DVI vs. VGA

I have two monitors for my Photoshop computer. A semi-decent one for working on images and an indecent one for setting Photoshop palettes aside, running media player, etc..

The video card has one VGA output and one DVI. Is there any reason to choose one over the other for my main monitor?

Pete D.

The quick answer is if you have a choice I would go with DVI. With a VGA cable the data is converted to analog to be sent to the monitor then the monitor converts it back to digital. DVI depending on the type of DVI unfortunately is all digital. If you want to know more detail here is a pretty good comparison page.

http://www.thesmallest.com/lessonettes/dviandvga.html

It would depend on your monitors. A CRT monitor should be connected to the VGA output and an LCD monitor should be connected to the DVI ouput, if both are LCD's then connect the main monitor to the DVI ouput and the monitor for your paletts to the VGA.

It sounds like DVI is the way to go. Just curious though, this LCD monitor has a built in VGA cable, whereas the DVI cable is a separate accessory. Perhaps because some computers only have VGA?

Pete D.

Then again, it appears that there is no contrast adjustment when I use the DVI input! I haven't confirmed that this is true, but I did find a reference to this for other Dell monitors. I can check when I get home tonight. Contrast adjustment is part of my calibration routine.

Pete D.

Pete - With regard to changing contrast on LCDs during calibration, you might want to read this thread on NatureScapes.

Thanks David. Feeding into the VGA port of the monitor didn't change my situation anyhow, so the advice is that thread (ie - don't mess with contrast anyhow) seems right on.