LVDS stands for Low Voltage Differential Signaling, which is a technical standard that specifies electrical characteristics of a differential, serial signaling standard. It is a high-speed, long-distance digital interface for serial communication that uses differential signals with low voltage swings to transmit data at high rates. LVDS is a differential signaling system, meaning that it transmits information as the difference between the voltages on a pair of wires; the two wire voltages are compared at the receiver.

LVDS was introduced in 1994 and has become popular in products such as LCD-TVs, in-car entertainment systems, industrial cameras and machine vision, notebook and tablet computers, and communications systems. The typical applications are high-speed video, graphics, video camera data transfers, and general-purpose computer buses. LVDS is a physical layer only, which means that it is purely electrical with no protocol for transferring data.

LVDS is used in myriad applications, including LCD monitors, network and peripheral devices, A/V equipment, and automotive systems. LVDS has become the solution for many applications that demand low power consumption and high noise immunity for high data rates. Since its standardization under ANSI/TIA/EIA-644, LVDS has been implemented in a diverse set of applications and industries.

LVDS is a popular interface because it can be used virtually any time theres a need to transport a signal from one point to another. LVDS can be easily migrated to lower supply voltages such as +3.3V, +2.5V, or even lower while still maintaining the same signaling levels and performance. Compared to other differential signaling standards, such as positive-referenced emitter-coupled logic (PECL), LVDS provides a more scalable approach in terms of voltage.