Source : WordNet®

visual display unit
     n : (British) a device for displaying input signals as letters
         on a screen; usually has a keyboard [syn: {VDU}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Visual Display Unit
     
         (VDU, or "video terminal", "video display
        terminal", VDT, "display terminal") A device incorporating a
        {cathode ray tube} (CRT) display, a keyboard and a {serial
        port}.  A VDU usually also includes its own display
        electronics which store the received data and convert it into
        electrical waveforms to drive the CRT.
     
        VDUs fall into two categories: {dumb terminals} and
        {intelligent terminals} (sometimes called "programmable
        terminals").
     
        Early VDUs could only display characters in a single preset
        {font}, and these were confined to being layed out in a
        rectangular grid, reproducing the functionality of the
        paper-based {teletypes} they were designed to replace.
     
        Later models added graphics facilities but were still driven
        via serial communications, typically with several VDUs
        attached to a single multi-user computer.  This contrasts with
        the much faster single {bitmap displays} integrated into most
        modern single-user {personal computers} and {workstations}.
     
        The term "Display Screen Equipment" (DSE) is used almost
        exclusively in connection with the health and safety issues
        concerning VDUs.
     
        {Working with VDUs - UK Heath and Safety Executive
        (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf)}.
     
        (2002-11-09)