Super VGA (SVGA) is a broad term that covers a wide range of computer display standards that extended IBM's VGA specification. When used as shorthand for a resolution, as VGA and

XGA The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height ar ...

often are, SVGA refers to a resolution of 800×600.

History

In the late 1980s, after the release of IBM's VGA, third-party manufacturers began making graphics cards based on its specifications with extended capabilities. As these cards grew in popularity they began to be referred to as "Super VGA." This term was not an official standard, but a shorthand for enhanced VGA cards which had become common by 1988. One card that explicitly used the term was Genoa's SuperVGA HiRes. Super VGA cards broke compatibility with the IBM VGA standard, requiring software developers to provide specific display drivers and implementations for each card their software could operate on. Initially, the heavy restrictions this placed on software developers slowed the uptake of Super VGA cards, which motivated

VESA VESA (), formally known as Video Electronics Standards Association, is an American technical standards organization for computer display standards. The organization was incorporated in California in July 1989To retrieve the information, sear ...

to produce a unifying standard, the

VESA BIOS Extensions VESA BIOS Extensions (VBE) is a VESA standard, currently at version 3, that defines the interface that can be used by software to access compliant video boards at high resolutions and bit depths. This is opposed to the "traditional" int 10h BI ...

(VBE), first introduced in 1989, to provide a common software interface to all cards implementing the VBE specification. Eventually, graphics adapters under the Super VGA umbrella would support an innumerable quantity of modes.

Specifications

The VBE standardized the following resolutions: * 800 × 600 with 4- and 8-bit color depth * 1024 × 768 with 4- and 8-bit color depth * 1280 × 1024 with 4- and 8-bit color depth SVGA uses the same DE-15

VGA connector The Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector is a standard connector used for computer video output. Originating with the 1987 IBM PS/2 and its VGA graphics system, the 15-pin connector went on to become ubiquitous on PCs, as well as many monitor ...

as the original standard, and otherwise operates over the same cabling and interfaces as VGA.

Early manufacturers

Some early Super VGA manufacturers (in parentheses, some of their models, where available) were: * Ahead Technologies (''Not related to Nero AG (formerly Ahead Software)'') * Amdek (VGA ADAPTER/132) *

AST Research, Inc. AST Research, Inc., later doing business as AST Computer, was a personal computer manufacturer. It was founded in 1980 in Irvine, California by Albert Wong, Safi Qureshey, and Thomas Yuen, as an initialism of their first names. In the 1980s, A ...

(VGA Plus (rebranded Paradise)) *

ATI Technologies ATI Technologies Inc. (commonly called ATI) was a Canadian semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technology Inc., ...

(VIP (82C451 (1987)), VGA Wonder) * Chips and Technologies (82C451 (1987)) *

Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Inc. is an American fabless semiconductor supplier that specializes in analog, mixed-signal, and audio DSP integrated circuits (ICs). Since 1998, the company's headquarters have been in Austin, Texas. The company's audio proces ...

(CL-GD410/420 (1987)) *

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

(VGC Board) * Everex * Genoa Systems (Genoa VGA 5100-5400 (ET3000)) * Orchid Technology (Designer VGA (ET3000), Pro Designer Plus) *

Western Digital Western Digital Corporation (WDC, commonly known as Western Digital or WD) is an American computer drive manufacturer and data storage company, headquartered in San Jose, California. It designs, manufactures and sells data technology products ...

's Paradise Inc. (VGA Plus (PVGA1 (1987)),VGA Plus 16, VGA Pro) *

Sigma Designs Sigma Designs was an American public corporation that designed and built high-performance system-on-a-chip semiconductor technologies for Internet-based set-top boxes, DVD players/recorders, high-definition televisions, media processors, digital ...

(SigmaVGA (ET3000)) * STB Systems (VGA Extra/EM (ET3000 (1987))) V-RAM VGA (1988)) * Willow (VGA-TV/Publisher's, VGA-TV + Genlock) * Trident Microsystems (TVGA8800, TVGA8900, and TVGA9000 series)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Video Graphics Array Computer display standards VESA