Monitor: - A display screen, a video display terminal (VDT) or video display unit (VDU), the monitor is the component

of computer system that displays messages, & data being processed & utilized by computer’s CPU.
Display technologies:-
1. CRT
2. LCD
3. LED
4. Plasma

CRT: - A CRT (Cathod Ray Tube) works by moving an electron beam back & forth across the screen. Each time the
beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of the glass tube, thereby illuminating the
active portions of screen.
There are two types of CRT monitors:
1. Monochrome CRT Monitor
2. Colour CRT Monitor.

A CRT monitor is similar to a standard television set because it contains a cathode ray tube. A cathode ray tube (CRT) is a
large, sealed, glass tube. The front of the tube is a screen coated with phosphor material that glows as an electron beam
moves back and forth, which produces an image on the screen. These are big and heavy and use a lot of desk space and
electricity.
In CRT, the vacuum glass tube has at the end of its neck a heated filament. The electrons emitted are attracted towards the
face of the screen by the electric field created by the high tension (HT) voltage applied between the cathode and the
anode. The beam of electrons passes through the focusing and deflection electrostatic plates or coils along the way. The
screen is coated with a thin phosphor layer which emits light when impacted by an electron at that point.
The focusing anode, sometimes called an electrostatic lens, forms the emitted electrons into a thin circular beam (along
the Z direction), so that the image created on the screen is a sharp well-defined spot. Magnetic focusing coils are common
and can produce a narrower beam of electrons, that is, a sharper focus. The electron beam is aimed at a particular point on
the screen by passing it through an electromagnetic field generated by the set of deflection coils in the yoke assembly.
Two vertical deflection coils generate a field perpendicular in X direction of the electrons, allowing the electron beam to
be scanned vertically. And two horizontal deflection coils do the same in the horizontal direction, thus enabling the beam
to be positioned anywhere on the face of the tube.

Advantages:
♦ Low cost because of volume of production.
♦ Speed of updating and the retention of image is good.
♦ Color display is available.
♦ Text and graphics display modes.
Disadvantages:
♦ Large size and weight: Typical CRT displays are at least as deep as they are wide
♦ High voltage and power consumption. Also generate a lot of heat.
♦ CRT displays are glass vacuum tubes, and are therefore relatively fragile.
♦ The microprocessor interface is relatively complex

Raster Scan: - In a raster scan system, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top to bottom.
As the electron beam moves across each row, the beam intensity is turned on and off to create a pattern of illuminated
spots. Picture definition is stored in memory area called the Refresh Buffer or Frame Buffer. Each screen point is referred
to as a pixel (picture element). At the end of each scan line, the electron beam returns to the left side of the screen to begin
displaying the next scan line.
Block diagram of colour CRT: -

Video processing circuit: This contains video signal from the display adapter card fed to the video amplifier circuit. The
video signal controls the brightness of the beam as it is scanned across and down the screen. The video signal is sent to the
video amplifier where the signal is boosted so it can drive the tube. The amplified video signal is sent to the video driver.
Video driver the cathode of the tube and controls the number of electrons that reach the screen, and then display the
output.

Vertical sync processing: The vertical sync signal from the video adapter card informs the monitor that an entire screen
has been displayed, that time to deflect the beam back up to the top of the screen. The Vsync pulses are given to the
vertical oscillator which generates the required frequency for vertical scanning. The vertical sync stage detects the
incoming vertical sync pulses and controls the vertical deflection of the beam to maintain the correct timing.

Horizontal sync processing: The horizontal sync signal from the video adapter card informs the monitor when each scan
lines has been displayed. And that time to deflect the beam back to the left hand side of the tube. That is, horizontal fly
back is initiated. The horizontal sync stage detects the incoming sync pulse and uses this to control the frequency of the
horizontal oscillator. Horizontal oscillator is used to generate the required frequency for horizontal oscillator is used to
generate the high voltage needed by the picture tube. This voltage is called the Extra High Tension[EHT].

Power supply section: Power supply section generates the different voltages for different circuits.

Characteristics:

Dot Pitch - The dot pitch specification for a display monitor tells hoe sharp the displayed image can be. Dot
pitch sometimes called line pitch, stripe pitch, or phosphor pitch. Dot pitch refers to the space between the pixels that
make up the images on screen, and is measured in millimeters. The less space between pixels, the better the image quality.
On either type of monitor, smaller dot pitch is better and user to want something in the 0.26 mm dot pitch or smaller
range. Technically, in a cathode ray tube (CRT) display with a shadow mask, the dot pitch is the distance between the
holes of same colours in the shadow mask, measured in millimeters (mm). The shadow mask is a metal screen filled with
holes through which the three electron beams pass that focus to a single point on the tube's phosphor surface.
Pixel - A pixel or picture element is the smallest programmable visual element or dot or cell on the screen.

Resolution - A display's resolution refers to how many pixels can be displayed on the screen. It refers to the sharpness
and clarity of an image. Resolution indicates the number of dots per inch. For example, a 640-by-480 pixel screen is
capable of displaying 640 distinct dots on each of 480 lines, or about 300,000 pixels.

Video Bandwidth - Video Bandwidth refers to a monitor's ability to refresh the screen. The signal capacity required to
transmit video content. High bandwidths allow more information to be painted across the display in a given amount of
time, which translates into support for higher resolutions and higher refresh rates. Lower bandwidths result in flickering,
ringing artifacts, and ghosting. To calculate the bandwidth of a monitor, measured in megahertz, or MHz, multiply the
horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution, and then multiply the product of the two figures by the refresh rate. For
example, 1024 x 768 x 75 = 58.982 MHz.

Horizontal Scanning Frequency: This is the minimum scanning frequency required to display the input resolution at the
input refresh rate. This is the minimum horizontal scanning frequency required for a fixed panel (non CRT) display to
reproduce this signal.
Horizontal scan rate, or horizontal frequency, usually expressed in kilohertz, is the frequency at which a CRT moves the
electron beam from the left side of the display to the right and back.

Referesh Rate - The refresh rate (most commonly the "vertical refresh rate", "vertical scan rate" for cathode ray tubes) is
the number of times in a second that a display hardware updates its buffer. Computer monitors often have a "maximum
refresh rate". This number, measured in hertz (Hz), determines how many times the screen is redrawn each second.
Typical refresh rates for CRT monitors include 60, 75, and 85 Hz. Some monitors support refresh rates of over 100 Hz.
The higher the refresh rate, the less image flicker on the screen. Typically a refresh rate of less than 60 Hz will produce
noticeable flicker, meaning viewer can tell the screen is being redrawn instead of seeing a constant image. If the refresh
rate is too slow, this flicker can be hard on eyes and may cause them to tire quickly.

Response Time - It translates to the amount of time it takes for a liquid crystal cell to go from active (black) to inactive
(white) and back to active (black) again. It is measured in milliseconds (ms). Response time is a critical element to
consider when buying a LCD because it directly impacts the screens ability to clearly portray moving images and well-
defined edges.

Interlaced: - In an interlaced monitor, the electron beam takes two passes to form a complete image: it skips every other
row on the first pass, and then goes back and fills in the missing rows. All odd lines (lines 1-3-5....) are imaged in the first
field and all even lines (lines 2-4-6....) are imaged in the second field. A full frame image consists of two interlaced fields.
This method of scanning is called 2:1 interlaced.

Non-interlaced: - A non-interlaced monitor does the whole job in one pass, tracing each row consecutively.
Difference between Interlaced & Non-Interlaced
Interlaced Non- Interlaced
It uses two passes to generate image It uses only one pass to generate image
Image quality is not good Image quality is good
Image flickring is there Less chance of image flickring
It produces less stable picture. It produce a more stable picture
The cost is less The cost is more

LCD: - LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed
in front of a light source or reflector. It uses two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them.
An electrical current passed through the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each pixel of LCD
typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, & two polarizing filters. The surface
of electrodes that are in contact with liquid crystal material are treated so as to align the liquid crystal molecules in
particular direction.

Functional Block diagram of LCD

Interface Board: - Function of interface board is to convert an input signal into a digital RGB signal with the help of
ADC.
Control Board: - It controls the user operation. Main part of control board are push button, & LED.
Push Button - It is a simple switch function pressing it for “ON” to do auto adjustment, releasing it for “OFF” to do
nothing.
LED - It indicates the DPMS (Display Power Management Signaling) status of LCD. Enables power saving behaviour of
monitors when the computer is not in use.
Inverter: - Function of inverter is to convert AC voltage in required DC voltage for LCD module & interface board.
LCD module: - Function of this is to display image, data, or text on screen. It is used to control of backlight of LCD
Advantages of LCD: -
1. Light weight.
2. Smaller footprint on desk leaving, freeing up the work area on the user’s desk.
3. Flicker free screen.
4. Easy adjustment, storage & movement.
5. Energy efficiency using only 1/3 to ½ the electricity of CRTs & they do not generate heat.

Disadvantages of LCDs: -
1. Fragile screen; may result in both screen & backlight lamp damage if touched or handled.
2. Contrast ratio causes darkness to not be displayed true.
3. Designed only for one optimum resolution; cannot adjust images.
4. Best view of screen is straight-on, limiting clarity & colors of information for those viewing from an angle.
5. Backlight is the potential weak link & its failure can be costly.

LCD Types:-LCD display uses two types of matrix:

1) Passive Matrix
2) Active Matrix

Active-matrix display (TFTs): - It is the type of color display used in laptop computers. A liquid crystal display in which
each pixel of the screen is powered separately and continuously by a transistor. This provides for a brighter image with
higher contrast than a passive matrix display. It is used in all LCD TVs and desktop computer monitors. Whether active or
passive, a pixel matrix is addressed by rows and columns, one row (line) at a time for each electronic frame and then
repeated for the next frame. Unlike passive matrix LCDs, which have no internal transistors, active matrix displays have a
transistor at each red, green and blue sub pixel that keeps the sub pixel at the desired intensity until that row is addressed
in the next frame. By driving the sub pixels independently, active matrix screens are sharper and have more contrast than
passive matrix, and their faster response times eliminate submarining. In addition, active matrix screens are very bright
indoors because they use a backlight. However, when active matrix cell phones and laptops are taken into bright sunlight,
they can be overwhelmed with reflected ambient light and difficult to read. Today, active matrix is the only type of LCD
on laptops. Also called a "thin film transistor LCD" (TFT LCD) because a thin layer of transistors is deposited on the back
of the screen. Active matrix displays use TN liquid crystals with a 90º twist.

Passive-matrix display: - A liquid crystal display in which the pixels of the screen are powered by a grid of wires. This
contrasts with an active matrix display, in which each pixel of the screen is powered separately and continuously by a
transistor, which provides for a brighter image with higher contrast. Also called passive display, passive matrix LCD etc.
Passive displays are widely used with segmented digits and characters for small readouts in devices such as calculators,
fax machines and remote controls, most of which are monochrome or have only a few colors. The passive technology is
also used for graphics displays, comprising a matrix of rows and columns, typically not larger than 240 rows (320x240).
Compared to active matrix, passive matrix is less costly because transistors are used only to activate rows and columns,
not each sub pixel, resulting in fewer manufacturing steps. However, passive matrix screens have a narrower viewing
angle than active matrix and suffer from "submarining," which is the disappearance of the cursor when moved quickly.

Comparison between CRT, LCD, LED

Parameters CRT LCD LED
Technology Mature New Latest
Visual Performance Slower Faster Faster
Image Flicker Yes No No
Image Brightness Variable uneven Bright, uniform More bright, uniform
Image Sharpness Moderate High High
Image Retention No Yes Yes
Power Consumption High Low Lowest
Weight Heavy Light Light
Color Range Excellent Very Good Excellent
Cost Low Moderate High