[PLUG] 6 bit VS 8 bit DVI

[Wayne E. Van Loon Sr.]

Galen Seitz wrote:
> Wayne E. Van Loon Sr. wrote:
>   
>> I have both DVI and VGA outputs on a video card. When I blissfully 
>> switched to a DVI cable on my Hanns-G flat panel, the sharpness of the 
>> screen was noticeably reduced. I was told that there was a 6 bit DVI 
>> cable and a later 8 bit DVI cable and that I probably had the 6 bit 
>> cable. Doing a quick search on DVI cables I discover that there are at 
>> least DVI-D Single link and dual link; DVI-A; and DVI-I Single Link and 
>> Dual Link cable types.
>>     
>
> The 6/8 bit stuff sounds bogus to me.  There are specs for what is 
> called single and dual link cables.  A dual link cable is needed for 
> high resolutions at high refresh rates(1,920 × 1,080 @ 85 Hz, for 
> example) or for high pixel depths(>24 bpp).  In most instances dual 
> link is not needed, but I suspect that you would find that most cables 
> are DVI-D dual link anyway.
>
> My best guess as to your sharpness issue is either a poor quality 
> cable or the LCD not being driven at its native resolution.
>   
Galen:
I've been real busy and just have not got back to the system that I 
tried a DVI cable with to make any further tests / observations, but 
think I may have found out what the fellow was trying to tell me about 8 
bit VS 6 bit DVI.

As I understood him, he was telling me it was a difference in the 
cables, but after looking further, it seems as though some LCD monitors 
only use 6 bits of DVI color information and "dither" surrounding 
pixels.  See the article at the link below.

http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/LCDColor.htm

I should try DVI with a better monitor.

Wayne