Various Output Devices of Computer - Computer Basics

The computer is an electronic machine synthesis of hardware and software. It is used to process the data according to a program. Output devices are the hardware components that provide the processed data to the user. For this, these devices have to convert processed data into formats that the user can understand easily. So let’s know about some output devices –

Visual Display Unit (VDU)

Visual Display Unit or VDU are output devices. These devices display the data processed by the computer on a screen. Instead of binary, VDU displays the data in the form of text and images. These are of two types –

Monitor

The monitor is the most commonly used output device. It looks like a Television but has a much higher resolution. Nowadays, many different types of small and large monitors are available in the market. We can classify these monitors into various categories based on shape, size, resolution, refresh rate, aspect ratio, connection ports, etc.

Projector

A projector is an output device that projects the computer output onto a wall or large screen. It is an alternative to the Monitor, which is used for a large number of viewers. It is ideal for business presentations, training, cinema, and auditoriums.

Printer

The printer is an output device. It can print the information or processed data on paper in the form of text and images. The printed copy produced by the printer is often called a hard copy. Nowadays, there are a variety of printers available in the market. They are attached to the computer with a wired or wireless connection.

Plotter

A plotter is also a printing device like a printer. Mostly it is used to print vector graphics. Unlike a printer, it uses writing tools such as pens, pencils, or markers, etc. This writing tool draws continuous lines to print the graphics rather than a series of dots. Instead of the writing tool, some plotter uses a knife or cutter to cut designs on vinyl, leather, etc. These types of plotters are called cutting plotters.

After the introduction of new high DPI inkjet and laser printers, these plotters are rarely used. Moreover, the term plotter now refers to larger size printers.

Speakers

Speakers are very popular output devices used to produce audio output in the form of sound waves. They usually come in 2.1, 5.1, or 7.1 to produce stereo or surround sound. Modern speakers are connected to computers using various wired or wireless technologies.

CS101 Computer Basic

Topic 10: Various Output Devices