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   What is the difference between an input and output device?
  </title><base href=https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001355.htm><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001355.htm rel=canonical><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/ch.css rel=stylesheet><script async src=https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js></script><meta content=text/html;charset=utf-8 http-equiv=Content-Type><meta content=width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0 name=viewport><meta content="Information about the difference between a computer input and output device."name=description><meta content="What is the difference between an input and output device?"itemprop=name><meta content="Information about the difference between a computer input and output device."itemprop=description><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001355.htm property=og:url><meta content="Information about the difference between a computer input and output device."property=og:description><meta content="What is the difference between an input and output device?"property=og:title><meta content=article property=og:type><meta content=summary name=twitter:card><meta content="What is the difference between an input and output device?"name=twitter:title><meta content="Information about the difference between a computer input and output device."name=twitter:description><meta content=@computerhope name=twitter:creator><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/inputout.jpg property=og:image><meta content=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/inputout.jpg itemprop=image><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/inputout.jpg rel=image_src><link href=https://feeds.feedburner.com/LatestNewPagesOnComputerHope rel=alternate title=RSS-Feed type=application/rss+xml><link href=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/apple-touch-icon.png rel=apple-touch-icon><link rel="shortcut icon"href=https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/favicon.ico type=image/x-icon><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
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Input devices <i> only </i> allow for input of data to a computer and output devices <i> only </i> receive the output of data from another device.<p>Most devices are only input devices or output devices, as they can only accept data input from a user or output data generated by a computer. However, some devices can accept input and display output, and they are referred to as <a href=/jargon/i/io.htm> I/O devices </a> (input/output devices).<p>For example, as shown in the top half of the image, a keyboard sends electrical signals, which are received as <b> input </b> . Those signals are then interpreted by the computer and displayed, or <b> output </b> , on the monitor as text or images. In the lower half of the image, the computer sends, or <b> outputs </b> , data to a printer. Then, that data is printed onto a piece of paper, which is also considered <b> output </b> .<h2>Input devices</h2><p class=tab>An <b> <a href=/jargon/i/input.htm> input </a> </b> device can send data to another device, but it cannot receive data from another device. Examples of input devices include the following.<ul><li><b> <a href=/jargon/k/keyboard.htm> Keyboard </a> </b> and <b> <a href=/jargon/m/mouse.htm> Mouse </a> </b> - Accepts input from a user and sends that data (input) to the computer. They cannot accept or reproduce information (output) from the computer.<li><b> <a href=/jargon/m/microphone.htm> Microphone </a> </b> - Receives sound generated by an input source, and sends that sound to a computer.<li><b> <a href=/jargon/w/webcam.htm> Webcam </a> </b> - Receives images generated by whatever it is pointed at (input) and sends those images to a computer.</ul><div class="tip tab"><span class=title> Tip </span><p>For additional information and examples, see our <a href=/jargon/i/inputdev.htm> input device </a> page.</div><h2>Output devices</h2><p class=tab>An <b> <a href=/jargon/o/output.htm> output </a> </b> device can receive data from another device and generate output with that data, but it cannot send data to another device. Examples of output devices include the following.<ul><li><b> <a href=/jargon/m/monitor.htm> Monitor </a> </b> - Receives data from a computer (output) and displays that information as text and images for users to view. It cannot accept data from a user and send that data to another device.<li><b> <a href=/jargon/p/projecto.htm> Projector </a> </b> - Receives data from a computer (output) and displays, or projects, that information as text and images onto a surface, like a wall or screen. It cannot accept data from a user and send that data to another device.<li><b> <a href=/jargon/s/speaker.htm> Speakers </a> </b> - Receives sound data from a computer and plays the sounds for users to hear. It cannot accept sound generated by users and send that sound to another device.</ul><div class="tip tab"><span class=title> Tip </span><p>For additional information and examples, see our <a href=/jargon/o/outputde.htm> output device </a> page.</div><h2>Input/output devices</h2><p class=tab>An <b> <a href=/jargon/i/io.htm> input/output </a> </b> device can <i> receive </i> data from users, or another device (input), and <i> send </i> data to another device (output). Examples of input/output devices include the following.<ul><li><b> <a href=/jargon/r/rw.htm> CD-RW drive </a> </b> and <b> <a href=/jargon/d/dvdr.htm> DVD-RW drive </a> </b> - Receives data from a computer (input), to copy onto a writable CD or DVD. Also, the drive sends data contained on a CD or DVD (output) to a computer.<li><b> <a href=/jargon/j/jumpdriv.htm> USB flash drive </a> </b> - Receives, or saves, data from a computer (input). Also, the drive sends data to a computer or another device (output).</ul><div class="tip tab"><span class=title> Tip </span><p>For additional information and examples, see our <a href=/jargon/i/io.htm> input/output </a> page.</div><div class=additional><h4>Additional information</h4><ul class=additional-information><li><a href=/issues/ch002031.htm> What's the difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi? </a><li><a href=/issues/ch001629.htm> What is the difference between data and information? </a><li><a href=/issues/ch001361.htm> What is the difference between ROM and RAM? </a><li>See our <a href=/jargon/i/inputdev.htm> input device </a> and <a href=/jargon/o/outputde.htm> output device </a> pages for additional information and links.<li><a href=/hardqa.htm> Computer hardware help and support. </a></ul></div></article><div class=bottomad><ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-3999293766533555 data-ad-format=auto data-ad-slot=6514780129 style=display:block> </ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script><div class=related><ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-3999293766533555 data-ad-format=autorelaxed data-ad-slot=9849691723 style=display:block> </ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script></div></div><div class=cf id=meta_wrap><ul class="options cf"><li class=useful-page><span class=nolink> Was this page useful? </span> <a class=first-child href=/cgi-bin/feedback.cgi?yes rel=nofollow> Yes </a> <a href=/cgi-bin/feedback.cgi?no rel=nofollow> No </a><li><ul><li class=feedback><a title="Give us your feedback about this page"href=/feedback/ rel=nofollow> Feedback </a><li class=email><a title="E-mail Computer Hope"href=/contact/ rel=nofollow> E-mail </a><li class=share><a title="Share this page with friends and social networks"href=/share/ rel=nofollow> Share </a><li class="first-child print"><a onclick="window.print();return false;"title="Print a copy of this page"href=# rel=nofollow> Print </a></ul></ul></div></div><footer><form action=https://www.computerhope.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi class=cf method=post><input class=sbar name=q title=Search><button>Search</button></form><ul class=cf><li class=recent-pages><ol><li class=widget-title><h5>Recently added pages</h5><li id=ra1><li id=ra2><li id=ra3><li id=ra4><li id=ra5><li><a href=/whatnew.htm> View all recent updates </a></ol><li class=useful-links><ol><li class=widget-title><h5>Useful links</h5><li><a href=/more.htm> About Computer Hope </a><li><a href=/sindex.htm> Site Map </a><li><a href=/forum/> Forum </a><li><a href=/contact/> Contact Us </a><li><a href=/issues/ch000586.htm> How to Help </a><li><a href=/chtop10.htm> Top 10 pages </a></ol><li class=social-networks><ol><li class="widget-title first-child"><h5>Follow us</h5><li><a class=facebook href=https://www.facebook.com/computerhope/> Facebook </a><li><a class=twitter href=https://twitter.com/computerhope/> Twitter </a><li><a class=pinterest href=https://www.pinterest.com/computerhope/> Pinterest </a><li><a class=youtube href=https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerhope/> YouTube </a><li><a class=rss href=/rss.htm> RSS </a></ol></ul><div class=copyright><a class=blogo href=/> </a> © 2021 Computer Hope <br><a class=legal href=/legal.htm> Legal Disclaimer - Privacy Statement </a></div></footer></div><script async src=https://www.computerhope.com/ch.js></script><div id=tt></div><script>(function(){window['__CF$cv$params']={r:'6a6ec1d80bcc719b',m:'UZyJ9NYAVr_6cZqJBdX74BiufmeTIsQxaP6tWVIxMoY-1635702956-0-AXGMlygNs16SZG5CvFZeJq93iOS7NPVJKoUMlUX6h6l7QM0nQ5D5Vj8puNyrOH4UocmiV8WVHeMe5M1hOsJS8xCR1ps9DLxCtpaOi+n7QbzPYnVAtg+Z1W/QKNQDsHzaNoE7+bHqFcdKlrAINuvRToA=',s:[0x6aa73d49ed,0xaaac269e61],}})();</script>