Monitors

By: Dennis Graf

2 Types of Monitors
 

CRT - Cathode Ray Tube desktop computers LCD Liquid Crystal Display - laptops

What is CRT?


CRT- a specialized vacuum tube in which images are produced when an electron beam strikes a phosphorescent surface.

Parts in a CRT

How CRT monitors work?



 

Each time the beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of the glass tube The active portions of the screen illuminate. By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates an entire screen of images.

How CRT monitors work



The CRT fires an electron beam that strikes the inside of the monitor's display, which is coated with phosphor. The phosphor glows and gives us color.

Slot-mask


Slot-mask- a CRT technology, which is a hybrid of aperture grille and shadow mask technologies, designed to increase brightness and stability.

Aperture-grill


Aperture-grill- a CRT type that is designed with a wire frame of vertical metal stripes with horizontal damper wires in the picture tube. This frame filters and focuses light emitted from the electron gun onto the phosphor-coated screen.

Shadow mask


Shadow mask- a metal with holes located in a CRT picture tube that filters and focuses light emitted from the electron gun onto the phosphor-coated screen.

Types of CRT Monitors



CGA- Computer Graphics Array

VGA


VGA- Video Graphics Array A VGA display has 640 horizontal pixels and 480 vertical lines for a total display resolution of 307,200 individual pixels.

XGA


XGA- Extended graphics array A high-resolution computer video standard that has 1024 horizontal pixels and 708 vertical lines for a total display resolution of 786,432 individual pixels.

SVGA


SVGA- Super Video Graphics Array An SVGA display has 800 horizontal pixels and 600 vertical lines for a total display resolution of 480,000 individual pixels.

Other types of CRT Computer Monitors

    

UXGA (Ultra) 1600x1200 QXGA (Quad) 2048x1536 WXGA (Wide) 1280x800 WSXGA (Wide SXGA plus) 1680x1050 WUXGA (Wide Ultra) 1920x1200

LCD Monitors


Liquid crystal display monitor LCD displays use two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them.

LCD Technology

Today's color LCD Monitors have a sandwich-like structure

How LCD works?



An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal, is like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking the light.

2 Types of LCD Monitors

1. LCD Passive Display
 

Old technology uses a grid of conductive metal to charge each pixel.

2 Types of LCD Screens

2. LCD Active Display


A thin film transistor (TFT) arranges tiny transistors and capacitors in a matrix on the glass of the display. Image is very clear

Parts in a LCD
 

two pieces of polarized glass coating of pneumatic liquid crystals

How LCD works

 

As light strikes the first filter, it is polarized As the light passes through the liquid crystal layers, the molecules change the light's plane of vibration to match their own angle

Con.


Once it is to the other side it vibrates at the same angle as the final layer of molecules If the final layer is matched up with the second polarized glass filter, then the light will pass through.

Connections


To display information on a monitor, your computer sends the monitor a signal. The signal can be in analog or digital format.

Cable for Monitor

Active Display
 

The technology used is generally TFT TFT-Thin Film Transistor

Con.


Flat panel (LCD or plasma): flat panels TVs use active matrix LCD or passive plasma display technology.

Advantages of CRT & LCD



Computer monitors today have cathode ray tube, or CRT, to display their images.

Advantages of CRT & LCD



LCDs displays are sometimes used in laptops.

Touch Screen Monitors



There are three basic systems that are used to recognize a person's touch:


Resistive

Definitions


 

Refresh Rate- for a monitor is measured in hertz (Hz) and is also called the vertical frequency must be refreshed many times per second The rate at which the monitor repaints an image. A low vertical refresh rate can produce visible flicker.

Pixel


Pixel- Short for Picture Element, is a single point in a graphic image The smallest building block of an on-screen image. Short for picture element.

Resolutions


Resolutions- signifies the number of dots (pixels) on the entire screen This is typically expressed as the number of pixels in a horizontal line by the number of lines

Example: 1024x768 pixels- your computer

Response time


Response time- the time it takes for the monitor to respond after a command.

Horizontal axis


Horizontal axis- the axis that goes from left to right.

Vertical axis


Vertical axis- the axis that goes from bottom to top.

Aspect ratio
 

Aspect ratio- the width and the height. Example: 4:3



Width is 4


Height is 3

Viewable screen size of laptops and CRTs



For LCD monitors, screen size is measured diagonally from the inside of the beveled edge. The measurement does not include the casing as indicated in the image below.

Brightness or Luminance


Brightness or Luminance- refers to display luminance, the visual attribute according to which an area appears to emit more or less light.

Dot Pitch


Dot Pitch- the distance in millimeters between phosphor dots or stripes of the same color. A monitor with a smaller dot pitch produces a smoother, crisper image.

Resources
  

www.howstuffworks.com www.Wikipedia.com www.Webopedia.com

FIN