Abstract: 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.