MONITORS & TYPE OF MONITORS

A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial form. A

monitor usually comprises the display device, circuitry, casing, and power supply. The
display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal
display (TFT-LCD) with LED backlighting having replaced cold-cathode fluorescent
lamp (CCFL) backlighting. Older monitors used a cathode ray tube (CRT). Monitors are
connected to the computer via VGA, Digital Visual
Interface (DVI), HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS)
or other proprietary connectors and signals.
Originally, computer monitors were used for data processing while television sets were
used for entertainment. From the 1980s onwards, computers (and their monitors) have
been used for both data processing and entertainment, while televisions have implemented
some computer functionality. The common aspect ratio of televisions, and computer
monitors, has changed from 4:3 to 16:10, to 16:9.
Modern computer monitors are easily interchangeable with conventional television sets.
However, as computer monitors do not necessarily include integrated speakers, it may not
be possible to use a computer monitor without external components

History
Early electronic computers were fitted with a panel of light bulbs where the state of each
particular bulb would indicate the on/off state of a particular register bit inside the
computer. This allowed the engineers operating the computer to monitor the internal state
of the machine, so this panel of lights came to be known as the 'monitor'. As early
monitors were only capable of displaying a very limited amount of information and were
very transient, they were rarely considered for program output. Instead, a line printer was
the primary output device, while the monitor was limited to keeping track of the program's
operation.[citation needed]
As technology developed engineers realized that the output of a CRT display was more
flexible than a panel of light bulbs and eventually, by giving control of what was displayed
in the program itself, the monitor itself became a powerful output device in its own
right.[citation needed]
Computer monitors were formerly known as visual display units (VDU), but this term had
mostly fallen out of use by the 1990s.

Technologies
Multiple technologies have been used for computer monitors. Until the 21st century most
used cathode ray tubes but they have largely been superseded by LCD monitors.

Cathode ray tube

The first computer monitors used cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Prior to the advent of home
computers in the late 1970s, it was common for a video display terminal (VDT) using a
CRT to be physically integrated with a keyboard and other components of the system in a
single large chassis. The display was monochrome and far less sharp and detailed than on
a modern flat-panel monitor, necessitating the use of relatively large text and severely
limiting the amount of information that could be displayed at one time. High-resolution
CRT displays were developed for the specialized military, industrial and scientific
applications but they were far too costly for general use.
Some of the earliest home computers (such as the TRS-80 and Commodore PET) were
limited to monochrome CRT displays, but color display capability was already a standard
feature of the pioneering Apple II, introduced in 1977, and the specialty of the more
graphically sophisticated Atari 800, introduced in 1979. Either computer could be
connected to the antenna terminals of an ordinary color TV set or used with a purpose-
made CRT color monitor for optimum resolution and color quality. Lagging several years
behind, in 1981 IBM introduced the Color Graphics Adapter, which could display four
colors with a resolution of 320 x 200 pixels, or it could produce 640 x 200 pixels with two
colors. In 1984 IBM introduced the Enhanced Graphics Adapter which was capable of
producing 16 colors and had a resolution of 640 x 350.[2]
By the end of the 1980s color CRT monitors that could clearly display 1024 x 768 pixels
were widely available and increasingly affordable. During the following decade, maximum
display resolutions gradually increased and prices continued to fall. CRT technology
remained dominant in the PC monitor market into the new millennium partly because it
was cheaper to produce and offered to view angles close to 180 degrees.[3] CRTs still offer
some image quality advantages[clarification needed] over LCDs but improvements to the latter have
made them much less obvious. The dynamic range of early LCD panels was very poor, and
although text and other motionless graphics were sharper than on a CRT, an LCD
characteristic known as pixel lag caused moving graphics to appear noticeably smeared
and blurry.

Liquid crystal display

There are multiple technologies that have been used to implement liquid crystal displays
(LCD). Throughout the 1990s, the primary use of LCD technology as computer monitors
was in laptops where the lower power consumption, lighter weight, and smaller physical
size of LCDs justified the higher price versus a CRT. Commonly, the same laptop would be
offered with an assortment of display options at increasing price points: (active or passive)
monochrome, passive color, or active matrix color (TFT). As volume and manufacturing
capability have improved, the monochrome and passive color technologies were dropped
from most product lines.
TFT-LCD is a variant of LCD which is now the dominant technology used for computer
monitors.[4]
The first standalone LCDs appeared in the mid-1990s selling for high prices. As prices
declined over a period of years they became more popular, and by 1997 were competing
with CRT monitors. Among the first desktop LCD computer monitors was the Eizo L66 in
the mid-1990s, the Apple Studio Display in 1998, and the Apple Cinema Display in 1999.
In 2003, TFT-LCDs outsold CRTs for the first time, becoming the primary technology used
for computer monitors.[3] The main advantages of LCDs over CRT displays are that LCDs
consume less power, take up much less space, and are considerably lighter. The now
common active matrix TFT-LCD technology also has less flickering than CRTs, which
reduces eye strain.[5] On the other hand, CRT monitors have superior contrast, have a
superior response time, are able to use multiple screen resolutions natively, and there is
no discernible flicker if the refresh rate[6] is set to a sufficiently high value. LCD monitors
have now very high temporal accuracy and can be used for vision research.[7]
High dynamic range (HDR)[6] has been implemented into high-end LCD monitors to
improve color accuracy. Since around the late 2000s, widescreen LCD monitors have
become popular, in part due to television series, motion pictures and video
games transitioning to high-definition (HD), which makes standard-width monitors unable
to display them correctly as they either stretch or crop HD content. These types of
monitors may also display it in the proper width, however they usually fill the extra space
at the top and bottom of the image with black bars. Other advantages of widescreen
monitors over standard-width monitors is that they make work more productive by
displaying more of a user's documents and images, and allow displaying toolbars with
documents. They also have a larger viewing area, with a typical widescreen monitor having
a 16:9 aspect ratio, compared to the 4:3 aspect ratio of a typical standard-width monitor.

Types of computer monitors

Most people use computer monitors daily at work and at home. And while these come in a
variety of shapes, designs, and colors, they can also be broadly categorized into three types.
If you are not sure what these are and would like an introduction to the different types of
computer monitors then here we explain the three main types, as well as the pros and cons
of each.

CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors

These monitors employ CRT technology, which was used most commonly in the
manufacturing of television screens. With these monitors, a stream of intense high energy
electrons is used to form images on a fluorescent screen. A cathode ray tube is basically a
vacuum tube containing an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at another end.

While CRT monitors can still be found in some organizations, many offices have stopped
using them largely because they are heavy, bulky, and costly to replace should they break.
While they are still in use, it would be a good idea to phase these monitors out for cheaper,
lighter, and more reliable monitors.

LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors

The LCD monitor incorporates one of the most advanced technologies available today.
Typically, it consists of a layer of color or monochrome pixels arranged schematically
between a couple of transparent electrodes and two polarizing filters. Optical effect is made
possible by polarizing the light in varied amounts and making it pass through the liquid
crystal layer. The two types of LCD technology available are the active matrix of TFT and a
passive matrix technology. TFT generates better picture quality and is more secure and
reliable. Passive matrix, on the other hand, has a slow response time and is slowly becoming
outdated.

The advantages of LCD monitors include their compact size which makes them lightweight.
They also don’t consume much electricity as CRT monitors, and can be run off of batteries
which makes them ideal for laptops.

Images transmitted by these monitors don’t get geometrically distorted and have little
flicker. However, this type of monitor does have disadvantages, such as its relatively high
price, an image quality which is not constant when viewed from different angles, and a
monitor resolution that is not always constant, meaning any alterations can result in
reduced performance.

LED (light-emitting diodes) monitors

LED monitors are the latest types of monitors on the market today. These are flat panel, or
slightly curved displays which make use of light-emitting diodes for back-lighting, instead of
cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) back-lighting used in LCDs. LED monitors are said to use
much lesser power than CRT and LCD and are considered far more environmentally
friendly.

The advantages of LED monitors are that they produce images with higher contrast, have
less negative environmental impact when disposed, are more durable than CRT or LCD
monitors, and features a very thin design. They also don’t produce much heat while running.
The only downside is that they can be more expensive, especially for the high-end monitors
like the new curved displays that are being released.

Being aware of the different types of computer monitors available should help you choose
one that’s most suited to your needs. Looking to learn more about hardware in today’s
world? Contact us and see how we can help.

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