Get ready for monitor format war

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The computer world is no stranger to format wars and we're about to have another one with the new connection format to the next generation of computer monitors. Oh yes, we're about to mix it all up again.We used to connect monitors via those blue plugs and get the so-so VGA picture. A step up from that is the white DVI plug, the bigger flatter one that started showing up on video cards and monitors a few years ago. That gave computer users a digital output and a pretty glorious picture if consumers knew enough to use that connection instead of the blue one.Now comes the confusing part.Many manufacturers now are shipping monitors with HDMI ports, the USB-looking ports found on many HDTVs. These are cool ports (when they work, but that's another column) that also are capable of carrying digital audio. There is a large push to make HDMI the standard for computer monitors going forward. However, manufacturers have to pay a 4-cent per device royalty for the right to use the HDMI technology.Four cents! That will never stand, so some, including Dell, are trumpeting a competing (royalty free) format called DisplayPort, which is not compatible with HDMI, of course. There are nerds and geeks who are trumpeting the merits of both in Apple bars everywhere but the bottom line is we have another war on our hands.The good news is the winner is already at hand. HDMI is already installed on every high-def TV on the planet and will be crowned the winner in the monitor wars as well. Everyone knows what it is, everyone knows how it works and the cables are in Wal-Mart.For a while we will see monitors that have both jacks on it but in the end it will cost lots more than four cents to include the DisplayPort technology in the monitors and it will follow the Betamax into the sunset of good ideas that didn't last, right next to the GM EV1 and Lotus Magellan.Getting back to monitors, what you need to do is make sure you are using the best connection your current equipment can support. If you are using blue-ended cables to connect your monitor and PC today, look at both ends and see if you have DVI ports on your computer and your monitor. If you do, get a $15 cable and enjoy better picture today.On your next PC, splurge for a good video card and a good monitor and really see what a good picture is all about. Set the refresh rate where your monitor manufacturer recommends. Update the video drivers for the card AND the monitor so they are in sync. Most consumers don't do either and really have a crummy picture all day or stare at a flickering image.Most of all, get a decent monitor brand with a good contrast ratio and at least a one-year warranty.(James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm and a tech columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim(at)cyberdads.com)