Knowing Your LCD Screen
LCD stands for liquid crystal display. This is a screen technology that has been in use for many decades and is continuously evolving to display images brighter, clearer and larger. The latest incarnation of the LCD screen is the TFT LCD which is the technology that enables televisions to produce high definition images. The use of LCDs in technology also spans basic electronics such as calculators and wristwatches. The LCD screen is quite common due to simple manufacturing technology, its low production cost and low power consumption rate.
How LCDs Work
LCD technology is simple to understand, a series of small pixels of segments will either have a display or not depending on the polarity or charge of the electric current that runs through it. This means that at any given time, variety of signals are sent to an LCD screen for it to project the appropriate image. The time it takes for these signals to change and take effect is considered the refresh rate.
LCD Technology in Action
The basic LCD produces only black and white images. In calculators and wristwatches, the segments light up allowing you to see numbers and other figures. In more complex applications such as the Nintendo GameBoy, larger screen of pixel arrays allow for more complex images. By adding transistors to each segment or pixel, and increasing the display to show the three primary colors, modern LCDs are able to produce complex images with millions of colors. This is seen in many modern electronics.
The New Standards
As technology progresses so does the demands of the consumers. As more and more monitors are able to display higher resolution images, the demand for better graphics with even faster screen refresh rates is increasing. Manufacturers are meeting this demand by further creating screens that can produce higher resolutions.
