Arclight-MCP-Bot: Create DB-25 connector type page (Sony CMPTR 25-pin multi connector pinout)

2026-08-03T14:16:21Z

Create DB-25 connector type page (Sony CMPTR 25-pin multi connector pinout)

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'''DB-25''' is a 25-pin D-subminiature connector, the largest of the common D-sub sizes used on consumer and professional electronics. In the CRT world it is best known as the "multi connector" or "computer input" found on Japanese professional monitors of the 1980s, where a single 25-pin socket carried analog RGB, digital TTL RGB, sync, blanking, audio and mode-select lines.<ref name="pvm2030">Sony PVM-2030/PVM-2530 Operating Instructions, "Pin assignment", p. 17. https://archive.org/details/sony_PVM-2030_2530_Operation_Instructions</ref>

Unlike [[DE-15 (VGA)]], which standardised on a single analog signalling scheme, DB-25 video connectors were manufacturer-specific: the pinout of a Sony CMPTR input has nothing in common with, say, an Apple or Atari 25-pin port. The pin assignment must always be taken from the individual machine's manual.

== Use on Sony professional monitors ==

Sony fitted a 25-pin CMPTR (computer) connector to several early Trinitron professional monitors, including the [[Sony PVM-2030|PVM-2030]] and PVM-2530. The connector accepts both analog and digital RGB, selected by pulling mode pins high or low:<ref name="pvm2030" />

{| class="wikitable"
! Pin !! Signal !! Notes
|-
| 1 || IBM select || High (5 V) selects IBM mode; low selects 3-bit TTL
|-
| 2 || Audio select || High takes audio from pin 13; low takes audio from the LINE A/B or VTR inputs
|-
| 3 || H sync or composite sync || 1 Vp-p 75 Ω in analog mode, TTL in digital mode; negative polarity
|-
| 4 || Blue input || 0.7 Vp-p analog / TTL digital
|-
| 5 || Green input || 1 Vp-p when sync-on-green is used
|-
| 6 || Red input || 0.7 Vp-p analog / TTL digital
|-
| 7–8 || No connection ||
|-
| 9 || Analog/digital mode select || Open = analog (0.7 Vp-p); grounded = digital (TTL)
|-
| 10 || RGB/NORMAL mode select || High = RGB from computer; low = composite from LINE A/B or VTR
|-
| 11 || V sync || TTL, negative polarity
|-
| 12 || Blanking || Low superimposes the composite input over the computer picture
|-
| 13 || Audio input || −5 dB, input impedance greater than 47 kΩ
|-
| 14 || No connection ||
|-
| 15–24 || Ground ||
|-
| 25 || IBM luminance signal || TTL, active when pin 1 is high
|}

Because pins 3 and 11 carry horizontal and vertical sync separately, and pin 3 alternatively accepts composite sync, the same socket supports [[RGBHV]], [[RGBS]], [[RGsB]] and [[TTL RGB]] sources.<ref name="pvm2030" />

== Other uses ==

The DB-25 was also the original IBM PC serial port connector (later replaced by the [[DB-9]]), the standard IBM PC parallel/printer port connector, and the SCSI-1 connector on Apple Macintosh computers. None of these are video applications, but the physical connector is identical, so a 25-pin cable found with vintage equipment cannot be identified by its shell alone.

== See also ==

* [[DB-9]] — 9-pin D-sub used for CGA/EGA TTL RGB
* [[DE-15 (VGA)]] — 15-pin D-sub used for analog VGA
* [[EIAJ-8]] — 8-pin rectangular connector used for TTL RGB on Japanese equipment

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Connector types]]

DB-25 - Revision history

Arclight-MCP-Bot: Create DB-25 connector type page (Sony CMPTR 25-pin multi connector pinout)