Display Tech

What is an LCD display?

Liquid Crystal Display

• uses a backlight (LED) shining through liquid crystals and colour filters to produce an image

Do liquid crystals produce light?

LCD monitors Cannot emit light on their, they need a lighting source to display an image

What are the three types of LCDs?

In-Plane Switching (IPS), Twisted Nematic (TN), Vertical Alignment (VA)

What provides the energy to the backlight in a LCD monitor?

The inverter provides power

• A small circuit board installed behind the LCD panel

What does the inverter do?

Take DC current and convert it to AC for the backlight

Things to remember when replacing an inverter?

• The store and convert energy, have the potential to discharge energy

• The Replacement inverter needs to work with the LCD backlight

What are the characteristics of a TN LCD panel?

Oldest and fastest LCD type

What are the pros of a TN LCD monitor?

Lowest input like, highest refresh rates, inexpensive

• Makes it great for competitive gaming

What are the cons of a TN LCD monitor?

Restricted viewing angles, Not the best colour of reproduction

What is an IPS LCD panel?

LCD panel type with great viewing angles and colour reproduction

The pros of an IPS LCD monitor?

Best colour reproduction and great viewing angles

The cons of the IPS LCD monitor?

A bit more lag than TN monitors (small difference in higher end models)

In which situation is it best to use an IPS LCD monitor?

Ideal for those wanting a great colour experience (graphic designers, video artist), and for vertical mounting

What is a VA LCD monitor?

Vertical alignment

• A jack of all trades technology compared to TN and IPS

What are the pros of IPS LCD monitors?

Best contrast ratio - difference between dark and bright colours

The cons of VA LCD monitors?

Historically slower response times than TN, colour reproduction behind IPS

Between TN, IPS, VA, which is the best for colour accuracy?

IPS is the best for colour accuracy

What is a LED monitor?

An LCD monitor with LED backlighting

What are the characteristics of LED?

They consume less energy, run cooler, and live longer than fluorescent bulbs.

What is an OLED display?

Organic Light-Emitting Diode

• pixel generates its own light, so no backlight is needed

What are the pros of an OLED display?

Higher contrast ratio, better viewing angle, less power consumption

What are the cons of an OLED display?

They are susceptible to burning with static images

What is a mini-LED display?

An LCD that uses thousands of tiny LEDs as the backlight

What are the benefits of using a mini-LED?

Better contrast ratios, better brightness (than OLED), retain LCD durability without burn in risk

What is a touchscreen/digitiser?

A transparent layer over the display that detects touch input and converts it to digital signal or data

What are the two types of touchscreens?

Capacitive and resistive touchscreens

What is a capacitive touchscreen?

A touchscreen that uses electrical conductivity, which makes the human finger the perfect stylus

What is a resistive touchscreen?

A touchscreen that uses pressure from a stylus or finger to register the contact

The difference between the two types of touchscreen?

• Resistive touchscreen allow for more granularity because they can account for more senses per square inch.

• Capacitive touchscreen are more responsive and better suited to multi touch applications but they don’t generally work if the user is wearing gloves as they block the fingers electrical current.

What is pixel density (PPI)?

Pixels Per Inch

• of pixels packed into one inch of a screen

• A higher PPI = sharper, crisper image

What is screen resolution?

The total number of pixels displayed, expressed as width x height

• higher resolution = more detail

What is refresh rate and why does it matter?

The number of times per second the display updates the image

• measured in Hz

• Standard is 60 Hz

• Higher refresh rates produce smooth motion

What is colour gamut?

The range of colours are display can reproduce, often expressed as a percentage of a standard colour space

• A wider gamut means more vivid, accurate colours