dual link

Dual-Link is an operating mode of Digital Visual Interface( DVI) for the support of high- resolution displays. Dual-Link was specified by the Video Electronics Standards Association( VESA). It can be used for high-resolution displays as well as for two monitors with normal resolution.

DVI specifies a data rate of 3.7 Gbit/s for a single- link connection and 7.4 Gbit/s for dual-link. The respective resolution can be determined via the data rate, which is the product of vertical resolution, horizontal resolution, color depth and refresh rate.

In general, it can be assumed that displays with a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 pixels, a color depth of 24 bits and a refresh rate of 60 Hz can be displayed with single link, while resolutions in QWXGA format with 2,560 x 1,600 pixels and higher resolutions can only be displayed with dual link. The display of WQUXGA with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,400 pixels also exceeds the capabilities of dual-link; for this and higher resolutions, two dual-link connections must be used.