What is a VGA Cable Used For?
VGA is the oldest among the connections present on the market. It is commonly used to connect the computer to the monitor, but it can also establish the connection between the PC and the TV or two other displays. Your main competitor is the HDMI cable. Its name originates from the English “video graphics Array” which, in free translation, means standard video graphics.
What connection choose? HDMI, VGA, DVI or DisplayPort?
The analog cable was invented by IBM in 1987. The original model could play from 16 to 256 colors with a maximum resolution of 640 × 480 pixels, representing a major breakthrough at the time. Over time, other versions were created and enhanced, but the terminology remained. This is largely due to the connector, whose correct name is D-SUB or DB connector. They can be found in various sizes, but the most used are the 10-meter VGA.
Connectors
The connectors come in male and female versions, and appear both in cables and video cards. The “males” have 15 pins, distributed in three rows of five, which fit in the holes present in the “female” plug. Moreover, they usually have two screws, one on each side, allowing them to better fix these two parts.
There is a wide variety of available VGA cables. Some more sophisticated models offer gold-clad plugs or interference shielding. However, this does not represent much difference in image quality. The main recommendation at the time of purchase is not in the confectionery material but on the extension of the cord. The lower the cable, the better, because there is less signal degradation.
The end of an era
After 27 years, the VGA cables are progressively falling into disuse. It is still possible to find them on the current computers, but the new TV sets are no longer supported.
On the other hand, recent televisions are widely used to use the HDMI cable. The model guarantees digital video and sound transmission in high quality, being the most present currently in TVs and computers. The default is taking the place of VGA, already coming on boards offboard and onboard.
Technologies, such as DisplayPort and DVI, also fulfill a similar function. The first only connects computers to monitors, with image transmission of up to 3840 x 2160 pixels. Already the DVI plays 1920 x 1200 pixels on a screen and, as it does not send audio, it is also not indicated for connectivity with TVs.
Pricing and Availability
Although it’s coming out of line, it’s easy to find VGA cables for sale. The basic models with DB connectors cost, on average, R $10. In this group, the male-male, female, and male-female cables are included.
The USB-VGA models are a bit more expensive, with prices rotating around the R $50. There are also VGA-HDMI cables in the range of R $30, but they don’t work.
Remember that VGA is analog and HDMI is digital? For the signal to change, you need a converter. Fortunately, there are sim models of cables with converters, but then they cost R $80, roughly. The cheaper versions will connect to the devices, but do not perform the signal conversion.
