16
1
I have a Samsung monitor connected to my computer by DVI, in the menu of the monitor, it shows "DVI 65.3kHz 60Hz NP 1680x1050", I want to know what the "NP" means.
Edit: Thank you everyone, so what will influence this? The video card hardware, or any settings?
Sam
Posted 2016-11-29T06:53:49.537
Reputation: 950
26
After falling down a pretty deep internet rabbit hole - It seems that its the polarity of the sync signals - in this case a VESA Signal 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz timing. These seem unique to a specific set of refresh-rate/resolution/standards, and arn't of particular use to the end user. They're handy if you wanted to make a microcontroller (say in a toaster) output VGA I suppose, or had to set up some interface by hand.
Journeyman Geek
Posted 2016-11-29T06:53:49.537
Reputation: 119 122
15Toaster with a VGA output.... thats when you know IoT has gone too far. – David says Reinstate Monica – 2016-11-29T14:44:15.217
4@DavidGrinberg Needs to be HDMI or DisplayPort these days. – JAB – 2016-11-29T16:52:23.690
1specifically, the first one is the horizontal sync (once per line) polarity, and the second is the vertical sync (once per frame) polarity. In X11 modelines it would be described as -hsync +vsync. – hobbs – 2016-11-29T20:20:29.620
Clearly you've never written an XFree86 modeline. – Michael Hampton – 2016-11-29T21:41:08.160
2http://superuser.com/a/809799/10165 Oddly enough, I have. And I consider that 'setting up an interface by hand' ;p. I admit I completely forgot about that. – Journeyman Geek – 2016-11-30T00:21:53.213
16
The NP listed in your monitor's menu setting option stands for Negative/Positive input signal polarity. Other input signal polarity settings that you'll see are NN and PP (for Negative/Negative and Positive/Positive, respectively).
n8te
Posted 2016-11-29T06:53:49.537
Reputation: 6 068
AFAIK it is the polarity of just the sync signals (horizontal and vertical synchronization) not any input signal. – pabouk – 2016-11-29T12:09:11.180
Thank you, your answer also helps a lot, but I can only choose one for solution. – Sam – 2016-12-07T15:21:19.630
0
Hobbs has it right. The horizontal sync pulse is negative and the vertical sync pulse is positive for this Samsung monitor at this resolution. You really need to talk to a color TV repairman from the 1960s to understand what is going on because all of this is holdover standards from the days of analog displays. The horizontal sync pulse ends the sweep of one line, and the analog TV shuts off the electron gun that fires the electrons at the screen to make the picture until, the sweep coils are ready for the next sweep one line lower. (The electron paths are magnetically bent after coming from the electron gun (Cathode) to the proper place on the screen.) (If the coils fail, the electrons come straight out, and there is only a dot in the center of the screen.) When the last line is finished, the vertical sync pulse occurs and the electron gun is shut off until the coils are ready for the next set of sweeps. The sweeps can be one line after the other, or interlaced. (Where only the odd lines are scanned, then a vertical sync pulse, then only the even lines are scanned.) Please note that two different meanings of the word scanned were used in the 1960s, and I have maintained this convention for this conversation.
Chris
Posted 2016-11-29T06:53:49.537
Reputation: 1
1I've seen this asked before but no one has ever given a proper answer other than to say that it has to do with the input polarity. In your case NP stands for Negative/Positive. Other input polarity options include PP and NN. Beyond that I have no explanation for you. Maybe someone else will come along and give more insight. – n8te – 2016-11-29T07:23:08.397
2You went and got me curious ;). Pretty interesting thing to look up. – Journeyman Geek – 2016-11-29T08:48:58.147