DVI
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Posted: November 19, 2025Read more »
The world of audio and video cables can be confusing—especially with multiple connector types still in use. While industry standards have evolved, devices across homes, offices and industries continue to rely on a mix of old and new AV cables.
Each cable type has its own strengths in signal quality, compatibility and supported resolutions. Understanding these differences helps ensure the best performance from your displays and connected devices.
In this guide, we’ll break down the key differences between HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI and VGA—including what each cable supports, where it’s commonly used and which one is best for your setup.
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“Pinout” is a term describing how an electrical cable is wired. Some cables do not have pinouts because they only contain a single internal wire, like coax cables. But if a cable has multiple pins on the end of the cable, it will have a pinout.
Each type of multi-pin cable has a standard pinout or two, but these layouts are not set in stone. Some machines will require non-standard pinouts; this will require users to use a custom cable.
Pinouts also come into play when using a cable with two different ends. For example, going from DB9 (9 pins) to DB25 (25 pins) will mean the DB25 side has 16 unused, “dead” pins.
If you need to know what pinout a cable needs, ideally there will be a spec sheet handy showing it. The next best option is contacting the manufacturer of the equipment the cable will be used with to see if they have a spec sheet available. If you have a cable tester available, that can be used to see how the pins line up. As a last resort, a cable can also be cut open to verify
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Posted: October 01, 2018Categories: BNC, S-Video, Video Cables, HDMI, Audio Cables, 3.5mm, VGA, DVI, Optical Toslink, XLR, RCA, DisplayPortRead more »
Audio and video cables go hand-in-hand, often being paired together. Some cables can even transmit audio and video on just one line. Over time a lot of new audio and video cables have been introduced, so the cable you need will often depend on the age of the equipment you are using. Most TVs, computers, and other devices can use multiple types of audio and video connections, so it is good to be able to identify them and know your options.
Audio-only cables include:
- 3.5mm
- 2.5mm
- ¼”
- Optical Toslink
- XLR
- SpeakOn
- MIDI
Video-only cables include:
- S-Video
- DB9
- VGA cables
- DVI
Audio/video cables include:
- F-type
- BNC
- RCA cables
- Component
- HDMI
- DisplayPort
Audio-only
3.5mm
3.5mm, also called ⅛” cables, is one of the most common audio cables. They are sometimes called “headphone jacks”, being the type of connection used for headphones. These ports are frequently found on cell phones, computers, and televisions.
There are a few different versions of 3.5mm: TS, TRS, and TRRS. TS cables will
