LCD GUIDE FOR "U"

With manufacturing improving, LCD panel sizes continue to get larger all while prices keep dropping. Retailers and manufacturers throw around a lot of numbers and terms to describe their products. So, how does one know what all these mean? This article looks to cover the basics so one can make an informed decision when buying an LCD monitor.

Screen Size

The screen size is the measurement of the displayable area of the screen from the lower corner to the opposite upper corner of the display. LCD's typically gave their actual measurements but they are now rounding those numbers. Be sure to find the real dimensions typically referred to as the actual screen size the whenever looking at a LCD.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio refers to the number of horizontal pixels to vertical pixels in a display. Traditional displays used a 4:3 aspect ratio. Most new widescreen monitors use either a 16:10 or 16:9 aspect ratio. The 16:9 is the ratio typically used for HDTVs. Now a new breed of ultra wide monitors is coming to market. These have a near 2:1 width to high measurements.

Native Resolutions

All LCD screens can actually display only a single given resolution referred to as the native resolution. This is the physical number of horizontal and vertical pixels that make up the LCD matrix of the display. Setting a computer display to a resolution lower than this resolution will either cause extrapolation. This extrapolation attempts to blend multiple pixels together to produce a similar image to what you would see if the monitor were to display it at the given resolution but it can result in fuzzy images.

Here are some of the common native resolutions found in LCD monitors:

• 17-19": 1280x1024 (SXGA)
• 20"+: 1600x1200 (UXGA)
• 17" (Widescreen): 1280x800 (WXGA)
• 19" (Widescreen): 1440x900 (WXGA+)
• 22" (Widescreen): 1680x1050 (WSXGA+)
• 23.6" (Widescreen): 1920x1080 (WUXGA)
• 23" (Ultra-Widescreen): 2048x1152 (QWXGA)
• 24" (Widescreen): 1920x1200 (WUXGA)
• 30" (Widescreen): 2560x1600

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratios are a big marketing tool by the manufacturers and one that is not easy for consumers to grasp. Essentially, this is the measurement of the difference in brightness from the darkest to brightest portion on the screen. The problem is that this measurement will vary throughout the screen. This is due to the slight variations in the lighting behind the panel. Manufacturers will use the highest contrast ratio they can find on a screen, so it is somewhat deceptive. Basically a higher contrast ratio will mean that the screen will tend to have deeper blacks and brighter whites.

Color Gamut

Each LCD panel will vary slightly in how well they can reproduce color. When an LCD is being used for tasks that require a high level of color accuracy, it is important to find out what the panel's color gamut is. This is a description that lets you know how wide a range of color the screen can display. The larger the percentage of NTSC, the greater level of color a monitor can display. It is somewhat complex and best described in my article on Color Gamuts.

Response Times

In order to achieve the color on a pixel in an LCD panel, a current is applied to the crystals at that pixel to change the state of the crystals. Response times refer to the amount of time it takes for the crystals in the panel to move from an on to off state. A rising response time refers to the amount of time it takes to turn on the crystals and the falling time is the amount of time it takes for the crystals to move from an on to off state. Rising times tend to be very fast on LCDs, but the falling time tends to be much slower. This tends to cause a slight blurring effect on bright moving images on black backgrounds. The lower the response time, the less of a blurring effect there will be on the screen. Most response times now refer to a gray to gray rating that generates a lower time than the traditional full on to off state response times.

Viewing Angles

LCD's produce their image by having a film that when a current runs through the pixel, it turns on that shade of color. The problem with the LCD film is that this color can only be accurately represented when viewed straight on. The further away from a perpendicular viewing angle, the color will tend to wash out. The LCD monitors are generally rated for their visible viewing angle for both horizontal and vertical. This is rated in degrees and is the arc of a semicircle whose center is at the perpendicular to the screen. A theoretical viewing angle of 180 degrees would mean that it is fully visible from any angle in front of the screen. A higher viewing angle is preferred over a lower angle unless you happen to want some security with your screen.

Connectors

Most LCD panels have an analog and a digital connector on them. The analog connector is the VGA or DSUB-15. The common digital interface is the DVI connector. This is a digital interface that is supposed to allow for a cleaner and brighter picture compared to standard VGA connectors. HDMI and DisplayPort are two other digital interfaces that are becoming common. Check to see what type of connector your video card can use before buying a monitor to ensure you get a compatible monitor. Some monitors may also come with home theater connectors including component, composite and S-video.

Stands

Many people don't consider the stand when purchasing a monitor but it can make a huge difference. There are typically four different types of adjustment: height, tilt, swivel and pivot. Many less expensive monitors only feature the tilt adjustment. Height, tilt and swivel are generally the critical types of adjustments allowing for the greatest flexibility when using the monitor in the most ergonmoic fashion.

Samsung's Lavender LCD Monitors

Samsung Launches The Lavender LCD Monitors

Samsung India has launched its new series of LCD monitors – Samsung Lavender series in the Indian market. The series is available in 21.5-inch and 23-inch screen sizes
The Lavender series of LCD monitors boasts of a Touch of Color (ToC) design in rose black colour with a fine cut on the rear panel. With its Touch of Color (ToC) design, the series features a dynamic contrast ratio of 50000:1, a response time of 2 ms; viewing angle of 170/160 and a 16:9 Wide format Panel that is made for multimedia and optimized for HD Content .
The Lavender series has a slimmer neck compared to conventional models and has front OSD Touch buttons that emit red lighting from under the panel. The Lavender series eliminates the need of using non-biodegradable components in manufacturing of exterior panels, making it 100 percent recyclable and environmentally friendly. Further, the Lavender Series consume less than 1W of power in the Power-off Mode.
The Samsung Lavender monitors have been launched in India in 21.5” and 23” wide display format and are priced at Rs 12,500 and Rs 13,500, respectively. Samsung now has a range of 9 LCD monitors under the Lavender series, in the screen sizes between 15.6-inch to 23-inch.

LCD KEY HISTORY

A Brief History of the
LCD Key Technology
The Beginning
It all started in 1978 with an IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin (Vol. 21 No. 2 July 1978) where S. Bigbie et. al. published their idea about a programmable key/display/switch device. The same year Alan Bagley of Hewlett-Packard patented a calculator with electronically alterable key symbols (US patent 4,078,257) Nice as these ideas were, it proved to be more difficult to come up workable switch design that integrated an LCD in a key top and make it work. Many tried and failed.
The First Programmable LCD Pushbutton Switch and Keyboard
It took six years until 1984 when Reinhard Engstler, a computer science student in Germany, turned the idea of one of his professors for a programmable LCD keyboard into a fully functioning push-button design with integrated graphic LCD display and used them in a programmable keyboard. The keyboard displayed different special characters for scientific notations.
The first programmable LCD pushbutton switch and the first programmable LCD keyboard were born.

Reinhard quickly became the Director of Development at LcBloc Computer Technologie GmbH & Co. KG. and oversaw a development department with 10 hardware and software engineers to set up production for programmable LCD pushbuttons and keyboards.
Reinhard Engstler, together with Dr. Müller, received the Innovation Prize of the Franzis-Verlag for LC Key/Keyboard.

The Second Generation

By 1987, Hohe Electronics GmbH & Co. KG had acquired the LCD key technology and Mr. Engstler, as director of R&D, developed the second generation of LCD switches and proprietary control electronics, which were an integrated ASIC in each LCD switch.
The LC Board EM2.34 programmable keyboard with 34 LCD function keys received the Gold Medal for Best Product at the Leipzig Industrial Fair.
In 1994, Mr. Engstler, together with Mr. Weimer and three partners, participated in a Management Buy-Out to form HE Electronics, Technologie & Systemtechnik GmbH. Mr. Engstler continued in his position as director of R&D while Mr. Weimer oversaw the marketing and sales activities of the LCD key business.
The LCD keyboard development culminated in the design of the TANK (Technically Advanced Network Keyboard) for TTSI. This keyboard combined a PC, Sun and serial interface with expansion modules and could simultaneously control PC, SUN and real-time applications as well as over 700 phone lines for financial services applications on Wall Street.
Mr. Engstler also developed the second generation ASIC for the new Trend series of LCD pushbutton switches as well as numerous customer specific I/O systems.
One of these designs was the T2 keyboard for TTSI with patented software to control of any command in any application, bi-directionally and via the internet. This technology was also integrated into the SybilT phone by ISI.
In 1999, Rapid Technology Interfaces Ltd. acquired the LCD key technology from HE Electronics. Mr. Engstler was named General Manager of the RTI Keyswitch Division and Mr. Weimer Director of Sales and Marketing.
The Third Evolution™
In 2001, Mr. Engstler and Weimer decided to form a new company dedicated to the development of advanced LCD key technology products.
After a year of development [E³] Engstler Elektronik Entwicklung GmbH began operations in ZENTEC Technology & Innovation Center specializing in the development of programmable LCD keyswitches and custom I/O systems.
Here are a few highlights of the accomplishments of [E³] since 2003:
[E³] acquires global master license from G&R Associates for use of patented T2 software technology for use in multi-application environments.
[E³] develops Advanced Technology version of LC Trend series switches including extended temperature range, tri-color (red, green, blue) backlighting, additional brightness settings, etc.
[E³] introduces DS0000 DemoBoard development and prototyping system. SP0000 socket pins allow for "hot-pluggable" field exchange of SA series switches with no difference in built-in height.
[E³] develops new control electronics for third generation LCD keyswitches including high-resolution versions and mechanical construction/tooling for new switch designs.
The image above shows an unretouched digital photo of some of the RGB colors taken of a 64 button field.
[E³] introduces the SA series of RGB -backlit LCD push-buttons at ibc trade show in Amsterdam in September of 2003. SA switches feature 64 RGB colors calibrated for uniform background color.
[E³] begins volume production of SA series switches with resolutions of 32x16, 36x24 and 64x32 pixels with 64 RGB background colors
[E³] signs distributions agreements for the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, Japan and Turkey.
[E³] products are shipped to more than 20 countries worldwide.
[E³] exhibits at the NAB show in Las Vegas.
[E³] develops control electronics upgrade to allow for more than 10,000 RGB colors .
[E³]'s SA switches surpass durability testing to achieve more than 5 million switch cycles proofing that the LCD keys from [E³] are not just intelligent, but tough.
[E³] introduces the SI series of inverse LCD switches for avionics applications with improved sunlight readability and SM series for military applications with extended command set and environmental parameters.

Detail about lcd's

The first novelty is a 21.5-inch display; the second is 24 inch. Both LCD monitor are equipped with two HDMI connector, four USB ports, D-sub and DVI output, and three audio connectors. The maximum supported resolution of the panel is 1920*1080 pixels.

The brightness of the display is 300cd/m2, the level of dynamic contrast is 50000:1, viewing angles horizontally and vertically equal to 170-degree and 160-degree. Response time for BenQ e2220HD is 5ms and BenQ e2420HD is 2ms.

For the optimization, its monitors has brings BenQ's next-generation Senseye 3 Technology, which activates one of six modes: standard(office and internet task), Movie(DVD and TV), Game, Photo,sRGB(for 100% color consistency across all sRGB devices), and Eco(for power-savings) modes. According to the manufacturer, especially the image quality achieved by the formation of shades based on six basic colors instead of the usual three.

The LCD technolog LCD monitors- The demand for the LCD monitors is rapidly increasing among the masses due to various user friendly features. With these monitors the users can have unlimited entertainment as they offer amazing sound and picture quality.y is basically based on the unique properties of advanced polarized light. In the LCD monitors two liquid crystals are sandwiched in between the polarized sheets. These features permit the monitors to be very sleek and lighter. As these systems are available in affordable prices, their demand in the market is also continuing to rise steadily. They do not occupy much space and can be fitted anywhere with ease. various designs are available to cater the needs of every segment of people. Latest research shows that these type of widgets also consume less energy as compared to the CRT monitors. The size of the LCD monitors may usually vary from 15 to 28 inches. The users can prioritise their requirements and then opt for the required scree size. With these monitors the users can have wonderful experience while viewing their favorite slide shows and video clips. The aspect ratio is around 4:3 in these systems. As such, the images displayed are in the high resolution of 1280 X 1024 pixels. Moreover, these screens can be viewed both horizontally and vertically. The users can easily tilt and rotate their systems to a certain angle to facilitate their working process.The brightness, colour and contrast of these monitors can be adjusted very easily by the users. They come with various user friendly adjustment keys and also offer OSD controls. Various advanced monitors are adorned with OSD lock control feature which implies that no other person can alter the setting of your monitor. These monitors are also endowed with various multimedia features. Some of the high tech monitors are endowed with onboard speakers which can be prefect for casual enjoyment. One can have great time with his or her friends as the speakers would assist the system to offer high quality sound.The response time is usually referred to the span of time which is required for the crystals to turn off and on in the LCD monitors. The response time determines the efficiency of these gadgets. This time may vary between 2 to 16 micro seconds. For playing high definition games the normal response time should be 5 micro second while for browsing the internet and usual word processing the response time should be 8 to 16 micro second. The response time should be clearly checked to avoid the irritation and blurring of the screen. Moreover, various monitors come with an embedded USB port to permit you to connect with other compatible devices without any concern.

Definition: LCD

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power.Each pixel of an LCD typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, and two polarizing filters, the axes of transmission of which are perpendicular to each other. With no liquid crystal between the polarizing filters, light passing through the first filter would be blocked by the second polarizer.The surface of the electrodes that are in contact with the liquid crystal material are treated so as to align the liquid crystal molecules in a particular direction. This treatment typically consists of a thin polymer layer that is unidirectionally rubbed using, for example, a cloth. The direction of the liquid crystal alignment is then defined by the direction of rubbing. Electrodes are made of a transparent conductor called Indium Tin Oxide.
Biography
The industrial-trance group LCD first appeared on the Cleopatra Records compilation Hypnotic Sounds, and signed to the label soon after. After delivering their wide-issue debut Endor Fun in mid-1996, LCD released the Mad Love EP early the following year.
Meaning-Category
Lead Contaminated Dust-Governmental->US Government
Least Common Denominator-Governmental->Police
Liquid Crystal Display-Academic & Science->ElectronicsLiving Causes Death-Community->Media
Local Change Directory-Computing->Networking
Local Climatological Data-Academic & Science->Meteorology
Local Current Directory-Computing->Networking
Low Cost Display-Computing->Hardware
Low-Cost Drifter-Academic & Science->Ocean Science
LCD Settled.
In the end, I bought the Dell 2007FP 20″ UltraSharp Flat Panel LCD Monitor.It’s basically a cheaper version of the Apple Cinema Display 20″. That’s assuming I got the LG.Philips S-IPS (LM201U05) version rather than the S-PVA version (which isn’t that bad either).
Oh well. It’s a freaking expensive 20″ monitor. I hope it’s worth it. It’ll give me a taste of the Apple Cinema Display alright.
I had 2 options in mind, initially. Option 1, get a cheap one that just looks nice but not for really serious stuff: Dell E228WFP 22″ monitor. Option 2, get a not so cheap one that has some features: Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP 22″ monitor. I ended up with Option 3, which was an expensive but good one, which actually costs more than the 22″ monitors.It’s one of those monitors that you’ll hear people saying “you get what you pay for”. I wonder if that’s true. I shall find out myself when it gets delivered over.
One thing though, it’s not a widescreen monitor. When the Dell website didn’t have the stock for the widescreen version, I realised I could use a non-widescreen version anyways, since I’ll be doing some coding. It’s a serious monitor haha.
New LCD monitor from Sony
The new LMD-4250W is a 42-inch widescreen LCD monitor designed for demanding broadcast applications, writes Adrian Pennington. The new model incorporates a full HD resolution 1920 x 1080 LCD panel, displaying high brightness and contrast images together with a superior viewing angle of 178 degrees and offering accurate and consistent colour reproduction through its Sony ChromaTRU technology. This allows assured picture quality decisions as well as facilitating close colour matchin

g for tiling applications. Responding to user preferences, the previously separate signal processing unit has been integrated into the monitor body whilst retaining the previous generation's convenience of light weight, minimal depth and outstanding installation flexibility. A stand is now supplied as part of the package. Further enhancements include a DVI-D input, enabling a third-party manufacturer's multi-image processor to be connected, an LCD backlight control and an Ethernet remote control function ideal for any monitor wall control. It also sports a new on-screen audio level meter and video waveform display, plus a picture-in-picture or side by side mode for greater user flexibility.
Color backlight and LCD next to web cam on m1730
OtherI think the white colored backlight in the keyboard clashes with all the other color changing lights in the m1730. They should make it more like the alienware m15x and m17x where every light on the the notebook can change color. Personally, I think that if your gonna make it flashy with all the lights you might as well go all the way instead of just half. Also, the small LCD on the top of the keyboard is hard to see when in the middle of gaming. It would be a lot better if it was on the top next to the web cam if possible. That thing is very useful ,but not when you have to take your eyes completely away from the screen to see it. If you believe the same things please promote this.
After Sony posted the top LCD TV share in Q4’07, Samsung edged slightly higher to retake the #1 LCD TV ranking in North America for the first time since Q1’07, rising to 12.8% unit share in a competitive category. Samsung maintained their share lead in combined flat panel TV comprising shipments of both LCD and Plasma TVs, according to preliminary findings from DisplaySearch’s latest Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report. flat panel TV highlights from Q1’08 include:
LCD TV was a competitive category in Q1’08 with the top three brands—Samsung, Sony and Vizio—separated by less than half a point of unit share at 12.8%, 12.7% and 12.5%, respectively.- Panasonic commanded the top share in Plasma TV by a large margin, accounting for 33% of Q1’08 shipments; #2 LG had over 19%, down from their 38% share in Q4’07. Panasonic shipped the first 46” 1080p plasma models in Q1’08 to the North American market.- Vizio posted their strongest combined flat panel TV share to date, rising from 10.3% in Q4’07 to 12.2% in Q1’08, overtaking Sony for #2 with distribution in the US only (rather than US and Canada like most other brands) and benefiting from and LCD + Plasma product strategy. Vizio also had the strongest Y/Y growth of any top five flat panel TV brand.- Sony dropped to #2 in LCD TV and to #3 in combined flat panel TV after a strong Q4’07. Sony did, however, leverage a strong focus on larger sizes to maintain a leadership position in 40” and larger LCD TVs, which they have held for 10 straight quarters. Sony’s focus on larger sizes and typically higher average selling price will likely lead to a #1 revenue share position in LCD TV for the quarter.