The History of Computer Monitors

Today's monitors have a long history, spanning from the first personal computer to today's big-screen LCD. Along the way, innovations enabled growth of PCs as well as industries, such as computer gaming. Current LCD computer monitors now outnumber the original CRT screen. Screens now displaying millions of colors for complex graphics began with just two for basic text.

Early Days

The video display terminal, or VDT, marked the early days of computer monitors. These VDTs included a screen and attached keyboard linked to a larger computer by a serial connection. Because VDTs required a connection to a larger computer, they were often referred to as "dumb terminals." Dumb terminals displayed text only in two colors, usually black and green. The Apple II and first game machines began using a television CRT.

IBM's CRT

In 1981, IBM introduced the first PC, also known as a "three-piece computer" because the monitor, keyboard and cpu were separate, rather than earlier computer terminals, which combined the monitor and keyboard. With the PC's introduction came the Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) from IBM, allowing for four colors. The CGA allowed 320 x 200 resolution. By 1984, IBM introduced the Enhanced Graphics Adapter permitting 16 colors and a 640 x 350-pixel display.

VGA

By 1987 IBM began offering the Video Graphics Array as part of its new PS/2 computer system. The display technology allowed for 256 different colors and 640 x 480 resolution. Despite the appearance of newer display techniques, VGA has become a computer monitor standard. Indeed, the VGA may have become the impetus for the modern computer gaming industry as the increased color palette made graphics possible. Up to this point, computer displays were limited to text.

XGA and UXGA

In 1990 computer display capability took a quantum leap with the Enhanced Graphics Array, or XGA. XGA permitted 16.8 million colors (with 800 x 600 resolution), offering "true color" that compared to human sight. The human eye can detect 10 million different colors. Current computer displays used Ultra Extended Graphics Array, or UXGA. UXGA (1600 x 1200 resolution) is commonly used in 21-inch and 22-inch CRTs and LCD monitors.

LCDs

Although the CRT dominated computer monitor sales since 1980, the rise of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) has nearly eclipsed the venerable CRT. More than 20 years after RCA first experimented with LCDs in 1968, the price of new monitors has fallen while size increased. First developed for calculators and other small device displays, LCDs now measure 21-inches or more. In 1990 the popularity of LCD computer displays began. By 1997 LCD monitors were competing with CRTs

References

• A Little Vintage Computer Monitor History
• Computer Monitor History
• IBM Personal Computer