Unit 30 Josh Beaman Graphics Hardware Graphics Card

Unit 30 Josh Beaman

Graphics Hardware

Graphics Card Graphics card renders the image, and displays it on a monitor. Video cards come in three different connector types: PCI, AGP, PCI Express. Graphics cards ( also known as video cards) generate a feed of output images to display, they can also connect to multiple monitors. PCI – Connect into the white slots on the Motherboard. Common since early 1990 s. They replace the ISA standard. PCI Express - Shortened to PCIe. Allows Currently replaced by the newer PCI large amounts of bandwidth to be Express since 2005 onwards transferred, which results in a n extremely high level of graphics and system performance AGP – (Brown Connectors) Most AGP video cards are designed to work with the newer AGP 2. 0 and 3. 0 standards

Graphics Tablets Consists of a flat touch-sensitive pad and a pen, or stylus. A range of tablets are available, from smaller 3 by 4 inch, to 14 by 14 inches. Size is the major factor in determining the cost of a tablet. Graphics tablets have an extremely sensitive touch screen, which allows soft and fluent movements, as well as being very responsive. A graphics tablet is an input device, which enabled the artists to draw a picture onto a computer screen. They can also be used to edit pictures and create PC graphics

Digital Camera A digital camera, is camera that encode s digital images and videos digitally and stores them for later reproduction. Digital cameras usually have a lens with a variable diaphragm. This focuses light onto the image pickup device. The diaphragm and shutter allow the correct amount of light to the imager. The image pickup in a digital camera is electric. Digital cameras can display images on a screen immediately after being recorded, and store and delete images from memory. Some can also record moving video with sound. They can also crop and stitch pictures together (such as panoramic shots)

Monitors are a electronic visual display for computers. A monitor is made up of the display device, circuitry and an enclosure. Modern screens use TFT-LCD, which stands for Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display. HDMI Cable Originally computer monitors were used for data processing, and television screens were use for entertainment. LCD was primary used in laptops in the 1990 s. There are loads of different connection cables, but the main ones used nowadays are HDMI and RGA monitor cables (video connectors). Which plug into your monitor, and PC. RGB cables are mainly used in old computers, as not all modern monitors have a RGB port. RGA Cable

Printers Inkjet printers shoot tiny drops of ink on to the paper, which creates a fluid stroke. They are the most common printers. The dots of ink are extremely small (50 -60 microns in diameter) These ink drops are positioned very precisely, and have many different colours combined to create photoquality images. Laser Printers Performs an electrostatic digital printing process. A laser beam is passed over a charged drum, which defines a differentially charged image. The drum collects charged toner, and heats it so it can permanently fix to the image.

CD-ROM ‘’Compact Disc Read-Only Memory’’ A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc which contains data. They are mainly used to distribute computer software, including video games and applications. Any data can be stored on the disc however. Enhanced CDs hold both computer data and audio, which are capable of being played on a CD player, whereas software is only usable on computers. Capacity: 194 Mi. B, 650 -900 Mi. B Read Mechanism: 150 Ki. B/s, 10, 800 Ki. B/s Write Mechanism: 150 Ki. B/s, 8, 400 Ki. B/s Usage: Data Storage

SD Card ‘’Secure Digital’’ is a non volatile memory card, used in portable devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, GPS devices and tablet computers. Four Families: Standard Capacity (SDSC) High Capacity (SDHC) Extended-Capacity (SDXC) Combines input/output with data storage (SDIO) In general, the larger the capacity, the faster the transfer speed. SD cards are great way to store photos, videos and music. Prices range from £ 5 for a 2 gb one, to about £ 45 for a 32 gb one.

Graphics Software

Vector Graphics Vector graphics is the use points, lines, curves and shapes or polygon(s). These are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics. ‘’Vector’’ implies more than a straight line toward align. Vector graphics are based on vectors, which lead through locations called control points, each of these points has a position on the x and y axes of the work plan. Each track can be assigned a colour, shape, thickness and a fill. This does not effect the size of the file, as the information resides in the structure.

Common BITMAP formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, and PNG BITMAP programs: Microsoft Paint, Adobe Photoshop and Corel Photopaint. Bitmap software is based on bit code, 1 or 0. This type of software that produces an image using pixels. Your monitor contains thousands of pixels, with most monitors displaying 70 -100 pixels per inch. One disadvantage with BITMAP is if you enlarge the image, the quality will be really pixelated. BITMAP software lets you store is as a binary image. BITMAP, simply means: A map of spaced out bits. Raster images in general are referred to as bitmaps or pixmaps. BITMAP/Raster Graphics

Raster/BITMAP vs. Vector Graphics Bitmap/Raster graphics are made up of pixels, which create a blocky path, whereas the vector line is made up of various shapes. In this instance, the vector graphics look more precise while the bitmap shape has pixels outside of the actual shape, which creates a blur effect. In this comparison between Bitmap(pixels) and vectors, we can clearly see that Vector graphics is a lot less pixelated, and has better and smoother detail.

Files Types, Sizes, Compression and Conversion

Files Types There are multiple files types, and each one has a specific set of parameters. Each one is different, and they vary in size. Here a few examples : . BMP – Bit-map Image File: This is a very common file format, and can be opened by pretty much all of the image manipulation software. . JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group: This file type is a compressed image, at the ratio of 10: 1. PNG –Portable Network Graphics: It is an image format that uses lossless data compression. Images saved as. png can be viewed by virtually all internet browsers. . GIF – Graphics Interchange Format: Used mostly for internet use, and can be used to create small animated clips.

Conversion: Data conversion is the conversion of computer data from one format to another. There are multiple reasons why you would want to covert a file. One of the main reasons is that some formats are smaller than others, by reducing the size of the file, you are creating more free space.

Compression ZIP files use Lossless compression. Lossless is when bits are reduced by identifying and eliminating statistical redundancy, no info is lost. Lossy compression is when bits are reduced by identifying unnecessary information and removing it. The process of reducing a data file is popularly referred to as Source Coding. Compression is also known as ‘’Defragging Files’’ Compressed data MUST be decompressed.

File Sizes File size is a measurement of how big the file is. Usually measured in Bytes. Such as Mega bytes and Giga bytes. The amount of disk space used by the file depends on the file system. The maximum file size depends on the number of bytes reserved to store the information and the total size of the file system 1 byte = 8 bits 1 KB = 1, 024 bytes 1 MB = 1, 048, 576 bytes 1 GB = 1, 073, 741, 824 bytes 1 TB = 1, 099, 511, 627, 776 bytes

Photoshop Info Pros – Allows the user to cleverly manipulate the image, change various sections, and alter it completely. Used by professionals to create everything from movie style images to web banners. It can also be used by ordinary users to alter personal images. Pros Basic tools are easy to use A large range of tools to create the desired image The finished image has a very high quality Cons – -Some of the tools are very hard top use - The help instructions aren’t very helpful, and guides/tutorials are hard to find. - Expensive. Some people will not be able to afford all of the features, which will allow maximum use of the software.

MS Paint vs. Photoshop Although both programs are good at certain things, Photoshop is far superior. Paint is used to create simple images fast, and requires almost no skill to use. Whereas Photoshop is used to create high detail and professional images using an extensive array of tools. Photoshop is both expensive, and complicated to use, unless you spend a lot of time watching tutorials, and using the software If we compare the two program’s interfaces, you can clearly see that Photoshop is a lot more complicated. Paint Photoshop