What Are VGA Movies?
- VGA is a graphics display system compatible with nearly all PCs produced since its introduction by IBM in 1987. It provides a 720 by 400 pixel resolution when in text mode, also sometimes referred to as character mode. Graphics mode is more complex than text mode and offers two potential resolutions: 640 by 480 pixels or 320 by 200 pixels. The first only displays 16 colors while the second can display up to 256.
- IBM, the company that first developed and introduced VGA to the market, was founded in 1911 and is currently the largest computer company in the world. It released the IBM PC, its first personal computer, in 1981. Over time, the term IBM PC came to refer to any of a family of computers produced by or with the same standards as IBM.
- Graphics systems developed prior to VGA include MDA (Monochrome Display Adapter), CGA (Color/Graphics Adapter), and EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter). Unlike VGA, which uses analog signals, each of these systems uses digital signals. Older monitors designed with these systems in mind may not be able to play VGA movies. Later systems developed after VGA, such as SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) and XGA (Extended Graphics Array), offer a greater color range and higher resolution than VGA or any other previous systems.
- When the PC was first being developed, IBM helped to establish what are known as video display standards. These standards became necessary because of the high number of potential color modes and resolutions that could result from divergent video card specifications. VGA is considered to be one of these standards. Since IBM's decline as a leading developer, the Video Electronic Standards Association was formed to set and define new standards moving forward.
