We need to purchase a flat screen monitor for our desk top computer. It must have a digital input. The only ones I've found so far have been the old analog type. I've been to Office Max, Office Depot, & Liverpool so far without luck. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks......:typing:
What do you mean by "digital"? its all "digital"... Do you mean HDMI? DVI? .. if yes, most new flat screen TV's (which can be used as monitors as that's basically what they are just plus a TV tuner) will have one or the other.. there also exists VGA/DVI/HDMI adapters, although I don't know where you'd find one around here off hand. You might check on Mercadolibre.com.mx to see what monitors can be had there... good luck.
Digital vs analog The difference is huge. A monitor with the old analog input is very very old technology. Think of a clock with numbers and hands on it to tell the time. Then think of a digital clock with just the numbers. I was surprised that they even still sold analog input computer monitors. My Samsung monitor which just failed is 5 years old and it had both analog and digital inputs. If you have a computer with a good graphics board it will only have a digital out to the monitor, which is why I need what I need.
I haven't checked in a while, but I'm sure the Office Depot and Office Max in Playa have flat panels with DVI inputs (DVI-D). It's possible that the flat panels you were looking at had DVI inputs, but they might have been hidden. My various flat panels have plastic shields that hide some of the inputs on the back; they generally slide up and down for easy access. As Life_N_Cancun stated, most flat panel TVs are basically glorified computer displays. Many of them have DVI inputs on them, but I know for sure that some do not. By analog, I assume you are talking about VGA inputs. Although they are less common on newer computers, many of the existing desktop computers here only support VGA outputs, so there is definitely still a market for displays/monitors with these inputs. Here's an image of the different connectors, for what it's worth: If coming to Playa would be an option, and you verified that your office stores do not have what you need, let me know and I can possibly swing by and take a look for you before you make the trek down here.
VGA is the gold standard and has been for some time.. there are still plenty of computers coming off the assembly line with VGA-out as their primary video source... the short-lived DVI (which I suspect is the sort your video card has, Tom) seems on the way out to me, being superseded with HDMI interfaces.. but the good thing is you can convert from DVI to HDMI without any quality lose.. the biggest difference is HDMI carries digital audio along with video and the majority of DVI connectors don't support audio. So basically if you can find a monitor with HDMI you should be able to use it with the appropriate DVI-to-HDMI cable without sacrificing any signal quality. The big issue being finding those sorts of cables locally... I actually have a 1.8 meter DVI to HDMI cable that I no longer use with my TV (that didn't have a HDMI port) if you find yourself needing it assuming the male/female ends line up. All that being said.. a properly calibrated VGA connection in my experience can be every bit as clear and vibrant as the newer interfaces.. assuming the monitor itself is any good. JohnB made a good point that some monitors might have ports that are hidden or at angles not easily seen... I'd bet some at the stores will have HDMI ports on them..
Where to buy? Thanks to everyone for your comments. I'll go back to the stores and check for a hidden DVI inputs. Also thanks for the in-depth explanations. I'll go back to the Office Max, & Depot stores and then if they don't have any I'll let you know about Playa, as I don't mind driving there if they have what we need. Funny that Liverpool & Sam's did not have any monitors at all. I still have to check Wal Mart, Mega, and Costco.:sofa:
The problem is most stores don't carry just monitors, they want you to buy a whole computer. There are a number of small computer shops around town but their inventory is hit or miss. If someone would open a BestBuy store here and get close to the same inventory and prices as they have in the US it would be a winner for sure..... Kind of ironic, my former favorite computer store CompUSA was in fact owned by Carlos Slim, but he won't open a discount computer store in Mexico... why bother when you already own most other stores and don't have to lower your prices to compete with anybody...
Where to buy? Thanks again to everyone. I found one at Costco 2 days ago. Samsung w/ both digital and analog inputs.
