A gadget known as a converter makes it possible for one type of hardware to be used with another type of hardware that would otherwise not be functional. Electrical adapters, video adapters, audio adapters, and network adapters are a few types of adapters.

For example, an electrical converter might change the inbound power from 120V to 12V, making it appropriate for a radio or other tiny electronic device. The inbound electrical discharge could effectively damage the device's interior components if voltage regulation wasn't provided by a converter. The socket at the extremity of the electrical cable is usually equipped with converters. Anytime a socket is encircled by a sizable tube, it's probably an electrical adaptor. The input and exit voltages are usually written right on the converter. A gadget with a built-in voltage converter usually has an adapter that is not attached to the end of its electrical cord. For instance, the adaptor is frequently included in the internal power source of desktop laptops.

Audio and video converters convert one style of connection to another type of input. For instance, a DVI to VGA converter enables you to link a laptop's DVI output to a projector's VGA input. While the majority of PCs have 1/8" "minijacks" for audio input and output, most professional audio equipment uses 1/4" audio connectors. As a result, audio is frequently imported into PCs using 1/4" to 1/8" audio converters. Similarly, music from a computer can be transmitted to a hi-fi system using a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor. There are hundreds of audio and video converters accessible because there are so many different audio and video ports.

Network adapters are another name for network devices, or NICs. These consist of exterior wireless antennas, internal Wi-Fi processors, and Ethernet devices. These gadgets allow computers to link to networks even though they do not transform communications like audio or video converters do. The network card functions as an adaptor because it enables connection to a network that would not otherwise be suitable. Similar to how video cards transform a video stream into a picture that can be viewed on a computer, they are also referred to as video converters.