[NUC] What is Display Emulation and How Do you Enable it on NUC Products?

What is it?

Display emulation is a feature added to some NUC products. It enables remote access of the system in a headless configuration, as well as toleration of display connectivity interruptions without the operating system redetecting and rearranging the display layout.

How does it work?

Three options:

  • No display emulation - No display emulation is active. This is the default setting.
  • Virtual display emulation - The system creates a virtual 1280x1024 display when it starts with no displays connected.
  • Persistent display emulation - The system is trained with the EDID1 (Extended Display Identification Data) information provided by each display connected upon first starting with this option selected. It then retains these parameters regardless of display power or connectivity interruptions. The EDID information from each display will remain programmed through S3, S4, and S5 power states until the feature is disabled.

1EDID is a metadata format used by display devices to describe their capabilities to a video source. The format is defined by a standard published by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA).

How to enable it:

  1. Press F2 during boot to enter the BIOS.
  2. Once in the BIOS, select: Advanced > Devices > Video.
  3. Select the Display Emulation option.

Watch NUC Mini PCs Display Emulation Demo.

Which the NUC products support display emulation?

  • NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit NUC13VYK[x]

NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Mini PC NUC13VYK[x]

NUC 13 Pro Mini PC NUC13AN[x][x]

NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13AN[x][x]

NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13L3[x][x]

NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13L5[x][x]

NUC 13 Pro Board NUC13ANB[x]

NUC 13 Pro Board NUC13L3B[x]

NUC 13 Pro Board NUC13L5B[x]

NUC 12 Pro Kit NUC12WS[x][x]

NUC 12 Pro Mini PC NUC12WS[x][x]

NUC 12 Pro Board NUC12WSB[x][x]

NUC 11 Enthusiast Kit - NUC11PHKi7C

NUC 11 Enthusiast Mini PC - NUC11PHKi7CAA 

NUC 11 Pro Kits NUC11TNx 

NUC 11 Pro Mini PCs NUC11TNK

NUC 11 Pro Boards NUC11TNB

NUC 8 Pro Kits NUC8xxPNx

NUC 8 Pro Mini PCs NUC8xxPNK

NUC 8 Pro Boards NUC8xxPNB

NUC 8 Rugged Kit NUC8CCHKRx

NUC Rugged Chassis Element CMCR1AB

NUC Rugged Board Element CMB1AB

NUC Kits NUC7ixDN

NUC Mini PCs NUC7ixDN

  • NUC Boards NUC7ixDN

This feature doesn't require a display, keyboard, and/or mouse be connected during use.

Check the Technical Product Specifications for NUC Products for more information.