Course Title: Introduction to Computer Hard Ware

Course Code: EEC117

Topic: Monitors

Visual Display Unit (VDU)

VDU is a device, such as a television screen, which produces a visible display of data. The
VDU is also called Monitor.

A computer monitor is an output device which displays information in

pictorial form, which could be in video ,graphics ,picture and text format. A monitor usually
comprises the display device, circuitry, casing, and power supply.

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

There are many ways to classify monitors. The most basic is in terms of color capabilities, which
separates monitors into three classes:

 Monochrome : Monochrome monitors actually display two colors, one for the
 Gray-scale :A gray-scale monitor is a special type of monochrome monitor capable of
displaying different shades of gray.
 Color: Color monitors can display anywhere from 16 to over 1 million different colors. Color
monitors are sometimes called RGB monitors because they accept three separate signals -- red,
green, and blue.

CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES OF A MONITOR:
a) Size: The most important aspect of a monitor is its size. Screen sizes are measured in diagonal
inches, the distance from one corner to another opposite corner diagonally.

b) Resolution: The resolution of a monitor indicates how density the pixels are packed. Pixel is
short for picture element. A pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Graphic monitors display
pictures by dividing the display screen into millions of pixels arranged in rows and columns. On
colour monitor each pixel is actually composed of three dots namely a red, a green, and a blue.
The quality of a display monitor largely depends on its resolution.

c) Band Width: The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital
devices, the band width is usually expressed in bits or bytes per second (bps). For analog devices
it is expressed in cycle per second or Hertz (Hz).

d) Refresh Rate: The refresh rate the number of times in seconds that a monitor draws the data.
The refresh rate of a monitor is measured in Hertz. The standard refresh rate is 75Hz, this means
that the monitor redraws the display 75 times per second. The faster the refresh rate, the less the
monitor flicker
e) Interlacing: It is a technique in which instead of scanning the image one line at a time, it scans
alternately i.e. alternate lines are scanned at each pass. It is used to keep band width down. Since
inter leaked displaced have been reported to be more flickery, with better technology available,
most monitors are non interlaced now.

f) Dot per Inch: It is measured for the actual sharpness of the on screen image. This depends on
both the resolution & the size of the image. Practical experience shows that a smaller screen has
a sharper image at the same resolution than does a large screen. This is because it will require
more dots per inch to display the same number of pixels.

g) Dot Pitch: A measurement that indicates the vertical distance between each pixel on a display
screen. It is measured in millimeter. The dot pitch is one of the principle characteristics that
determine the quality of display monitors.

h) Convergence: It refers to how sharply an individual colour pixel on a monitor appears. Each
pixel is composed of three dots namely a red, a green and a blue. If the dots are badly mis
converged, the pixel will appear blurry.

TYPES OF COMPUTER MONITOR

1) Cathode Ray Tube(CRT)
2) Liquid Crystal Display(LCD)
3) Gas plasma Diplay
4) Light Emitting Diode(LED)
5) Organic Light Emitting Diode(OLED)
6) Ultra High Definition

Cathode Ray tube

Principle of Working

When the two metal plates are connected to a high voltage source, the negatively charged plate
called cathode, emits an invisible ray. The cathode ray is drawn to the positively charged plate,
called the anode, where it passes through a hole and continues travelling to the other end of the
tube. When the ray strikes the specially coated surface, the cathode ray produces a strong
fluorescence, or bright light. When an electric field is applied across the cathode ray tube, the
cathode ray is attracted by the plate bearing positive charges. Therefore a cathode ray must
consist of negatively charged particles. A moving charged body behaves like a tiny magnet, and
it can interact with an external magnetic field. The electrons deflected by the magnetic field. And
also when the external magnetic field is reversed, the beam of electronics is deflected in the
opposite direction.

In a cathode ray tube, the cathode is a heated filament and it placed in vacuum. The ray is a
stream of electrons that naturally pour off a heated cathode into the vacuum. Electrons are
negative. The anode is positive, so it attracts the electrons pouring off the cathode. In a TV’s
cathode ray tube, the stream of electrons is focused by a focusing anode into a tight beam and
then accelerated by an accelerating anode. This tight, high-speed beam of electrons flies through
the vacuum in the tube and hits the flat screen at the other end of the tube. This screen is coated
with phosphor, which glows when struck by the beam.

Operation of CRT
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) is a computer display screen, used to display the output in a standard
composite video signal. The working of CRT depends on movement of an electron beam which
moves back and forth across the back of the screen. The source of the electron beam is the
electron gun; the gun is located in the narrow, cylindrical neck at the extreme rear of a CRT
which produces a stream of electrons through thermionic emission. Usually, A CRT has a
fluorescent screen to display the output signal. A simple CRT is shown in below.

Cathode Ray
Tube

The operation of a CRT monitor is basically very simple. A cathode ray tube consists of one or
more electron guns, possibly internal electrostatic deflection plates and a phosphor target. CRT
has three electron beams – one for each (Red, Green, and Blue) is clearly shown in figure. The
electron beam produces a tiny, bright visible spot when it strikes the phosphor-coated screen. In
every monitor device the entire front area of the tube is scanned repetitively and systematically
in a fixed pattern called a raster. An image (raster) is displayed by scanning the electron beam
across the screen. The phosphor’s targets are begins to fade after a short time, the image needs to
be refreshed continuously. Thus CRT produces the three color images which are primary colors.
Here we used a 50 Hz rate to eliminate the flicker by refreshing the screen.

Main parts of the cathode ray tube are cathode, control grid, deflecting plates and screen.
 The basic components of the CRT are described below:
1) Electron Gun -- The electron gun, which consists of the cathode, choke, accelerator, and
lensing region, is the device which generates and focuses the electron beam used to project
an image on the phosphor screen.

2) Cathode -- The cathode is a grounded metal plate that is super-heated so that electrons are
literally jumping off the surface.

3) Accelerator Plate -- This metal ring is held at a large, positive voltage and is used to "grab"
loose electrons from the cathode and hurl them forwards into the lensing chamber (towards
the right in the diagram).

 Choke -- This metal ring is located between the cathode and accelerator plate and held at a
slightly negative charge. The electric fields from the choke help columnate the electrons;
they also can be used to quickly modulate the number of electrons in the beam and, thus, the
brightness or intensity of the picture.

 Lensing Region -- The lensing region consists of two adjacent metal tubes that are located
just after the accelerator. The two tubes are held at different potentials, causing an
electrostatic lens to form at their junction. The electrons that have jumped off the cathode
begin to focus. Ideally, the focal point will occur at the point when the beam strikes the
display, thereby providing pinpoint resolution on the screen. The last metal tube of the
lensing chamber is held at the highest potential of all the electron gun components so that
exiting electrons have a very high forward velocity.

 Steering Magnets -- These two sets of electromagnets are fed the retrace signals that
synchronize the drawing of the picture on the screen. The flux between each pair of
magnets will bend the electron beam, one in the horizontal direction and the other in the
vertical direction.

ADVANTAGES OF CRT

1. CRT’s are less expensive than other display technologies.

2. They operate at any resolution, geometry and aspect ratio without decreasing the image quality.
3. CRTs produce the very best color and gray-scale for all professional calibrations.
4. Excellent viewing angle.
5. It maintains good brightness and gives long life service.

DISADVANTAGE

• Large size and weight, especially for bigger screens (a 20-inch (51 cm) unit weighs about 50 lb
(23 kg))

• High power consumption High power consumption.

• Generates a considerable amount of heat when running

• Geometric distortion caused by variable beam travel distances

• Can suffer screen burn-in

• Produces noticeable flicker at low refresh rates

LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY/ FLAT PANEL DISPLAY

A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical

device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals. Liquid crystals do not emit
light directly, instead using a backlight or reflector to produce images in color or monochrome.

LCDs are used in a wide range of applications including LCD televisions, computer monitors,
instrument panels, aircraft cockpit displays, and indoor and outdoor signage. Small LCD screens
are common in portable consumer devices such as digital cameras, watches, calculators, and
mobile telephones, including smartphones. LCD screens are also used on consumer electronics
products such as DVD players, video game devices and clocks.

BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE OF LCD PANEL

A LCD display consists of many pixels, this is what the resolution stands for, the number of
pixels. Each of these pixels is an LCD panel, and it is seen as a multi-layer sandwich supported
by a fluorescent backlight. At the 2 far ends of the LCD panel are non-alkaline, transparent glass
substrates with smooth surface and free of surface scratches. The glass substrates are attached to
polarizer film that transmits or absorbs a specific component of polarized light. In between the 2
glass substrates is layer of the nematic phase liquid crystals. There is also a colour filter
containing the 3 primary colours (red, green and blue). Each of the polarized glass is arranged at
right angles to each other, so when electric current was passed through the LCD panel, the liquid
crystals are aligned with the first polarized glass encountered and will make a 90o twist when
approaching the other polarized glass at the end. When this happens, the light from the
fluorescent backlight is able to pass through and thus giving us a lighted pixel on the monitor.
When there is no electric current, the liquid crystals will not twist and thus the light will not pass
through and a black pixel will be shown. The reason we see the coloured images are due to the
colour filter, light passes through the filtered cells creates the colors.
 ADVANTAGES

 Very compact and light

 Low power consumption. On average, 50-70% less energy is consumed than CRT
monitors
 No geometric distortion
 Little or no flicker depending on backlight technology
 Not affected by screen burn-in
 No high voltage or other hazards present during repair/service
 Can be made in almost any size or shape
 No theoretical resolution limit

DISADVANTAGES
 Limited viewing angle, causing color, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary,
 even within the intended viewing angle, by variations in posture
 Bleeding and uneven backlighting in some monitors, causing brightness distortion,
 especially toward the edges
 Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times (>8 ms) and
 "sample and hold" operation
 Only one native resolution. Displaying resolutions either requires a video scaler,
 lowering perceptual quality, or display at 1:1 pixel mapping, in which images will be
 physically too large or won't fill the whole screen
 Fixed bit depth, many cheaper LCDs are only able to display 262,000 colors. 8-bit
 S-IPS panels can display 16 million colors and have significantly better black level,
 but are expensive and have slower response time
 Input lag
COMPARING LCD AND TRADITIONAL CRT MONITORS
Characteristics LCD Displays CRT Monitors
Physical size Thin, compact and lightweight. Bulky, heavier and takes up more
Takes up less space. space.
Brightness LCDs are backlit and have Fairly bright, but not as bright as
different levels of brightness and LCDs. Brightness is not a
capable of producing very bright necessary concern with CRTs.
images and shows extremely Not appropriate for brightly lit
uniform brightness. Very conditions.
suitable for environments that
are brightly lit.
Power Energy efficient. Consume less Use more power and produce
Consumption electricity than a CRT and more heat than a LCD.
and Heat produce little heat.
Radiation Emit considerably lesser Emit harmful radiation.
Emission radiation.
Display Size Advance LCD technology make Wide ranges of screen sizes.
colour LCD monitors comparable
in screen size to CRT monitors
Colours Capable of displaying hundreds Capable of displaying unlimited
or thousands of colours, but colours.
newer ones are capable of
unlimited colours.
Resolution Works best at its own native Capable of displaying multiple
resolution. The native resolution video resolutions, each with the
is generally the highest same good quality. Highest pixel
resolution that the LCD can resolution was available for
display. Changing to other operation.
resolutions require adjusting
procedures which can cause
considerable deterioration of the
image.
Viewing Angle Restricted viewing angles. Viewable from almost every
Needed to be viewed in front to angle.
have a better view. Not much of
an issue for newer LCDs.
Price More expensive but saves more Less expensive but more
electricity. electricity consuming.

LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) Monitors

LED monitors are the latest types of monitors in the market today. Like LCD, it is again a flat
panel display making use of light-emitting diodes for back-lightning instead of Cold Cathode
Fluorescent (CCFL) back-lightning used in LCDs. Primarily, the display is of LCD only but the
back-lightning is done by LEDs.

LED monitors are said to use much lesser power than CRT and LCD. Thus, they are also
considered environmental friendly. Other core advantages of LED monitors are:
 1. They produce images with higher contrast
2. They have less negative environmental impact when disposed
3. Lifespan and durability of LED monitors is more than CRT or LCD monitors
4. Because of the technology, the monitor panels can be made very thin
5. Do not produce much heat while running

LED monitors are little expensive than the former types. There are multiple ways by which LED
back-lightning is done.

 White-edge LEDs are fixed around the rim of the monitor. It used a special diffusion panel to spread light
evenly behind the screen.
 An array of LEDs are placed behind the screen. Their brightness is not controlled individually.
 Again an array of LEDs are placed behind the screen, but the brightness of each individual LED is
controlled separately.

OLED Monitors

Organic light-emitting diodes that can light up individual picture elements is an improvement in LED technology. It
works without a backlight so the monitors can be thinner and more energy efficient while producing vivid color
saturation and displaying deep black levels. Currently there are few OLED monitors on the market due to the high
costs in manufacturing. It is a technology that is beginning to show up in HDTVs, and in time, if successful, may
translate into the computer monitor market.

Ultra-High Definition Monitors

UHD takes LED technology and adds more pixels onto the screen, going from about 2 million pixels in full HD (1,920
by 1,080) to more than 8 million pixels in UHD (3,240 by 2,160). Also called 4K technology, the level of image detail
and sharpness is excellent, especially when viewing videos, pictures, graphic designs and other content that is
created in 4K. When sitting close to a UHD monitor, you can notice the clarity of the images on the screen. The
primary disadvantage to a UHD monitor is the high price when compared to other LED monitors that are in full HD,
but not UHD. Plus, the small amount of 4k content is a detriment. Dell currently sells a top-rated 32" UHD monitor
for $2,500, and Asus sells a well-reviewed 32" UHD monitor at the discounted price of $1,470.

Touchscreen Monitors

Touchscreens have been around for many years, and with advancements in technology, screens are sleeker, lighter
and more accurate with your touch. You can type of the screen, but for some, keeping a keyboard and mouse for
some tasks is still desired. A key advantage to a touchscreen monitor is it allows you to use the touch option when
you want to. Touchscreen monitors are a little more expensive than non-touch monitors, but the pricing is pretty
close. As the popularity of touchscreens increases in all devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops,
touchscreen computer monitors will also gain in popularity and convenience. Acer offers a 27" LCD touch-screen
for under $400 while Hewlett-Packard offers a 21" LED touch-screen for around $250.