What Is An Active Adapter?

An active adapter is a type of electronic device that converts signals from one type of video or data interface to another by using additional circuitry or a chip to actively process and translate the signal. Active adapters are commonly used in scenarios where the source device and the display or peripheral use incompatible signal types, such as converting a digital signal to an analog signal (or vice versa) or adapting between different digital formats.

This contrasts with passive adapters, which only redirect or rearrange signal pins without modifying the actual signal, and therefore require both devices to natively support the same signal type.