BNC vs VGA

O

ohnnyj

Gawd
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
575
Hello all:

I just got my new (refurb) Sony 24" GDM-FW900 CRT monitor and it has BNC connections on the back. Are these better than regular VGA? Will there be any noticable difference in quality? Any adverse affects from using them (like in installing WinXP or playing games)?

Thanks.
 
Falls Included said:
well, the bnc connector will only help you if you are running a mac...
Click to expand...
?? Having a Mac has nothing to do with BNC connectors, there are plenty of PC video cards that have BNC outs on them. BNC connectors provide a much better signal than "regular" VGA - we had an SGI Onyx2 with a FW900 in our graphics lab with when I was in school once upon a time and the only way to hook it up was using BNC cables. You've spent the money on a good monitor, might as well spend the money on good cables too. :)
 
Well I bought both sets of cables (Monster cables) and they were not cheap. I have heard that when using a BNC connection the monitor does not send its Plug and Play info to Windows, is this true? So do I need to instal the monitor drivers after the XP install or should I hook up the monitor through VGA for the install and then BNC afterwards?

Thanks.
 
If you get a good enough cable they can give you a clearer picture at high resolutions (like what you'll be running on that screen). The down side is that it'll break the "plug and play" monitor detection, so Windows won't auto detect it's specifications. You'll just have to install an appropriate monitor profile for it.
I've got one of these beasts on the way myself & have been looking for a BNC cable for it but I'm having a hard time finding a truely "premium" one. All the ones I've found on the net so far have just been regular VGA cables that fan out to BNC for the last 6" or so.
I may just build my own. A really good BNC cable has 3-5 (depending on if it's separate sync like a PC, composite sync, or sync on green) thick coaxial cables splitting out near the video card, or even plugging straight into the card. I haven't seen a BNC video card (in person) in years though. They were pretty much used only on workstations. The principle is pretty simple- more shielding -> less noise -> sharper picture.
 
Have you seen any profiles for this monitor? Sony no longer manufacturers them so I doubt they even have any drivers or anything anymore. Do you think these Monster cables will be ok?
 
As far as the profile goes, I just checked & my XP install already has a profile for the GDM-FW900. You might need SP2 for it, but other than that you should be fine.
I'm sure the Monster cables will be just fine. Do you have a link for thier HD15 -> BNC cable? I can't find it on www.monstercable.com.
 
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