lcd monitors brighter than lcd free sample

Sometimes the distance between good and great seems like hardly any distance at all — such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) versus light-emitting diode (LED) displays. Both are suitable for retail window signage, campus wayfinding or large video walls. But LCD and LED have significant differences, and their specific benefits are worth understanding so you can choose the best displays for your business needs.

LCD is the broader category; LED is a subset. In other words, all LED displays are LCDs, but not all LCDs are LED. LCDs are made up of hundreds of thousands — even millions — of individual pixels built from liquid crystals. Each pixel is capable of displaying a color when it receives an electrical charge. Like a mosaic, the displayed image is built from tiny elements that combine to form the overall picture.

But the liquid crystals don’t produce any light of their own, so in order for the image to be illuminated, the liquid crystals need to be backlit. LCDs are illuminated by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), evenly positioned behind the pixels so that, at least in theory, every part of the screen is evenly lit and at consistent brightness.

Up to a point, LED displays are much the same. An LED screen also uses liquid crystals to generate color — or pure black (no color), by not charging a specific pixel. So LED displays have the same need for backlighting. But rather than CCFL, tiny individual lights (light-emitting diodes) illuminate the liquid crystals.

Is LED just plain better than LCD? Well, for a while, LCD screens represented the cutting edge of digital signage. But now, about the only meaningful advantage of LCD over LED is price point. As LCD is becoming outdated, it tends to be less of an upfront investment. In every other respect, though, LED displays have the advantage.

No matter the arrangement of the backlighting, LED has a greater nit value than LCD, which means it’s brighter (“nit” comes from the Latin “nitere,” meaning “to shine”). The average nit value for LCDs is between 500 and 700 nits, while LEDs are typically between 1,200 and 2,400 nits. With greater brightness comes greater contrast, and all-day visibility on outdoor displays.

Despite the energy output, higher brightness doesn’t necessarily mean a shorter lifespan. In fact, LED displays have an average lifespan of 10 years — double the average five-year lifespan of LCDs. Factoring longevity into the cost of your signage, LED’s longer lifespan can make it cheaper than LCD in the long run.

Even with edge lighting, LED produces more vividly lifelike images than CCFL-backlit LCDs — and with sleeker hardware, thanks to their minimalist design. And while LCD bezels have drastically reduced over time, they’re still greater than zero. LED has no bezels at all.

Up to 40 times smaller than regular LEDs, microLEDs allow backlighting to be even more precisely targeted, with many times more diodes. This, in turn, delivers a more accurate picture, with greater contrast and highly focused areas of brightness. Samsung’s The Wall is a spectacular example of what microLED is capable of.

Whether you need your digital signage to entertain, inform or simply impress, understanding the differences between LCD and LED will allow you to make a better-informed decision.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are nowadays standard in computerized visual presentation. However, when millisecond precise presentation is concerned, they have often yielded imprecise and unreliable presentation times, with substantial variation across specific models, making it difficult to know whether they can be used for precise vision experiments or not. The present paper intends to act as hands-on guide to set up an experiment requiring millisecond precise visual presentation with LCD monitors. It summarizes important characteristics relating to precise visual stimulus presentation, enabling researchers to transfer parameters reported for cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors to LCD monitors. More importantly, we provide empirical evidence from a preregistered study showing the suitability of LCD monitors for millisecond precise timing research. Using sequential testing, we conducted a masked number priming experiment using CRT and LCD monitors. Both monitor types yielded comparable results as indicated by Bayes factor favoring the null hypothesis of no difference between display types. More specifically, we found masked number priming under conditions of zero awareness with both types of monitor. Thus, the present study highlights the importance of hardware settings for empirical psychological research; inadequate settings might lead to more “noise” in results thereby concealing potentially existing effects.

With modern display technology becoming increasingly advanced, bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors are (with few exceptions) no longer being produced. Instead, flat panel technologies have become the de-facto standard and among those, liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are most prevalent. This technological change has also affected experimental research relying on computerized presentation of stimuli. Based on decades of experience with CRT monitors, their characteristics are well known and they have proven to provide reliable and precise stimulus presentation

The present paper summarizes the current knowledge base regarding important differences between CRT and LCD monitors; it aims to provide a hands-on guide for the setup of computer experiments using LCD monitors in a manner that yields reliable presentation times and CRT-comparable results. Additionally, we provide empirical evidence from a masked priming task and a prime-discrimination task, demonstrating that current-generation LCD monitors can be used for masked visual stimulus presentation.

First, we will provide a brief technical overview of functional principles as they relate to visual stimulus presentation. Detailed descriptions and parameter measurements are already available from the existing literature; however, our intention here is to equip readers with limited technical expertise with the necessary knowledge to set up computer experiments with LCD monitors. Thus, we keep our explanations relatively short and simplified.

LCD monitors work differently: Each pixel consists of liquid crystal threads that can be twisted or arranged in parallel by an electrical current applied to them. This leads to a polarization effect that either allows or prevents light passing through. A white light source located behind this crystal array uniformly and constantly illuminates the array. To display a black pixel, the crystal threads are twisted by 90° such that no light will pass through. A white pixel is achieved by aligning the crystals such that maximum light is allowed to pass through, until a different, non-white color needs to be displayed (see the lower panel of Fig. 1 for an LCD pixel’s brightness over time). This is a static process, not a pulsed one as in CRTs.

In theory, the difference in presentation methods, namely a strobing versus a static image, should be of no consequence if the light energy that falls onto the retina remains the same over the time period of one single frame. As the Talbot-Plateau law states2 is equally well detectable as a light flash presented for 60 ms at 40 cd/m2. This suggests that temporal integration can be easily described by energy summation”. Thus, in principle, LCD and CRT monitors should be able to yield comparable results.

However, due to the differences in technology, the visual signals produced by the two display types have different shapes (i.e., a different light energy-over-time-curve; see Fig. 1). Moreover, default luminance as well as visual-signal response times (in addition to other parameters, see below) differ between most CRT and LCD monitors

Table 1 reports the parameters we considered in setting up the CRT and LCD monitors. Certainly, most of them are commonly considered when setting up a computer experiment; nevertheless we deemed it important to mention them here explicitly, as their neglect might have unintended consequences. We used a 17” Fujitsu Siemens Scenicview P796-2 CRT color monitor previously used in several published studies including studies with masked presentation conditions

FeatureDescriptionRecommendationCommentExperiment settingLCD panel typeIPS (in-plane switching): true-color and contrast less dependent on viewing angle, slower response time;

Native resolution, screen diagonal, and aspect ratioWith constant screen diagonal and aspect ratio: The higher the resolution, the smaller objects and stimuli that are measured in pixels appear on the screen.To achieve results as close as possible to a CRT experiment, calculate the size (e.g., in mm) of one native pixel and resize the stimuli if necessary, so that the real size (in mm) on the CRT corresponds to the real size on the LCD.Take the aspect ratio into account to avoid distortions like they would appear when a resolution with an aspect ratio of 4:3 (e.g., 1024 * 768) is applied to a monitor with a native aspect ratio of 16:9 (e.g., native resolution of 1920 * 1080). If you need to do the latter, consider letterboxing.In the present study, CRT resolution was 1024 * 768 (visible area 324 * 243 mm, aspect ratio 4:3), diagonal 17”, dimensions of 1 pixel: 0.316 * 0.316 mm. LCD resolution was 1024 * 768 (visible area 531 * 299 mm, aspect ratio 16:9, dimensions of 1 pixel (letterboxed to 4:3) was 0.389 * 0.389 mm). LCD stimulus size thus needed to be enlarged by a factor of 1.23. Stimuli were adjusted to match sizes.

Monitor brightness (as can be set in the monitor’s user menu)Provides the same amount of radiated energy in a single frame compared to CRTs.Measure the brightness of a used (and warmed up) experimental CRT with a luminance meter with both a completely black and a completely white screen. Try to match both values with the LCD.When an exact match is not possible, try to adjust the monitor’s contrast setting accordingly (i.e., usually downregulate the LCD).In the present study, CRT settings used an on-screen-display brightness setting of 100%; LCDs were set to 9%.

DCC (dynamic capacitance compensation)Faster gray-to-gray response times at the cost of a constant delay of approx. one frame.Turn on when possible.Signals tend to slightly overshoot a few percent brighter than intended, typically for approx. 1 ms.

Our measurements revealed several interesting characteristics: First, luminance of the LCD monitor at default setting (i.e., maximum brightness) exceeded the CRT luminance at a ratio of 3.25:1. However, comparable average luminance can be (and was) achieved by downregulating the LCD monitor (the older CRT technology emits less energy even at maximum settings, see Table 2), without participants perceiving it as unnaturally dark. If one plans to upgrade from CRT to LCD monitors in an experimental laboratory, we therefore recommend measuring the CRT monitors’ brightness levels and matching them in the new LCD monitors’ user setup, if comparability with the old setup is needed. This will minimize hardware-dependent variability, thus contributing to better replicability. Please note that a brightness adaption is not a necessary precondition when employing LCD monitors; researchers should simply be aware that the brightness level can have an influence onto the resulting effects, especially in time-critical experiments with short and/or masked presentation. Thus, we recommend the adaptation for time-critical experiments in which researchers orient on existing empirical evidence gathered with CRT monitors. Furthermore, gray-to-gray response times varied slightly depending on the employed brightness levels2), so we suggest that researchers can rely on this more efficient method as an approximation.

For the empirical comparison of human performance with CRT and LCD monitors, we relied on these results and set the monitor settings accordingly (see Method section below).

Participants were administered a masked number priming task and a subsequent forced-choice prime discrimination task using both a CRT and an LCD monitor. In this well-established paradigm

Of central interest was the question whether both monitors would yield comparable masked priming effects. Monitors were set according to the parameters described in the previous section (see also Method section below). In order to obtain conclusive evidence, we decided for sequential hypothesis testing using Bayes factorshttps://osf.io/g842s/.

As we aimed to find evidence for or against monitor type differences in priming, we applied sequential hypothesis testing with Bayes factors (BF), which allow quantification of evidence both for and against a null hypothesisn = 24 was collected (see preregistration), we continued data collection until the preregistered BF (with JSZ prior r = 1) was reached. Specifically, data collection was stopped after the BF reached either (a) BF01 > 6 in favor of the null hypothesis of no difference in priming effects for CRT and LCD monitors, or (b) BF10 > 6 in favor of the alternative hypothesis that there is a difference between CRT and LCD monitors. We computed the BF after each day of data collection, and the critical BF was reached after testing 68 participants.

The experiment was a replication of Kunde et al. 2003, Exp.1et al.’s experiment). Participants’ task was to classify one-digit target numbers as smaller or greater than 5. Preceding the targets, sandwich-masked number primes were presented. The basic design of the priming task was a 2 (prime: smaller/greater than 5) × 2 (target: smaller/greater than 5) × 2 (monitor type: CRT vs. LCD) within-participants design. Following Kunde et al.et al.et al. did not find an impact of these factors on the congruency effect; they were, however, included for replication purposes (As a side effect, Kunde et al. found an interaction of notation match x congruency x prime novelty indicating small differences in masking efficiency due to greater/smaller overlap in prime-target shape; we also found such an effect, see below).

We used two 17” Fujitsu Siemens Scenicview P796-2 CRT color monitors and two 24” ViewSonic VG2401mh TFT monitors, all set to a resolution of 1024 × 768 pixels, and a refresh rate of 100 Hz . Luminance on both monitors was set to 110 cd/m² (using the luminance meter model “Gossen Mavo-Monitor USB”). The room was completely dark (i.e., measured background luminance was less than 0.5 cd/m²). Stimulus presentation and measurement of response latencies were controlled by E-Prime version 2.0 run on a DELL PRECISION T1600 computer. Participants gave their responses with a standard QWERTZ keyboard connected via PS/2. They sat at a distance of approx. 60 cm to the monitor. Distance to the monitor and viewing angle were measured at the beginning of each task (i.e., with each monitor change) and visually monitored by the experimenter in regular intervals.

Up to two individuals participated concurrently, separated by partition walls. Participants were randomly assigned to a monitor order (CRT or LCD first), and switched monitors twice, that is, they first completed the priming task on monitor 1, then the same priming task on monitor 2 [or vice versa]. Afterwards, they switched again to monitor 1 for the prime discrimination task, and then executed the prime discrimination task again at monitor 2 [or vice versa]).

At the beginning of the experiment, participants were informed that the experiment was investigating the differences between CRT and LCD computer monitors and that they were therefore asked to work on a simple number-categorization task using different monitors. They were instructed to categorize the presented numbers as quickly and accurately as possible. They were not informed about the primes. To familiarize participants with the procedure, they first received a practice block of 32 trials. The actual experiment consisted of five blocks of 128 trials each. After each block, participants were free to take a short break.

Mean response latency for correctly categorized targets was the dependent variable of interest. Data preparation and analysis were done as preregistered, that is, trials with reaction times below 150 ms or more than 3 interquartile ranges above the third quartile or below the first quartile of the individual distribution were discarded (1.06% of all trials), as were trials with incorrect responses (M = 6.48%, SD = 4.42%, range from 1.09% to 20.39%). Table 3 shows mean reaction times and error rates across conditions.

As our central hypothesis regarded the (lack of) priming differences between monitor types, we first present the Bayesian analysis assessing the interaction of priming condition (congruent, incongruent) and monitor type (CRT vs. LCD).

The 2 (priming condition: congruent vs. incongruent) × 2 (monitor type: CRT vs. LCD) × 2 (notation match: match vs. non-match) × 2 (prime novelty: practiced vs. unpracticed primes) repeated measures ANOVA yielded significant main effects of priming condition, F(1,64) = 13.82, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.178 (dz = 0.46), monitor type, F(1,64) = 99.11, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.608 (dz = 1.23), and notation match, F(1,64) = 5.33, p = 0.024, ηp2 = 0.077 (dz = 0.29). Furthermore, a significant three-way-interaction of priming condition × monitor type × notation match emerged, F(1,64) = 7.00, p = 0.010, ηp2 = 0.099 (dz = 0.33). No further results were significant (for the sake of interest: priming condition × prime novelty, F(1,64) = 2.55, p = 0.115, ηp2 = 0.038 (dz = 0.20); priming condition × notation match, F(1,64) = 2.16, p = 0.147, ηp2 = 0.033 (dz = 0.18); priming condition × monitor type × notation match × prime novelty, F(1,64) = 2.77, p = 0.101, ηp2 = 0.042(dz = 0.21)). We also checked for a possible effect of monitor order; no effects emerged. Please note that the main effect of monitor largely reflects the DCC input lag (see Introduction), that is, the recorded response times are larger for the LCD monitor, because the internally recorded stimulus onset time is earlier than it actual was due to the input lag.

We followed up the significant three-way interaction with separate ANOVAs for each monitor type. The repeated measures ANOVA for the LCD monitor yielded a significant priming condition × notation match interaction, F(1,64) = 8.16, p = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.113 (dz = 0.35), while the interaction was not significant for the CRT monitor, F(1,64) = 0.58, p = 0.45, ηp2 = 0.009 (dz = 0.09). In the LCD monitor analysis, prime-target combinations with non-matching format yielded a congruency effect, t(64) = 4.54, p < 0.001, dZ = 0.56, while matching prime-target combinations did not yield a congruency effect, t(64) = 0.22, p = 0.83, dZ = 0.03. It is likely that differences in masking efficiency were responsible for this finding (i.e., stimuli matching in format mask each other better), as Kunde et al.

The signal detection index d’ served as the dependent variable in the prime-recognition task. In a first analysis, d’ was tested against zero with a repeated-measures MANOVA, with monitor type as a within-participants factor. The constant test of this MANOVA was not significant, F(1,64) = 0.01, p = 0.94, ηp2 = 0.000 (dz = 0.01), indicating overall chance performance. The main effect of monitor type was also not significant, F(1,64) = 0.59, p = 0.45, ηp2 = 0.009 (dz = 0.10), indicating zero awareness with both monitor types (d’CRT = 0.004; d’LCD = −0.005).

A repeated measures ANOVA with notation (Arabic vs. verbal), prime novelty, and monitor type as within-participants factors yielded a notation × prime novelty interaction as the sole significant effect, F(1,64) = 6.20, p = 0.015, ηp2 = 0.088 (dz = 0.31). Practiced digits were recognized better than unpracticed digits (d’prac_digits = 0.021; d’unprac_digits = −0.009), t(64) = 1.97, p = 0.05, dZ = 0.24, while there was no such effect for number words, t(64) = 1.80, p = 0.08, dZ = 0.22 (d’prac_words = −0.019; d’unprac_words = 0.006). Indeed, recognition was different from chance performance for practiced digits, t(64) = 2.16, p = 0.034, dZ = 0.25, but not for any other item type, ts < 1.

The present paper contributes in important ways to empirical investigations of effects that necessitate millisecond-precise timing, such as the masked priming effects inspected in this paper. We laid out important differences between CRT and LCD technology, and provided guidelines on how to configure a current-generation LCD monitor to achieve results comparable to those obtained with a CRT monitor. Thus, our paper may help researchers establish adequate conditions to conduct such experiments with the precision needed, using state-of-the-art technology. Empirically, we demonstrated that experiments requiring precise timing—in this case a masked priming experiment—can yield comparable effects using CRT and LCD monitors. Specifically, we found comparable masked number priming effects using CRT and LCD monitors under conditions of zero prime awareness (with the exception of the practiced digits condition), as assessed with a separate forced-choice prime discrimination task. Thus, we replicated and extended the findings of Kunde et al.

First of all, the present paper shows that current-generation LCD monitors can be used for millisecond-precise presentation, even under masked presentation conditions. To this end, we used a twisted nematic (TN) panel, enabled DCC, used high-contrast stimuli, and adjusted the luminance of the LCD screen to yield a result comparable to a CRT monitor, given a predetermined stimulus presentation time. As we outlined extensively in the theoretical introduction, and as already stated by several other authors

Regarding our empirical findings, we found, as hypothesized, significant and comparable masked number priming effects using both CRT and LCD monitors under conditions which yielded (for all except one condition) zero awareness in a subsequent forced-choice prime discrimination task. The Bayes factor evaluating a difference in priming effects between CRT and LCD monitors—the preregistered main hypothesis that provided the basis for data sampling—indicated strong evidence for the null hypothesis. Thus, the present results show that LCD monitors are suited for research requiring millisecond-precise timing, and that such research can yield comparable results to those obtained with a CRT monitor if luminance is matched and settings are chosen appropriately.

To summarize, the present empirical results showed that LCD monitors can be used for research requiring millisecond-precise timing, which can yield results that are comparable to those obtained from research conducted with CRT monitors, if settings are chosen appropriately. Our study thus highlights the importance of considering the effects of technological setup on empirical research. We hope that researchers in the field can use the recommendations we provided to achieve high precision in visual stimulus presentation.

We thank Kilian Leonhardt for his help in measuring the signal shapes of the CRT and LCD monitors and for providing the measurement device. We thank Felix Kares and Tatiana Koeppe for their help in data collection, and Ullrich Ecker for his comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

M.R. conceived and designed the study, analyzed the human performance data, prepared the figures and tables belonging to the human performance data and wrote the main manuscript text. She also prepared all materials which are online available at OSF. A.W. configured the LCD and CRT monitors as well as the computers, did the hardware measurements, programmed the study, wrote some of the corresponding paragraphs in the manuscript and prepared the figures and tables related to the hardware settings.

5. Ghodrati M, Morris AP, Price NSC. The (un) suitability of modern liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for vision research. Front. Psychol.2015;6:303. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00303. PubMed] [CrossRef]

6. Lagroix HE, Yanko MR, Spalek TM. LCDs are better: Psychophysical and photometric estimates of the temporal characteristics of CRT and LCD monitors. Atten. Percept. Psycho.2012;74:1033–1041. doi: 10.3758/s13414-012-0281-4. [PubMed] [CrossRef]

9. Zhang GL, et al. A consumer-grade LCD monitor for precise visual stimulation. Behav. Res. Methods.2018;50:1496–1502. doi: 10.3758/s13428-018-1018-7. [PubMed] [CrossRef]

10. Bognár A, Csibri P, András CM, Sáry G. LCD monitors as an alternative for precision demanding visual psychophysical experiments. Perception.2016;45:1070–1083. doi: 10.1177/0301006616651954. [PubMed] [CrossRef]

Are you tired of your old computer monitor and in dire need of a new one? Maybe you should make yourself familiar with LCD computer monitors. LCD stands for liquid crystal display and are also known as flatscreens.

LCDs have been used for a while, for example in digital clocks and laptops. In recent years they have become a standard for desktop monitors. During the same time, LCDs have also conquered the TV market.

Flatscreen monitors are much thinner and lighter than CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors. They also require less energy, emit no electromagnetic radiation, and the technology enables clearer images, higher resolutions, and a flicker-free display, which is easier on the eyes.

These are only a few key arguments to finally replace the old CRT monitor. This article explains the various features of monitors in general and flatscreens in specific. It will help you understand what you should watch out for when buying a new LCD computer monitor.

Bigger sizes usually means you will have more room on your desktop. You might finally be able to view multiple open windows in parallel. However, bigger monitors also take up more space on your desk and they tend to be more expensive.

Aspect ratio describes the relative number of horizontal to vertical pixels in a display. Standard CRT monitors were almost square with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Today, you will find widescreen monitors that have aspect ratios like movie theater screens, i.e. 16:9 or 16:10. 16:9 is also called HD (high definition).

Resolution is the number of pixels displayed horizontally and vertically. Due to the nature of LCD technology, flatscreens have only one optimized or native resolution. Hence, their native resolution describes the absolute number of pixels present horizontally and vertically.

Unlike CRT monitors, using a lower than native resolution on a flatscreen, leads to fuzzy images. Hence it is important to choose the right native resolution from the start as you can not change it, unless you accept a loss of image quality.

Higher resolutions mean sharper images, higher clarity, and more desktop space. This is perfect if you multitask or enjoy to watch movies on your computer. On the other hand, text become much smaller and harder to read. Thus a high resolution is to be avoided if your eyesight is less than perfect.

Contrast ratio describes the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black the LCD computer monitor can display. Higher contrast ratios equal whiter whites and blacker blacks, as well as a greater degree of gray values in between. The best contrast ratio you can get is 1,000 : 1.

LCD monitors are illuminated by several backlights. Brightness is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2). A higher rating of at least 300 cd/m2, i.e. higher brightness, is to be desired if you want to watch movies or play games on your computer. For office work and browsing a lower rating of 200 - 250 cd/m2 is fine.

The higher the viewing angle, the better people who look at the monitor from the side will be able to see its display. Compared to CRTs, LCDs have a limited viewing angle. However, this feature is only interesting if you expect yourself or guests to look at your monitor with an angle. You can ignore it if you"re always going to sit straight in front of your monitor.

All this time I"ve only been talking about the display and the LCD technology. But a monitor is more than just a display. It needs to be connected to a computer and possibly other devices. Hence, you need to know what type of port you will need and then make sure the monitor has it. Most importantly, check which connector your video card supports.

Our high bright monitors are used in uncontrolled lighting environments, we add customized passive enhancements to maximize the contrast and brightness of the touchscreen interface. Anti-glare coating on the face of the touchscreen, and anti-reflective coating on both sides of the LCD. These coatings mirror the index of refraction to reduce light reflecting back at the operator which enhances overall readability and increases the contrast ratio in high direct light and high ambient light environments.

A normal LCD will turn black when exposed to sunlight and UV radiation. Design innovations allow the LCD to operate in direct sunlight. Through the use of these special coatings, films, and filters, the unit obtains sunlight readability without additional backlights. The end result is 1000+ nit equivalent viewing without the additional power draw and heat generation of more backlights. Consequently, our flat panel display systems have longer life, better processor performance, and wider operating temperature range.

AbraxSys integrates enhanced backlight technology increasing the overall luminace output of the LCD’s light source. AbraxSys utilizes both LED and CCFL back lighting technology to achieve higher nit levels at the most efficient consumption levels required for your application. LED yields an amazingly bright LCD panel as does CCFL but with lower power consumption while creating less heat than typically associated with higher watt CCFL back lights. AbraxSys’ high bright LCD monitors bring high bright levels of luminance as well as reliable, efficient design, resulting in unmatched image clarity.

LED combned with optic film stacking, reflection pattern technology, and special radiation technology to maximize the brightness and further limit power consumption. The high bright solution increases day-time and night-time visibility and is the most trusted sunlight readable solution. Typical examples of our high bright monitors in application are ATM screens, the in-vehicle mounted LCDs, the oil rig platforms, and outdoor signage displays.

Many Apple products use liquid crystal displays (LCD). LCD technology uses rows and columns of addressable points (pixels) that render text and images on the screen. Each pixel has three separate subpixels—red, green and blue—that allow an image to render in full color. Each subpixel has a corresponding transistor responsible for turning that subpixel on and off.

Depending on the display size, there can be thousands or millions of subpixels on the LCD panel. For example, the LCD panel used in the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) has a display resolution of 5120 x 2880, which means there are over 14.7 million pixels. Each pixel is made up of a red, a green, and a blue subpixel, resulting in over 44 million individual picture elements on the 27-inch display. Occasionally, a transistor may not work perfectly, which results in the affected subpixel remaining off (dark) or on (bright). With the millions of subpixels on a display, it is possible to have a low number of such transistors on an LCD. In some cases a small piece of dust or other foreign material may appear to be a pixel anomaly. Apple strives to use the highest quality LCD panels in its products, however pixel anomalies can occur in a small percentage of panels.

For all the new technologies that have come our way in recent times, it’s worth taking a minute to consider an old battle going on between two display types. Two display types that can be found across monitors, TVs, mobile phones, cameras and pretty much any other device that has a screen.

In one corner is LED (light-emitting diode). It’s the most common type of display on the market, however, it might be unfamiliar because there’s slight labelling confusion with LCD (liquid crystal display).

For display purposes the two are the same, and if you see a TV or smartphone that states it has an ‘LED’ screen, it’s an LCD. The LED part just refers to the lighting source, not the display itself.

In a nutshell, LED LCD screens use a backlight to illuminate their pixels, while OLED’s pixels produce their own light. You might hear OLED’s pixels called ‘self-emissive’, while LCD tech is ‘transmissive’.

The light of an OLED display can be controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis. This sort of dexterity isn’t possible with an LED LCD – but there are drawbacks to this approach, which we’ll come to later.

In cheaper TVs and LCD-screen phones, LED LCD displays tend to use ‘edge lighting’, where LEDs sit to the side of the display, not behind it. The light from these LEDs is fired through a matrix that feeds it through the red, green and blue pixels and into our eyes.

LED LCD screens can go brighter than OLED. That’s a big deal in the TV world, but even more so for smartphones, which are often used outdoors and in bright sunlight.

Take an LCD screen into a darkened room and you may notice that parts of a purely black image aren’t black, because you can still see the backlighting (or edge lighting) showing through.

You’ll often see a contrast ratio quoted in a product’s specification, particularly when it comes to TVs and monitors. This tells you how much brighter a display’s whites are compared to its blacks. A decent LCD screen might have a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, which means the whites are a thousand times brighter than the blacks.

Viewing angles are generally worse in LCDs, but this varies hugely depending on the display technology used. And there are lots of different kinds of LCD panel.

Perhaps the most basic is twisted nematic (TN). This is the type used in budget computer monitors, cheaper laptops, and very low-cost phones, and it offers poor angled viewing. If you’ve ever noticed that your computer screen looks all shadowy from a certain angle, it’s more than likely it uses a twisted nematic panel.

Thankfully, a lot of LCD devices use IPS panels these days. This stands for ‘in-plane switching’ and it generally provides better colour performance and dramatically improved viewing angles.

IPS is used in most smartphones and tablets, plenty of computer monitors and lots of TVs. It’s important to note that IPS and LED LCD aren’t mutually exclusive; it’s just another bit of jargon to tack on. Beware of the marketing blurb and head straight to the spec sheet.

The latest LCD screens can produce fantastic natural-looking colours. However, as is the case with viewing angles, it depends on the specific technology used.

Where OLED struggles is in colour volume. That is, bright scenes may challenge an OLED panel’s ability to maintain levels of colour saturation. It’s a weakness that LCD-favouring manufacturers enjoy pointing out.

Both have been the subject of further advancements in recent years. For LCD there’s Quantum Dot and Mini LED. The former uses a quantum-dot screen with blue LEDs rather than white LEDs and ‘nanocrystals’ of various sizes to convert light into different colours by altering its wavelength. Several TV manufacturers have jumped onboard Quantum Dot technology, but the most popular has been Samsung’s QLED branded TVs.

Mini LED is another derivation of LED LCD panels, employing smaller-sized LEDs that can emit more light than standard versions, increasing brightness output of the TV. And as they are smaller, more can be fitted into a screen, leading to greater control over brightness and contrast. This type of TV is becoming more popular, though in the UK and Europe it’s still relatively expensive. You can read more about Mini LED and its advantages in our explainer.

OLED, meanwhile, hasn’t stood still either. LG is the biggest manufacturer of large-sized OLED panels and has produced panels branded as evo OLED that are brighter than older versions. It uses a different material for its blue OLED material layer within the panel (deuterium), which can last for longer and can have more electrical current passed through it, increasing the brightness of the screen, and elevating the colour volume (range of colours it can display).

While LED LCD has been around for much longer and is cheaper to make, manufacturers are beginning to move away from it, at least in the sense of the ‘standard’ LCD LED displays, opting to explore the likes of Mini LED and Quantum Dot variations.

OLED has gained momentum and become cheaper, with prices dipping well below the £1000 price point. OLED is much better than LED LCD at handling darkness and lighting precision, and offers much wider viewing angles, which is great for when large groups of people are watching TV. Refresh rates and motion processing are also better with OLED though there is the spectre of image retention.

If you’re dealing with a limited budget, whether you’re buying a phone, a monitor, a laptop or a TV, you’ll almost certainly end up with an LCD-based screen. OLED, meanwhile, incurs more of a premium but is getting cheaper, appearing in handheld gaming devices, laptops, some of the best smartphones as well as TVs

Which is better? Even if you eliminate money from the equation, it really comes down to personal taste. Neither OLED nor LCD LED is perfect. Some extol OLED’s skill in handling darkness, and its lighting precision. Others prefer LCD’s ability to go brighter and maintain colours at bright levels.

How do you decide? Stop reading this and go to a shop to check it out for yourself. While a shop floor isn’t the best environment in which to evaluate ultimate picture quality, it will at least provide an opportunity for you to realise your priorities. Whether you choose to side with LCD or OLED, you can take comfort in the fact that both technologies have matured considerably, making this is a safe time to invest.

VarTech’s high bright sunlight readable LCD monitors and touchscreen displays give users crystal clear images and video in direct sunlight and outdoor applications.

Our high bright sunlight readable LCD monitors and touchscreen displays have brightness levels ranging from 1000 nits to 1600 nits. These brightness levels far exceed consumer-grade monitors which typically produce 150 to 350 nits brightness. VarTech’s high bright sunlight readable LCD technology ensures crisp, highly viewable videos and images in direct sunlight and high ambient light work environments.

VarTech’s high bright sunlight readable displays use industrial-grade enhanced LED backlights to increase luminance without increasing heat. Proprietary Enhanced Light Transmission Technology (ELTT) gives our screens exceptional clarity, wide viewing angles, and maximum light reflection. Optical bonding reduces light reflection and increases ruggedness by providing a solid transparent bond between the thin-film-transfer (TFT) LCD screen and the front face of the monitor or touchscreen display.

No native resolution. Currently, the only display technology capable of multi-syncing (displaying different resolutions and refresh rates without the need for scaling).Display lag is extremely low due to its nature, which does not have the ability to store image data before output, unlike LCDs, plasma displays and OLED displays.

Colored sub-pixels may age at different rates, leading to a color shift. Sensitive to UV light from direct sunlight. Is considered the highest quality but also the most expensive display technology currently produced, with products rarely being available for less than $1200.

Glass substrate with ITO electrodes. The shapes of these electrodes will determine the shapes that will appear when the LCD is switched ON. Vertical ridges etched on the surface are smooth.

A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directlybacklight or reflector to produce images in color or monochrome.seven-segment displays, as in a digital clock, are all good examples of devices with these displays. They use the same basic technology, except that arbitrary images are made from a matrix of small pixels, while other displays have larger elements. LCDs can either be normally on (positive) or off (negative), depending on the polarizer arrangement. For example, a character positive LCD with a backlight will have black lettering on a background that is the color of the backlight, and a character negative LCD will have a black background with the letters being of the same color as the backlight. Optical filters are added to white on blue LCDs to give them their characteristic appearance.

LCDs are used in a wide range of applications, including LCD televisions, computer monitors, instrument panels, aircraft cockpit displays, and indoor and outdoor signage. Small LCD screens are common in LCD projectors and portable consumer devices such as digital cameras, watches, digital clocks, calculators, and mobile telephones, including smartphones. LCD screens are also used on consumer electronics products such as DVD players, video game devices and clocks. LCD screens have replaced heavy, bulky cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays in nearly all applications. LCD screens are available in a wider range of screen sizes than CRT and plasma displays, with LCD screens available in sizes ranging from tiny digital watches to very large television receivers. LCDs are slowly being replaced by OLEDs, which can be easily made into different shapes, and have a lower response time, wider color gamut, virtually infinite color contrast and viewing angles, lower weight for a given display size and a slimmer profile (because OLEDs use a single glass or plastic panel whereas LCDs use two glass panels; the thickness of the panels increases with size but the increase is more noticeable on LCDs) and potentially lower power consumption (as the display is only "on" where needed and there is no backlight). OLEDs, however, are more expensive for a given display size due to the very expensive electroluminescent materials or phosphors that they use. Also due to the use of phosphors, OLEDs suffer from screen burn-in and there is currently no way to recycle OLED displays, whereas LCD panels can be recycled, although the technology required to recycle LCDs is not yet widespread. Attempts to maintain the competitiveness of LCDs are quantum dot displays, marketed as SUHD, QLED or Triluminos, which are displays with blue LED backlighting and a Quantum-dot enhancement film (QDEF) that converts part of the blue light into red and green, offering similar performance to an OLED display at a lower price, but the quantum dot layer that gives these displays their characteristics can not yet be recycled.

Since LCD screens do not use phosphors, they rarely suffer image burn-in when a static image is displayed on a screen for a long time, e.g., the table frame for an airline flight schedule on an indoor sign. LCDs are, however, susceptible to image persistence.battery-powered electronic equipment more efficiently than a CRT can be. By 2008, annual sales of televisions with LCD screens exceeded sales of CRT units worldwide, and the CRT became obsolete for most purposes.

Each pixel of an LCD typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, often made of Indium-Tin oxide (ITO) and two polarizing filters (parallel and perpendicular polarizers), the axes of transmission of which are (in most of the cases) perpendicular to each other. Without the liquid crystal between the polarizing filters, light passing through the first filter would be blocked by the second (crossed) polarizer. Before an electric field is applied, the orientation of the liquid-crystal molecules is determined by the alignment at the surfaces of electrodes. In a twisted nematic (TN) device, the surface alignment directions at the two electrodes are perpendicular to each other, and so the molecules arrange themselves in a helical structure, or twist. This induces the rotation of the polarization of the incident light, and the device appears gray. If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules in the center of the layer are almost completely untwisted and the polarization of the incident light is not rotated as it passes through the liquid crystal layer. This light will then be mainly polarized perpendicular to the second filter, and thus be blocked and the pixel will appear black. By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts thus constituting different levels of gray.

The chemical formula of the liquid crystals used in LCDs may vary. Formulas may be patented.Sharp Corporation. The patent that covered that specific mixture expired.

Most color LCD systems use the same technique, with color filters used to generate red, green, and blue subpixels. The LCD color filters are made with a photolithography process on large glass sheets that are later glued with other glass sheets containing a TFT array, spacers and liquid crystal, creating several color LCDs that are then cut from one another and laminated with polarizer sheets. Red, green, blue and black photoresists (resists) are used. All resists contain a finely ground powdered pigment, with particles being just 40 nanometers across. The black resist is the first to be applied; this will create a black grid (known in the industry as a black matrix) that will separate red, green and blue subpixels from one another, increasing contrast ratios and preventing light from leaking from one subpixel onto other surrounding subpixels.Super-twisted nematic LCD, where the variable twist between tighter-spaced plates causes a varying double refraction birefringence, thus changing the hue.

LCD in a Texas Instruments calculator with top polarizer removed from device and placed on top, such that the top and bottom polarizers are perpendicular. As a result, the colors are inverted.

The optical effect of a TN device in the voltage-on state is far less dependent on variations in the device thickness than that in the voltage-off state. Because of this, TN displays with low information content and no backlighting are usually operated between crossed polarizers such that they appear bright with no voltage (the eye is much more sensitive to variations in the dark state than the bright state). As most of 2010-era LCDs are used in television sets, monitors and smartphones, they have high-resolution matrix arrays of pixels to display arbitrary images using backlighting with a dark background. When no image is displayed, different arrangements are used. For this purpose, TN LCDs are operated between parallel polarizers, whereas IPS LCDs feature crossed polarizers. In many applications IPS LCDs have replaced TN LCDs, particularly in smartphones. Both the liquid crystal material and the alignment layer material contain ionic compounds. If an electric field of one particular polarity is applied for a long period of time, this ionic material is attracted to the surfaces and degrades the device performance. This is avoided either by applying an alternating current or by reversing the polarity of the electric field as the device is addressed (the response of the liquid crystal layer is identical, regardless of the polarity of the applied field).

Displays for a small number of individual digits or fixed symbols (as in digital watches and pocket calculators) can be implemented with independent electrodes for each segment.alphanumeric or variable graphics displays are usually implemented with pixels arranged as a matrix consisting of electrically connected rows on one side of the LC layer and columns on the other side, which makes it possible to address each pixel at the intersections. The general method of matrix addressing consists of sequentially addressing one side of the matrix, for example by selecting the rows one-by-one and applying the picture information on the other side at the columns row-by-row. For details on the various matrix addressing schemes see passive-matrix and active-matrix addressed LCDs.

LCDs, along with OLED displays, are manufactured in cleanrooms borrowing techniques from semiconductor manufacturing and using large sheets of glass whose size has increased over time. Several displays are manufactured at the same time, and then cut from the sheet of glass, also known as the mother glass or LCD glass substrate. The increase in size allows more displays or larger displays to be made, just like with increasing wafer sizes in semiconductor manufacturing. The glass sizes are as follows:

Until Gen 8, manufacturers would not agree on a single mother glass size and as a result, different manufacturers would use slightly different glass sizes for the same generation. Some manufacturers have adopted Gen 8.6 mother glass sheets which are only slightly larger than Gen 8.5, allowing for more 50 and 58 inch LCDs to be made per mother glass, specially 58 inch LCDs, in which case 6 can be produced on a Gen 8.6 mother glass vs only 3 on a Gen 8.5 mother glass, significantly reducing waste.AGC Inc., Corning Inc., and Nippon Electric Glass.

In 1922, Georges Friedel described the structure and properties of liquid crystals and classified them in three types (nematics, smectics and cholesterics). In 1927, Vsevolod Frederiks devised the electrically switched light valve, called the Fréedericksz transition, the essential effect of all LCD technology. In 1936, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph company patented the first practical application of the technology, "The Liquid Crystal Light Valve". In 1962, the first major English language publication Molecular Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals was published by Dr. George W. Gray.RCA found that liquid crystals had some interesting electro-optic characteristics and he realized an electro-optical effect by generating stripe-patterns in a thin layer of liquid crystal material by the application of a voltage. This effect is based on an electro-hydrodynamic instability forming what are now called "Williams domains" inside the liquid crystal.

In the late 1960s, pioneering work on liquid crystals was undertaken by the UK"s Royal Radar Establishment at Malvern, England. The team at RRE supported ongoing work by George William Gray and his team at the University of Hull who ultimately discovered the cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals, which had correct stability and temperature properties for application in LCDs.

The idea of a TFT-based liquid-crystal display (LCD) was conceived by Bernard Lechner of RCA Laboratories in 1968.dynamic scattering mode (DSM) LCD that used standard discrete MOSFETs.

On December 4, 1970, the twisted nematic field effect (TN) in liquid crystals was filed for patent by Hoffmann-LaRoche in Switzerland, (Swiss patent No. 532 261) with Wolfgang Helfrich and Martin Schadt (then working for the Central Research Laboratories) listed as inventors.Brown, Boveri & Cie, its joint venture partner at that time, which produced TN displays for wristwatches and other applications during the 1970s for the international markets including the Japanese electronics industry, which soon produced the first digital quartz wristwatches with TN-LCDs and numerous other products. James Fergason, while working with Sardari Arora and Alfred Saupe at Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute, filed an identical patent in the United States on April 22, 1971.ILIXCO (now LXD Incorporated), produced LCDs based on the TN-effect, which soon superseded the poor-quality DSM types due to improvements of lower operating voltages and lower power consumption. Tetsuro Hama and Izuhiko Nishimura of Seiko received a US patent dated February 1971, for an electronic wristwatch incorporating a TN-LCD.

In 1972, the concept of the active-matrix thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid-crystal display panel was prototyped in the United States by T. Peter Brody"s team at Westinghouse, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Westinghouse Research Laboratories demonstrated the first thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD).high-resolution and high-quality electronic visual display devices use TFT-based active matrix displays.active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AM LCD) in 1974, and then Brody coined the term "active matrix" in 1975.

In 1972 North American Rockwell Microelectronics Corp introduced the use of DSM LCDs for calculators for marketing by Lloyds Electronics Inc, though these required an internal light source for illumination.Sharp Corporation followed with DSM LCDs for pocket-sized calculators in 1973Seiko and its first 6-digit TN-LCD quartz wristwatch, and Casio"s "Casiotron". Color LCDs based on Guest-Host interaction were invented by a team at RCA in 1968.TFT LCDs similar to the prototypes developed by a Westinghouse team in 1972 were patented in 1976 by a team at Sharp consisting of Fumiaki Funada, Masataka Matsuura, and Tomio Wada,

In 1983, researchers at Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) Research Center, Switzerland, invented the passive matrix-addressed LCDs. H. Amstutz et al. were listed as inventors in the corresponding patent applications filed in Switzerland on July 7, 1983, and October 28, 1983. Patents were granted in Switzerland CH 665491, Europe EP 0131216,

The first color LCD televisions were developed as handheld televisions in Japan. In 1980, Hattori Seiko"s R&D group began development on color LCD pocket televisions.Seiko Epson released the first LCD television, the Epson TV Watch, a wristwatch equipped with a small active-matrix LCD television.dot matrix TN-LCD in 1983.Citizen Watch,TFT LCD.computer monitors and LCD televisions.3LCD projection technology in the 1980s, and licensed it for use in projectors in 1988.compact, full-color LCD projector.

In 1990, under different titles, inventors conceived electro optical effects as alternatives to twisted nematic field effect LCDs (TN- and STN- LCDs). One approach was to use interdigital electrodes on one glass substrate only to produce an electric field essentially parallel to the glass substrates.Germany by Guenter Baur et al. and patented in various countries.Hitachi work out various practical details of the IPS technology to interconnect the thin-film transistor array as a matrix and to avoid undesirable stray fields in between pixels.

Hitachi also improved the viewing angle dependence further by optimizing the shape of the electrodes (Super IPS). NEC and Hitachi become early manufacturers of active-matrix addressed LCDs based on the IPS technology. This is a milestone for implementing large-screen LCDs having acceptable visual performance for flat-panel computer monitors and television screens. In 1996, Samsung developed the optical patterning technique that enables multi-domain LCD. Multi-domain and In Plane Switching subsequently remain the dominant LCD designs through 2006.South Korea and Taiwan,

In 2007 the image quality of LCD televisions surpassed the image quality of cathode-ray-tube-based (CRT) TVs.LCD TVs were projected to account 50% of the 200 million TVs to be shipped globally in 2006, according to Displaybank.Toshiba announced 2560 × 1600 pixels on a 6.1-inch (155 mm) LCD panel, suitable for use in a tablet computer,transparent and flexible, but they cannot emit light without a backlight like OLED and microLED, which are other technologies that can also be made flexible and transparent.

In 2016, Panasonic developed IPS LCDs with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, rivaling OLEDs. This technology was later put into mass production as dual layer, dual panel or LMCL (Light Modulating Cell Layer) LCDs. The technology uses 2 liquid crystal layers instead of one, and may be used along with a mini-LED backlight and quantum dot sheets.

Since LCDs produce no light of their own, they require external light to produce a visible image.backlight. Active-matrix LCDs are almost always backlit.Transflective LCDs combine the features of a backlit transmissive display and a reflective display.

CCFL: The LCD panel is lit either by two cold cathode fluorescent lamps placed at opposite edges of the display or an array of parallel CCFLs behind larger displays. A diffuser (made of PMMA acrylic plastic, also known as a wave or light guide/guiding plateinverter to convert whatever DC voltage the device uses (usually 5 or 12 V) to ≈1000 V needed to light a CCFL.

EL-WLED: The LCD panel is lit by a row of white LEDs placed at one or more edges of the screen. A light diffuser (light guide plate, LGP) is then used to spread the light evenly across the whole display, similarly to edge-lit CCFL LCD backlights. The diffuser is made out of either PMMA plastic or special glass, PMMA is used in most cases because it is rugged, while special glass is used when the thickness of the LCD is of primary concern, because it doesn"t expand as much when heated or exposed to moisture, which allows LCDs to be just 5mm thick. Quantum dots may be placed on top of the diffuser as a quantum dot enhancement film (QDEF, in which case they need a layer to be protected from heat and humidity) or on the color filter of the LCD, replacing the resists that are normally used.

WLED array: The LCD panel is lit by a full array of white LEDs placed behind a diffuser behind the panel. LCDs that use this implementation will usually have the ability to dim or completely turn off the LEDs in the dark areas of the image being displayed, effectively increasing the contrast ratio of the display. The precision with which this can be done will depend on the number of dimming zones of the display. The more dimming zones, the more precise the dimming, with less obvious blooming artifacts which are visible as dark grey patches surrounded by the unlit areas of the LCD. As of 2012, this design gets most of its use from upscale, larger-screen LCD televisions.

RGB-LED array: Similar to the WLED array, except the panel is lit by a full array of RGB LEDs. While displays lit with white LEDs usually have a poorer color gamut than CCFL lit displays, panels lit with RGB LEDs have very wide color gamuts. This implementation is most popular on professional graphics editing LCDs. As of 2012, LCDs in this category usually cost more than $1000. As of 2016 the cost of this category has drastically reduced and such LCD televisions obtained same price levels as the former 28" (71 cm) CRT based categories.

Monochrome LEDs: such as red, green, yellow or blue LEDs are used in the small passive monochrome LCDs typically used in clocks, watches and small appliances.

Today, most LCD screens are being designed with an LED backlight instead of the traditional CCFL backlight, while that backlight is dynamically controlled with the video information (dynamic backlight control). The combination with the dynamic backlight control, invented by Philips researchers Douglas Stanton, Martinus Stroomer and Adrianus de Vaan, simultaneously increases the dynamic range of the display system (also marketed as HDR, high dynamic range television or FLAD, full-area local area dimming).

The LCD backlight systems are made highly efficient by applying optical films such as prismatic structure (prism sheet) to gain the light into the desired viewer directions and reflective polarizing films that recycle the polarized light that was formerly absorbed by the first polarizer of the LCD (invented by Philips researchers Adrianus de Vaan and Paulus Schaareman),

Due to the LCD layer that generates the desired high resolution images at flashing video speeds using very low power electronics in combination with LED based backlight technologies, LCD technology has become the dominant display technology for products such as televisions, desktop monitors, notebooks, tablets, smartphones and mobile phones. Although competing OLED technology is pushed to the market, such OLED displays do not feature the HDR capabilities like LCDs in combination with 2D LED backlight technologies have, reason why the annual market of such LCD-based products is still growing faster (in volume) than OLED-based products while the efficiency of LCDs (and products like portable computers, mobile phones and televisions) may even be further improved by preventing the light to be absorbed in the colour filters of the LCD.

A pink elastomeric connector mating an LCD panel to circuit board traces, shown next to a centimeter-scale ruler. The conductive and insulating layers in the black stripe are very small.

A standard television receiver screen, a modern LCD panel, has over six million pixels, and they are all individually powered by a wire network embedded in the screen. The fine wires, or pathways, form a grid with vertical wires across the whole screen on one side of the screen and horizontal wires across the whole screen on the other side of the screen. To this grid each pixel has a positive connection on one side and a negative connection on the other side. So the total amount of wires needed for a 1080p display is 3 x 1920 going vertically and 1080 going horizontally for a total of 6840 wires horizontally and vertically. That"s three for red, green and blue and 1920 columns of pixels for each color for a total of 5760 wires going vertically and 1080 rows of wires going horizontally. For a panel that is 28.8 inches (73 centimeters) wide, that means a wire density of 200 wires per inch along the horizontal edge.

The LCD panel is powered by LCD drivers that are carefully matched up with the edge of the LCD panel at the factory level. The drivers may be installed using several methods, the most common of which are COG (Chip-On-Glass) and TAB (Tape-automated bonding) These same principles apply also for smartphone screens that are much smaller than TV screens.anisotropic conductive film or, for lower densities, elastomeric connectors.

Monochrome and later color passive-matrix LCDs were standard in most early laptops (although a few used plasma displaysGame Boyactive-matrix became standard on all laptops. The commercially unsuccessful Macintosh Portable (released in 1989) was one of the first to use an active-matrix display (though still monochrome). Passive-matrix LCDs are still used in the 2010s for applications less demanding than laptop computers and TVs, such as inexpen