Any peripheral that receives or displays output from a computer.

In the picture to the right, is an inkjet printer and a

good example of an

output device that can make a hard copy of anything on a computer.

Below is a listing of all the different computer

output devices found on a computer.

- monitor

- printer

- projector

- sound card

- speaker

Monitor

Also called a video display terminal (VDT) and video display unit (VDU),

a monitor is a video display screen and the hard shell that holds it.

In its most common usage, monitor refers

only to devices that contain

no electronic equipment other than what is essentially needed to display

and adjust the characteristics of an image.

Like most TVs, the computer monitor has a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

that is found inside the computer monitor as illustrated in the picture to the right.

The CRT is the main component and most expensive part within your computer monitor.

Computer monitor help and support.

- To view or watch over someone or something.

Printer

An external hardware device responsible for taking computer data

and generating a hard copy of that data.

Printers are one of the most used peripherals on computers

and are commonly used to print text, images, or photos.

The image to the right is a visual example of the Lexmark Z605 Inkjet printer and is an example of what a printer may look like.

Printers

Dot Matrix printer
Inkjet printer
Laser printer
Thermal printer
LED printer

Printer interfaces

Firewire
MPP-1150
Parallel port
SCSI
Serial port
USB

Projector

An output device that can take the display of a computer screen and

project a large version of it onto a flat surface.

Projectors are often used in meetings and presentations so that everyone in the room can view the presentation.

In the picture to the right, is a ViewSonic projector and an example of

what a projector may look like. Projectors used with computers are

small devices that are rarely much larger than a toaster and typically weigh a few pounds.

Sound card

Alternatively referred to as a sound board or an audio card, a sound card is an

expansion card or integrated circuit that provides a computer with the

ability to produce sound that can be heard by the user either over speakers or headphones.

Below is an image of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

sound card and an example of what a sound card may look like.

Below is a listing of some of the functions of a computer sound card.

Games
Audio CDs
Watch movies
Audio conferencing
Creating and playing Midi
Educational software
Business presentations
Record dictations
Voice recognition

Speaker

A term used to describe the user who is giving vocal commands to a software program.

A hardware device connected to a computer's sound card that outputs sounds generated by the card. To the right is a picture example of the Altec Lansing VS2221 speakers with subwoofer; speakers like the ones shown below are an example of what most computer speakers resemble today.

When computers were originally released they had onboard speakers that

generated a series of different tones and beeps.

As multimedia and games became popular, higher quality computers speakers began to be released for higher quality sound effects and music.

Computer sound cards today are not powerful enough to power a nice set of speakers.

Today, good quality speakers are self-powered, relatively small in size to fit on desks or on the side of monitors and contain magnetic shielding.

Speakers are generally rated in Frequency response, Total Harmonic Distortion and Watts.

The Frequency response is the rate of measurement of the highs and lows of the sounds the speaker and produce.

The THD, or Total Harmonic Distortion, is the amour of distortion created by amplifying the signal.

The Watts is the amount of amplification available for the speakers.