Computer Technology News

Are LCD Monitors The Way To Go?

Many people do not understand the differences associated with CRT, LCD and Plasma when it comes to monitors or televisions for that matter. The first thing to deciding whether LCD monitors are the way to go is to understand what the differences between the types are. Many people rely on the initial looks and size of the monitors without knowing how the different types perform. LCD is the acronym for liquid crystal display. LCD is a thin flat panel used to display electronic images of text, pictures and moving images. The LCD is lightweight allowing it to be used in portable and battery operated electronic devises. Liquid crystal displays can also be used in larger screen sizes due to the limited practical construction of the cathode ray tube (CRT) displays. Liquid crystal displays use electronically modulated optical devices that consist of pixels filled with liquid crystals. The pixels are displayed in front of a light source to produce color or monochrome images. The pixels are displayed in two different matrix called passive matrix or active matrix. The difference between passive and active matrix is defined by the difference in response time and contrast differences. Passive matrix displays often have poor resolution and a very slow response time whereas active matrix offers sharp clear images with an expedited response time. The current liquid crystal display monitors on the market today have the active matrix allowing them to provide users with a crisp, sharper, brighter picture. There are however some draw backs to liquid crystal display monitors and televisions for that matter. Video resolutions can be shown in multiples on a cathode ray tube monitor without including any artifacts or blurriness however a liquid crystal display when processing a video in a native resolution can create artifacts and blurriness due to scaling. Therefore, liquid crystal displays can generally not display very low resolution screen modes due to the scaling. Another drawback to LCD monitors is the color depth of black. Due to back-light bleed the color black is not as deep and dark as it is on other types of display monitors. When images change rapidly on an LCD monitor there is also a chance of ghosting, which is a trailing between images. Viewing angles is also one drawback of using an LCD monitor; laptop computer screens with liquid crystal displays are notorious for this. The monitor screens can not be viewed below a certain degree or angle without the display becoming distorted, whereas with plasma screens you can view at most any degree and angle with no distortion. There may be drawbacks with the liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors however, as with most any electronic there is always going to be one that can do something different. LCD monitors seem to be widely popular when it comes to use with computers and even television. The liquid crystal display also surpasses the ancient cathode ray tube and has far less drawbacks than the plasma screen displays. When looking for a monitor that will offer crisp, clean images with a minimal response time, liquid crystal display (LCD) is the definite way to go.