Viewscreen A viewscreen ( or main viewer ) was an audio / visual device used as early as the 2150s aboard starship s , space station s , and at planet ary facilities by space - faring organizations including Starfleet , the Borg Collective , the Cardassian Union , the Klingon Empire , and the Romulan Star Empire . These devices were used to display various types of images from sensor data and communication s signals . General specifications . Generally consisting of a large screen or window located on the bridge of a starship ( or operations center of a space station or starbase ) , the viewscreen was an almost universal facet of space exploration and colonization dating as far back as the 22nd century , surviving well into the 23rd and 24th centuries . Typically used to display images of the area immediately around or in front of a starship , the viewscreen could provide views from all directions , as well as call up data from the library computer . It was also essential in ship - to - ship communication , allowing face - to - face conference if so desired , utilizing subspace and other communications systems . Visual contact , however , could only be achieved when in visual range . Intra - ship communications were also possible , though the main viewer was rarely used for this function . ( ; ; ; ; ) When necessary , the image on the viewscreen could be magnified - 24th century starships easily gaining a magnification of 10 . The image could also be augmented , with the ship ' s computer displaying extrapolated images or graphics displaying sensor data . ( ; ; ) Starfleet . " Franklin " - type . Installed aboard early Starfleet vessels including starships , the viewscreen was a rectangular window located on the front bulkhead of the main bridge . Rectangular in shape , the window provided a wide screen view of the exterior space before the ship . Computerized and processed data , such as speed and schematics , could be projected or combined with the view . ( ) NX - class . Installed as early as 2151 for starships , the main viewer aboard these vessels provided a wide screen view of the space around the ship , as well as visual communications . They were capable of processing multiple inputs simultaneously , as was sometimes seen when two or more parties wished to have a joint conversation with " Enterprise " . In the year 2152 , the crew of mounted a sophisticated sensor on the grappler arm allowing their sensors to detect and display onscreen cloak ed Suliban and Romulan vessels . ( ) " Kelvin " - type . ships in service during the 2230s were still using window / viewscreen hybrids similar to the earlier . They had three windows for exterior view that could have computer data projected on it . The windows also had digital blinds and could be polarized . ( ) " Walker " - class . By 2249 Starfleet continued using the window - style viewscreen first used on the " Franklin " type starships . Very similar to the " Kelvin " - type viewers , this version was also split into three sections . Information could be displayed such as damage reports and incoming enemy ships and was capable of ship to ship communications . The viewer could enhance images that have been scanned by the ships scanners . The windows had a blue tint to them . ( ) " Crossfield " - class . Continuing a similar style to the " Walker - " class , the viewer on " Crossfield " - class ships featured a large window with blue tint around the edges . Unlike the " Walker " - class it was only a single window and not speared into sections . ( ) " Constitution " - class . Returning to the same basic shape of the 22nd century viewscreen , the main viewer utilized aboard such 23rd century Starfleet vessels as the was mounted at the front of the main bridge and was generally rectangular in shape . Though a smaller viewscreen ( utilized as early as 2254 ) would be supplanted by a larger one in 2266 , the viewscreen aboard the " Constitution " - class vessel generally displayed images with a blue outline and featured a number of controls mounted to the left and right of the monitor . Capable of the same function as previous versions , this viewscreen model could also be used to display sensor data from within the starship , call up cross sectional diagrams of the ship itself , and display data re - routed from other stations . ( ; ; ) Alternate reality . In the alternate reality caused by Nero ' s incursion , the ' s viewscreen continued the " Franklin " - type design up to , at least , 2263 . The viewer was a single , large window roughly 25 feet wide and 10 feet high that peered out to the top of the primary hull ' s forward section and into space . Images , video and data could be projected on it . ( ; " Star Trek Beyond " ) " Constitution " - class refit . During its refit in 2270 , a new viewscreen was placed on the bridge of the " Enterprise " , this one much larger and sometimes utilized to display alert status . By 2293 , refit " Constitution " - class starships incorporated a digital clock mounted at the top of the screen . When the ship was moored in spacedock , the inactive viewscreen displayed a generic graphic . ( ; ) " Galaxy " - class . As early as 2364 , Federation vessels including starships employed holographic viewscreens . While not projecting solid holographic images , the viewscreen installed on the main bridge of such vessels as the displayed three - dimensional images , as though observing the image with the naked eye . Larger than that of the " Constitution " - or starships , the viewscreen aboard the " Galaxy " - class starship featured touch - sensitive controls at the bottom of the screen . Using high resolution , multi - spectral imaging sensor systems and could also be controlled from a panel on the right arm of the command chair or at the ops or tactical stations . ( ) " Galaxy " - class starships also had a smaller viewscreen located on the battle bridge . ( ) " Intrepid " - class . By the year 2371 , starships such as the were equipped with viewscreens also employing holographic technology . Slightly smaller in size , the " Intrepid " - class viewscreen also differed from those of the " Galaxy " - class in that a hologrid was present behind the displayed image . When damaged or deactivated , a hologrid , much like that in the ship ' s holodeck , appeared on the bulkhead . ( ) " Sovereign " - class . One of the more unusual viewscreen designs of the 24th century , the main viewer aboard the utilized a holographic image projected onto the front bulkhead of the main bridge . While most viewscreens aboard Federation vessels of the era did use holographic technology , the images they displayed were generally projected within a clearly defined screen area . Not so aboard the " Enterprise " - E , with the viewscreen appearing from only a small area of projection systems near the floor of the forward bulkhead . When deactivated , the image projected disappeared , leaving only a blank wall in its place . ( ) By 2375 , however , such technology was replaced with a standard format viewscreen installed aboard the " Enterprise " - E , lasting through 2379 until the forward section of the bridge was destroyed during the Battle of the Bassen Rift . ( ; ) Borg . Borg cube s were equipped with special viewscreen technology , projecting images onto a free - floating cube - shaped viewer somewhere within the ship . Such a viewer was utilized by Locutus of Borg during the Borg incursion into Sector 001 in 2367 . ( ; ) Cardassian . During the 24th century , starships and space stations constructed by the Cardassian Union utilized unique , holographically projected viewscreens . Installed aboard warship s and Terok and Empok Nor - type stations , these Cardassian viewers consisted of hollow , oval - shaped frames . Images were projected into these frames , then disappeared when the viewer was deactivated . This same technology was employed in the construction of Cardassian - type viewer s . ( ) The ops aboard Deep Space 9 featured a large viewscreen placed on a wall and allowed viewing from everywhere on ops . ( ) Quark ' s had the option for a large Cardassian style viewscreen to be placed directly in front of the large glass mural in the bar . ( ) Dominion . Jem ' Hadar ships eschewed traditional viewscreens for a virtual display device . Instead of occupying the forward wall of the bridge , the " viewscreen " was in fact a display within portable headsets ( which only the Vorta supervisor and Jem ' Hadar First were allowed to use ) . The headset was not well - tolerated by Human s , who could typically wear it only for short periods . Cardassian s , by contrast , were shown to have similar tolerances to Jem ' Hadar and Vorta . Klingon . As with many things Klingon , viewscreens installed aboard Klingon starships including Birds - of - Prey , warships , and vessels were distinguished by angular shapes . Performing the same basic function as their Federation counterparts , 23rd century Klingon viewscreens aboard such ships as the were able to display tactical information in graphic and photographic formats . ( ; ; ) Romulan . Viewscreens aboard Romulan starships , including warbird s functioned very much like their alien counterparts during the 24th century . Consisting of screens smaller than those used by the Federation and Klingon Empire , Romulan viewscreens ( like that of the ) were rounded - off square shapes , accented with green rectangles at the top of the monitor . As with most starships , the viewscreen was mounted on the forward bulkhead of the main bridge aboard Romulan vessels . ( ) The " Narada " , a Romulan mining vessel , did not appear to have a centralized viewscreen . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In early design drafts for both the and the , the designers contemplated eliminating the viewscreen entirely . Attempts such as the holo - communicator in DS9 and the suspended - in - mid - air viewer in " First Contact " were made , but ultimately gave way to tradition . The viewscreen was considered an important staple of the " Star Trek " universe .