[LAU] monitor shot, cables

Mark Knecht markknecht at gmail.com
Tue Jul 15 11:40:16 EDT 2008


On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 11:51 PM, david <gnome at hawaii.rr.com> wrote:
> Tracey Hytry wrote:
>
>> A long time ago I discovered that analog VGA cables degraded the
>> signal if they were too long.
>>
>> Everything was fine until the cable got longer than about a meter.
>> This was the case when using one monitor with 2 computers and the
>> signal needed to go through a switch box.
>>
>> I remember going out of my way to buy expensive, but good quality VGA
>> cables just to get a decent video signal if I wanted my computer to
>> be some distance from my work area.
>>
>> My experience is that all of the slight shadowing that comes with VGA
>> cables went away when I started using a flat panel _and_ DVI cables.
>>
>> If I need a couple of meters distance between the computer and the
>> monitor I now only use DVI.  This is the case when using a video
>> switch box.  The cost of DVI cables have come down toward the price
>> of a good quality analog cable, so everything works out fine now.
>>
>> The disadvantage to all of this is that DVI switch boxes are
>> expensive!  Such is life, to be able to see pretty pictures.
>
> There are VGA booster boxes meant for use when extending VGA cable
> lengths ...
>
> --
> David

I think there are possibly two parts to what Tracey is saying about
his viewing experience:

1) The switch to flat panels improved it because newer technology
displays worked better than his old analog displays.

2) Improvements have also been made to the VGA side of the cable.
Newer cards drive the analog cable better. I have both newish ATI and
NVidia here driving 6 foot cables. They work great even with my 8 year
old Hitachi 19" analog monitor. However I used to have an old Riva VGA
and it's picture quality on anything longer than about a 3 foot VGA
cable wasn't very good.

Anyway, it's all just a technical discussion since it's (thankfully)
getting difficult to even buy an analog monitor anymore. We bought a
PC a year ago and Fry's was giving away 17" analog monitors for free
with the purchase. Stupid me I brought the thing home and it sits in
the garage gather dust unopened.

Cheers,
Mark



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