Asus’ new 24-inch monitor MS248B looks like the average PC monitor at first glance. However, it has one very unique feature. MS248B only requires a single USB 3.0 cable to transmit power and video.

Asus MS248B only needs one cable
We have seen several examples of monitors that were based on USB 2.0 as well as wireless monitors. But all of them required a separate power cable.

Asus plans to change that when they release their new 24-inch MS248B monitor. MS248B only has one input USB 3.0 (successor to USB 2.0 with higher bandwidth) connector. USB 3.0 takes care of both video signals and power from the PC and that means that you can ditch the separate power cable.


Asus MS248B is first USB-powered monitor

So how is that possible? First and foremost because of the monitor’s extremely low power consumption. By using Edge LED lighting and removing all unnecessary features such as speakers, webcam, card reader and audio outputs, Asus has managed to lower power consumption to just 9 W - low enough to be supported by USB 3.0.

Still, the monitor has the same specs as most 24-inch monitors today with a 1920x1080 resolution, 2 ms (g2g) response time and a 16.5 mm thick cabinet. The monitor is based on a TN panel.

Thus, USB 3.0 could prove to be a valuable addition for future PC monitors if manufacturers embrace the standard. Today, USB 2.0 is widely incorporated and also used in some monitors for video signals. However, it has too low bandwidth to support high quality pictures. USB 3.0 will be competing with Apple/Intel's new Thunderbolt connector that also supports video signals. 

Source: ITProportal.com