|
The monitor is a hardware device
which physically connects to your video card. The
monitor allows information and current status be be
visually outputted similar to a TV.
Like most TVs, the computer monitor
has a CRT, or Cathode Ray Tube, which is found inside
the computer monitor as illustrated in the above
picture. The CRT is the main component and most
expensive part within your computer monitor. Within the
CRT are three electron guns, Red, Green and Blue. Each
of these guns streams a steady flow of electrons, left
to right, for each line of your monitor. As the
electrons hit the phosphors on the CRT, the phosphor
will glow certain intensities. As a new line begins, the
guns will then begin at the left and continue right;
these guns will repeat this process sometimes thousands
of times until the screen has been completely drawn line
by line. Once the phosphors on the CRT have been hit
with an electron they will only glow for a short period
of time; because of this, the CRT must be refreshed,
which means the process will be repeated as explained
above. If the video card's refresh rate is not set high
enough, you may encounter a flicker or a noticeable
steady line scrolling from the top to the bottom of your
screen. If you are encountering this issue, resolutions
have been described on our video card page.
DOT
PITCH
The dot pitch is a measurement
measured in millimeters, which is the amount of space
between the phosphors on a computer monitor screen. The
smaller the number of dot pitches, the sharper the
image.
GHOST
/ BURN
If monitors, especially older CGA /
EGA monitors, are left on for long durations, the
electron beams cause the phosphors to glow. If the
electron guns continue to do this for thousands of hours
refreshing the same images, this can cause the images to
be burnt into the CRT surface causing a ghost image to
appear. This image will become permanently displayed on
your monitor for the duration of its life.
A resolution to this problem are
screen savers, which are programs that generate a random
set of images, lines or other methods of allowing the
image to not remain static while the computer is not
being used.
While new monitors (VGA / SVGA) do
not have this issue, screen savers are still commonly
used today;
MINIMUM RESOLUTION
The size is an important factor of
the computer's running resolution. When picking the
resolution, try basing it off the monitor's size for
best use.
|
13-inch |
640 x 480 |
|
15-inch |
800 x 600 |
|
17-inch |
1,024 x 768 |
|
21-inch |
1,280 x 1,024 |
|
MONITOR CONTROLS
Below is additional information on the likely monitor controls
on your monitor. Using these controls you can help improve the
quality and layout of the picture on your monitor for better
viewing pleasure. Please keep in mind that not all monitors will
have all of the below buttons. |
|
