Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Monitor
To make the most of your Raspberry Pi, you need a monitor. Raspberry Pi
supports two different types of monitors:
•
HDMI
: This is a modern connector that supports the sending of both
high-definition video and audio through one cable. All modern TVs
and more and more computer monitors support HDMI.
•
AV
: This is an older standard that lets you connect your Raspberry Pi to
an older TV. Both Raspberry Pi A and B have a standard AV connector at
the side. If you have a Raspberry Pi A+ or B+ you can see that the AV
connector is now built into the headphones connector, and you will need
to buy an adaptor to be able to connect to your TV.
When you connect your Raspberry Pi to your monitor, it is important to make sure
that you select the input on your monitor as the input you are using.
It is important to remember that you don't need a monitor to operate a Raspberry
Pi once you have it up and running. It is, however, quite difficult to initially
configure your Raspberry Pi without one.
Keyboard and mouse
A Raspberry Pi supports almost all USB keyboards and mouse. If you have a
Raspberry Pi A or B, these will take both the USB ports that you have. Unless
you have a Raspberry Pi B+ with four USB ports, we highly recommend that you
plug a USB hub into your Raspberry Pi so that you have a few extra USB ports
that you can use. You can check whether your keyboard and mouse are supported
SD card
You have already prepared an SD card in the previous chapter with Raspbian on it.
You will need to plug this SD card into the Raspberry Pi. Make sure that you don't
unplug the SD card while the Raspberry Pi is running.
Network connection
To be able to make the most of your Raspberry Pi, you will need a connection to the
Internet. Raspberry Pi B and B+ both come with an Ethernet connector with which
you can plug your Raspberry Pi into your router. To connect your Raspberry Pi
to the Internet using Wi-Fi, you will need a USB to Wi-Fi adaptor. If you want to
connect a Raspberry Pi A or A+ to the Internet using Wi-Fi, you will need to use
a powered USB hub.
