Are VGA (D-sub) connections THAT bad?

[DigitalHermit]

Hey there,

 

I've been wondering... I've seen a lot of hate on the VGA connectors...

 

Are they THAT bad? I mean they do output quite well (in my case), and I have no choice but VGA right now...

 

Can you clarify on this for me...

 

 

Thanks in advance...

[Clyne]

No, their not bad. Sometimes i use VGA on my old pc because it only displays VGA. But VGA is analog, displayport, dvi, and hdmi are digital. 

[Levent]

colors are really oversaturated when i use vga, it hurts my eyes

[Enderman]

colors are really oversaturated when i use vga, it hurts my eyes

That's not a VGA problem. That's just you not knowing how to colour calibrate a display.

[Enderman]

VGA is not horrible. It's just an old standard that should be replaced, since its limited to small resolutions such as 1200p or something.

It's also analogue and can have interference if the cable is not shielded properly.

It works perfectly fine for 1080p 60Hz, you will notice no difference from DVI, HDMI, or DP as long as you have a good quality shielded cable.

[Aniallation]

Hey there,

 

I've been wondering... I've seen a lot of hate on the VGA connectors...

 

Are they THAT bad? I mean they do output quite well (in my case), and I have no choice but VGA right now...

 

Can you clarify on this for me...

 

 

Thanks in advance...

Interference is the main issue, something that doesn't happen with HDMI/DVI or DisplayPort 

[DigitalHermit]

Interference is the main issue, something that doesn't happen with HDMI/DVI or DisplayPort 

 

How much interference are we talking about?

 

Also, I'm currently using a cheap cable but I don't notice any interference...

 

I can understand it happening over a large distance and in close proximity to high-current-carrying-lines...

[terrytek]

I still use a 1080P VGA flatscreen LCD monitor.

 

How much interference are we talking about?

 

Also, I'm currently using a cheap cable but I don't notice any interference...

 

I can understand it happening over a large distance and in close proximity to high-current-carrying-lines...

Not much. 

[Aniallation]

How much interference are we talking about?

 

Also, I'm currently using a cheap cable but I don't notice any interference...

 

I can understand it happening over a large distance and in close proximity to high-current-carrying-lines...

 

Not a lot, but it's still an analog signal. To put this into greater perspective, remember those RF cables? The single-pin screw-on cables used for cable TV? Those things were when the quality of the cable actually mattered a lot, they had so much interference especially on cheap cables because they were thin, they ran over a long distance, and ran right next to your home's power lines within the walls. 

 

Now looking back to VGA, it's still an analogue interface, so interference like that is still possible. Obviously not as extreme, but totally possible, and it's noticeable compared to digital even in short distances when using crappy, loose, or damaged cables. However if you're using a good cable then you're likely still going to get a good signal, however with a digital interface, 0 interference is pretty much guaranteed, and the quality of the cable generally doesn't matter. You're more then likely not to notice the difference between a $5 HDMI cable you order online vs the same length Monster Cable that costs $200. They're both transmitting the same digital signals, with the same level of interference, and level is zero.

[NationsAnarchy]

VGA connections are analog, so the quality and things related aren't that great. I wouldn't say they're bad. It's something so popular that probably you will encounter like 95% of all the time.

[ForsakenLive]

That's not a VGA problem. That's just you not knowing how to colour calibrate a display.

It actually has worst color, the signal degrades with length (which is very short) and it supports less colors.

[DigitalHermit]

Not a lot, but it's still an analog signal. To put this into greater perspective, remember those RF cables? The single-pin screw-on cables used for cable TV? Those things were when the quality of the cable actually mattered a lot, they had so much interference especially on cheap cables because they were thin, they ran over a long distance, and ran right next to your home's power lines within the walls. 

 

Now looking back to VGA, it's still an analogue interface, so interference like that is still possible. Obviously not as extreme, but totally possible, and it's noticeable compared to digital even in short distances when using crappy, loose, or damaged cables. However if you're using a good cable then you're likely still going to get a good signal, however with a digital interface, 0 interference is pretty much guaranteed, and the quality of the cable generally doesn't matter. You're more then likely not to notice the difference between a $5 HDMI cable you order online vs the same length Monster Cable that costs $200. They're both transmitting the same digital signals, with the same level of interference, and level is zero.

 

I still use RCA (for my PS1 and PS2) connectors if that's what you're talking about... I can see the interference once the cable is worn and the plugs and sockets are corroded...

 

But won't this issue also occur with digital signals? As far as I can remember (from my early engineering classes), there is some margin of error in digital (1s and 0s are represented in voltage values) and sometimes interference can push the values beyond the margin of error...

[Fred Castellum]

I'm using a VGA connection for my 2nd monitor right now because that's the only connection that works with it. 

 

It's not really good for color accuracy but it works just fine as a browser window display.

[Aniallation]

I still use RCA (for my PS1 and PS2) connectors if that's what you're talking about... I can see the interference once the cable is worn and the plugs and sockets are corroded...

 

But won't this issue also occur with digital signals? As far as I can remember (from my early engineering classes), there is some margin of error in digital (1s and 0s are represented in voltage values) and sometimes interference can push the values beyond the margin of error...

 

Well RCA is a lot lower bandwidth then what RF has to carry, it's also a lot shorter difference and less subjective to interference (my PS1 actually had a choke around the RCA cable)

 

The thing is that its a LOT less likely to get interference with digital signals. You'll have to get really extreme with sources of interference to screw it up. 

 

At the end of the day, there's nothing wrong with VGA. People just hate it cause... it's old.

[Enderman]

It actually has worst color, the signal degrades with length (which is very short) and it supports less colors.

BTW I switched from VGA to HDMI on a standard 8 bit 1080p 60hz display and it looks exactly the same. It was a 15ft shielded VGA cable too.

 

As if 32 bit panels even existed...

[DigitalHermit]

bandicam 2014-08-09 21-50-34-042.jpg

As if 32 bit panels even existed...

 

I think it's referring to 32-bit rendering output but the monitors will approximate to 10/8bit... (but that's just my speculation)

[Enderman]

I think it's referring to 32-bit rendering output but the monitors will approximate to 10/8bit... (but that's just my speculation)

Yes that is correct. And VGA can do up to 18 bit colour which is far more than necessary for a 8 or 10 bit display.

[ForsakenLive]

BTW I switched from VGA to HDMI on a standard 8 bit 1080p 60hz display and it looks exactly the same. It was a 15ft shielded VGA cable too.

 

bandicam 2014-08-09 21-50-34-042.jpg

As if 32 bit panels even existed...

 

VGA requires a DAC to send the signal, similar to audio DACs but for video, this adds another point of quality lowering on the final image. Basically colors look slightly more faded, but that can be subject to further degradation thanks to the possibility of interference messing with the signals. In different scenarios with light variations on the room and the ability of the monitor to represent colors there will be more or less difference on the final output.

 

More information: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/23769.aspx

[DEAMONFROST]

My experience with vga has been super horrible.

Had a 1280x1024 22" tube monitor a long while ago, I had the best monitor out of everyone i knew.

Vga was the standard for high end monitors back then so this was nothing od to have to do but because of the analog input you had to calibrate the monitor to make all of your window show on screen and i probably spent hours adjusting the colors.

The cables broke one after another.

Sometimes i had to reach behind the monitor to adjust the cable because the image would get distorted.

Because i attended so many lan parties i bent so many pins that i got used to bringing a bag with extra stuff like cables and even tools to fix stuff with.

My father got a widescreen vga 1680x1050 monitor It had the same issues and i had to configure that to him.

A year ago i got a triple monitor setup with three lg 27ea73 monitors but i had bought the wrong cable for one of them so i had to use one of the included vga cables with a adapter for a while.

The color reproduction on that monitor sucked compared to the other two no matter how much i tried to fix it and the response time was very noticeably higher.

Also a digital to analog adapter brings out even more interference than just the vga cable and if you have a gpu that is able to game on, Good luck not using an adapter.