How do LCD displays work?
An LCD has a backlight behind a layer of liquid crystals that change alignment to pass light or block it. Its pixels sit on a fixed grid, so the picture looks best when it matches that grid.
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What it is
Each pixel has red, green and blue subpixels behind color filters. A voltage across each subpixel changes how the crystals are aligned, and with polarizing filters on both sides that sets how much backlight gets through. The grid has a native resolution, such as 1920 by 1080. When a source sends any other resolution, the display scales the image to fit, which can blur text and add a small delay. A CRT display has no fixed grid of this kind.
Panel types in one line each: TN is fast but its colors shift when viewed from the side, IPS keeps color steady across wide viewing angles, and VA gives deeper blacks but responds more slowly. Most LCDs now use LED backlights. An "LED TV" is an LCD lit by LEDs, not a different kind of display. For screens that make their own light, see OLED and QLED.
Why it matters to a business
- Native resolution: set computers to the panel's native resolution, or text looks soft.
- Response time and input lag: response time is how fast a pixel changes color, and slow panels smear motion. Input lag is the delay between signal in and picture out. Both matter for live video and interactive screens.
- Panel type: IPS suits shared screens that people view from the side, such as in a conference room. VA suits dim rooms.
- Brightness: a screen facing a window needs a brighter backlight than one in an interior office.
How this shows up in our work
Monitors, conference room screens and signage displays are part of the hardware we supply and set up under managed IT.
Each one is set to its native resolution and checked with the computer or player that will drive it, before staff start using it.
Related services
Managed IT
Monitors and room displays supplied, set up and supported with the rest of your IT.
Networking and firewalls
Wired and Wi-Fi networks for the screens, players and conference systems that depend on them.
Learn more
- Liquid-crystal display on WikipediaExplains how the crystals, polarizers and backlight work together, with panel types in detail.
- OLED on WikipediaUseful for comparing an LCD with a display that lights each pixel itself.
Choosing screens for an office?
Tell us the room, the light in it and what the screen will show. We reply within one business day.
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