tft lcd unterschied pricelist

Thanks for the display technology development, we have a lot of display choices for our smartphones, media players, TVs, laptops, tablets, digital cameras, and other such gadgets. The most display technologies we hear are LCD, TFT, OLED, LED, QLED, QNED, MicroLED, Mini LED etc. The following, we will focus on two of the most popular display technologies in the market: TFT Displays and Super AMOLED Displays.

TFT means Thin-Film Transistor. TFT is the variant of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs). There are several types of TFT displays: TN (Twisted Nematic) based TFT display, IPS (In-Plane Switching) displays. As the former can’t compete with Super AMOLED in display quality, we will mainly focus on using IPS TFT displays.

OLED means Organic Light-Emitting Diode. There are also several types of OLED, PMOLED (Passive Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) and AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode). It is the same reason that PMOLED can’t compete with IPS TFT displays. We pick the best in OLED displays: Super AMOLED to compete with the LCD best: IPS TFT Display.

In China. The biggest LCD panel manufacturer in the world now.  BOE has G4 (Chengdu), G5 (Beijing), G5.5 (Ordos), G6 (Hefei, Chengdu, Mianyang, Dalian), G8 (Beijing, Hefei, Chongqing), Fuqing, Dalian, Chongqing) and 10.5 (Hefei) production lines.

In Taiwan. One of the daughter company of Foxconn/Hon Hai.  In 2010, it bought the then famous LCD manufacturer, ChiMei, then changed its name to Innolux. It has G7.5 production lines.

In Korea and China. It is used to be the 2nd biggest TFT LCD manufacturers. LG also planned to stop the production but delayed the plan after the price increased. LG has G7.5 and G8.5 (Guangzhou) production lines.

In Korea. It used to be the biggest TFT LCD manufacturers before it was dethroned by BOE in 2019. Because of tough competition, Samsung planned to stop the production in 2021 but delayed because the price increase during the pandemic.  Samsung has G7 and G8.5 production lines.

In Japan and China. The pioneer and queen of LCD industry. Because of high cost and tough competitor, Sharp was acquired by Foxconn/Hon Hai in 2016. Sharp has G8, G8.5(Suzhou), G10, G10.5 (Guangzhou) production lines.

Reports suggest that Apple is getting closer to implementing MicroLED in its future product releases, including the Apple Watch, with the display technology potentially offering a number of benefits compared to other methods. AppleInsider explains how the current TFT and OLED display technologies work, and how MicroLED differs.

The most common display technology used by consumer products today, and the oldest of the technologies examined in this article, TFT"s full name of TFT LCD stands for Thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display. This technology is extensively used by Apple in its products, found in iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, and iMac lines.

The LCD part relates to the concept of defining small translucent or transparent areas in a thin and flexible liquid crystal-filled panel, like the displays used in calculators. Passing current through the segment changes the molecular properties of the defined segment area, allowing it to switch between being see-through or opaque.

TFT takes this a stage further, by effectively covering an entire panel with a grid of isolated liquid crystal segments, which again can vary between opaque and transparent based on the level of electrical current. In this case, there are far more segments needed to make up the display than with a normal calculator.

Polarizing filters on either side of the TFT display sandwich are used to prevent light from passing through directly, with the liquid crystal reaction of each segment affecting polarized light passing through the first filter to go through the second.

Sometimes these types of display are known as "LED," but this somewhat of a misnomer, as this actually refers to the use of Light Emitting Diodes as a light source. The LED backlight shines light through the various layers making up the TFT LCD.

TFT LCD screens continue to be widely used in production for a number of reasons. Manufacturers have spent a long time perfecting the production of the display panels to make it as cheap as possible, while its high usage allows it to benefit from economies of scale.

Used in consumer devices in a similar way to TFT LCD, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is a display technology that is similar in the basic concept, but differs considerably in its execution. Again, the idea is for a thin panel to be divided up into segments, with charge applied to each section to alter its molecular properties, but that"s where the techniques diverge.

These self-emitting pixels gives OLED a considerable advantage over LCD-based systems in a number of areas. Most obviously, by not needing a backlight, OLED panels can be made far thinner than an equivalent LCD-based display, allowing for the production of thinner devices or more internal area for other components, like a larger battery.

The power efficiency of OLED panels can be far greater, as while a TFT screen requires an always-on backlight, the brightness of OLED pixels themselves determine power usage, with a black pixel consuming no power at all. OLED screens are also faster to respond than LCD displays, making them more useful for VR displays, where response time needs to be as rapid as possible.

This also allows OLED to provide superior contrast ratios compared to TFT, as the lack of backlight bleed-through that occurs in TFT simply doesn"t happen in OLED.

Despite the advantages, OLED is still lagging behind TFT in terms of adoption. The cost of production is far higher, in part due to the need for extremely clean environments, as a single speck of dust can potentially ruining a display during fabrication.

Using extremely small LEDs, three MicroLEDs are put together to create each pixel, with each subpixel emitting a different color from the usual red, blue, and green selection. As each LED emits light, there is no need for a backlight as used in TFT screens.

MicroLED offers the same lower power consumption and high contrast ratio benefits as OLED when compared to TFT. However, MicroLED is also capable of producing a far brighter image than OLED, up to 30 times brighter, and is in theory more efficient in converting electricity into light.

As a relatively new and in-development technology, the cost of MicroLED production is extremely high in comparison to the more established OLED and TFT mass production lines, in part due to lower than required yields. Manufacturing equipment vendors have produced hardware for MicroLED production that cuts defects in half and reduces deposition deviance from 3 nanometers down to 1 nanometer, but it is unclear if this is enough to help mass production move forward.

Quantum Dots are photoluminescent particles included in an LED-backed TFT display that can produce brighter and more vibrant colors, with the colors produced depending on their size. While available in current QLED televisions, the technology is only really being used to enhance the backlight, rather than being used to illuminate individual pixels.

At present, TFT LCD touch panel prices rebounded, after six months of continuous decline, TFT LCD touch panel prices began to rebound at the end of July. Global TFT LCD panel prices have rebounded since August, according to Displaysearch, an international market-research firm. The price of a 17-inch LCD touch panel rose 6.6% to $112 in August, up from $105 in July, and fell from $140 in March to $105 in July. At the same time, 15 – inch, 19 – inch LCD touch panel prices also showed a different range of recovery. The price of a 17-inch LCD touch panel rose 5.8 percent, to $110, from $104 in late July, according to early August quotes from consulting firm with a view. Analysts believe the rebound will continue through the third quarter; LCDS will see seasonal growth in the third quarter, driven by back-to-school sales in us and the completion of inventory liquidation in the first half of the year. Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) started placing orders for monitors in the third quarter, and display makers Samsungelectronics (SXG) and TPV (TPV) are expected to increase production by 25% and 18% respectively.

It seems that due to the increasing demand in the market, the production capacity of the display panel production line has been released. Domestic TFT-LCD touch panel makers boe and Shanghai guardian said their production schedules have been set for September, and their production capacity may reach full capacity by the end of the year. Jd will produce 85,000 glass substrates per month (with a designed capacity of 90,000), according to boe and Shanghai guardian. Previously, panel makers have been hit by falling prices, with boe, SFT, and even international panel giant LG Philips all reporting losses. If the rebound continues into the fourth quarter, boe, Shanghai radio and television and other panel makers will use the rebound to reverse the decline, according to industry analysts.

It is understood that the first quarter of the boe financial results show that the company’s main business income of 2.44 billion yuan, a loss of 490 million yuan.Jd.com attributed the loss to a drop in the price of 17-inch TFT-LCD displays made by its Beijing TFT-LCD fifth-generation production line of Beijing boe photoelectric technology co., LTD., a subsidiary. Boe has issued the announcement of pre-loss in the first half of the year in April. Due to the influence of the off-season of TFT-LCD business operation in the first quarter of 2006, the company has suffered a large operating loss, and the low price in the TFT-LCD market has continued till now. Therefore, it is expected that the operating loss will still occur in the first half of 2006.LG Philips, the world’s largest TFT LCD maker, reported a won322bn ($340m) loss in July, compared with a won41.1bn profit a year earlier.LG Philips attributed the loss to fierce price competition and market demand did not meet expectations.

According to LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology and LCD materials, mobile phone LCD assemblies can be classified into 2 types: TFT (Thin Flim Transistor) and OLED（Organic Light-Emitting Diode). TFT display needs with backlight, but OLED is light-emitting, each pixel is creating its own light.

For Original iPhone LCD, 5-8 plus and Xr, 11 is TFT, X-13 Pro Max is OLED (except XR and 11). But in mobile phone aftermarket, there are too many different types and different qualities, which makes customers confused.

IGZO has 20–50 times the electron mobility than a-Sin. IGZO only has been licensed to Samsung Electronics and Sharp. However, it was Sharp who first implemented IGZO into their smartphones (Aquos Phone Zeta SH-02E), tablets, and 32-inch LCDs. IGZO for mobile phones is only Sharp. Almost all mobile phones on the market didn"t use IGZO.

Because the electrons deflect the liquid crystal molecules through the transistor. Electron mobility fundamentally determines the refresh rates of the TFT device. The smaller mobility, the slower transmission of holes and electrons, and the slower response rate. Can"t physically support high refresh rates.

In order to improve the response performance, can increase transistor size to enhance the migration, but this will lead to the extra TFT device that will occupy the display area pixel area. Therefore, the larger unit transistor area, the single-pixel occupy area is smaller(Pixel Aperture Ratio ), resulting in lower brightness.

Compared with LTPS，a-si TFT have those "weakness":a-Si with so much low resolution and low definition. a-Si is 720*1280 with a very blurred display effect.

a-Si with so much bad display performance, but why are there still so many manufacturers producing phone LCDs with a-Si, or why do the customers willing to use a-Si LCD for their phone?

LCDs business has too much competition and wholesalers want to make more profit, they keep pushing suppliers to make LCDs at lower prices. So some of the suppliers start to produce aftermarket phone displays with a-Si to match customers" lower price requirements.

The customers with asymmetric information. End-Users don"t know how to distinguish LCDs qualities. Some of them just chase the price but not quality. That is another reason wholesalers want a lower price.

Now in the market a-Si LCDs for iPhone is TFT with TP but not in-cell. Our ZY a-Si will be in-cell not just TFT with TP. ZY a-Si incell for Xr and 11 ready now, please to get more details.

For more details or questions about in-cell and TFT with TP or about phone LCD display. Please click here to get more information, or Long press and scran the QR code to add me.

OLED displays have higher contrast ratios (1 million : 1 static compared with 1,000 : 1 for LCD screens), deeper blacks and lower power consumption compared with LCD displays. They also have greater color accuracy. However, they are more expensive, and blue OLEDs have a shorter lifetime.

OLED displays offer a much better viewing angle. In contrast, viewing angle is limited with LCD displays. And even inside the supported viewing angle, the quality of the picture on an LCD screen is not consistent; it varies in brightness, contrast, saturation and hue by variations in posture of the viewer.

There are no geographical constraints with OLED screens. LCD screens, on the other hand, lose contrast in high temperature environments, and lose brightness and speed in low temperature environments.

With current technology, OLED displays use more energy than backlit LCDs when displaying light colors. While OLED displays have deeper blacks compared with backlit LCD displays, they have dimmer whites.

LCDs use liquid crystals that twist and untwist in response to an electric charge and are lit by a backlight. When a current runs through them, they untwist to let through a specific amount of light. They are then paired with color filters to create the display.

Even though some say the picture quality of an LED TV is better, there is no straight answer for which has better picture quality since both TVs use the same kind of screen. For instance, a higher-end LCD TV can have a better quality than a low-end LED TV, but if you look at high-end models of either TV, the picture quality will be comparable.

LED TVs use energy-efficient light emitting diodes (LED) for backlighting. These consume less power than cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) used in traditional LCD televisions. Power savings are typically 20-30%.

Flat Screen LCDs, about an inch or two thick are more expensive, but also more popular because of their sleek look and the flexible options of standing on a surface or mounting on a wall.

Front projection LCDs or projectors, which project an image onto the front of the screen. The TV itself is just a box installed anywhere in a room, which projects the image onto a flat screen hung on the wall as large as 300 inches.

Rear projection LCDs, where the image is sent from the rear of the TV to the screen in front. Rear projection LCDs are wide, heavy and only available in large sizes (60" and up).

LCD is an acronym that stands for Liquid Crystal Display and it is one of the most commonly used display by OEMs on their devices. LCD displays are further categorised into two types on the basis of the technology used to make them. The two types are IPS LCD and TFT LCDs.

TFT stands Thin-film Transistor and de facto, it really isn’t a type of display. TFT is only the technology used to produce LCD display panels. TFT LCD displays use an ‘Active Matrix Technology” where the display transistor and capacitor have individual pixels attached to them. In fact, each pixel can have as many as four transistors; for switching them off and on easily. TFT displays are widely known for having high contrast ratios, resolution and image quality. They are also cheaper to produce but not as cheap as IPS LCD.

IPS stands for In-Plane Switching and it is the most popularly used type of LCD panels for a number of reasons. First, compared to TFT, the crystal/pixel orientation on IPS LCD is different. This modification allows for improved colour reproduction, better viewing angles, and reduced energy consumption. This is why IPS LCD is preferred over TFT by most gadgets manufacturers.

Generally, LCDs are known as the “backlit displays” because the pixels on the display are powered by a polarized light engineered to the screen. The light passes through the (horizontal and vertical) filters which help determine the pixel’s brightness. Although the inclusion of a backlight makes LCD displays (and phones) thicker, pixels are generally more closely packed, colours are more natural, and images — sharper.

OLED stands for “Organic light-emitting diode”. OLED is one of the latest display innovation used in many gadgets and electronics like smartphones and TVs. Unlike LCD displays, OLED panels produce their own light and do not rely on a backlight. This self-emission is achieved when an electrical current passes through two conductors with an organic carbon-based film between them.

Regarding quality, OLED are generally better at displaying blacks. They are also slimmer, dissipate less heat, and possess better contrast ratio when compared to LCDs. However, they are more expensive to produce and in turn lead to an increase in the price of smartphones they are used on. Shorter lifespan is also a downside to OLED displays.

AMOLED is an advanced type of OLED display that uses an “Active Matrix” technology. AMOLED is the acronym for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED). Like OLED, AMOLED pixels also emit their own light and further uses an active matrix system attached to a thin-film transistor (TFT) to exert more control over each pixels. This results to better visual experience; darker blacks, deeper brights, and higher refresh rates.

You can easily identify your smartphone’s screen type through a simple Google search of your phone specifications. You should see your device’s screen type under the display department. The image below shows the screen type (IPS LCD) of the Coolpad Note 5.

Two of the main contenders for display technologies that are widely available are AMOLED and LCD. Here in this article, we will be comprising AMOLED vs LCD and find out which one is better for you.

The AMOLED display is similar to the OLED in various factors like high brightness and sharpness, better battery life, colour reproduction, etc. AMOLED display also has a thin film transistor, “TFT” that is attached to each LED with a capacitor.

TFT helps to operate all the pixels in an AMOLED display. This display might have a lot of positives but there are a few negatives too let’s point both of them out.

The LCD stands for “Liquid Crystal Display”, and this display produces colours a lot differently than AMOLED. LCD display uses a dedicated backlight for the light source rather than using individual LED components.

The LCD displays function pretty simply, a series of thin films, transparent mirrors, and some white LED lights that distributes lights across the back of the display.

As we have mentioned, an LCD display always requires a backlight and also a colour filter. The backlight must have to pass through a thin film transistor matrix and a polarizer. So, when you see it, the whole screen will be lit and only a fraction of light gets through. This is the key difference comparing AMOLED vs LCD and this is what differentiates these two display technologies.

The LCD displays are cheaper compared to the AMOLED as there is only one source of light which makes it easier to produce. Most budget smartphones also use LCD displays.

LCD displays have bright whites, the backlight emits lots of light through pixels which makes it easy to read in outdoors. It also shows the “Accurate True to Life” colours, which means it has the colours that reflect the objects of the real world more accurately than others.

LCDs also offer the best viewing angle. Although it may depend on the smartphone you have. But most high-quality LCD displays support great viewing angles without any colour distortion or colour shifting.

The LCD displays can never show the deep blacks like AMOLED. Due to the single backlight, it always has to illuminate the screen making it impossible to show the deep blacks.

The LCDs are also thicker than other displays because of the backlight as it needs more volume. So, LCD smartphones are mostly thicker than AMOLED ones.

Let’s start with the pricing. Most AMOLED display smartphones always cost more than an LCD smartphone. Although the trend is changing a bit. But still, if you want to get a good quality AMOLED display you have to go for the flagship devices.

The colors are also very sharp and vibrant with the AMOLED displays. And they look much better than any LCD display. The brightness is something where LCDs stood ahead of the AMOLED display. So using an LCD display outdoors gives much better results.

Looking at all these factors and comparing AMOLED vs LCD displays, the AMOLED displays are certainly better than the LCDs. Also, the big display OEMs, like Samsung and LG are focusing more the OLED technologies for their future projects. So, it makes sense to look out for AMOLED displays. That being said, if we see further enhancements in the LCD technology in terms of battery efficiency and more, there is no point to cancel them at this moment.

Today, film has been almost completely replaced by digital-video projectors that are based on one of three imaging technologies: LCD, LCoS, and DLP. All of these technologies offer many advantages over film and CRT projectors—smaller size, lower weight, less heat generation, and more efficient energy usage—and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses for different applications.

The first digital-projection technology was LCD (liquid crystal display). It was conceived by Gene Dolgoff in 1968, but LCD technology was not sufficiently developed to be practical in a projector at the time; that would have to wait until the mid-1980s.

Fig. 1: In many LCD projectors, white light from a lamp is split into its red, green, and blue components using dichroic mirrors. The three colored beams are directed to pass through three LCD panels that form the images associated with each color. Then, the light from the three panels is combined into a full-color image that is projected onto the screen. (Source: Epson)

In some LCD projectors, the light source is a blue laser. With most laser projectors, some of the blue light from the laser hits a spinning wheel coated with phosphor that emits yellow light, which is then split into its red and green components using dichroic mirrors (Fig. 2). The rest of the blue laser light is directed to the blue imager.

Fig. 2: Some LCD projectors use an array of blue lasers as the light source. Some of the blue light is directed to a spinning wheel coated with a phosphor that emits yellow light, which is split into its red and green components. The red, green, and remaining blue-laser light beams are then directed to the LCD imagers. (Source: Epson)

Either way, each beam of red, green, and blue light is directed toward its own LCD imager, which typically measures 0.55-inch to about 1-inch diagonally (Fig. 3) and consists of an array of tiny, transparent cells. These cells are individually and dynamically controlled by electrical signals to allow more or less light to pass through them at any given moment. Each cell can be made transparent, opaque, or translucent in varying degrees based on the signal. As the cells change the amount of light they pass, they form a digital image for each frame in the video signal.

The imager for each color forms a portion of the final image associated with that color, and the image is generally held for each entire frame in the video signal; this process is called sample and hold. Modern LCD imagers can be switched at faster rates—up to 480 times per second—which allows projector designers to implement features such as 3D, frame interpolation, and pixel-shifted UHD (more on that in a moment) instead of holding one image for the entire frame.

The individual cells in an LCD imager measure about 6 to 12 microns across and are surrounded by opaque lines that carry the electrical signals to control each cell"s transparency. These lines occupy a certain percentage of the total area of the imager that can"t be used as part of the image. The percentage of the total area that can be used as part of the image—in other words, the area occupied by the cells themselves—is called the fill factor, which is roughly 80% to 90% for LCD imagers. As a result, it"s possible to see the boundaries around the pixels as you get close to the screen, which is known as the screen-door effect. Some longtime enthusiasts may recall the prominence of screen-door effect in earlier, lower-resolution LCD projectors, though today"s 1080p imagers have greatly reduced its visibility on a typical-size home-theater screen.

Another important characteristic of all digital projection imagers is their inherent or native contrast ratio—that is, the ratio of the most to least light they can pass without enhancements such as a dynamic iris or modulated light source. Epson won"t reveal the native contrast ratio of its LCD imagers, but the company"s UB (Ultra Black) enhancement technology—which incorporates a dynamic iris and light polarization to reduce light scatter in the engine—is known to achieve impressive contrast ratios and black levels when viewed in appropriately dark conditions.

Most modern LCD imagers have resolutions up to 1920x1200 (WUXGA); home-theater models typically use 1920x1080 (1080p) imagers. Higher resolutions are possible but uncommon—I know of only one commercially available projector today that uses LCD imagers with native 3840x2160 (UHD) resolution: the recently introduced Epson Pro L12000QNL, which is designed for large venues such as stadiums and convention halls.

Some home-theater LCD projectors with 1080p imagers simulate UHD resolution with a pixel-shifting technique. The pixel-shifting in Epson"s models is part of a technology suite Epson calls 4K PRO-UHD. In this process, an optical refracting plate oscillates back and forth, shifting the final image diagonally by half a pixel once per frame (Fig. 4). Because the LCD cells can be switched to different levels of transparency much faster than any current frame rate, each set of shifted pixels is independently controllable, doubling the effective number of pixels on the screen. In addition, the pixels overlap, so the pixel grid is more dense, further reducing the screen-door effect.

LCD imagers for projectors are made by Epson and Sony. Epson is the only major manufacturer of consumer-oriented LCD projectors, though it also makes models for business and educational applications as well as large venues. Sony makes a variety of LCD projectors for the business and education markets, and Panasonic offers models for large-venue and commercial installations. Other companies that make LCD projectors for various applications include Christie, Maxell, NEC, Ricoh, and Sharp.

LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) is a variation of LCD technology. General Electric first demonstrated a low-resolution LCoS projector in the 1970s, but it wasn"t until 1998 that JVC introduced its first SXGA+ (1400x1050) projector using its implementation of LCoS technology, which the company calls D-ILA (Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier). In 2005, Sony introduced its first 1080p home-theater model, the VPL-VW100 (aka "Ruby"), using its own implementation of LCoS—called SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display)—which was followed by JVC"s DLA-RS1 in 2007.

Like LCD projectors, LCoS projectors separate light into its red, green, and blue components that are directed to three separate LCD-based imagers. But instead of light simply passing through the LCD cells, it is reflected off a shiny surface directly behind the cell array and passes back through the cells again (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5: An LCoS imager includes a layer of LCD material that lets more or less light through each pixel according to the signal it receives. The light passes through the LCD layer and reflects off a mirror before passing back through the LCD layer a second time. (Source: JVC)

The light source in LCoS projectors is often a white lamp, but some use a blue laser and yellow phosphor wheel as the light source, a technology that JVC calls Blu-Escent and Sony calls Z-Phosphor. Either way, as with LCD projectors, the red, green, and blue light beams are directed to their respective imagers. The reflected light from the three imagers is then combined and projected onto a screen through the main lens (Fig. 6).

LCoS imagers today measure 0.7 to 1.3 inches diagonally (Fig. 7). As with LCD, each imager forms its image and generally holds it for each frame. Modern LCoS imagers can switch at rates up to 120 Hz, which allows things like 3D, frame interpolation, and pixel-shifted UHD. At 120 Hz, however, they can"t do pixel-shifted UHD and 3D at the same time.

Fig. 8: JVC claims to have developed a way to control the LCD molecules in the gaps between cells, greatly reducing the screen-door effect. (Source: JVC)

In any case, red, green, and blue light is directed to DLP imagers, which currently measure from 0.2 inches for small, portable devices to 1.38 inches for digital-cinema projectors; home-theater models today typically use imagers that measure 0.47-inch or 0.66-inch diagonally. However, they work quite differently from LCD or LCoS imagers. Instead of tiny LCD cells, a DLP imager is covered with an array of microscopic mirrors that correspond to the individual pixels (Fig. 10). This type of imager is called a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD).

As in all LCD and LCoS projectors, some DLP projectors use three DMDs, one each for red, green, and blue. However, these so-called 3-chip models are very expensive. Fortunately for consumers, there"s a less-expensive alternative that uses only one DMD.

By comparison, color brightness (aka color light output or CLO) is calculated by adding the maximum brightness of red, green, and blue. Ideally, white and color brightness should be identical, and for all 3-chip projectors—LCD, LCoS, and 3-chip DLP—they are, since white is simply a combination of red, green, and blue. A standard method for measuring color brightness was introduced by SID (Society for Information Display) in 2012.

Why is this important? If a projector"s color brightness is much less than its white brightness, images with saturated colors can appear noticeably dimmer and duller than they would from a projector with equal white and color brightness. You might think this means it is always preferable to have a 3-chip projector that delivers equal white and color brightness, and since all LCD and LCoS projectors are 3-chip designs, you should automatically select one of those. However, depending on the projector, its brightness rating, and the content, ProjectorCentral"s tests suggest there can be trade-offs in perceived contrast or color accuracy that may come into play with 3-chip LCD projectors. ProjectorCentral"s investigation "ANSI Lumens vs Color Light Output: The Debate between LCD and DLP" takes a close look at this subject. There are also many other factors to consider when selecting a projector, such as the quality of signal processing and optics, and the overall cost just to name a few.

LCD can exhibit excellent blacks and contrast with enhancement techniques such as a dynamic iris and/or dynamic lamp or laser modulation. In particular, Epson"s UB (Ultra Black) technology is effective at improving the level of deep black and boosting contrast by using polarized filters to reduce the amount of stray light inside the light engine that would otherwise make its way to the screen.

By comparison, many of the 1-chip DLP projectors I"ve reviewed over the years have had black levels and contrast that lagged well behind the best LCoS and LCD projectors. Of course, this doesn"t mean that DLP projectors always have worse or poor contrast. A projector"s overall brightness rating also has an effect on contrast (brighter projectors typically have higher black levels), and as with LCD and LCoS, enhancements like a dynamic iris and/or dynamic light modulation can help a lot. Still, ProjectorCentral"s comparison reviews, which directly face-off similar, calibrated home-theater projectors in the same environment, often report better contrast in dark images with LCD and LCoS models compared to single-chip DLP projectors.

Along with inherently better contrast, another advantage of LCoS among the three technologies is the availability and relative affordability of native-4K resolution. JVC and Sony both offer LCoS projectors with native 4K (4096x2160) resolution for as little as $5,000 to $6,000. DLP with native-4K resolution is available only in digital-cinema and other super-high-end projectors, which run well into six figures, and LCD projectors are not available with native 4K or UHD resolution at all as of this writing (except for the one large-venue model from Epson mentioned earlier).

Some Epson LCD and JVC LCoS models offer two-phase pixel shifting with native 1080p (1920x1080) imagers, which puts 4.15 million pixels on the screen. This is not true UHD, which would require 8.3 million pixels to be delivered to the screen for each frame. However, many respected reviewers have reported that the image from these projectors is subjectively sharper than true 1080p, and that the difference between double-pixel-shifted 1080p and true UHD is minimal. Of course, here again, other factors, including the quality of the image processing and the lens optics, also come into play in these comparisons.

Many LCD, LCoS, and 3-chip DLP projectors offer a pixel-alignment function that lets users shift the red, green, and/or blue pixels by tiny amounts to correct an imperfect factory alignment. In some cases, you can even shift different zones within the image by different amounts.

Whether you"re shopping for a budget model for a dedicated home theater or an expensive state-of-the-art projector for a large-venue installation, cost is almost always a factor. The most expensive projectors today tend to be ultra-high-brightness LCD or 3-chip DLP, while LCD and 1-chip DLP tend to be the least-expensive options among digital projectors, with prices today starting as low as $250. However, the resolution of these models is typically less than 1080p, or they feature low-light LED engines, making them unsuitable for serious home theater.

Today, decent 1080p home-theater projectors typically start around $450 and go up from there. If you search by resolution and price in ProjectorCentral"s Find a Projector Database (which lists more than 11,000 current and past projectors), home-theater projectors in the $450 to $1,000 range are almost entirely dominated by 1-chip DLP models from several major brands, including BenQ, Optoma, ViewSonic, Acer, Vivitek, and others. Epson—the only major brand selling LCD projectors for home theater, is represented by a trio of Home Cinema series models in this price range starting at $649.

The lowest-cost UHD models are found in the $1,000 to $2,000 range and include both 1-chip DLP projectors with full UHD resolution (achieved with pixel-shifting) and 3-chip LCD projectors (the latter only from Epson) that have native 1080p imagers but are UHD-compliant and apply pixel-shifting to enhance apparent resolution. Here again, the vast majority are single-chip DLP models. Of course, there are much more expensive—and higher performance—1-chip DLP projectors in the marketplace that utilize the same pixel-shifting XPR technology found in the budget DLP models, though brighter projectors often feature the larger 0.66-inch DMD with native 2716x1528 resolution, which uses only two-phase TRP pixel-shifting instead of the four-phase XPR quadrupling required for the 0.47-inch, native-1080p DMD.

LCoS is generally more expensive than consumer-oriented LCD and 1-chip DLP, and as noted earlier, the home-theater market for this technology is dominated by just two manufacturers, JVC and Sony. The lowest-cost LCoS projector in the ProjectorCentral database is a Sony model with 1080p resolution that costs $1,999. JVC"s current LCoS models start with the $3,999 DLA-X790/RS540 model mentioned earlier (until it is phased out), which uses a 1080p imager with e-Shift dual pixel-shifting. Beyond these are native-4K models from both manufacturers, starting at $4,999 for Sony and $5,999 for JVC. Wolf Cinema also offers its own LCoS projectors based on JVC chassis, including native 4K models, starting at $15,000.

@Rob Sabin My pricing example was indeed a bit off. I think the €3000 to €6000 price range is becoming more important for consumers who are upgrading from the €1500 to €3000 price range. Although Epson did showcase their first 1.64 inch (HTPS) TFT 4096 x 2169 panel back in 2009, this market segment hasn’t really changed for true native 4K projector’s since the release of the Sony VPL285ES back in 2017. And it’s successor is also still priced at €4999. With the upcoming release of Epson’s new EB-L12000Q it is highly unlikely that the UB series are getting this kind of 4K panel or a scaled down version of it. I am waiting to see the next generation of Epson’s UB series with a higher resolution or sharpness, to fill the gap between the LCD forefront and the LCOS forefront currently dominated by JVC and Sony (for the consumer market).

LCD is the abbreviation for liquid crystal display. An LCD basically consists of two glass plates with a special liquid between them. The special attribute of this liquid is that it rotates or “twists” the plane of polarized light. This effect is influenced by the creation of an electrical field. The glass plates are thus each coated with a very thin metallic film. To obtain polarized light, you apply a polarization foil, the polarizer, to the bottom glass plate. Another foil must be applied to the bottom glass plate, but this time with a plane of polarization twisted by 90°. This is referred to as the analyzer.

In the idle state, the liquid twists the plane of polarization of the incoming light by 90° so that it can pass the analyzer unhindered. The LCD is thus transparent. If a specific voltage is applied to the metallic film coating, the crystals rotate in the liquid. This twists the plane of polarization of the light by another 90°, for example: The analyzer prevents the light getting through, and the LCD thus becomes opaque.TN, STN, FSTN, blue mode, yellow-green mode

However, the different colors occur only in displays that are either not lit or that are lit with white light. If there is any color in the lighting (e.g. yellow-green LED lighting), it overrides the color of the display. A blue-mode LCD with yellow-green LED lighting will always appear yellow-green.Static or multiplex driving method

Every LCD has a preferred angle of view at which the contrast of the display is at its optimum. Most displays are produced for the 6°° angle of view, which is also known as the bottom view (BV). This angle corresponds to that of a pocket calculator that is lying flat on a desktop.

LCDs without lighting are hard to imagine these days. However, since there are basically four different types of lighting, the type selected depends very much on the application. Here is a brief overview to clarify the situation:LED

Standard LCDs have a temperature range of 0 to +50°C. High-temperature displays are designed for operation in the range from -20 to +70°C. In this case, however, additional supply voltage is generally required. Since the contrast of any LCD is dependent on the temperature, a special temperature-compensation circuit is needed in order to use the entire temperature range, and this is particularly true for high-temperature displays (-20 to +70°C). Manual adjustment is possible but rather impractical for the user.

However, the storage temperature of a display should never be exceeded under any circumstances. An excessively high temperature can destroy the display very quickly. Direct exposure to the sun, for example, can destroy an LCD: This is because an LCD becomes darker (in positive mode) as it gets hotter. As it gets darker, it absorbs more light and converts it to heat. As a result, the display becomes even hotter and darker... In this way, temperatures of over 100°C can quickly be reached.Dot-matrix, graphics and 7-segment displays

The first LCDs were 7-segment displays, and they are still found today in simple pocket calculators and digital watches. 7 segments allow all of the digits from 0 to 9 to be displayed.

The semiconductor industry now offers a very large range of LCD drivers. We generally distinguish between pure display drivers without intelligence of their own, controllers with a display memory and possibly a character set, and micro-controllers with integrated LC drivers.

Many ask themselves, "What is the difference between an LCD display and a TFT-display?" or "What is the difference between a TFT and an OLED display?". Here are these 3 sometimes extremely different display technologies briefly explained. LCD vs. TFT vs. OLED (comparison).

- The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is a passive display technology. The operation and the structure are described above. Passive means that an LCD can only darken or let out light. So it always depends on ambient light or a backlight. This can be an advantage because the power consumption of a LCD display is very, very low. Sometimes even less than the accumulated power consumption of an E-paper display, which in static operation requires absolutely no energy to maintain the content. To change the contents, however, a relatively large amount of power is required for an E-paper display.

LCDs can also be reflective, so they reflect incident light and are therefore legible even at maximum brightness (sunlight, surgical lighting). Compared to TFT and also OLED, they have an unbeatable advantage in terms of readability and power consumption :; the "formula" is: Sunlight = LCD.

- A TFT-display (of Thin-Film Transistor) is usually a color display (RGB). From the construction and the technology it corresponds to the LCD. It is also passive, so it needs a backlight. This is in any case necessary except for a few, very expensive constructions. However, a TFT needs much more light than the monochrome relatives, because the additional structures on the glass as well as the additional color filters "swallow" light. So TFTs are not particularly energy-efficient, but can display in color and at the same time the resolution is much higher.

- OLED displays (by Organic-Light-Emitting-Diode) are as the name implies active displays - every pixel or sign generates light. This achieves an extremely wide viewing angle and high contrast values. The power consumption is dependent on the display content. Here OLEDs to TFTs and LCDs differ significantly, which have a nearly constant power consumption even with different display contents. Unfortunately, the efficiency of converting the electric current into light energy is still very poor. This means that the power consumption of OLEDs with normal content is sometimes higher than that of a TFT with the same size. Colored OLEDs are increasingly used in consumer devices, but for the industry, due to their availability and lifetime, currently only monochrome displays are suitable (usually in yellow color).

In the reaction time, the OLEDs beat each TFT and LCD by worlds. Trise and Tfall are about 10μs, which would correspond to a theoretical refresh rate of 50,000 Hz. Possibly an advantage in very special applications.

Finally the question "What is better, LCD, OLED or TFT?" Due to the physical differences you can not answer that blanket. Depending on the application, there are pros and cons to each individual technology. In addition to the above differences, there are many more details in the design and construction that need to be individually illuminated for each device. Write us an e-mail or call us: we have specialists with some 20- and 30-year experience. We are happy to compare different displays together with you.AACS and IPS technology

The average price figures we show are a bit higher than the average for all big TVs on the market. That’s both because the largest sets carry a premium and because CR tends to purchase a lot of expensive, high-end sets. That allows us to test the latest features, such as Mini LED backlights in LCD/LED TVs, which can help boost contrast and reduce halos, and high dynamic range (HDR), which can produce brighter, more vibrant images.

In this size category, we again see much greater differences in pricing between the least and most expensive sets from major brands than from smaller players. For example, there’s a $600 difference between the cheapest ($400) and priciest ($1,000) 65-inch Hisense TVs in our current ratings. With Samsung and Sony, that difference is a whopping $2,400. One reason for Samsung’s large spread is the debut of itsfirst QD OLED TV ($3,000), which is now in our ratings (though it arrived too late this year for our statistical analysis). Sony TVs tend to be expensive in part because the company offers several OLED TVs, which tend to cost more, and because it stopped making lower-end LED/LCD sets. (See the best 65-inch TVs under $1,000.)

Average prices go from a low of $342 (for Toshiba, which makes Fire TV Edition sets sold at Amazon and Best Buy) to a high of $1,034 (Sony’s average). As we note above, Sony focuses on higher-priced sets, and both Sony and LG’s average prices are pulled up by their OLED sets—these TVs can look great, but they tend to cost more than all but the very best LED/LCD models.

Two years ago, Vizio began offering OLED TVs, but that hasn’t yet had a big impact on its average price, because the majority of its sales are still less expensive LED/LCD TVs.