Sony BKM Cards:
Which Card Fits Which Monitor

Three families, not one

The common shorthand — “BVM-D takes the 1xx cards, BVM-E takes the 2x cards” — is half right. Sony's CRT-era cards fall into three physical families, and the split runs through the middle of the D series:

• The 2x decoders and expanders (BKM-20D through 28X, plus 41HD, 42HD and 48X) fit the BVM-E, F and G and the 20-, 24- and 32-inch BVM-D (D20F1, D24E1W, D32E1W).
• The 1xx cards (BKM-120D, 127W, 129X, 142HD, 150CP, 155DV, 126M) fit the 9- and 14-inch BVM-D (D9H1, D9H5, D14H1, D14H5) and the single option slot on the PVM-L5 and PVM-L2.
• The BVM-A boards (BKM-61D, 62HS, 68X) fit the BVM-A only. Sony's own words: “The BVM-A Series input boards are not compatible with other earlier BVM Series monitors.”³

So a D14H5U and a D20F1U, two monitors from the same brochure, take different cards. Check the family before the model number.

Family 1 — BVM-E, F, G and the 20–32" BVM-D

The chassis: the D32E1W, D24E1W and D20F1 carry analog component (Y/PB/PR and GBR) in and out plus four option slots.² The E and F series carry a fixed RGB/component input block plus four option slots — the BVM-20E1U here has four.⁹ Sony's installation rules for the whole family, from the manual:¹ fit cards starting from the right-hand slot; install the BKM-20D or 21D last; a card or blank panel in the slot to the right of a 20D/21D can damage its shield fingers; one decoder card decodes signals arriving on any input card, because the cards share the monitor's internal bus; and only one BKM-22X may be fitted alongside a 20D/21D.

“Three digital plus three analog” for the 20D, 21D and 22X is what both Sony sources print; the physical BNC count on the plate is not confirmed here.

Family 2 — 9" and 14" BVM-D, PVM-L5 and PVM-L2

The chassis: the BVM-D14H1, D14H5, D9H1 and D9H5 have three slots, with the BKM-129X supplied as standard.² The PVM-20L5 and 14L5 have one option slot behind built-in composite, Y/C and RGB/component inputs (“the Y/C input has priority over the composite input”).⁵ The PVM-20L2, 14L2 and 9L2 have one slot, and the 9L2 needs the BKM-129X for any component input at all.⁶

Sony's own brochures disagree on some front-plate names — the BKM-120D is a “Decoder Adaptor” in the L5 brochure and an “Input Adaptor” in the D and L2 brochures; the 155DV is “DV” in one and “i.LINK” in the other. Both names are given where they differ.

Family 3 — BVM-A

The chassis: the BVM-A14F5U, A20F1U, A24E1WU and A32E1WU each have three input-board slots and no standard inputs; the boards install in any slot and any combination, all four models share the same boards, and none of them fit an earlier BVM.^{3 4} Sony's brochure and bulletins list exactly three boards — there is no BKM-63, 64 or 66.

Family 4 — the LCD and OLED era, briefly

The later boards are a different physical format again and are outside this collection's CRT focus, but they turn up in the same searches. Sony's line-up brochure prints compatibility only as “for LMD-51 series” or “for LMD-30/10 series,” so the Fits column here is as narrow as the source.⁷

Controllers and accessories

In this collection

Three of the families are on the floor here, which is how this table got checked against real plates. The BVM-20E1U has a BKM-21D fitted in one of its four slots, a BKM-24N and a BKM-20D on the shelf waiting for the right moment, and a BKM-10R controller wired to it. The BVM-A14F5U runs a BKM-62HS and a BKM-68X clone with one slot open. The PVM-20L5 has its BKM-129X. The E/F decoder cards still missing are on the wanted list; how the cards get a signal is in The Signal Chain.

Sources

Every row cites the Sony document it comes from; the two community sources (ConsoleMods, the shmups thread) are marked as such in the table. Where a brochure is the only source for a fit, the Fits column says “per Sony” and no wider claim is made.

1. Sony, BKM-20D/21D/22X/24N/25P/26M/27T/28X Installation Manual (BVM D, E, F and G series) — source
2. Sony, BVM-D Series brochure — source
3. Sony, BVM-A Series brochure (SONY51450) — source
4. Sony Electronics bulletins 05-0584 and 05-0585, November 15, 2005 — source
5. Sony, PVM-20L5 / PVM-14L5 brochure — source
6. Sony, PVM-L2 Series brochure (2003) — source
7. Sony, Professional Monitor Line-up — Optional Accessories — source
8. Sony Professional, BKM-243HS product page — source
9. ConsoleMods wiki, BVM-20E1U — source
10. ConsoleMods wiki, BKM-68X and BKM-10R — source
11. Expandore (Sony dealer), LMD accessories — source
12. shmups.system11.org, “PVM Addon Cards, are they universal?” (2023) — source
13. crtdatabase.com, Sony BKM controllers — source