If you are shopping for a new computer, you usually look at the size of the hard disk first, but you should also know what monitor you are purchasing. The monitor displays the messages and data that are processed and utilized as the CPU (central processing units) speed or hard disk size. There are two kinds of monitor technologies available on the market the CRT (cathode-ray tubes) monitors and LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors. CRTs are bigger and bulkier than the LCD, and they consume a lot more power. The screen also tends to flicker. The LCD monitors are more expensive than the CRT and have less color replication. However, LCD technology has advanced, and its viewing quality is comparable to CRT. Most people still choose the CRT monitor. For many years, the CRT monitors were the only choice consumers had for monitor technology. CRT technology is used in most televisions and computer monitors. It works by moving an electron beam back and forth across the back of the screen. Each time the beam passes across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on the inside of the glass tube. and it illuminates the active portions of the screen. By drawing many such lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, it creates an entire screen of images. LCD technology is used in digital watches and computer monitors. This display has two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align, and light cannot pass through them. Each crystal, is like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking it. To produce color, LCD displays use two basic techniques: Passive matrix and thin film transistor (TFT). Passive matrix is the less expensive of the two. TFT, or active-matrix, produces sharp color images like the CRT, but is much more expensive. |
