At the moment, most monitors support a feature called DDC / CI, but not many people have heard of her, and much less know what it is for or how to use it. This is partly because most monitor manufacturers are unwilling to develop proprietary software for them..
What is DDC / CI?
Display Data Channel (DDC) / Command Interface (CI) It is a type of communication between the computer and the monitor. Contains a collection of protocols that are used to facilitate the transmission of display-related information between the computer screen and the display adapter..
DDC essentially allows the monitor to inform the computer about its supported display modes. But what is more important, a display data channel allows the user to monitor and change monitor characteristics, like glitter, contrast and color palette, directly from your computer.
On a very basic level, DDC / CI provides Plug functionality & Play al monitor. Many monitor models will have less than intuitive user interfaces, so it is understandable that some users are looking for ways to avoid the clunky buttons that many monitor models have..
Command Command Interface (CI) is the channel that the two parties involved (computer and monitor) they are using to send and receive commands to each other. Some DDC monitors / CI can even support auto pan technology: A built-in rotation sensor inside the monitor allows you to keep the screen straight even if the monitor is physically moved in horizontal and vertical positions.
How to use DDC / CI
To use DDC / CI, you need to make sure your monitor is capable of supporting it first. But if you have bought your monitors in the last 3-4 years, DDC / CI must be compatible.
There are some monitor manufacturers that have developed their own proprietary software that works with DDC / CI (like Samsung MagicTune), but that obviously won't work with monitors outside of Samsung's purview.
If you are looking for a universal program that allows you to use DDC / CI regardless of the manufacturer of your monitor, we got it covered. This is ideal for cases where a multi-monitor setup is used. (from different manufacturers): DDC / CI will allow you to gain control over all your active displays.
ClickMonitorDDC is a free portable tool that will allow you to adjust the brightness and contrast of any DDC compatible monitor by simply adjusting a series of sliders.. You will have easy access to your monitor controls at any time just by clicking the notification icon in the software (in the tray area of the taskbar).
Here is a quick guide on how to enable, install and configure DDC / CI using ClickMonitorDDC:
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Press the physical settings button on your monitor, look through config to see if DDC / CI is on. If that is not the case, make sure to turn it on. As you can imagine, the exact steps to do this will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Note: Most models will have the DDC option / CI enabled by default, but it's good to make sure the option is enabled before proceeding to the next steps.
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Visit this link here and click Download Installation Version to download the latest version of ClickMonitorDDC.
Note: You can also download the portable versions, but our tests showed that installing it via Windows Install is much more stable.
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Once the download is complete, double click the ClickMonitorDDC installation executable and click Yes in the UAC (User account control) to grant you administrative privileges.
Note: Since the installer is not signed by a verified publisher, you may need to click Show more details and click Yes to the UAC prompt.
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Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. You don't have to change anything, just leave the default settings and click Install to complete the installation.
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Once the installation is complete, inicie ClickMonitorDDC.
When you start the application for the first time, will automatically detect all monitors connected to your computer. We tested it in a dual monitor setup (Asus + Acer) and it worked perfectly. You can see all the connected monitors at the top and you can control each of them individually.
Besides adjusting things like brightness, the contrast and volume of the built-in speakers, you can also switch input sources or turn them off without having to physically press the power button.
You can also dive into ClickMonitorDDC settings to assign custom names to your monitors for easy access.
Note: note that not all monitors will allow you to change the contrast. According to our research, this usually happens with laptop screens.
If you don't like the ClickMonitorDDC user interface, we also find other free alternatives for you:
But keep in mind that these programs are exclusive to a certain manufacturer or will require a technical person to do the initial setup. Then, if you are looking for something simple that allows you to set it up in minutes, I would choose ClickMonitorDDC.
