a monitor is remotely coupled to a source of display data for real - time display of the data thereon . the display is real - time in that the received data is converted to pixel values and is displayed by the remote monitor almost instantaneously except for some minor data hand - off and transmission delays . the remote monitor can be any kind of conventional text and / or graphics display device , e . g . a cathode ray tube device , but preferably is a flat panel , digital display . preferably the system couples to a pre - existing data bus , e . g . an isa , eisa , vlb or pci bus , and an interface circuit communicates with the source of the display information , such as a processor on the bus . digital pixel values are stored in a local frame buffer . a transmit controller transmits the stored pixel values over a preferably serial , optical transmission medium , to a remote circuit which stores them in a remote frame buffer . a remote processor controls the communication of pixel values from the remote frame buffer to the remote monitor . in some embodiments , the remote processor has data ports , e . g . a keyboard , pointing device and / or a serial port , and can be used to process operator inputs to perform functions such as pan and zoom on the display data . also data input at the remote monitor can be sent back to the bus interface circuit via a second transmission medium , preferably optical and serial .