Video/Audio Connectors - General Questions!

[fspro]

Hi!
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place to ask this, but I really didn't find any other place that fitted better!

I'm having a kind of small presentation in school which includes some connectors I have to specify and talk about. But there are some things I dont know and I didn't find any good answers to this anywhere so it would be really appreciated and helpful if any of you might know the answers! Some of my questions might seem a bit "dumb" though...

- DVI is basically a better and newer version of VGA, and transmits digital video instead of analog. But since VGA is so old now, and even DVI has been "succeeded" by connectors like HDMI, then why is VGA still used? I see new laptops coming out now (and some TVs I think (?)), still with VGA-ports. Is this just because it used on old equipment some people still have? This kinda seems "dumb and old" to me! Can't people just use VGA-DVI-adapters?

- And can USB-cables easily transmit approximately the same digital video from ex. laptops to projectors as HDMI can?

- And this also might seem like a dumb question, im not sure (lol), but why haven't HDMI taken over all of the video transmitting? Would kinda be a lot easier? Every one who then has equipment with only DVI/VGA-ports could just get/buy adapters?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Calculagator]

You say that DVI is better than VGA: why? What advantages do DVI and HDMI present to the average user? How much do you think the average user would be willing to spend to obtain those advantages?
Has all of the equipment that uses VGA ceased to function correctly? What would you say are the compelling reasons to upgrade the old equipment?
Look up the cost and size of digital/analog video converters and you should quickly see why people may not want to use them.

For USB-if you try to use USB for video output, you will quickly learn the answer to your own question.

Wikipedia has good articles on the different connectors you are considering. You should look there as a starting point for finding more detailed answers.

Your questions are not "dumb" but they do indicate that you haven't put enough thought/effort into your research.

 

[ssddx]

agreed. this really isnt the place to be getting homework question answers as the questions above are pretty easily answered by actually spending time doing research and that we generally frown on people looking for easy answers to homework questions.

though i suppose i could throw you a bone and point you in the right direction...

transfer rates http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bit_rates
video bitrates http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncompressed_video
connectors http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_connectors
converters http/www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=active+vga+to+dvi&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aactive+vga+to+dvi
dual link dvi http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

the info you want is on those articles. its up to you to find it.

 

[americanaudiophile]

You don't mention HDMI-MHL, Thunderbolt, and Displayport connections either so there are even more video types. It's typical in a presentation environment to try to accommodate any connection that might be needed even ones that are kind of dated like VGA. If you can't get the newest one to work the old ones act as backups. You can't expect your presenter to have the latest device or carry adapters with them.
Video over USB requires drivers and compatible hardware so you pretty much never see it in that situation.