michaelm@bcsaic.UUCP (02/19/87)
I'm sure this is documented somewhere, but I haven't run across it... With a monochrome graphics card, do you need a special monochrome monitor? I have a Leading Edge model M (made by Mitsubishi) w/ no graphics. I was going to pick up a cheap mono graphics card, but the people in the store said I would need a composite monitor (which I assume mine isn't). Is this really true? What's the diff? Are there (inexpensive) mono cards that will work with non-composite mono monitors? Please mail responses; if there's interest, I'll post results. -- Mike Maxwell Boeing Advanced Technology Center arpa: michaelm@boeing.com uucp: uw-beaver!uw-june!bcsaic!michaelm
ho@calma.UUCP (02/24/87)
From my understanding, there are 3 kinds of monitors (only at the start): 1. Monochrome 2. Composite 3. RGB Monochrome refers to the kind of monitor that has a 5-pin small D-shaped plug. The plug must plugs into a MONOCHROME (no graphics) card. There is only one other kind of monitor card - the Color Graphic Card. The color card has 2 outlets. The composite outlet is just a hole with 2 contacts (the hole wall and the bottom). You plug in a pin-shaped connector into it. Your pin-plug connected to a COMPOSITE monitor or a TV set. However (confusion starts here) there can be a COLOR COMPOSITE monitor or a MONOCHROME (meaning one color) COMPOSITE monitor. Both monitor can do graphics. Lastly there is the straight forward RGB monitor that also uses the 5-pin D-shaped connector to plug into the color card. RGB means Red-Green-Blue. Hence it's always in color. Then came Hercules. The Hercules card is a replacement of the MONOCHROME card. However, you can do graphics with it. (I don't know exactly how. Could somebody tell me?) It drives the same kind of MONOCHROME monitor which is different from the COMPOSITE MONOCHROME monitor. (They use different plugs first of all.) The Hercules card (and its clones) is referred to as the MONOCHROME GRAPHIC card. Now we have EGA (and clones). The original (IBM) EGA drives only the EGA monitor. However, programs written for the MONOCHROME card and the COLOR GRAPHIC card can run with the EGA card. I don't know how it looks on the screen though. But it is not compatible with the Hercules format. EGA clones (not all though) is more generous to include the Hercules 'standard'. That is all I know. There are something I don't know and hope somebody can tell me (correct me of any misunderstanding also): 1. How the Hercules card works to provide graphics? Does it use the memory allocated to the graphic card? 2. Does any EGA clone allow you to plug a monochrome, composite or RGB monitor to the card in addition to the EGA monitor? 3. For programs which use both monochrome monitor and graphic monitor. Is it possible to use the EGA monitor to display or switch between both 'screens'? Please Email to me. I will summarize. ho@calma