To some, connecting their projectors to their screens in the church is really a simple matter. The most popular choice seems to be HDMI. Since we all use HDMI to connect our DVD players to our television, transmitting both audio and video, it seems conventional and logical enough to simply hook up our projection system up with some HDMI chords in church. People often consider using DVIs and VGAs as what was “It” years ago and so, they are outdated and not preferable. If you take a closer look at all the three, however, what you will find might surprise you.

HDMI

To start with, let us consider HDMI. There are some pros when you are working with HDMI. It has just one connector and it transmits both video and audio at once. It is also able to show resolution of up to 2560×1600 (WQXGA) with version 1.3. Fans of HDMI might be clapping their hands, telling people next to them how HDMI is the best. Hold on a bit, if you can. HDMIs come with their shortcomings too. HDMI is quite convenient when you are at home since your TVs are often close to the DVD players. In church, however, this is not the case. Oftentimes, the projector in the church is quite far from where the computer is. HDMI experts say that the specs for HDMI allow for cables to run a maximum 32 feet. Many times in church, the distance between the computer and the projector is often far longer than that.  The distance problem of the HDMI can be solved by using something called the balun which is an abbreviation for balance and unbalance. What the balun does is that it allows for signals to be sent over longer distances by changing it. The balun does this by using the Cat5. To do this. When the signal is being changed by the balun, there is a receiver that gets the signal changed back to the normal transmission.

DVI

If you do not have access to a balun, you might want to reconsider your opinion about the DVI. Unlike the HDMI, this supposedly ancient connecter can transmit signals up to fifty feet. Unlike the HDMI, the DVI does not need a two-way system to employ a copy protection scheme. One key thing you need to know is that knowing the type of DVI that you are using is quite important. A DVI cable sometimes transmits just only digital signals or a combination of digital and analog signals. If, however, your DVI comes with a dual-link signal, you should make sure that all the necessary pins are in place to ensure the signal is connected to the chain at the other end.

Of the three, perhaps the DVI is the most dynamic as the digital part of the signal can run on the HDMI and the analog can run on the VGA cable. Of course, both cases have limitations but a computer that has DVI can run projectors that are either VGA connected projector or HDMI projector.

In a world where digital is king, analog is often looked at with discrimination. While there are several advantages of digital, one great advantage of analog is its graceful degradation. You will find that the image quality dropped on televisions with analog signals progressively. You could decide the point where you could not accept the quality or not. Digital on the other hand simply stops whenever there isn’t enough signal.

VGA

Also called RGB-HV, the VGA is easily the cable that is capable of running the longest distances. You won’t look hard before finding a hundred foot long VGA. On top of that, you can make the distance longer with baluns and boosters. Since VGAs are longer and the degradation is often more subtly, VGAs might be the best solution for setting up projectors in churches. In smaller spaces however, you will find HDMI better to use. You Cn opt for your own PrimeCables VGA cable to see the difference.

Bottom Line

If you are in church and you are wondering the best way to set up your projector, perhaps VGA might be your best choice over long distances. If your projector isn’t far from your computer, you could use the HDMI, with or without a booster or a balun and not worry about degrading image quality.