protocols: 75 Ω for video signal (SDI and CoaXPress) on, for example, RG59 and 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)

General Radio 874 connectors
GR connector (General Radio connector)Mostly seen on the company's test equipment.Uniquely "hermaphrodite" connector, i.e. no male/female pairing. cf. Anderson connector
F connectorUsed for most North American TV antenna connections, as well as satellite and cable systems worldwide. Also common in North America for early home computers and game consoles, older VCRs, RF modulators, and even CECBs due to lack of other connectors.Once not used outside North America for TV antennas (except for satellite reception), but gaining acceptance elsewhere with advent of digital TV.
N connector (Neill connector)Mostly seen on professional quality VHF and UHF cables and equipment.Generally 50 Ω but has been manufactured as 75 Ω; difference being thinner centre connectors; not reliably interconnected.

TNC connector (left), compared with BNC (right)
Threaded Neill-Concelman connector (TNC)
Twin-leadUsed 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 North America and Belling-Lee Connector in other countries outside North America.
UHF connector (e.g. PL-259/SO-239)Despite its name, now most commonly seen on higher-power HF radio equipment, e.g. SSB transceivers. A popular choice for amateur radio enthusiasts.50 Ω

D-subminiature family

ImageClass or connector nameUsed forNotes
CGA, MDA, EGA connector (DE-9)The historical connector used by MDA, EGA and CGA graphic cards is a female nine-pin D-subminiature (DE-9). The signal standard and pinout are backward-compatible with CGA, allowing EGA monitors to be used on CGA cards and vice versa.Early VGA cards also used this connector.
VGA connector (DE-15)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.[10] Being replaced by DVI from 1999 onward.
DB13W3Analog 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

ImageClass or connector nameUsed forNotes

Single-link DVI-D male plug.

Dual-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.

Male Mini-DVI plug on top of a 12-inch PowerBook G4; female port is second from left.
Mini-DVIVGA, DVI, television. Apple Computer alternative to Mini-VGA.Often now replaced by Mini DisplayPort.

Female Micro-DVI port (rightmost) on MacBook Air
Micro-DVIDVI-D dual linkReplaced with Mini DisplayPort.
DMS-59twin DVI (for two monitors via an adapter cable)
Apple Display ConnectorCombines DVI, USB, and power.

HDMI connector plugs (male): Type D (Micro), Type C (Mini), and Type A.
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)High definition digital video devices (HDMI protocol)Electrically compatible with DVI-D and DVI-I, but not DVI-A, using a simple adapter.

DIN/Mini-DIN

ImageClass or connector nameUsed forNotes
DIN-style 10-pinCCJ connector
Mini-DIN 4-pinS-Video (separate video, split video, super-video, or Y/C)


Various Mini-DIN configurationsVarious systems and protocols - see Mini-DIN for details

Others

ImageClass or connector nameUsed forNotes

Three RCA connectors - yellow for composite video, and white and red for stereo audio
RCA connectorWidely used in consumer electronics for audio and video.A single connector must be used for each signal.
SCARTConsumer electronics, mostly in Europe. Carries analog stereo sound, along with composite video and/or RGB video. Some devices also support S-Video, which shares the same pins as composite video and RGB. is also sometimes supported as a non-standard extension via the RGB pins.
D-TerminalPopular in Japan for analog high definition video. Available resolutions are specified as D1 through D5.
PDMI 30 pin receptacle including the following electrical interfaces: 2-lane DisplayPort v1.1a, USB 3.0, USB On-The-Go, Analog stereo line-out, HDMI CEC for remote control, high output power line from both host and portable device

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 plug)
AV MultiSony proprietary. Combines composite video, S-Video, RGsB/ (both use same pins) and stereophonic sound (two analog channels).Used for all analog audio and video out on for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. (A few early original PlayStation models featured RCA outs for composite video and stereo analog audio in addition to the AV Multi connector.)
35-pin MicroCross Molex connectorVESA 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.Deprecated. Made obsolete by DFP and later DVI.
HDI-45Apple 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 (DFP)Used with the PanelLink digital video protocol.Deprecated. Made obsolete by DVI.

3D model of a UDI connector
Unified Display InterfaceProposed to replace both DVI and HDMI. Deprecated by Intel in favor of DisplayPort.

3.5 mm TRRS connector (male)
3.5 mm ( in) TRRS and TRS connectorAnalog 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.
DisplayPortDisplayPort (DP) was designed to replace VGA, DVI, and FPD-Link and standardized by VESA.[11] It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor. It can also carry audio, USB, and other forms of data. DisplayPort is backward compatible with other interfaces such as HDMI and DVI through the use of active or passive adapters.

Male Mini DisplayPort plug
Mini DisplayPortProposed 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.
HDBaseT (8P8C modular connector)Used for transmission of uncompressed high-definition video, audio, Ethernet, high-power over cable and various controls, via a 100 m Cat5e/Cat6 cable with 8P8C modular connectors of the type commonly used for telephone and Ethernet LAN connections.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What is CVBS video format. 2022-02-19. Google Groups. https://web.archive.org/web/20220220005358/https://groups.google.com/g/aus.tv.pay/c/n6xKJt6ASEE. 2022-02-20. live.
  2. http://www.settorezero.com/wordpress/cavo-di-collegamento-video-commodore-64-s-video-scart/ settorezero.com - Cavo di collegamento video Commodore 64 / S-Video / Scart
  3. Web site: The PC video acronyms. 070820 philipstorr.id.au
  4. Web site: Amiga video pinout. pinouts.ru
  5. 2560 × 1600 @ 60 Hz in theory, although few existing WQXGA device offers analog inputs (certain Barco projectors do)
  6. Capable of higher on later Macintosh models if used with the right equipment, i.e. a DA15F to VGA converter coupled with a sufficiently capable analog display
  7. Although connections are theoretically capable of higher resolutions, resolutions above 1080p (1920 × 1080 @ 60p) are uncommon. Additionally, many devices limit connections to 1080i (1920 × 1080 @ 60i) due to lack of encryption, allowing higher resolutions only via encrypted digital connections.
  8. Web site: Think 12G-SDI over Coax Isn't Possible? Think Again! . www.belden.com . 6 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161229153345/http://www.belden.com/blog/broadcastav/think-12g-sdi-over-coax-isn-t-possible-think-again.cfm . 29 December 2016 . dead.
  9. Web site: HDMI. www.hdmi.org. 2017-12-21.
  10. http://pinouts.ru/Video/VGA15_pinout.shtml VGA pinout and signals @ pinouts.ru
  11. "DisplayPort Technical Overview" (PDF). VESA.org. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012