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Spotlight
A Wider Perspective
9/19/2005
- Better image quality. Problems with image sync, tracking, and pixel shift (caused by the vagaries of analog conversion and transport) disappear, leaving the image exactly as it left the graphics card. More bandwidth. DVI can handle higher resolutions than analog VGA connectors. The drawbacks of DVI, from the technology- enabled teaching angle, are: Limited distance. The basic DVI spec limits the distance to 5 meters. Most classroom cabling from an instructor station to a ceiling-mounted projector is in the 30- to 50-foot range, so DVI is not practical without using extenders.
- D'esn’t play well with others. Because of the bi-directional
communication between the display and source to optimize the resolution settings,
you can’t use two different types of displays with a single DVI source.
You can use a distribution amplifier (DA) to drive multiple displays, if they
are identical models with identical DVI cable lengths. This rules out most
smart classroom applications, where the source computer is driving both a
desktop monitor as well as a projector. Computers with a DVI-I connector are
easy to connect with vintage VGA classroom systems, using a simple adaptor.
DVI-D outputs require a converter box costing $1,000 or more in order to connect
with a VGA classroom system.
The Bottom Line
Classroom systems and the people who support them will be increasingly challenged to deal with the issues of widescreen and DVI implementation, as these technologies are being strongly driven by the consumer end of the market. Careful testing and evaluation of each new piece of equipment with all of your existing hardware will be necessary to prevent making expensive procurement mistakes.
| "CONVENTIONAL" RESOLUTIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Horizontal Px | Vertical Px | Aspect Ratio |
| VGA | 640 | 480 | 4:3 |
| SVGA | 800 | 600 | 4:3 |
| XGA | 1024 | 768 | 4:3 |
| SXGA | 1280 | 1024 | 5:4 |
| SXGA+ | 1400 | 1050 | 4:3 |
| UXGA | 1600 | 1200 | 4:3 |
| QXGA | 2048 | 1536 | 4:3 |
| "WIDESCREEN" RESOLUTIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Horizontal Px | Vertical Px | Aspect Ratio |
| EDTV | 852 | 480 | 16:9 |
| WXGA | 1280 | 720 | 16:9 |
| WXGA | 1280 | 768 | 15:9 |
| WXGA | 1365 | 768 | 16:9 |
| WXGA+ | 1440 | 900 | 16:10 |
| WSXGA | 1600 | 900 | 16:9 |
| WSXGA | 1920 | 1080 | 16:9 |
| WSXGA+ | 1920 | 1200 | 16:10 |
Will Craig is a Multimedia Systems Design Consultant for Elert & Associates, a nation-wide multi-disciplinary technology consulting firm based in Stillwater, MN.
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