Video on SGI Workstations

SGI workstations are capable of displaying a wide range of video resolutions and frequencies. e.g. 1280x1024 at 72Hz, 646x486 at 30Hz interlaced, 1600x1200 at 60Hz, 1024x768 at 96Hz stereo.



The specific video format that an SGI displays is controlled by the command /usr/gfx/setmon.

On all machines except the Infinite Reality, the formats are restricted to those provided by Silicon Graphics. The common formats are listed in the setmon man page. All of the formats available are in a subdirectory of /usr/gfx/ucode; the man page tells which exact directory, which depends on the graphics hardware.

For example:

/usr/gfx/setmon -n 75hz
will change the display to be 1280x1024 at 75Hz (if the hardware supports this format).


Last modified 15 October 1998.
Dave Pape, pape@evl.uic.edu