VGA to DVI?

[GCee]

Is there an adapter that could convert an AIW 9600 agp card from vga to dvi?
or is this not possible?

thanks.

[ShadowVlican]

why would you want to do that? you're not getting any bonus quality, and most (if not all) DVI capable devices also have VGA inputs...

[Gee]

The output on a VGA connector is Analogue. DVI is digital. So unless the adapter has electronics to convert from Analogue to Digital, the answer is no.

But as Shadow Vlican mentioned, what do you expect to gain, your analogue will not give you more information to create a digital source.

[sonick]

The output on a VGA connector is Analogue. DVI is digital. So unless the adapter has electronics to convert from Analogue to Digital, the answer is no.Wrong.

DVI supports both analog and digital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi#Specifications

And yes, there are VGA to DVI adaptors out there (although as mentioned, they will not produce any visual gain in quality): http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=2&style=

$3.57, not too shabby.

[weedb0y]

Doesn't 9600 have DVI output?

[sonick]

Perhaps he wants to hook it up to multiple DVI sources, and all the DVI outputs have already been used.

[lazybum131]

Are there monitors that has a DVI-I input (read: analog and digital input)? If the OP has one then a straight VGA to DVI-I adapter would work.

If the DVI input on the monitor only accepts a digital signal, then no straight adapter is going to be able to take the analog signal from the VGA port and convert that into digital. You would need an actual VGA to DVI converter (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=1310).

[Cafe_333]

Wrong.

DVI supports both analog and digital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi#Specifications

And yes, there are VGA to DVI adaptors out there (although as mentioned, they will not produce any visual gain in quality): http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2396&seq=1&format=2&style=

$3.57, not too shabby.Actually Gee is right. What you linked there is a DVI to VGA adapter, not the other way around. You can down convert a digital signal to analog but you can't up convert an analog signal into a digital signal - at least not conventionally anyway. It's like trying to take an analog TV broadcast channel and up converting that into HD quality. It just can't be done.

[wushudrew]

i got a 'converter' with my 9800 pro, but it doesnt actually do any upconverting. its just there if you want to use two analog monitors (the 9800 pro has 1 analog, 1 DVI).

if if you want to use two analog monitors with a dvi card, its possible. just dont expect any improvement in image quality. not that DVI is that much of a marked improvement anyways.

[sonick]

Actually Gee is right. What you linked there is a DVI to VGA adapter, not the other way around. You can down convert a digital signal to analog but you can't up convert an analog signal into a digital signal - at least not conventionally anyway. It's like trying to take an analog TV broadcast channel and up converting that into HD quality. It just can't be done.
Okay then, what do you reckon this is used for:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2397&seq=1&format=2&style=
VGA Male to DVI-A Female.

There is ABOSLUTELY NO digital/analog or analog/digital conversion here! Its analog to analog. The A in DVI-A stands for ANALOG. Read the wiki I posted.

[Cafe_333]

Okay then, what do you reckon this is used for:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2397&seq=1&format=2&style=
VGA Male to DVI-A Female.

There is ABOSLUTELY NO digital/analog or analog/digital conversion here! Its analog to analog. The A in DVI-A stands for ANALOG. Read the wiki I posted.Yah and your point is? I never said you can't do VGA to DVI-A. You just can't make VGA into a digital DVI signal. Now I only said two things - one is that the link you posted was DVI to VGA which was really a one way digital to analog converter, and the second thing was that you can't upconvert analog to digital. Nothing wrong about those two statements. Besides, unless the OP specified DVI-A, usually when people ask about converting one signal to another by use of the term DVI it's usually understood that they are referring to a digital signal and that's the context everyone else has been going by in here.

[sonick]

You just can't make VGA into a digital DVI signal.Yeah, and what is your point? The OP wanted VGA to DVI, he did not specify whether it was DVI-A or DVI-D. Gee said that VGA was impossible to convert to DVI (also not specifying DVI-A or DVI-D), and I corrected him.

one is that the link you posted was DVI to VGA which was really a one way digital to analog converterAgain, no it is not. Both products I linked to are for DVI-A (both to, for the first link and from VGA in the second link).

the second thing was that you can't upconvert analog to digitalYou most certainly can. It just won't have any improvement. What do you think happens when people record SDTV via Composite or Svideo on their computer? If you record the file at a higher resolution than the source, you'll be upconverting it. It'll look like crap but its still upconversion.

This is stupid. If the OP does indeed have a DVI-A supported display, then my advice would be beneficial to him. If the OP has a purely DVI-D display, then Gee's comment would be helpful to him. What else is there to say? Jeez, some people just looking for a pissing match.

[Cafe_333]

Gee didn't need to specify what kind of DVI, that term is always used in the context of a digital interface unless otherwise specified. Let's not argue over the context of the term, but I really doubt when someone refers to a DVI input on an LCD that you would stop them to specifiy if it was analog or digital...

I think you might have things a little mixed up. Although the first link was not for DVI-A, it will support a DVI-A source. However, because it is male on the DVI side and female on the vga side, this makes it a one way converter. It will not take a vga signal and convert it to DVI anything.

Don't take me out of context... The context of my post is that you can't conventionally upconvert an analog signal and turn it into a digital signal. Recording tv has nothing to do with it.

If the OP has a DVI-A supported display, I don't see the point of a DVI-A adapter since there would be no improvement anyway. It may even degrade the signal quality having to go through an adapter as well. He may as well keep using the VGA cable instead. ;)

[Gee]

Okay then, what do you reckon this is used for:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2397&seq=1&format=2&style=
VGA Male to DVI-A Female.

There is ABOSLUTELY NO digital/analog or analog/digital conversion here! Its analog to analog. The A in DVI-A stands for ANALOG. Read the wiki I posted.


The DVI here is just a pass thru, it serves no purpose except to allow you to plug into a digital LCD.

My original point is that you cannot take an analogue signal and expect to convert it to digital and get a better quality signal.

I am sure GCee has an LCD that supports both analogue (15 pin) and digital (DVI) and he wants to know if he can use his existing Video card to plug into the DVI connector on his LCD hoping to get a better picture. At least this is how I read his post.

My answer is that if you purchase a VGA to DVI adapter, you will NOT get a better picture. Because the signal from is video card is Analogue. NO ADAPTER will convert to DIGITAL. Even if you did manage to find such a beast, you will not get a better signal because your source is analogue.

He is better off buying a new video card.

All video starts off as digital then gets converted to Analogue. Now he wants to convert back to Digital.

[cwb27]

Most panels that accept a DVI input are DVI-D only. So if you plugged in DVI-A it wouldn't work. (my Captain Obvious statement of the day)

[Gee]

It is strange that Analogue panels were cheaper than digital only panels. Especially since Analogue panels require more electronics (Analogue to Digital Converter) to get them to work.