Connections

• Monitors based on cathode ray tube technology (CRT) exclusively used analog connections. CRT technology dates to the first television. An analog monitor connects to the computer graphics card through a video graphics array (VGA) cable. Liquid crystal displays (LCD) and flat-panel monitors traditionally include both analog and the superior digital connections.
  
  

Signal Transmission

• A graphics card connected to a CRT monitor sends a digital signal through a VGA cable, which converts the signal to analog. Analog monitors then convert the signal into an image. A digital visual interface cable (DVI), commonly used with LCD monitors, transmits picture data digitally from computer to the monitor without converting the native signal.
  
  

Considerations

• Changing a digital signal to an analog signal degrades the overall image quality. Increases in distortion, changes in color quality and decreased picture crispness occur when using an analog connection. Digital monitors use a video card's native resolution and look sharper because no image quality is lost during transmission. LCD monitors also allow widescreen images. If viewing a widescreen image on a CRT monitor edges of an image will not be visible.