LCD

Understanding LCD technology

LCD, or liquid crystal display, uses electrical current on liquid crystal molecules to block light, creating the image on the screen. The electrical current causes the molecules to align, allowing various levels of light to pass through two polarized plates. A backlit panel proves the light that the liquid crystal blocks. The polarized glass plates are aligned one vertically and one horizontally.

There are two types of LCD TV technology. One is active matrix technology and the other is passive matrix. Passive matrix technology utilizes a grid of conductive material, where the pixel is lit when electricity is applied. Active matrix technology uses a series of tiny transistors and capacitors arranged as a thin film transistor (TFT). A pixel is lit when first a row is turned on and then a charge is sent down the column.

LCD Monitors

Whether shopping for Sony monitors or Sharp LCD monitors, there are a few things that need to be considered. Image resolution for an LCD panel is determined by monitor size. The larger the monitor, the higher the resolution and the sharper the image. LCD monitors will scale the image when changing resolution and the quality will diminish. The viewing angle of a flat LCD monitor will affect how the image looks on screen. At extreme angles, images will have distorted colors or loose colors completely. In addition, the image will look duller or disappear. For television viewing, this can be a disadvantage, but for computer monitors, as long as you have your system properly set up it should cause no problems.

Previous LCD screens required an additional box in order to work with conventional television signals, but today’s LCDs are complete units that can use VGA, coaxial and HDMI inputs. Many LCD screens offer HDTV as well and are equipped with incredible sounding speakers. LCD TVs dominate the entertainment market due to the relatively low cost of the screens. The high availability of sizes and the thin profile of the screens make it easy to place a LCD television anywhere in a house. Newer LCD screen technology is switching from using cold cathode tubes as back lighting to using LEDs and OLEDs. These light emitting diodes are able to produce much thinner TVs than before.