CompTIA A+ 1101 (Laptop) Display Types

LCD (Acronym)

Liquid Crystal Display

TN LCD (Acronym)

Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Display

IPS LCD (Acronym)

In Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Display

VA LCD (Acronym)

Vertical Alignment Liquid Crystal Display

OLED (Acronym)

Organic Light Emitting Diode

LED (Acronym)

Light Emitting Diode

LCD

- light shines through liquid crystals

advantages:
- lightweight
- relatively low power
- relatively inexpensive

disadvantages:
- black levels are a challenge
- requires a separate backlight (such as florescent or LED)

TN LCD

- original LCD technology
- fast response times
- poor viewing angles (color shifts)

IPS LCD

- excellent color representation
- more expensive than TN LCD

VA LCD

- "middleground" LCD
- good color representation
- slower response times than TN LCD

OLED

- organic compound emits light when receiving an electric current

advantages:
- thinner and lighter than LCD (commonly used for mobile devices)
- no backlight needed
- very accurate color representation

disadvantages:
- costlier than LCD

fluorescent backlighting

- LCD backlighting type
- often seen on older laptops
- uses an inverter to convert DC power to AC power

CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp)
- high voltage and power needed
- very thick

LED backlighting

- LED backlit LCD
- contains a matrix of LEDs behind the screen and LEDs surrounding the edge of the screen