Editing Computer monitor (section)

{{Short description|Computer output device}}
{{distinguish|Computer terminal|Monitor (synchronization)}}<!-- Note: This page, [[Computer monitor]], is the target of the redirect at [[Visual display unit]], but [[VDU]] was once a name for a type of textual [[Computer terminal]]/[[Dumb terminal]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
[[File:MonitorLCDlcd.svg|thumb|A [[flat-panel display]] (FPD) computer monitor]]
[[File:Apple_AudioVision_14_Display.png|thumb|A [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) computer monitor]]

A '''computer monitor''' is an [[output device]] that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a [[electronic visual display|visual display]], support electronics, power supply, [[Housing (engineering)|housing]], [[electrical connector]]s, and external user controls.

The display in modern monitors is typically an [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] with [[LED-backlit LCD|LED backlight]], having by the 2010s replaced [[cold-cathode fluorescent lamp|CCFL]] [[Backlight|backlit]] LCDs. Before the mid-2000s, most monitors used a [[cathode-ray tube|cathode-ray tube (CRT)]] as the image output technology.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.eetimes.com/lcd-monitors-outsold-crts-in-q3-says-displaysearch/ |title=LCD monitors outsold CRTs in Q3, says DisplaySearch |publisher=[[EE Times|Electronic Engineering Times]] |date=9 December 2004 |access-date=2022-10-18}}</ref> A monitor is typically connected to its host computer via [[DisplayPort]], [[HDMI]], [[USB-C]], [[Digital Visual Interface|DVI]], or [[VGA connector|VGA]]. Monitors sometimes use other proprietary connectors and signals to connect to a computer, which is less common.

Originally computer monitors were used for [[data processing]] while [[television set]]s were used for video. From the 1980s onward, computers (and their monitors) have been used for both data processing and video, while [[Television set|televisions]] have implemented some computer functionality. Since 2010, the typical [[display aspect ratio]] of both televisions and computer monitors changed from 4:3 to 16:9<ref name=":0" />

Modern computer monitors are often functionally interchangeable with television sets and vice versa. As most computer monitors do not include integrated [[Computer speakers|speakers]], [[TV tuner]]s, or remote controls, external components such as a [[digital television adapter|DTA box]] may be needed to use a computer monitor as a TV set.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-tv-and-computer-monitor/|title=Difference Between TV and Computer Monitor {{!}} Difference Between|website=differencebetween.net|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://technologyrental.com.au/monitor-rental/|title=Difference Between laptop and Computer Monitor {{!}} Difference Between|website=technologyrental.com.au|language=en-US|access-date=2021-04-27}}</ref>