Monitor (Visual Display Unit)
Monitor (Visual Display Unit)
Visual display units (VDUs) are television-like screens that provide the user-interface in the form of display of text, numbers
and images. The VDUs may be monochrome or colour. The support of monochrome or colour and clarity of display depend on the type of video monitor and the video adapter installed in the microcomputer.
The video display terminal (VDT) consists of a monitor or CRT and a keyboard. The CRT serves as an output device and the keyboard as an input device. Thus VDT is an input/output device. If the terminal is provided with some memory and certain processing capability, it becomes a smart or intelligent terminal. A terminal without processing power is called a dumb terminal.
Two basic types of monitors are used with microcomputers
1. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
2. Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
CRT or Cathode Ray Tube Monitor is the typical monitor that you see on a desktop computer. It looks a lot like a television screen, and works the same way. This type uses a large vacuum tube, called cathode ray tube (CRT).
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
This type of monitors are also known as flat panel monitor. Most of these employ liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to render images. These days LCD monitor are very popular.
