Monitor Questions

[PT]

I just acquired a new 19 inch flat screen display. It has two wrinkles I've
never encountered on previous CRT or flat screen displays I've used:

1. It comes with both a normal 15 pin data cable, but also a "DVI cable.
Installation instructions are to install one or the other. I used the 15
pin. What is DVI?

2. It also comes with a USB cable which I connected up. None of my earlier
monitors used USB. What is its purpose?

 

[Peter A. Stavrakoglou]

I just acquired a new 19 inch flat screen display. It has two wrinkles I've
never encountered on previous CRT or flat screen displays I've used:

1. It comes with both a normal 15 pin data cable, but also a "DVI cable.
Installation instructions are to install one or the other. I used the 15
pin. What is DVI?

2. It also comes with a USB cable which I connected up. None of my earlier
monitors used USB. What is its purpose?

A DVI (digital video interface) is the newer type of connection found
on newer video cards. If your video card had a DVI connection, you
could use it instead of the VGA connector you used.

As for the USB cable, my guess is that you have some USB ports on your
monitor. Check your user manual.

 

[RobertVA]

When a flat pannel is connected to a VGA connector the video card has to
translate the image to an analog format. The circutry in the flat panel then
has to translate the analog signal back to a digital format to operate the
LCD panel. When the DVI connector is used the conversions are less
complicated and since it doesn't get transmitted in an analog format it is
less vulnerable to interference.

I'm less familiar with the USB aspect. Does your display have speakers? If
the display has speakers the USB might serve to feed digital audio to them.
Otherwise I can only imagine they are utilized to relay data not related to
the image betwen the display and the computer. Could be for power management
or to allow the computer to respond to controls on the display.

 

[PT]

The monitor has a USB port. Unfortunately the documentation is limited to a
bunch of pictures with short descriptions in abbout eight languages, and
nothing about the purpose of the USB. I'm happy with the monitor. I was
just curious about why I suddenly need USB input as well as the normal video
data.

--
PT

A DVI (digital video interface) is the newer type of connection found
on newer video cards. If your video card had a DVI connection, you
could use it instead of the VGA connector you used.

As for the USB cable, my guess is that you have some USB ports on your
monitor. Check your user manual.

 

[RA]

You don't need to connect the USB connector unless you want to use the USB
port on your monitor.