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6
GETTING THE
PICTURE
In the video department, a high
performance GPU (Graphics Processing
Unit) is a must
if you plan to use the
system for gaming, or real-time rendering
of a virtual environment such as an
aquarium, or for 1080p playback. On
the other hand, the graphics subsystem
built into today's laptops and desktops
can normally handle playback of HD
video at up to 1080i. So, if this is how
you plan to use your system, it may not
be necessary to upgrade the graphics
subsystem. Just make sure that it can
support "full HD" resolution (at least
1920 x 1080) to ensure optimal video
playback. If it does not support full
HD, then the quality of the picture will
depend on the scaler in the TV. If you
do decide to upgrade, however, consider
the amount of memory on the graphics
card you are thinking about purchasing.
Avoid shared memory designs and go
with at least 256MB of memory if you plan
to use the PC for gaming. Also, if you
plan to play Blu-Ray content on your system
via an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia
Interface) connection, the card must
support HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital
Content Protection). HDCP is optional for
DVI (Digital Video Interface) connections
and is not a concern for VGA. All of these
interfaces are discussed in this section.
VGA
CONNECTOR
OPTIONS
HDMI
DVI
Display
Port
If you are planning to connect your PC to a TV as part of
your entertainment system, there are two options.
The first is to use the standard VGA 15 pin connector. Many
HDTVs have this type of input and the VGA interface is capable
of delivering extremely high quality video. VGA, however, is an
analog interface so, when this interface is used , the PC must
convert digital video information to analog RGB and then the TV
has to convert it back to digital for display. This can be avoided if
you use an HDMI connection.
HDMI is a high bandwidth, fully digital
interface that is now common on
most consumer electronics devices.
HDMI uses the same digital video
transmission standard as the older
DVI, but the connector does not carry
any analog video, and it can transfer
a variety of high quality digital audio
formats. Many new PCs and add-in
graphics cards now support the HDMI
interface. HDMI is available on both
desktops and laptops; however, as
mentioned above, use of the HDMI
interface requires support for HDCP.
The most recently introduced display
interface for PCs is DisplayPort. This interface provides even
higher bandwidth than HDMI 1.3, carries audio, and uses a reliable
latching connector design. The same connector can also support
HDMI and DVI for backward compatibility.
DisplayPort also supports "direct drive displays" which significantly
reduces the electronics required in the display, making them cheaper
and thinner.
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