The DVI (Digital Visual Interface) 1.0 specification was introduced in April 1999 by the Digital Display Working Group integrated by Silicon Image, Intel, Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and NEC for the purpose of creating an digital connection interface between a PC and a display device. It is a connection with enough bandwidth for uncompressed HD signals.
IEEE1394 is a digital interface conceived by Apple Computer in 1986, and it was called "Fire Wire" for its fast speed of operation. In 1995, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) adopted the serial bus as its standard 1394. Sony trademarked their name iLink for their implementation of the 1394 bus as a 4-pin connector.
On December 9, 2002, the seven founders of HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) announced the 1.0 specification of this connectivity standard, the enhanced, more robust form of DVI. The seven founders are Hitachi, Matsushita, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson, and Toshiba.
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Digital Connectivity - A Tutorial
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Rodolfo
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peter m. wilson
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Hi Rodolfo,
Thank you for clarifying the capabilities of these different connectors.
I'm not sure if this info is available yet but I think that regardless of the success of the two new High Resolution dvd formats presently being introduced as entertainment boxes, ther's no doubt that the technology will deffinitely be embraced by the PC world if only for the massive increase of storage capability per disc compared to what is presntly offered in disc media.
Some of us of us who use a HTPC as part of our HT package use the DVI out of our vid card to a DVI to Component transcoder (in combination with the freeware powerstrip) or DVI O/I ( to create rezes that our HD display can handle.
Do you know if the PC versions of these transports would allow us to play and scale the 408i layer of the HIREZ movie discs as well as connecting the analog out of our snd cards to our HT processors to access the higher bit audio layer?
Is it also possible that we will have to have Microsoft Entertainment PC software to use the PC versions for anything other than storage media?
If this info is not yet fully availible would you have any links to where it is being discussed?
Thanks again for you most informative articles.
Peter M.
Thank you for clarifying the capabilities of these different connectors.
I'm not sure if this info is available yet but I think that regardless of the success of the two new High Resolution dvd formats presently being introduced as entertainment boxes, ther's no doubt that the technology will deffinitely be embraced by the PC world if only for the massive increase of storage capability per disc compared to what is presntly offered in disc media.
Some of us of us who use a HTPC as part of our HT package use the DVI out of our vid card to a DVI to Component transcoder (in combination with the freeware powerstrip) or DVI O/I ( to create rezes that our HD display can handle.
Do you know if the PC versions of these transports would allow us to play and scale the 408i layer of the HIREZ movie discs as well as connecting the analog out of our snd cards to our HT processors to access the higher bit audio layer?
Is it also possible that we will have to have Microsoft Entertainment PC software to use the PC versions for anything other than storage media?
If this info is not yet fully availible would you have any links to where it is being discussed?
Thanks again for you most informative articles.
Peter M.
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videograbber
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Disappointing
Rodolpho,
thanks for another informative article that I'm sure many will find useful.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid this one doesn't live up to your usual quality standards, in a number of ways... making it less informative and more confusing than it would otherwise be.
The biggest problem is organization, or lack thereof. With no preamble, you launch directly into a discussion of DVI. You really need to have an introductory section that provides an overview of these 3 digital connectivity standards, along with their purpose and range of applicability. The last 3 paragraphs of your section on DVI would also be much more appropriately relocated there.
Secondly, _far_ too much of the information on HDMI is woven into the DVI section, leaving the reader who jumps directly to the HDMI section with nothing but footnotes. In spite of the fact that HDMI is an evolving superset of DVI and shares many characteristics in common, it really does need its own section with a complete description of its attributes.
Thirdly, the HDMI discussion mentions nothing of its enhanced capabilities beyond DVI (e.g. 10-bit per color channel video, vs 8-bit for DVI). Even more lacking is it makes no mention of the serious problems currently confronting HDMI. While HDMI is the undisputed "future" of digital video presentation connectivity, it unfortunately has a long way to go before is achieves the status of an effective and functional standard.
There are extremely serious problems with interoperability of devices all sharing the HDMI "standard" connections. Devices that flat-out will NOT work with each other at all (failing handshake exchanges), or operate in degraded functionality modes. This is not limited to problems with rev-1.0 devices, or even between 1.0 and 1.1 devices. Due to ambiguities and omissions in the rev-1.0 documents, manufacturers interpreted the "standard" in incompatible ways. And in spite of numerous addenda and errata, leading to the revised 1.1 specification, they continue to do so. Even more suplementary materials have appeared, making rev-1.2 a virtually mandatory requirement. And the concern is that even then, things may not be fully defined and resolved until an eventual HDMI-1.3 specification.
The outcome of all this is that the consumer will be faced with problems, issues, and incompatibilities which will make things difficult if not impossible to get the equipment he buys to cooperate and function correctly in a compatible fashion... because the implementations are NOT compatible. The end result will be (and already is) consumer confusion and dissatisfaction... not only with 1.0 products previously purchased, but also with newer 1.1 products currently being sold. The ensuing patchwork matrix of incompatibiliites (product A works with product B, but not product C; but product D works with C and not B, etc.) will be a nightmare for the end-user, and threatens to become a serious impediment to the advancement of the digital transformation.
Your article gives no clue as to the existence of these issues, and thus does the reader a disservice.
Lastly, there were minor problems throughout: in the DVI section, "and 5 pins (1 plus -shaped blade and 4 pins) to carry analog audio/video and ground." where there is no audio. Confusing references to what look like units (MHz/pixels), where one or the other should have been chosen. And blending HDCP discussions in amongst the protocol descriptions, muddying the waters, when the copy-protection technologies should have been discussed separately.
All in all, I think this is the worst organized and most confusingly-scrambled article I've read from you. While it does contain useful information, it could be radically improved by a significant restructuring, resulting in a much clearer picture being presented to the reader.
Best regards,
- Tim
thanks for another informative article that I'm sure many will find useful.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid this one doesn't live up to your usual quality standards, in a number of ways... making it less informative and more confusing than it would otherwise be.
The biggest problem is organization, or lack thereof. With no preamble, you launch directly into a discussion of DVI. You really need to have an introductory section that provides an overview of these 3 digital connectivity standards, along with their purpose and range of applicability. The last 3 paragraphs of your section on DVI would also be much more appropriately relocated there.
Secondly, _far_ too much of the information on HDMI is woven into the DVI section, leaving the reader who jumps directly to the HDMI section with nothing but footnotes. In spite of the fact that HDMI is an evolving superset of DVI and shares many characteristics in common, it really does need its own section with a complete description of its attributes.
Thirdly, the HDMI discussion mentions nothing of its enhanced capabilities beyond DVI (e.g. 10-bit per color channel video, vs 8-bit for DVI). Even more lacking is it makes no mention of the serious problems currently confronting HDMI. While HDMI is the undisputed "future" of digital video presentation connectivity, it unfortunately has a long way to go before is achieves the status of an effective and functional standard.
There are extremely serious problems with interoperability of devices all sharing the HDMI "standard" connections. Devices that flat-out will NOT work with each other at all (failing handshake exchanges), or operate in degraded functionality modes. This is not limited to problems with rev-1.0 devices, or even between 1.0 and 1.1 devices. Due to ambiguities and omissions in the rev-1.0 documents, manufacturers interpreted the "standard" in incompatible ways. And in spite of numerous addenda and errata, leading to the revised 1.1 specification, they continue to do so. Even more suplementary materials have appeared, making rev-1.2 a virtually mandatory requirement. And the concern is that even then, things may not be fully defined and resolved until an eventual HDMI-1.3 specification.
The outcome of all this is that the consumer will be faced with problems, issues, and incompatibilities which will make things difficult if not impossible to get the equipment he buys to cooperate and function correctly in a compatible fashion... because the implementations are NOT compatible. The end result will be (and already is) consumer confusion and dissatisfaction... not only with 1.0 products previously purchased, but also with newer 1.1 products currently being sold. The ensuing patchwork matrix of incompatibiliites (product A works with product B, but not product C; but product D works with C and not B, etc.) will be a nightmare for the end-user, and threatens to become a serious impediment to the advancement of the digital transformation.
Your article gives no clue as to the existence of these issues, and thus does the reader a disservice.
Lastly, there were minor problems throughout: in the DVI section, "and 5 pins (1 plus -shaped blade and 4 pins) to carry analog audio/video and ground." where there is no audio. Confusing references to what look like units (MHz/pixels), where one or the other should have been chosen. And blending HDCP discussions in amongst the protocol descriptions, muddying the waters, when the copy-protection technologies should have been discussed separately.
All in all, I think this is the worst organized and most confusingly-scrambled article I've read from you. While it does contain useful information, it could be radically improved by a significant restructuring, resulting in a much clearer picture being presented to the reader.
Best regards,
- Tim
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peter m. wilson
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Richard
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videograbber
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One small correction...
I had said,
> Your article gives no clue as to the existence of these issues <
which was incorrect. There was at least a hint of the problem with the somewhat oblique acknowledgement, "...some displays were reported to have interoperability problems regarding DVI/HDCP or HDMI/HDCP."
Peter,
> Lighten up, the guys at BestBuy will fill in the blanks. <
You left out the huge sarcastic grin on this one. At least, I certainly hope so. If you didn't have your tongue in cheek, well
Richard,
a thoughful response, and your points are well-taken. Certainly, going into long-winded detail wouldn't be as relevant for an introductory article like this one, as it would a followup. However...
> To say there have been problems only scares the new HDTV buyer and without any documentation on what is incompatible with what seems irresponsible. <
while I see where you're coming from, I'd at least say that it seems just as irresponsible to expose new buyers to these potential problems with NO warning whatsoever. When they do crop up, they'll be in the worst possible position... assuming that a standard is a standard, and thus it must all work, so THEY must be doing something wrong. They could then spend a lot of frustrating time trying to resolve problems that are insurmountable, due to implementation incompatibilities beyond their control.
- Tim
I had said,
> Your article gives no clue as to the existence of these issues <
which was incorrect. There was at least a hint of the problem with the somewhat oblique acknowledgement, "...some displays were reported to have interoperability problems regarding DVI/HDCP or HDMI/HDCP."
Peter,
> Lighten up, the guys at BestBuy will fill in the blanks. <
You left out the huge sarcastic grin on this one. At least, I certainly hope so. If you didn't have your tongue in cheek, well
Richard,
a thoughful response, and your points are well-taken. Certainly, going into long-winded detail wouldn't be as relevant for an introductory article like this one, as it would a followup. However...
> To say there have been problems only scares the new HDTV buyer and without any documentation on what is incompatible with what seems irresponsible. <
while I see where you're coming from, I'd at least say that it seems just as irresponsible to expose new buyers to these potential problems with NO warning whatsoever. When they do crop up, they'll be in the worst possible position... assuming that a standard is a standard, and thus it must all work, so THEY must be doing something wrong. They could then spend a lot of frustrating time trying to resolve problems that are insurmountable, due to implementation incompatibilities beyond their control.
- Tim
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Rodolfo
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Tim, Richard,
I first wrote the tutorial article when DVI was coming to light on my 2003 HDTV report, and as you said Richard is just a tutorial with the basics to show what are the connections, The tutorial gets included in a separate section as a tutorial on each yearly report (2003, 4, 5,and now 6) to provide just an idea and some background of where those connections come from.
Additionally, on each annual report I use other sections to provide an update of how these connections are being implemented on audio and video equipment, what type of problems they have, what is recommended regarding technical requirements when looking for a product (such as having HDCP compliance, a big issue in the 2003/4 reports), etc.
In the 2006 report there is a separate large section that covers the HDMI chips, the implementation, the trends of manufactures adoption, the specifications, the issues surrounding incompatibility of HDMI suited products, the issues surrounding the new multi-channel audio hi-bit transported with HDMI, etc, etc,
Each 100 page+ report (last year 140+ those year 200+) adds a new layer of the year regarding HDMI, as issues, as upgrades, as implementation trends, organizations involved with, manufacturers using it, you name it.
This is just a section to get your lips wet with the digital connectivity wine, and as Richard said correctly:
"I think your point is valid but valid for a different article that was intended to cover the scope you are looking for."
Thanks Richard, you got it right.
That full subject is not writen as a single unit, is covered on several sections on each report, in order to have the entire picture of how the HDMI subject evolved in audio and video you need to read the 4 yearly reports, most people do not do that, most people want to get the most for free, and I find this tutorial a sitting duck for those that want all the angles covered since DVI was invented.
I appreciate Tim's concerns with how HDMI is causing some incompatibility problems on some equipment, and the tutorial was never intended to cross the line of facts of the basics of the connections with the facts of implementation problems.
I grant Tim the point that maybe we should have made clearer that this tutorial does not cover other sthan the besics. No how the magnetic field of the earth affects HDMI when implemented by Toshiba TVs connected to a Chinese gray market DVD player and create a panic with anything that has HDMI.
But I thought that was not necessary when the reading finds that I have not added any flavor, color, analysis, what-if scenarios, to the otherwise factual information anyone with the time and knowledge could have obtained in a few days of work doing research.
Sorry that you found this free service disappointing Tim, I will talk to Shane to consider removing this article from publication as an individual piece, we were planning to release the full group of digital connectivity sections of the large report to be offered for a marginal cost for people that did not want to buy the full report for that subject, and I am beginning to realize that it was certainly a mistake to offer the basic tutorial piece for free to anyone, I would not want others to find it as disappointing and as a disservice as you did Tim.
Best Regards,
Rodolfo La Maestra
I first wrote the tutorial article when DVI was coming to light on my 2003 HDTV report, and as you said Richard is just a tutorial with the basics to show what are the connections, The tutorial gets included in a separate section as a tutorial on each yearly report (2003, 4, 5,and now 6) to provide just an idea and some background of where those connections come from.
Additionally, on each annual report I use other sections to provide an update of how these connections are being implemented on audio and video equipment, what type of problems they have, what is recommended regarding technical requirements when looking for a product (such as having HDCP compliance, a big issue in the 2003/4 reports), etc.
In the 2006 report there is a separate large section that covers the HDMI chips, the implementation, the trends of manufactures adoption, the specifications, the issues surrounding incompatibility of HDMI suited products, the issues surrounding the new multi-channel audio hi-bit transported with HDMI, etc, etc,
Each 100 page+ report (last year 140+ those year 200+) adds a new layer of the year regarding HDMI, as issues, as upgrades, as implementation trends, organizations involved with, manufacturers using it, you name it.
This is just a section to get your lips wet with the digital connectivity wine, and as Richard said correctly:
"I think your point is valid but valid for a different article that was intended to cover the scope you are looking for."
Thanks Richard, you got it right.
That full subject is not writen as a single unit, is covered on several sections on each report, in order to have the entire picture of how the HDMI subject evolved in audio and video you need to read the 4 yearly reports, most people do not do that, most people want to get the most for free, and I find this tutorial a sitting duck for those that want all the angles covered since DVI was invented.
I appreciate Tim's concerns with how HDMI is causing some incompatibility problems on some equipment, and the tutorial was never intended to cross the line of facts of the basics of the connections with the facts of implementation problems.
I grant Tim the point that maybe we should have made clearer that this tutorial does not cover other sthan the besics. No how the magnetic field of the earth affects HDMI when implemented by Toshiba TVs connected to a Chinese gray market DVD player and create a panic with anything that has HDMI.
But I thought that was not necessary when the reading finds that I have not added any flavor, color, analysis, what-if scenarios, to the otherwise factual information anyone with the time and knowledge could have obtained in a few days of work doing research.
Sorry that you found this free service disappointing Tim, I will talk to Shane to consider removing this article from publication as an individual piece, we were planning to release the full group of digital connectivity sections of the large report to be offered for a marginal cost for people that did not want to buy the full report for that subject, and I am beginning to realize that it was certainly a mistake to offer the basic tutorial piece for free to anyone, I would not want others to find it as disappointing and as a disservice as you did Tim.
Best Regards,
Rodolfo La Maestra