[mythtv-users] Why do they put VGA on Mother Boards anymore?

[Robert Johnston]

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 10:13 AM, Rich West <Rich.West at wesmo.com> wrote:
> Richard Bronosky wrote:
>  > Am I missing something here?  It seems to me that any mobo with "DVI"
>  > is actually DVI-I, meaning that it has both analog and digital.  This
>  > allows the use of a DVI->VGA cable.  So, I'm forced to wonder, why are
>  > hardware manufacturers in the year 2008 throwing away the digital
>  > signal and only providing access to the post D/A processed outcome?
>  > You can't [easily] buy a display that is analog only.  So, why is it
>  > so hard to by a mobo that is NOT analog only?
>  >
>  > I'm looking for an Intel G965 chipset mobo for a dedicated [digital
>  > A/V only] HD frontend system.  (based on
>  > http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200802-green.ars/2 from Ars
>  > Technica)  But I can't find anything that is not VGA only!
>  >
>  > This is crazy!
>
>
>  The same question can be asked with regards to the serial, parallel, and
>  ps/2 ports.

Most motherboards have dropped serial and parallel ports now. If
you're lucky, you'll get a header on the board for serial, but that's
it.

Server boards, however, usually do have a serial port on them. Mostly
because large hosting companies and rackmount systems use serial for
monitoring systems, rather than having to run KVM's to every single
system.

>  Unfortunately, the manufacturers all aim for the lowest common
>  denominator, and, thus, attempt to support everything and anything that
>  is legacy.  While you cannot easily buy an analog only display, there
>  still are analog-only displays out there.  They don't want to
>  potentially alienate a market segment (those with older monitors but
>  looking to upgrade anyhow, or those older KVM switches for the small
>  office environments, etc) which would mean less potential revenue from
>  sales.
>
>  I agree, though.. it doesn't provide much benefit to the modern consumer.

Even if you're aiming for the "Lowest Common Denominator", a
Motherboard manufacturer can still use DVI on the backplane, and
simply bundle a DVI->VGA adapter (And/or a DVI->HDMI adapter) to suit
the people who still have the old technology around. So why they don't
is totally beyond me.
-- 
Robert "Anaerin" Johnston