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60-517: VESA BIOS Extensions ( VBE ) is a VESA standard, currently at version 3, that defines the interface that can be used by software to access compliant video boards at high resolutions and bit depths. This is opposed to the "traditional" INT 10h BIOS calls, which are limited to resolutions of 640×480 pixels with 16 colour (4-bit) depth or less. VBE is made available through the video card's BIOS , which installs some interrupt vectors that point to itself during boot up . Most newer cards implement

120-467: A 4:3 aspect ratio and some had 5:4 . Between 2003 and 2006, monitors with 16:9 and mostly 16:10 (8:5) aspect ratios became commonly available, first in laptops and later also in standalone monitors. Reasons for this transition included productive uses (i.e. field of view in video games and movie viewing) such as the word processor display of two standard letter pages side by side, as well as CAD displays of large-size drawings and application menus at

180-412: A DTA box may be needed to use a computer monitor as a TV set. Early electronic computer front panels were fitted with an array of light bulbs where the state of each particular bulb would indicate the on/off state of a particular register bit inside the computer. This allowed the engineers operating the computer to monitor the internal state of the machine, so this panel of lights came to be known as

240-408: A color triangle . Some of these triangles are smaller than the sRGB triangle, some are larger. Colors are typically encoded by 8 bits per primary color. The RGB value [255, 0, 0] represents red, but slightly different colors in different color spaces such as Adobe RGB and sRGB. Displaying sRGB-encoded data on wide-gamut devices can give an unrealistic result. The gamut is a property of the monitor;

300-618: A graphics adapter that allows the display to communicate its specifications to the adapter. The standard was created by VESA . Provides hardware independent means for operating system and application to read and write data over I²C serial control interface. Although mode number is a 16-bit value, the optional VBE mode numbers are 14 bits wide. Bit 15 is used by VGA BIOS as a flag to clear or preserve display memory. VBE defined mode numbers as follows: Starting in VBE/Core 2.0, VESA no longer defines new VESA mode numbers and no longer requires

360-510: A picture , video or working space, without obstruction from the bezel or other aspects of the unit's design. The main measurements for display devices are width, height, total area and the diagonal. The size of a display is usually given by manufacturers diagonally, i.e. as the distance between two opposite screen corners. This method of measurement is inherited from the method used for the first generation of CRT television when picture tubes with circular faces were in common use. Being circular, it

420-533: A visual display , support electronics, power supply, housing , electrical connectors , and external user controls. The display in modern monitors is typically an LCD with LED backlight , having by the 2010s replaced CCFL backlit LCDs. Before the mid-2000s, most monitors used a cathode-ray tube (CRT) as the image output technology. A monitor is typically connected to its host computer via DisplayPort , HDMI , USB-C , DVI , or VGA . Monitors sometimes use other proprietary connectors and signals to connect to

480-659: A computer, which is less common. Originally computer monitors were used for data processing while television sets were used for video. From the 1980s onward, computers (and their monitors) have been used for both data processing and video, while televisions have implemented some computer functionality. In the 2000s, the typical display aspect ratio of both televisions and computer monitors changed from 4:3 to 16:9. Modern computer monitors are often functionally interchangeable with television sets and vice versa. As most computer monitors do not include integrated speakers , TV tuners , or remote controls, external components such as

540-703: A device to implement the old numbers. To properly detect information of a screen mode, use Function 01h - Return VBE Mode Information . Mode 81FFh is a special video mode designed to preserve current memory contents and give access to the entire video memory. Beginning with the VBE 2.0 standard, no new modes will be defined by VESA, and old modes are no longer mandatory. The use of defined modes should be considered deprecated: modern video cards may or may not use these mode numbers (even though most do for backward compatibility), and modern software should not use them. The correct way for software to discover available display modes

600-449: A monitor with a graphics tablet . Such devices are typically unresponsive to touch without the use of one or more special tools' pressure. Newer models however are now able to detect touch from any pressure and often have the ability to detect tool tilt and rotation as well. Touch and tablet sensors are often used on sample and hold displays such as LCDs to substitute for the light pen , which can only work on CRTs. The option for using

660-427: A single number specifying the size and was not confusing when the aspect ratio was universally 4:3. With the introduction of flat-panel technology, the diagonal measurement became the actual diagonal of the visible display. This meant that an eighteen-inch LCD had a larger viewable area than an eighteen-inch cathode-ray tube. Estimation of monitor size by the distance between opposite corners does not take into account

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720-413: A time period on standby. Most modern laptops provide a method of screen dimming after periods of inactivity or when the battery is in use. This extends battery life and reduces wear. Most modern monitors have two different indicator light colors wherein if video-input signal was detected, the indicator light is green and when the monitor is in power-saving mode, the screen is black and the indicator light

780-423: A variety of methods for mounting them depending on the application and environment. A desktop monitor is typically provided with a stand from the manufacturer which lifts the monitor up to a more ergonomic viewing height. The stand may be attached to the monitor using a proprietary method or may use, or be adaptable to, a VESA mount. A VESA standard mount allows the monitor to be used with more after-market stands if

840-852: Is 1400 × 1050 The VESA BIOS emulation in the Parallels virtual machine has a different set of non-standard VESA modes. As of build 3214, LRMI vbetest reveals these modes: The VESA BIOS emulation in the VirtualBox virtual machine has a different set of non-standard VESA modes. As of 6.1.38_Ubuntu build r153438, the VESA BIOS function AX=0x4F01 reveals these modes (See also VBETables-gen.c ): (0104h) (0106h) (0146h) (0100h) (0101h) (0103h) (0105h) (0148h) (0107h) (010dh) (0110h) (0113h) (0116h) (0149h) (0119h) (010eh) (0111h) (0114h) (0117h) VESA In November 1988, NEC Home Electronics announced its creation of

900-414: Is 1920 × 1080 , shared with the 1080p of HDTV. Before 2013 mass market LCD monitors were limited to 2560 × 1600 at 30 in (76 cm), excluding niche professional monitors. By 2015 most major display manufacturers had released 3840 × 2160 ( 4K UHD ) displays, and the first 7680 × 4320 ( 8K ) monitors had begun shipping. Every RGB monitor has its own color gamut , bounded in chromaticity by

960-404: Is a hardware standard that allows graphics cards to communicate with DPMS-compliant monitors via a special signalling system that can be used with existing graphics controllers and monitor cables. This signalling system allows the graphics card to tell the monitor to go into a number of different power management or power saving states, which effectively allow the monitor to turn itself off when it

1020-635: Is a variant of LCD which is now the dominant technology used for computer monitors. The first standalone LCDs appeared in the mid-1990s selling for high prices. As prices declined they became more popular, and by 1997 were competing with CRT monitors. Among the first desktop LCD computer monitors were the Eizo FlexScan L66 in the mid-1990s, the SGI 1600SW , Apple Studio Display and the ViewSonic VP140 in 1998. In 2003, LCDs outsold CRTs for

1080-599: Is common that a driver thunk out to the real mode interrupt in order to initialize screen modes and gain direct access to a card's linear frame buffer , because these tasks would otherwise require handling many hundreds of proprietary variations that exist from card to card. In EFI 1.x systems, the INT 10H and the VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE) are replaced by the EFI UGA protocol. In widely used UEFI 2.x systems,

1140-664: Is completely optional for graphics adapter manufacturers. As vendors are free to utilize whatever additional values they please, this means that, in the table below, the modes denoted in red (and expressed in decimal form) may not apply to every graphics adapter ! 1: 32-bit is really (8:8:8:8), but the final 8-bit number is an "empty" alpha channel. It is otherwise equal to 24-bit colour. Many GPUs use 32-bit colour mode instead of 24-bit mode merely for faster video memory access through 32-bit memory alignment. VGA= 864 [ 352 (0160h)] also appears to select 1280 ×800 (8-bit) for various laptops' displays. VGA= 834 [ 322 (0142h)]

1200-427: Is defined to work under 32-bit protected mode. Despite the widespread adoption of VBE Core, very few devices support VBE/AF. The FreeBE/AF project implements free third-party VBE/AF drivers for certain graphics cards. Supplemental specifications provides device independent interface between application software and Super VGA hardware. Function numbers are assigned by VESA Software Standards Committee (SSC). DPMS

1260-617: Is imparted, reducing geometric distortion, especially in extremely large and wide seamless desktop monitors intended for close viewing range. Newer monitors are able to display a different image for each eye , often with the help of special glasses and polarizers, giving the perception of depth. An autostereoscopic screen can generate 3D images without headgear. Features for medical using or for outdoor placement. Narrow viewing angle screens are used in some security-conscious applications. Integrated screen calibration tools, screen hoods, signal transmitters; Protective screens. A combination of

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1320-503: Is implemented on most modern flat-panel monitors and TVs. For computer monitors, the VESA Mount typically consists of four threaded holes on the rear of the display that will mate with an adapter bracket. Rack mount computer monitors are available in two styles and are intended to be mounted into a 19-inch rack: A fixed rack mount monitor is mounted directly to the rack with the flat-panel or CRT visible at all times. The height of

1380-480: Is needed both in electronic publishing (via the Internet for display in browsers) and in desktop publishing targeted to print. Most modern monitors will switch to a power-saving mode if no video-input signal is received. This allows modern operating systems to turn off a monitor after a specified period of inactivity. This also extends the monitor's service life. Some monitors will also switch themselves off after

1440-454: Is not in use. Allows access to special features in flat panel controllers. Provides standard to audio services. Currently (version 1.00), the VBE/AI specification defines three device classes: WAVE, MIDI, and VOLUME. Device types not covered: Provides standard entry to vendor-specific extensions. The Display Data Channel or DDC is a digital connection between a computer display and

1500-643: Is orange. Some monitors have different indicator light colors and some monitors have a blinking indicator light when in power-saving mode. Many monitors have other accessories (or connections for them) integrated. This places standard ports within easy reach and eliminates the need for another separate hub , camera , microphone , or set of speakers . These monitors have advanced microprocessors which contain codec information, Windows interface drivers and other small software which help in proper functioning of these functions. Monitors that feature an aspect ratio greater than 2:1 (for instance, 21:9 or 32:9, as opposed to

1560-494: Is the VESA number plus 512 (in the case of the decimal representation) or plus 0x200 (in the case of the hexadecimal representation). For example, the defined VESA value of 257 (0x101), representing 640x480 and 256 colours, has an equivalent Linux video mode value of 769 (0x301). As indicated earlier, the VESA standard defines a limited set of modes; in particular, none above 1280 × 1024 are covered and, instead, their implementation

1620-406: Is to obtain a list of modes (using "Function 00h - Return VBE Controller Information") and then to check each mode (using "Function 01h: Return VBE Mode Information") until it finds the mode/s it requires. Modes 264–268 are text modes. 264 (0108h) is 80 columns × 60 rows (80×60), 265 (0109h) is 132×25, 266 (010Ah) is 132×43, 267 (010Bh) is 132×50 and 268 (010Ch) is 132×60. The table below combines

1680-558: The Enhanced Graphics Adapter which was capable of producing 16 colors and had a resolution of 640 × 350 . By the end of the 1980s color progressive scan CRT monitors were widely available and increasingly affordable, while the sharpest prosumer monitors could clearly display high-definition video , against the backdrop of efforts at HDTV standardization from the 1970s to the 1980s failing continuously, leaving consumer SDTVs to stagnate increasingly far behind

1740-472: The display aspect ratio , so that for example a 16:9 21-inch (53 cm) widescreen display has less area, than a 21-inch (53 cm) 4:3 screen. The 4:3 screen has dimensions of 16.8 in × 12.6 in (43 cm × 32 cm) and an area 211 sq in (1,360 cm ), while the widescreen is 18.3 in × 10.3 in (46 cm × 26 cm), 188 sq in (1,210 cm ). Until about 2003, most computer monitors had

1800-517: The 'monitor'. As early monitors were only capable of displaying a very limited amount of information and were very transient, they were rarely considered for program output. Instead, a line printer was the primary output device, while the monitor was limited to keeping track of the program's operation. Computer monitors were formerly known as visual display units ( VDU ), particularly in British English. This term mostly fell out of use by

1860-431: The 1990s. Multiple technologies have been used for computer monitors. Until the 21st century most used cathode-ray tubes but they have largely been superseded by LCD monitors . The first computer monitors used cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Prior to the advent of home computers in the late 1970s, it was common for a video display terminal (VDT) using a CRT to be physically integrated with a keyboard and other components of

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1920-522: The INT 10H and the VBE are replaced by the UEFI GOP . VBE 1.0 (VS891001) was defined in 1989. VBE 1.1 (VS900602) was defined in 1990. VBE 1.2 (VS911022) was defined in 1991. These versions of VBE require real mode to work. VBE defines several new functions called through INT 10H . The function numbering start with AX=4F00, or (AH=4F, AL=00), for Function 00h . 00h to 05h were defined in VBE 1.0, 06h and 07h in 1.1, and 08h in 1.2. This standard provides

1980-399: The VBE 2.0 standard. A new "Protected Mode Entry Point" was added as an alternative to Function 0Ah . VBE/AF provides a low-level, standard interface to common acceleration functions available on most hardware. Some of the functions defined in the standard are access to hardware cursors, Bit Block Transfers (Bit Blt), off screen sprites , hardware panning, drawing and other functions. It

2040-698: The association to develop and promote a Super VGA computer display standard as a successor to IBM 's proprietary Video Graphics Array (VGA) display standard. Super VGA enabled graphics display resolutions up to 800×600 pixels , compared to VGA's maximum resolution of 640×480 pixels—a 56% increase. The organization has since issued several additional standards related to computer video displays. Widely used VESA standards include DisplayHDR , DisplayPort , and Flat Display Mounting Interface . The following major companies are members of VESA. VESA has been criticized for their policy of charging non-members for some of their published standards. Some people believe

2100-420: The benefits of both LCD and CRT monitors with few of their drawbacks, though much like plasma panels or very early CRTs they suffer from burn-in , and remain very expensive. The performance of a monitor is measured by the following parameters: On two-dimensional display devices such as computer monitors the display size or viewable image size is the actual amount of screen space that is available to display

2160-547: The best LCD monitors having achieved moderate temporal accuracy, and so can be used only if their poor spatial accuracy is unimportant. High dynamic range (HDR) has been implemented into high-end LCD monitors to improve grayscale accuracy. Since around the late 2000s, widescreen LCD monitors have become popular, in part due to television series, motion pictures and video games transitioning to widescreen, which makes squarer monitors unsuited to display them correctly. Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) monitors provide most of

2220-456: The capabilities of computer CRT monitors well into the 2000s. During the following decade, maximum display resolutions gradually increased and prices continued to fall as CRT technology remained dominant in the PC monitor market into the new millennium, partly because it remained cheaper to produce. CRTs still offer color, grayscale, motion, and latency advantages over today's LCDs, but improvements to

2280-425: The display as a reference monitor; these calibration features can give an advanced color management control for take a near-perfect image. Option for professional LCD monitors, inherent to OLED & CRT; professional feature with mainstream tendency. Near to mainstream professional feature; advanced hardware driver for backlit modules with local zones of uniformity correction. Computer monitors are provided with

2340-721: The first time, becoming the primary technology used for computer monitors. The physical advantages of LCD over CRT monitors are that LCDs are lighter, smaller, and consume less power. In terms of performance, LCDs produce less or no flicker, reducing eyestrain, sharper image at native resolution, and better checkerboard contrast. On the other hand, CRT monitors have superior blacks, viewing angles, and response time, can use arbitrary lower resolutions without aliasing, and flicker can be reduced with higher refresh rates, though this flicker can also be used to reduce motion blur compared to less flickery displays such as most LCDs. Many specialized fields such as vision science remain dependent on CRTs,

2400-424: The free collection is incomplete. As of 2010, current standards documents from VESA cost hundreds to thousands of dollars each. Some older standards are not available for free, or for purchase. As of 2017, the free downloads require mandatory registration. While not all standards bodies provide specifications freely available for download, many do, including: ITU , JEDEC , DDWG , and HDMI (through HDMI 1.3a). At

2460-470: The image color space can be forwarded as Exif metadata in the picture. As long as the monitor gamut is wider than the color space gamut, correct display is possible, if the monitor is calibrated. A picture that uses colors that are outside the sRGB color space will display on an sRGB color space monitor with limitations. Still today, many monitors that can display the sRGB color space are not factory nor user-calibrated to display it correctly. Color management

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2520-453: The latter have made them much less obvious. The dynamic range of early LCD panels was very poor, and although text and other motionless graphics were sharper than on a CRT, an LCD characteristic known as pixel lag caused moving graphics to appear noticeably smeared and blurry. There are multiple technologies that have been used to implement liquid-crystal displays (LCD). Throughout the 1990s, the primary use of LCD technology as computer monitors

2580-456: The modes defined by VESA (the values denoted in black) along with modes commonly used, but which may not work on all graphics cards as they are not defined by any standard ( denoted in red ). A few tools have been written to detect VBE modes available on a system. They generally work by invoking Function 01h , which is more reliable than assuming a table of extended modes as it's part of the device's self-documentation. The Linux kernel allows

2640-419: The more capable VBE 3.0 standard. Older versions of VBE provide only a real mode interface, which cannot be used without a significant performance penalty from within protected mode operating systems. Consequently, the VBE standard has almost never been used for writing a video card's drivers; each vendor has thus had to invent a proprietary protocol for communicating with its own video card. Despite this, it

2700-541: The more common 16:9, which resolves to 1.7 7 :1).Monitors with an aspect ratio greater than 3:1 are marketed as super ultrawide monitors. These are typically massive curved screens intended to replace a multi-monitor deployment. These monitors use touching of the screen as an input method. Items can be selected or moved with a finger, and finger gestures may be used to convey commands. The screen will need frequent cleaning due to image degradation from fingerprints. Some displays, especially newer flat-panel monitors, replace

2760-564: The more graphically sophisticated Atari 8-bit computers , introduced in 1979. Either computer could be connected to the antenna terminals of an ordinary color TV set or used with a purpose-made CRT color monitor for optimum resolution and color quality. Lagging several years behind, in 1981 IBM introduced the Color Graphics Adapter , which could display four colors with a resolution of 320 × 200 pixels, or it could produce 640 × 200 pixels with two colors. In 1984 IBM introduced

2820-547: The original stand is removed. Stands may be fixed or offer a variety of features such as height adjustment, horizontal swivel, and landscape or portrait screen orientation. The Flat Display Mounting Interface (FDMI), also known as VESA Mounting Interface Standard (MIS) or colloquially as a VESA mount, is a family of standards defined by the Video Electronics Standards Association for mounting flat-panel displays to stands or wall mounts. It

2880-626: The practice of charging for specifications has undermined the purpose of VESA. According to Kendall Bennett, developer of the VBE/AF standard, the VESA Software Standards Committee was closed down due to a lack of interest resulting from charging high prices for specifications. At that time no VESA standards were available for free. Although VESA now hosts some free standards documents, the free collection does not include newly developed standards. Even for obsolete standards,

2940-589: The primary functionality of the VESA BIOS Extensions. It allows applications to determine the capabilities of the graphics card and provides the ability to set the display modes that are found. VBE 2.0 adds some new features above the prior VBE 1.2 standard including linear framebuffer access and protected mode banking. Some of the VBE Core 2.0 features include: A superset of the VBE 2.0 standard. This standard adds refresh rate control, facilities for stereo glasses , improved multi-buffering and other functions to

3000-442: The rack. There are smaller display units, typically used in broadcast environments, which fit multiple smaller screens side by side into one rack mount. A stowable rack mount monitor is 1U, 2U or 3U high and is mounted on rack slides allowing the display to be folded down and the unit slid into the rack for storage as a drawer . The flat display is visible only when pulled out of the rack and deployed. These units may include only

3060-463: The release of a slow, but affordable Tektronix 4010 terminal in 1972. Some of the earliest home computers (such as the TRS-80 and Commodore PET ) were limited to monochrome CRT displays, but color display capability was already a possible feature for a few MOS 6500 series -based machines (such as introduced in 1977 Apple II computer or Atari 2600 console), and the color output was a specialty of

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3120-528: The same time. In 2008 16:10 became the most common sold aspect ratio for LCD monitors and the same year 16:10 was the mainstream standard for laptops and notebook computers . In 2010, the computer industry started to move over from 16:10 to 16:9 because 16:9 was chosen to be the standard high-definition television display size, and because they were cheaper to manufacture. In 2011, non-widescreen displays with 4:3 aspect ratios were only being manufactured in small quantities. According to Samsung , this

3180-399: The time DisplayPort was announced, VESA was criticized for developing the specification in secret and having a track record of developing unsuccessful digital interface standards, including Plug & Display and Digital Flat Panel . Computer display A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises

3240-405: The traditional anti-glare matte finish with a glossy one. This increases color saturation and sharpness but reflections from lights and windows are more visible. Anti-reflective coatings are sometimes applied to help reduce reflections, although this only partly mitigates the problem. Most often using nominally flat-panel display technology such as LCD or OLED, a concave rather than convex curve

3300-436: The unit is measured in rack units (RU) and 8U or 9U are most common to fit 17-inch or 19-inch screens. The front sides of the unit are provided with flanges to mount to the rack, providing appropriately spaced holes or slots for the rack mounting screws. A 19-inch diagonal screen is the largest size that will fit within the rails of a 19-inch rack. Larger flat-panels may be accommodated but are 'mount-on-rack' and extend forward of

3360-475: The user to select the VESA mode at boot time by passing a code in memory to the kernel. The LILO boot loader passes this code based on a "vga" parameter in its configuration file. It takes the form 'vga=XXX', where XXX is the decimal value, or 'vga=0xHHH', where HHH is the hexadecimal value. However, the 'vga=' boot loader parameter does not directly accept VESA video mode numbers; rather, the Linux video mode number

3420-569: The workstation in a single large chassis , typically limiting them to emulation of a paper teletypewriter , thus the early epithet of 'glass TTY'. The display was monochromatic and far less sharp and detailed than on a modern monitor, necessitating the use of relatively large text and severely limiting the amount of information that could be displayed at one time. High-resolution CRT displays were developed for specialized military, industrial and scientific applications but they were far too costly for general use; wider commercial use became possible after

3480-440: Was because the "Demand for the old 'Square monitors' has decreased rapidly over the last couple of years," and "I predict that by the end of 2011, production on all 4:3 or similar panels will be halted due to a lack of demand." The resolution for computer monitors has increased over time. From 280 × 192 during the late 1970s, to 1024 × 768 during the late 1990s. Since 2009, the most commonly sold resolution for computer monitors

3540-475: Was in laptops where the lower power consumption, lighter weight, and smaller physical size of LCDs justified the higher price versus a CRT. Commonly, the same laptop would be offered with an assortment of display options at increasing price points: (active or passive) monochrome, passive color, or active matrix color (TFT). As volume and manufacturing capability have improved, the monochrome and passive color technologies were dropped from most product lines. TFT-LCD

3600-399: Was the external diameter of the glass envelope that described their size. Since these circular tubes were used to display rectangular images, the diagonal measurement of the rectangular image was smaller than the diameter of the tube's face (due to the thickness of the glass). This method continued even when cathode-ray tubes were manufactured as rounded rectangles; it had the advantage of being

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