Get to Know About Terms in Monitor

Choosing the right monitor is tricky. Often as a buyers, we're confused by the various of "marketing jargon" and technical terms that are difficult to understand. Before shopping, it'll helps if you know in advance with the jargon and terms, before you settled on a candidate for your monitor.

3D Vision: It is a 3D view of the standard techniques that rely on NVIDIA active-shutter glasses. LCD monitors or other display devices, such as projectors, which supports 3D Vision technology has a refresh rate of 120 Hz or twice a refresh rate of LCD monitors in general. It is required to show two frames simultaneously on the screen, which will be united by a member of 3D glasses for the illusion of depth (depth) in games, movies, as well as still images.
Required device by the 3D vision includes a 3D monitor (with a refresh rate of 120Hz), and 3D Vision kit (active-shutter glasses and a wireless transceiver).

Analogue: Transmission of data that take advantage of variation (modulation, amplitude) electrical signals to transmit data from one device to another. For the computer display, analog signals used to transmit data from the graphics card (via D-SUB port) to a display device such as CRT monitors and projectors. LCD monitors can also receive analog signals that are converted into digital information before the image is displayed.

Aspect Ratio: The proportion of screen width versus screen height, usually expressed with a ratio, eg "4:3" which states that the proportion of the height and width of the screen is 4 versus 3. Widescreen LCD display has a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio so it looks more widened. CRT monitors usually have a 4:3 aspect ratio, while the more modern LCD monitors use a widescreen aspect ratio 16:10 or 16:9.

Back Lighting (Full-Array): LCD screen illumination technique that lights the lamp placed behind the LCD screen. Serves to illuminate the image on the screen to be viewed by a user (not shiny LCD layer, and require additional lighting). Types of commonly used include ELP (Electroluminescent Panel), CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp), HCFL (Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) and LED (Light Emitting Diode). Another lighting technique is Edge Lighting.

Backlit: Refers to the type of LCD screen that his luminaries lights is located behind the screen. Other types are Edge Lit (edge lighting).

Bezel: The body of plastic that wraps around the LCD display screen and give shape to the monitor.

CCFL: It stands for Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp. Is a common type of beacon used to illuminate the LCD monitor screen so that the image on the screen can be seen by the user. The other types is the LED lights that began widely used in modern LCD monitors.

Contrast Ratio: display differences in intensity between the darkest black and brightest white color on an LCD monitor. The higher the number, the better the color that is shown and the higher the detail that can be displayed in dark areas on screen. However, because each manufacturer uses a different method of measurement of different contrasts, contrast ratio numbers not necessarily reflect the real quality. Dynamic Contrast Ratio technique enhances the contrast ratio at the expense of detail in dark areas. LCD monitor with LED lights have a higher contrast ratio than LCD with CCFL lamps. The best results are given by the LCD monitor with LED back-lit.
Comparison of the contrast between the type of lamp (CCFL and LED) as well as differences in lighting techniques (edge-lit and back-lit). Back-lit LED provides the highest contrast / well (black color most concentrated)

Color Temperature: Variations in white color on the display monitor, expressed in Kelvin degrees (Kelvin degrees is a unit of measurement of temperature) and the effect on other colors. On the computer monitor, the amount generally ranges between 4500-9300 Kelvin. The lower the number, the color white will appear increasingly "warm" (yellowish), while when the higher the numbers then the white color will appear more "cool" (bluish). The color "white" (daylight) in the range of 6000 Kelvin.

CRT: Cathode Ray Tube Stands. Images on a CRT monitor is generated by fostor coating on the screen that lights up when hit by "firing" electrons from the cathode at the rear of the monitor. CRT monitors use a vacuum tube to amplify the signal electrons and therefore larger and heavier than an LCD monitor that started a lot to replace.

DDC: Display Data Channel, defined by the VESA standard for communication between the monitor and graphics card. By using the DDC, the graphics card can tell the capabilities of the monitors that are connected to them, such as maximum resolution, color depth, and others. The information is needed to produce accurate data display configuration.

Dead Pixel: The term refers to a pixel that is "broken" and does not respond image signal correctly on an LCD screen. Caused by the broken transistor or unequal liquid crystal distribution.

Display Port: a future digital display interface standard presented by the VESA. Interconnection is a royalty-free digital video / audio and intended for the output image from the computer monitor, or from computer to home theater systems. Modern graphics cards support output images of the Display Port. Smaller version, referred to as mini-Display Port, is also available and can be found among others on the latest Macintosh notebook series.

Dot Pitch: Distance two phosphor dots (or 2 cells in the LCD monitor) the same color on the screen, measured from the center of each pixel. The smaller the number, the sharper the resulting image.

D-SUB: Short for "D-SubMiniature connectors". Is a family of connectors that are often used in computer and communications equipment, including forwarding the signal to the monitor display. This kind is used for the purposes of the output image that has a 15-pin. Also known as "VGA" connectors which channel analog signal.

DVI: Digital Video Interface, a standard display connector that was developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). There are three types of DVI connectors: 1. DVI-A (Analog signal distribute) 2. DVI-D (digital signal distribute) 3. DVI-I (integrated, digital and analog signal distribute). Common types found on the graphics card is DVI-I, which allows conversion to D-SUB connector since it could distribute analog signals. DVI is an interface optimized for the type of LCD display since digital signal from the graphics card directly routed to the monitor without having converted into analog signals (as happened on D-SUB connector).

Edge-Lighting: LCD screen illumination technique that puts beacon around (and not in the back as in back lighting) so that the screen size can be made thinner. The light is spread evenly using a diffuser panel. Lamps used are generally of the type of CCFL or LED. The drawback, the display image is not as good as that produced by a back lighting technique (full-array).

High-Definition: The standard video with higher resolution than traditional resolution (720 × 576 for PAL systems and 720 × 480 for NTSC system) resulting in a much sharper image. High-definition Monitor or television capable of displaying images with a resolution of at least 720 progressive (1280 × 720) or 1080 interlaced (1920 × 1080), both have a 16:9 aspect ratio.

HDMI: Stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. Is a small cable that is able to distribute video signals and uncompressed digital audio simultaneously. This interface has been widely used by a wide range of audio-video devices, ranging from desktop PC, the monitor / TV, to console gaming.

IPS: In-Plane Switching, one type of TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD monitor, which has a better viewing angle and color reproduction than the TN type TFT LCD monitor. IPS type LCD screen is usually used by the LCD monitor for professional high-priced. This type of display can also be found on some mobile devices, such as the Macbook and the iPad from Apple Computer.

Interlaced Video: interlacing technique used to improve image quality without increasing the size of the required bandwidth. This technique is intended to be used on a CRT television. Interlacing images are projected in two types of even and odd lines, each containing pieces of the image displayed in turn and then put together to form the frame intact. If interlaced video is playing on a progressive scan display device without de-intelacing, it would appear the effect of artifacts "interlacing" form of broken lines on fast moving objects.

LCD: Liquid Crystal Display, display technology which basically uses liquid crystals flanked by polarizing filters and substrates glass that are given additional illumination (reflective, edge / back lighting, etc..) So that the screen surface can be seen because the liquid crystal does not produce light. The main excess compared to CRT display technology is the screen size is much thinner and lighter, and lower power consumption. Types of LCDs are commonly used in computer monitors are TFT type screen which uses Thin Film Transistors for improving image quality.

LED: Light Emitting Diode. The difference between an "LED" LCD monitor with "regular" LCD monitors lies in the type of lamp used to illuminate the LCD screen. LCD monitors generally use CCFL lamps (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light), while the "LED" LCD monitor using light emitting diode, a more efficient power and produce better images (with back-lighting illumination technique). Therefore, it is more appropriate if the LED monitor is referred to as "LCD monitor with LED lights". Thanks to the LED, LCD monitors can be made more power efficient and thinner than an LCD monitor with conventional CCFL lamps.

Native Resolution: The optimum resolution of a LCD monitor where the image will be displayed with the best quality. Usually, if the LCD monitor resolution is set at a setting other than its native resolution, the screen image will appear to have decreased quality.

OLED: It stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode. This type of screen that using organic semiconductor layer that inserted between two electrodes. Because of this ogranik semiconductor emits its own light, OLED screens do not require additional lighting such as an LCD screen and capable of displaying the better contrast color. OLED screens are widely used in gadgets such as smartphones.

OSD: On Screen Display, display menu on the monitor screen display in which all the settings made.

Pixel: Picture Element, a single individual elements (the smallest unit) in the composition of raster images that form the overall look. The higher the number of pixels in a field, the sharper the image display.

Plasma Display: Monitor plasma using gas and phosphors to generate an image. Because it produces its own light, plasma monitors do not require additional lighting such as on the LCD monitor.

Progressive Scan: The method of displaying images in which of images displayed in full transition, rather than alternately odd and even lines such as the interlaced technique-so free from artifacts "interlacing".

Resolution: The size of the number of pixels in a display field with the format "height x width". A screen has a resolution "1600 × 1200" means it has 1600 pixels on the width and 1200 pixels on the high side. The higher the number of pixels, the sharper the resulting image. This calculation is also applied in digital images. Resolution of 1600 × 1200 can also be referred to as a resolution of 2 megapixels / 2 million pixels (1600 × 1200 = 1.92 million pixels).

Refresh Rate: Also known as the "vertical refresh rate" or "vertical scan rate". It stating the amount to be redrawn (refreshed) per second that can be done by a computer screen, measured in Hz (hertz, in this case, how many refreshes that performed per second). On CRT monitors, refresh rate is low (below 75 Hz or 75 refreshes per second) resulting in visible screen flicker. LCD monitors do not experience this problem and usually has a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Some of the latest generation of LCD monitors that designed to display 3D images (active shutter) has a refresh rate of 120 Hz because it displays two different frames at a time.

Response Time: The time required by a pixel in an LCD monitor to change from one color to another. Measured in milliseconds (milliseconds / MS). The smaller the number, the more rapid transition in color. Response time that not fast enough may cause the "ghosting" effect, which means the shadow of fast moving objects, because it's too late to change the color pixels.

TFT: Thin Film Transistor. Monitor TFT LCD displays, each pixel has a transistor to help improve the quality of image display.

VESA: Video Electronic Standards Association. Institutions that regulate aspects of standardization related to the computer display technology.

Viewing Angle: The amount of vertical and horizontal angle in which the user can view the display LCD monitor screen before the luminance and color on the screen was changed due to different angles of light coming into the eye. The higher the number, the screen will be more easier to see from the side.

VGA: Video Graphics Array. Referring to the graphics card, or type of resolution (640 × 480) or other types of analog signals are routed through D-SUB output.