Define: Flat Screen
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Thursday, May 10, 2012
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Define: Flat Screen TV
Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of technologies enabling video displays that are lighter and much thinner than traditional television and video displays that use cathode ray tubes, and are usually less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick. They can be divided into two general categories Volatile or Static.
Flat panel displays balance their smaller footprint and trendy modern look with high production costs and in many cases inferior images compared with traditional CRTs. In many applications, specifically modern portable devices such as laptops, cellular phones, and digital cameras, whatever disadvantages are overcome by the portability requirements.
Volatile
Volatile displays require constant power output to refresh the image on screen many times a second. The image appears steady because the images are refreshed more often than the human eye can perceive.
Examples of Volatile Flat Panel Displays
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- DLP (Digital Light Processing)
- Plasma displays
- Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
- Organic light-emitting diode displays (OLEDs)
- Light-emitting diode display (LED)
- Electroluminescent displays (ELDs)
- Surface-conduction electron-emitter displays (SEDs)
- Field emission displays (FEDs)
- Nano-emissive display (NEDs)
Only the first five of these displays are commercially available today, though OLED displays are beginning deployment only in small sizes (mainly in cellular telephones). SEDs were promised for release in 2006, while the FEDs and NEDs are (as of November 2005) in the prototype stage.
Static
Static flat panel displays rely on materials whose color states are bistable. This means that the image they hold requires no energy to maintain, but instead requires energy to change. This results in a much more energy efficient display, but with a tendency towards slow refresh rates which are undesirable in an interactive display.
Examples of Static Flat Panel Displays
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- electrophoretic displays (e.g. E Ink's electrophoretic imaging film)
- bichromal ball displays (e.g. Xerox's Gyricon)
- Interferometric Modulator displays (e.g.
Qualcomm 's iMod, a MEMS display.) - Cholesteric displays (e.g. MagInk, Kent Displays)
- Bistable nematic liquid crystal displays (e.g. ZBD)
Bistable flat panel displays are beginning deployment in limited applications (Cholesteric displays, manufactured by Magink, in outdoor advertising; electrophoretic displays in e-book products from Sony and iRex; and bistable liquid crystal displays from ZBD in store shelf labels).
See also
Flat Panel Displays
A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time in 2003. For TV viewing, LCD and plasma are the two competing technologies, and many flat panel TVs can also display computer output (see flat panel TV).
Reflective - Not Reflective - Reflective
You can see yourself in the glass of a traditional CRT-based computer monitor or TV. The same is true of a plasma TV. However, LCDs used to be non-reflective, a significant advantage in a brightly lit room. Along about 2003, laptop screens began to include a clear, rigid overlay that makes colors richer, but causes the screen to be reflective once again. LCD TVs, on the other hand, are mostly not reflective (see flat panel TV).
Digital Computer to Digital Display
Unlike analog CRTs, flat panel screens are digital. However, although almost all new flat panel monitors accept digital inputs, many PCs continue to offer only analog outputs. Going directly to the digital input of the display creates a sharper image (see flat panel connections for details).
Know the Maximum "Native" Resolution
Flat panel screens have a precise matrix of rows and columns based on the highest resolution supported, and this "native" resolution displays the best. If you want to view a 1280x1024 resolution on a flat panel with a native resolution of 1600x1200, the 1280x1024 image will scale up to fill the screen. The quality of scaling algorithms between brands can differ substantially; therefore, you are better off viewing a flat panel at its native resolution. Otherwise, before you buy, be sure to set the panel to the lower resolution you desire and see what it looks like. See DVI, LCD, plasma display, EL display and FED. See also flat screen.
Flex Scan Flat Screen Monitor
Work luxuriously with 30" of screen space. Use the entire screen for working with one PC or take advantage of the picture-by-picture function and display two different PC sources at once without a distracting bezel between them. EIZO’s Digital Uniformity Equalizer function ensures brightness and chroma are uniform from corner to corner.
The FlexScan SX3031W has a color gamut that is 100% compared to NTSC. It also reproduces 97% of the Adobe RGB color space so it can display most colors in a photograph taken in Adobe RGB mode. Furthermore, it has an sRGB mode to accurately reproduce this narrower but commonly used color space. This ensures that colors meant for sRGB such as those used on web pages and any photos taken with a digital camera’s sRGB mode will be reproduced on the screen as intended.
The Dell UltraSharp 1707FP Report
The Dell UltraSharp 1707FP raises the bar on what you can expect to get from a $299 LCD. It combines great image quality with a wonderfully utilitarian design, and it offers all the adjustability we could wish for, including a pivoting screen. Also onboard are sensible extras such as four USB ports and an audio input. Other 17-inch monitors, such as the Sony SDM-HS75P/S and the SDM-S75AB, perform slightly better but cost more and lack the adjustability and the overall appeal of the 1707FP.
The Dell UltraSharp 1707FP's thin bezel is attractive, and its two-tone black-and-silver color scheme and slightly space-age design will blend in with any home or office environment. Most impressive is the 1707FP's adjustability: the panel tilts 5 degrees forward and 20 degrees backward, swivels smoothly 45 degrees left and right, and pivots easily between portrait and landscape mode. The 1707FP also offers 5 inches of height adjustment--as much as we've seen on any LCD. The monitor is slightly top-heavy, and the panel wobbles with even slight adjustments, though it won't tip over.
In back, the 1707FP has connection ports for audio, DVI-D, VGA, and one upstream and two downstream USB 2.0 ports; two more downstream USB ports are stealthily tucked into the left-hand side of the cabinet. We rarely see such an impressive assortment of connections in 17-inch LCDs. A quick-release button lets you easily remove the panel for mounting on a wall or an arm mount. Despite the audio input, there are neither built-in speakers nor a headphone jack, but Dell sells a sound bar attachment for $29.
Dell UltraSharp 1707FP
The good: Great image quality; very adjustable; high degree of connectivity; OSM is easy to navigate; USB hub.
The bad: Subtle color-tracking errors in the grayscales; slightly wobbly.
The bottom line: With an attractive design, ample adjustability options, and great image quality, the Dell UltraSharp 1707FP is one of the best 17-inch LCD monitors. We're especially impressed with its low price.
Specs: Display Type: Flat panel display / TFT active matrix; Diagonal Size: 17 in; Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024 See full specs >>