<s>
VESA	B-Device
BIOS	I-Device
Extensions	I-Device
(	O
VBE	B-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
VESA	O
standard	O
,	O
currently	O
at	O
version	O
3	O
,	O
that	O
defines	O
the	O
interface	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
software	O
to	O
access	O
compliant	O
video	B-Device
boards	I-Device
at	O
high	O
resolutions	O
and	O
bit	O
depths	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
traditional	O
"	O
INT	B-Device
10h	I-Device
BIOS	B-Operating_System
calls	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
limited	O
to	O
resolutions	O
of	O
640×480	B-General_Concept
pixels	B-Algorithm
with	O
16	O
colour	O
(	O
4-bit	O
)	O
depth	O
or	O
less	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
is	O
made	O
available	O
through	O
the	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
's	I-Device
BIOS	I-Device
,	O
which	O
installs	O
during	O
boot	B-Operating_System
up	I-Operating_System
some	O
interrupt	B-Application
vectors	O
that	O
point	O
to	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
newer	O
cards	O
implement	O
the	O
more	O
capable	O
VBE	B-Device
3.0	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
versions	O
of	O
VBE	B-Device
provide	O
only	O
a	O
real	B-Application
mode	I-Application
interface	O
,	O
which	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
without	O
a	O
significant	O
performance	O
penalty	O
from	O
within	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
standard	O
has	O
almost	O
never	O
been	O
used	O
for	O
writing	O
a	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
's	O
drivers	O
;	O
each	O
vendor	O
has	O
thus	O
had	O
to	O
invent	O
a	O
proprietary	O
protocol	O
for	O
communicating	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
common	O
that	O
a	O
driver	O
thunk	B-Application
out	O
to	O
the	O
real	B-Application
mode	I-Application
interrupt	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
initialize	O
screen	B-Device
modes	I-Device
and	O
gain	O
direct	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
card	O
's	O
linear	B-Algorithm
frame	I-Algorithm
buffer	I-Algorithm
,	O
because	O
these	O
tasks	O
would	O
otherwise	O
require	O
handling	O
many	O
hundreds	O
of	O
proprietary	O
variations	O
that	O
exist	O
from	O
card	O
to	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
EFI	B-Architecture
1.x	O
systems	O
,	O
the	O
INT	B-Device
10H	I-Device
and	O
the	O
VESA	B-Device
BIOS	I-Device
Extensions	I-Device
(	O
VBE	B-Device
)	O
are	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
EFI	B-Architecture
UGA	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
widely	O
used	O
UEFI	B-Architecture
2.x	O
systems	O
,	O
the	O
INT	B-Device
10H	I-Device
and	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
are	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
UEFI	B-Architecture
GOP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
1.0	O
(	O
VS891001	O
)	O
was	O
defined	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
1.1	O
(	O
VS900602	O
)	O
was	O
defined	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
1.2	O
(	O
VS911022	O
)	O
was	O
defined	O
in	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
versions	O
of	O
VBE	B-Device
require	O
real	B-Application
mode	I-Application
to	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
defines	O
several	O
new	O
functions	O
called	O
through	O
INT	B-Device
10H	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
00h	O
to	O
05h	O
were	O
defined	O
in	O
VBE	B-Device
1.0	O
,	O
06h	O
and	O
07h	O
in	O
1.1	O
,	O
and	O
08h	O
in	O
1.2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
standard	O
provides	O
the	O
primary	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
VESA	B-Device
BIOS	I-Device
Extensions	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allows	O
applications	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
and	O
provides	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
set	O
the	O
display	O
modes	O
that	O
are	O
found	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
2.0	O
adds	O
some	O
new	O
features	O
above	O
the	O
prior	O
VBE	B-Device
1.2	O
standard	O
including	O
linear	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
access	O
and	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
banking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
Core	O
2.0	O
features	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Linear	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
access	O
Enables	O
direct	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
access	O
in	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
as	O
one	O
large	O
area	O
of	O
memory	O
instead	O
of	O
less	O
efficient	O
smaller	O
chunks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
banking	O
Allows	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
from	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
without	O
"	O
thunking	B-Application
"	O
down	O
to	O
real	B-Application
mode	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Super	O
VGA	O
virtual	O
screens	O
Allows	O
software	O
to	O
set	O
up	O
virtual	O
display	B-General_Concept
resolutions	I-General_Concept
,	O
larger	O
than	O
the	O
actual	O
displayed	O
resolution	O
,	O
and	O
smoothly	O
scroll	O
or	O
pan	O
around	O
the	O
larger	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
superset	O
of	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
2.0	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
standard	O
adds	O
refresh	O
rate	O
control	O
,	O
facilities	O
for	O
stereo	B-Algorithm
glasses	I-Algorithm
,	O
improved	O
multi-buffering	O
and	O
other	O
functions	O
to	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
2.0	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Triple	O
buffering	O
Allows	O
high	O
speed	O
applications	O
to	O
perform	O
multi-buffering	O
with	O
less	O
screen	O
flickering	O
and	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
wait	O
for	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
controller	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Refresh	O
rate	O
control	O
using	O
GTF	O
timings	O
This	O
allows	O
applications	O
and	O
operating	O
system	O
utilities	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
refresh	O
rate	O
in	O
a	O
standard	O
way	O
on	O
all	O
VBE	B-Device
3.0	O
graphics	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stereo	O
page	O
flipping	O
When	O
viewing	O
an	O
application	O
using	O
stereo	B-Algorithm
glasses	I-Algorithm
,	O
software	O
needs	O
to	O
page	O
flip	O
twice	O
as	O
often	O
as	O
normal	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
needs	O
to	O
generate	O
separate	O
images	O
for	O
each	O
eye	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	O
stereo	O
sync	O
Allows	O
stereo	O
software	O
to	O
determine	O
if	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
connector	O
for	O
stereo	B-Algorithm
glasses	I-Algorithm
on	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
"	O
Protected	B-Application
Mode	I-Application
Entry	O
Point	O
"	O
was	O
added	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
Function	O
0Ah	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE/AF	O
provides	O
a	O
low-level	O
,	O
standard	O
interface	O
to	O
common	O
acceleration	O
functions	O
available	O
on	O
most	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
functions	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
standard	O
are	O
access	O
to	O
hardware	O
cursors	O
,	O
Bit	B-Algorithm
Block	I-Algorithm
Transfers	I-Algorithm
(	O
Bit	O
Blt	O
)	O
,	O
off	O
screen	O
sprites	O
,	O
hardware	O
panning	O
,	O
drawing	O
and	O
other	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
defined	O
to	O
work	O
under	O
32-bit	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
widespraed	O
adoption	O
of	O
VBE	B-Device
Core	O
,	O
very	O
few	O
devices	O
support	O
VBE/AF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
implements	O
free	B-Application
third-party	O
VBE/AF	O
drivers	O
for	O
certain	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
DPMS	O
is	O
a	O
hardware	O
standard	O
that	O
allows	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
DPMS-compliant	O
monitors	O
via	O
a	O
special	O
signalling	O
system	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
existing	O
graphics	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
and	O
monitor	B-Device
cables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
signalling	O
system	O
allows	O
the	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
to	O
tell	O
the	O
monitor	B-Device
to	O
go	O
into	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
power	O
management	O
or	O
power	O
saving	O
states	O
,	O
which	O
effectively	O
allow	O
the	O
monitor	B-Device
to	O
turn	O
itself	O
off	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
in	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
(	O
version	O
1.00	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
VBE/AI	B-Device
specification	O
defines	O
three	O
device	O
classes	O
:	O
WAVE	O
,	O
MIDI	O
,	O
and	O
VOLUME	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Effects	O
processors	O
This	O
class	O
of	O
device	O
will	O
be	O
expanded	O
in	O
future	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
VBE/AI	B-Device
specification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Display	O
Data	O
Channel	O
or	O
DDC	O
is	O
a	O
digital	O
connection	O
between	O
a	O
computer	B-Device
display	I-Device
and	O
a	O
graphics	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
that	O
allows	O
the	O
display	O
to	O
communicate	O
its	O
specifications	O
to	O
the	O
adapter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
mode	O
number	O
is	O
a	O
16-bit	O
value	O
,	O
the	O
optional	O
VBE	B-Device
mode	O
numbers	O
are	O
14	O
bits	O
wide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bit	O
15	O
is	O
used	O
by	O
VGA	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
flag	O
to	O
clear	O
or	O
preserve	O
display	B-Algorithm
memory	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBE	B-Device
defined	O
mode	O
numbers	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
bit	O
8	O
is	O
1	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
VESA	O
defined	O
VBE	B-Device
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
set	O
to	O
1	O
,	O
use	O
user	O
specified	O
CRTC	O
values	O
for	O
refresh	O
rate	O
,	O
otherwise	O
use	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
default	O
refresh	O
rate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
12	O
–	O
13	O
Reserved	O
for	O
VBE/AF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
14	O
Linear/Flat	O
Frame	B-Algorithm
Buffer	I-Algorithm
Select	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
set	O
to	O
1	O
,	O
use	O
linear	B-Algorithm
frame	I-Algorithm
buffer	I-Algorithm
,	O
otherwise	O
use	O
banked	O
frame	B-Algorithm
buffer	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
15	O
Preserve	O
Display	B-Algorithm
Memory	I-Algorithm
Select	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
set	O
to	O
1	O
,	O
preserve	O
display	B-Algorithm
memory	I-Algorithm
,	O
otherwise	O
clear	O
display	B-Algorithm
memory	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
VBE/Core	B-Application
2.0	I-Application
,	O
VESA	O
no	O
longer	O
defines	O
new	O
VESA	O
mode	O
numbers	O
and	O
no	O
longer	O
requires	O
a	O
device	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
old	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
properly	O
detect	O
information	O
of	O
a	O
screen	O
mode	O
,	O
use	O
Function	O
01h	O
-	O
Return	O
VBE	B-Device
Mode	O
Information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
with	O
the	O
VBE	B-Device
2.0	O
standard	O
,	O
no	O
new	O
modes	O
will	O
be	O
defined	O
by	O
VESA	O
,	O
and	O
old	O
modes	O
are	O
no	O
longer	O
mandatory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
defined	O
modes	O
should	O
be	O
considered	O
deprecated	O
:	O
modern	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
use	O
these	O
mode	O
numbers	O
(	O
even	O
though	O
most	O
do	O
for	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
modern	O
software	O
should	O
not	O
use	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
correct	O
way	O
for	O
software	O
to	O
discover	O
available	O
display	O
modes	O
is	O
to	O
obtain	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
modes	O
(	O
using	O
"	O
Function	O
00h	O
-	O
Return	O
VBE	B-Device
Controller	O
Information	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
then	O
to	O
check	O
each	O
mode	O
(	O
using	O
"	O
Function	O
01h	O
:	O
Return	O
VBE	B-Device
Mode	O
Information	O
"	O
)	O
until	O
it	O
finds	O
the	O
mode/s	O
it	O
requires	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
table	O
below	O
combines	O
the	O
modes	O
defined	O
by	O
VESA	O
(	O
the	O
values	O
denoted	O
in	O
black	O
)	O
along	O
with	O
modes	O
commonly	O
used	O
,	O
but	O
which	O
may	O
not	O
work	O
on	O
all	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
as	O
they	O
are	O
not	O
defined	O
by	O
any	O
standard	O
(	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Graphics	O
modes	O
320×200	O
640×400	O
640×480	B-General_Concept
800×600	B-General_Concept
1,024	O
×768	O
×	O
16-color	O
palette	O
Modes	O
available	O
via	O
the	O
traditional	O
10h	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
call	O
258	O
(	O
0102h	O
)	O
,	O
106	O
(	O
6Ah	O
)	O
260	O
(	O
0104h	O
)	O
262	O
(	O
0106h	O
)	O
256-color	O
palette	O
256	O
(	O
0100h	O
)	O
257	O
(	O
0101h	O
)	O
259	O
(	O
0103h	O
)	O
261	O
(	O
0105h	O
)	O
263	O
(	O
0107h	O
)	O
also	O
appears	O
to	O
select	O
×800	O
(	O
8-bit	O
)	O
for	O
various	O
laptops	O
 '	O
displays	O
15-bit	O
(	O
5:5:5	O
)	O
269	O
(	O
010Dh	O
)	O
272	O
(	O
0110h	O
)	O
275	O
(	O
0113h	O
)	O
278	O
(	O
0116h	O
)	O
281	O
(	O
0119h	O
)	O
16-bit	O
(	O
5:6:5	O
)	O
270	O
(	O
010Eh	O
)	O
273	O
(	O
0111h	O
)	O
276	O
(	O
0114h	O
)	O
279	O
(	O
0117h	O
)	O
282	O
(	O
011Ah	O
)	O
24-bit	O
(	O
8:8:8	O
)	O
271	O
(	O
010Fh	O
)	O
274	O
(	O
0112h	O
)	O
277	O
(	O
0115h	O
)	O
280	O
(	O
0118h	O
)	O
283	O
(	O
011Bh	O
)	O
32-bit	O
is	O
really	O
(	O
8:8:8:8	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
final	O
8-bit	O
number	O
is	O
an	O
"	O
empty	O
"	O
alpha	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
GPUs	O
use	O
32-bit	O
color	O
mode	O
instead	O
of	O
24-bit	O
mode	O
merely	O
for	O
faster	O
video	O
memory	O
access	O
through	O
32-bit	O
memory	B-Application
alignment	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
few	O
tools	O
have	O
been	O
written	O
to	O
detect	O
VBE	B-Device
modes	O
available	O
on	O
a	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
hwinfo	O
is	O
the	O
hardware	O
detection	O
tool	O
used	O
in	O
SuSE	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
in	O
some	O
other	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Running	O
hwinfo	O
--framebuffer	O
reports	O
graphics	O
information	O
,	O
including	O
VESA	O
modes	O
on	O
a	O
"	O
Mode	O
"	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
mdt	O
is	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
or	O
DOS	B-Device
tool	O
that	O
uses	O
VESA	B-Device
BIOS	I-Device
functions	O
to	O
read	O
monitor	B-Device
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Application
Real	B-Application
Mode	I-Application
Interface	O
(	O
LRMI	O
)	O
has	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
prints	O
out	O
VESA	O
info	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SciTech	O
Software	O
had	O
a	O
unrelated	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
that	O
dates	O
back	O
to	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
x86	O
"	O
PC	O
"	O
version	O
GNU	B-Application
GRUB	I-Application
2	O
has	O
a	O
command	O
for	O
printing	O
out	O
available	O
video	O
modes	O
and	O
for	O
trying	O
a	O
specific	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
other	O
platforms	O
,	O
including	O
x86	O
EFI	B-Architecture
,	O
they	O
are	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
more	O
generic	O
and	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Application
kernel	I-Application
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
select	O
the	O
VESA	O
mode	O
at	O
boot	B-Operating_System
time	I-Operating_System
by	O
passing	O
a	O
code	O
in	O
memory	O
to	O
the	O
kernel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LILO	O
boot	B-Operating_System
loader	O
passes	O
this	O
code	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
"	O
vga	O
"	O
parameter	O
in	O
its	O
configuration	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
'	O
vga=	O
 '	O
boot	B-Operating_System
loader	O
parameter	O
does	O
not	O
directly	O
accept	O
VESA	O
video	O
mode	O
numbers	O
;	O
rather	O
,	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
video	O
mode	O
number	O
is	O
the	O
VESA	O
number	O
plus	O
512	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
the	O
decimal	O
representation	O
)	O
or	O
plus	O
0x200	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
the	O
hexadecimal	O
representation	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
defined	O
VESA	O
value	O
of	O
257	O
(	O
0x101	O
)	O
,	O
representing	O
640x480	O
and	O
256	O
colours	O
,	O
has	O
an	O
equivalent	O
Linux	B-Application
video	O
mode	O
value	O
of	O
769	O
(	O
0x301	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
indicated	O
earlier	O
,	O
the	O
VESA	O
standard	O
defines	O
a	O
limited	O
set	O
of	O
modes	O
;	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
none	O
above	O
×	O
are	O
covered	O
and	O
,	O
instead	O
,	O
their	O
implementation	O
is	O
completely	O
optional	O
for	O
graphics	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
vendors	O
are	O
free	B-Application
to	O
utilize	O
whatever	O
additional	O
values	O
they	O
please	O
,	O
this	O
means	O
that	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
table	O
below	O
,	O
the	O
modes	O
(	O
and	O
expressed	O
in	O
decimal	O
form	O
)	O
may	O
not	O
apply	O
to	O
your	O
graphics	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
!	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
GPUs	O
use	O
32-bit	O
colour	O
mode	O
instead	O
of	O
24-bit	O
mode	O
merely	O
for	O
faster	O
video	O
memory	O
access	O
through	O
32-bit	O
memory	B-Application
alignment	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VESA	B-Device
BIOS	I-Device
emulation	O
in	O
the	O
Parallels	B-Language
virtual	O
machine	O
has	O
a	O
different	O
set	O
of	O
non-standard	O
VESA	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
