custom lcd display pc free sample

Looking to take your project to the next level in terms of functionality and appearance? A custom LCD display might be the thing that gets you there, at least compared to the dot-matrix or seven-segment displays that anyone and their uncle can buy from the usual sources for pennies. But how does one create such a thing, and what are the costs involved? As is so often the case these days, it’s simpler and cheaper than you think, and [Dave Jones] has a great primer on designing and specifying custom LCDs.

The video below is part of an ongoing series; a previous video covered the design process, turning the design into a spec, and choosing a manufacturer; another discussed the manufacturer’s design document approval and developing a test plan for the module. This one shows the testing plan in action on the insanely cheap modules – [Dave] was able to have a small run of five modules made up for only $138, which included $33 shipping. The display is for a custom power supply and has over 200 segments, including four numeric sections, a clock display, a bar graph, and custom icons for volts, amps, millijoules, and watt-hours. It’s a big piece of glass and the quality is remarkable for the price. It’s not perfect – [Dave] noted a group of segments on the same common lines that were a bit dimmer than the rest, but was able to work around it by tweaking the supply voltage a bit.

We’re amazed at how low the barrier to entry into custom electronics has become, and even if you don’t need a custom LCD, at these prices it’s tempting to order one just because you can. Of course, you can also build your own LCD display completely from scratch too.

Download our Crystalfontz LCD Software. We provide software for you to test many types of LCDs including character displays and graphic displays. Our character and graphic USB display modules can use CrystalControl2 to quickly set up the display. Bitmap to ePaper and Image2Code provide a simple interface to add an image to your display. We also USB LCD drivers and demonstration code for Linux.

A computer system is relatively simple. While the individual components and storage are often examples of cutting-edge technology and feature the latest industry developments, their underlying functions remain largely unchanged over time. Let’s take a look at the computer parts that combine to make up the modern PC and help you prepare for your assembly project.

Manufacturers have developed safeguards against mixing incorrect parts, though—if a CPU isn’t right for the motherboard you chose, it literally will not fit— the chip has a pin configuration that is different from the one in the board"s CPU socket. If you use a tool like the Newegg PC Builder, or buy a combo package on Newegg.com, then Newegg double checks to ensure that the motherboard and CPU you purchased are compatible, but it’s a good idea to check online and reference your user manuals to confirm that the components work together before you get started.

HDDs and 2.5-inch SSDs connect to the motherboard using a SATAIII connection. The latest in SSD technology are M.2 NVMe SSDs that connect to a PCIe slot on the motherboard for faster data transfers and performance.

The power supply unit, or PSU, is the energy center of your computer. Without a PSU, your PC wouldn’t be able to do anything other than sit there and look pretty. The PSU does more than act as a hub for incoming power, too—one of the PSU’s primary functions is to transform the power coming out of your wall outlet into a form usable by the system’s many components, all of which have different wattage and voltage requirements.

Newer PSUs often feature modular designs that can make the assembly process a bit easier. They also make cable management in your PC cleaner; your power and data cables will need to go all through the PC’s interior to connect all of the components.

Not every computer case will work with every motherboard. The size or form-factor of your motherboard matters a lot. Please take note of your motherboard’s form-factor so that you can select a PC case that will support it.

Both Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX cases make for incredibly small PCs, at least when compared to most desktop PCs on the market. Mini-ITX is by far the more common option of the two. Most common are ATX mid-sized towers; most motherboards, either Intel or AMD, fit into these, and there are only some niche cases in which you’d need to upgrade to something larger.

While motherboards don’t generally grow in size past a standard ATX, you might need a larger power supply, more case fans to keep airflow consistent, dual GPUs, custom liquid cooling tubing including chunky reservoirs, and other add-ons.

The PC water cooling vs air cooling debate has raged on for decades. If you’re a first-time PC builder, and you’re looking to find the right PC cooling solution for your new rig, then you’ll want to carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks of each type of cooling.

Air cooling for PC is standard; you can’t get much more simple than a heat sink and fan. Plug the case fans in, mount the heat sink on the CPU with a few screws, and you’re done. If you don’t plan on overclocking your PC, then an air cooled CPU heatsink will be sufficient for your purposes.

If you like to push the limits with overclocking your components, water cooling your PC is recommended. Pre-built water cooling kits (called All-in-Ones or AiO water cooling) are the best option for beginners because all you need to do is mount it. There are no worries about filling and building. Simply mount the radiator and block inside your PC, and you’re on your way.

See Permanently Germ-Free Touch Screen Monitors below. Impact Display Solutions specializes in developing customized display solutions to our clients’ exact specifications. Our design and engineering teams have the technical skill and experience to bring your LCD display plans to fruition. No matter what LCD panel types you need (customized or

Impact Display Solutions is a distributor of over 20 lines of touch screen manufacturers. Whether you need standard resistive and capacitive touch screens or have specialized requirements, we have your solution. Talk to our team about your specific application, such as use with gloves, rugged environments, clean rooms and more. Because we have the latest touch technologies including IR, SAW, and multi touch solutions, we are your one-stop-shop for the LCD touch screen monitor products you need. Don’t miss out on the new products based on latest technological advances in this field. Examples of unconventional options include:

PIT technology is a patented multi-touch technology. Based on the traditional infrared touch technology and the theory of total internal reflection (TIR), placing the infrared emission diode and reception diode on the lower surface of glass, the infrared beams generated by emission diodes are reflected through a prism light-guide specially designed and transmit across the front glass surface. Compared to traditional infrared touch technology, PIT touch screen has slimmer bezel, lower elevated height, and better multi-touch experience. Impact Display Solutions PIT touch screens have Win8 certification. PIT touch screens support multi-touch capability, allowing more people to touch the screen simultaneously. That allows users to have a better interactive experience. Compared to traditional infrared touch screen, 0.5mm ultralow elevated height enables PIT touch screen recognize human touch very accurately. Ultra-narrow bezel allows near-true flat appearance (as the touch transducers are placed under the screen). Protection performance enhancements are optional: waterproof or vandal-resistant.

As we all know, the biggest advantage of projected capacitive touch screens over other touch screen technologies is in the ease of implementation of feather-touch & multi-touch for gestures, but feather-style touching can lead to unintended activations in conventional projected capacitive touch screens. Adding force sensing overcomes that weakness of PCAPs. Force Sensing Touch Screens implement unintended touch rejection by ‘brushing off’ past accidents and it takes into account finger repositioning before selection. Force-sensing touch screen also enables new hand moves and menu-bringing features you can add to your product to enhance user experience.

Based on proven SAW touch technology, Impact Display Solutions has the capability of offering curved SAW touch screens in sizes of 21.5”, 27”, 32”, 35”, 42”. Furthermore, curved SAW touchscreens inherit and enjoy the benefits of SAW technology such as high reliability, protracted durability, sharp image clarity and vandal proofing. It’s the ideal touch solution for gaming and interactive kiosks.

So many applications demand a bright, vibrant, highly visible display in sun lit conditions. We address the need for bright displays through variety of innovative methods to enhance color, contrast, and brightness to maximize the clarity and impact of your message in very bright conditions. Don’t miss out on the new products based on latest technological advances in this area. Examples of unconventional options include:

Impact Display Solutions has extensive experience supporting projects in some of the harshest environments. Whether you are dealing with extreme temperatures, wet, oily or dirty conditions we have LCD panel types that will work for you.  We can create shock, vibration and impact resistant solutions. We are experienced with Mil Spec standards and can meet your engineering specifications. Don’t miss out on the new products based on latest technological advances in this field. Examples of cover options include (stronger glass substrates in order of toughness):

Optical bonding can increase the brightness and contrast of a display. Typically, there are air gaps between the layers of the completed LCD assembly including the substrate, cover glass and touch screen. Optical bonding can be employed to strengthen the assembly and in most cases, to improve the overall brightness, contrast ratio and readability by mitigating the light reflection between the layers. We offer variety of bonding solutions to meet your LCD touch screen monitor requirements. Don’t miss out on the new products based on latest technological advances in this field. Examples of options include:

When you need to increase readability (especially in direct sunlight) by eliminating air gap between LCD and touch screen or protective lens, or both, Impact effectively achieves that goal with optical clear adhesive (OCA) lamination process. Dry bonding with OCA is an inexpensive bonding method with a reliable track record.

Performed in the U.S., Impact uses UV-curing process for optical bonding that involves no heat with a unique patented non-optical silicone OCR bonding material (urethane acrylate) to be brought into a gel state in a Class 100 environment. Wet bonding ensures superior quality over infrared/IR curing technique and solves any delamination concerns for customers compared to dry-bonding. The following options are available:

Mesh EMI Shielding (with woven mesh optimized for displays with silver busbar termination, non-glare or hard-coated laminated polycarbonate, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, or 4.0 mm, max size 500x660 mm)

For use with your own computer, media player, or video source, Impact can deliver completed closed frame monitor designs, or simply open frame display panels of virtually any size specialized for medical, gaming, military, industrial automation and more. Unique customizations are available upon request. Don’t miss out on the new products based on latest technological advances in this field. Examples of options include:

Because Impact specializes in LCDs, touch screens, computer motherboards, and value-added enhancements & assemblies, we are able to put all those products into convenient “all-in-ones” / AIOs, which include enclosures with either desktop mounts or backside VESA mounts. Click HERE for list of standard models of 15.6” to 21.5” diagonal, which consist of HD LCD, PCAP touch screen, internal computer motherboard, memory, and other components that encompass full computer functionality with convenient use interface. Please contact us to modify a standard model or make a custom-made AIO product from ground up.

While many standard displays are rated for -30C already, both displays and computer motherboards can be operational all the way at -40C with optional heaters. Heaters may be controlled via manual adjustment or automatically when paired with thermistors.

We come across Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays everywhere around us. Computers, calculators, television sets, mobile phones, and digital watches use some kind of display to display the time.

An LCD screen is an electronic display module that uses liquid crystal to produce a visible image. The 16×2 LCD display is a very basic module commonly used in DIYs and circuits. The 16×2 translates a display of 16 characters per line in 2 such lines. In this LCD, each character is displayed in a 5×7 pixel matrix.

Contrast adjustment; the best way is to use a variable resistor such as a potentiometer. The output of the potentiometer is connected to this pin. Rotate the potentiometer knob forward and backward to adjust the LCD contrast.

A 16X2 LCD has two registers, namely, command and data. The register select is used to switch from one register to other. RS=0 for the command register, whereas RS=1 for the data register.

Command Register: The command register stores the command instructions given to the LCD. A command is an instruction given to an LCD to do a predefined task. Examples like:

Data Register: The data register stores the data to be displayed on the LCD. The data is the ASCII value of the character to be displayed on the LCD. When we send data to LCD, it goes to the data register and is processed there. When RS=1, the data register is selected.

Generating custom characters on LCD is not very hard. It requires knowledge about the custom-generated random access memory (CG-RAM) of the LCD and the LCD chip controller. Most LCDs contain a Hitachi HD4478 controller.

CG-RAM is the main component in making custom characters. It stores the custom characters once declared in the code. CG-RAM size is 64 bytes providing the option of creating eight characters at a time. Each character is eight bytes in size.

CG-RAM address starts from 0x40 (Hexadecimal) or 64 in decimal. We can generate custom characters at these addresses. Once we generate our characters at these addresses, we can print them by just sending commands to the LCD. Character addresses and printing commands are below.

LCD modules are very important in many Arduino-based embedded system designs to improve the user interface of the system. Interfacing with Arduino gives the programmer more freedom to customize the code easily. Any cost-effective Arduino board, a 16X2 character LCD display, jumper wires, and a breadboard are sufficient enough to build the circuit. The interfacing of Arduino to LCD display is below.

The combination of an LCD and Arduino yields several projects, the most simple one being LCD to display the LED brightness. All we need for this circuit is an LCD, Arduino, breadboard, a resistor, potentiometer, LED, and some jumper cables. The circuit connections are below.

Mini-Box USB LCD is an intelligent 2x20 character USB LCD display module with InfraRed receiver and keypad interface. This USB LCD display device it"s a true USB HID device (not serial or parallel port to USB emulated) supporting high speed data transfers and easy application developmen without any special drivers needed.

Mini-Box has designed picoLCD with the ease of use in mind reducing the time and money needed for integrators to launch a new product with picoLCD. Our sample applications provides windows and linux platform support with open source code and SDK available.

Mini-Box USB LCD has built in 8x5 dots ASCII character font with 8 used definable characters and provides 8 GPO (General Purpose Output) pins. Internal EEPROM allows firmware upgrading and splash screen definition. On power on Mini-Box USB LCD is able to show up to 10 user defined splash screns with custom timing, order and led/gpo status.

- picoLCD OEM SDK(includes RC5/RC6 decoding functions, Keypad support, LCD display functions and custom widgets like histograms, vumeters, custom characters): picoLCD20x2-SDK-0.1.8.gz

Every single member from our higher effectiveness product sales staff values customers" requires and organization communication for Finger Touch Screen All In One Pc, All-In-One Pc Smart Interactive, 19" Inch Touch Screen Kiosk, Our company eagerly looks ahead to setting up long-term and pleasant small business partner associations with customers and businessmen from everywhere in the entire world.

Automatic Ordering Machine not only breaks the common problem inherent of the traditional ordering mode, frees customers and waiters and customers can order thier dishes and confirm the order independently ,but also can note the way of eating, quantity, taste and taboos, etc. It is simple and convenient that the whole process takes only a few minutes, avoiding waste of time in the previous ordering. At the same time, the remarks such as tastes are filled out by the customers themselves and directly ordering to the kitchen which will avoid the situation that the waiters are too busy that they ignore or misremember, allowing customers to enjoy customized services and improve customer satisfaction. Not only can it reduce the operating costs of the restaurant, but also improve the overall service quality and efficiency, which makes it a good helper for restaurant management.

We"ve one of the most innovative manufacturing devices, experienced and qualified engineers and workers, recognized good quality handle systems and also a friendly experienced income team pre/after-sales support for Free sample for Custom Lcd Display - Self-service Ordering Machine – Chujie , The product will supply to all over the world, such as: Greece, Macedonia, Istanbul, All these products are manufactured in our factory located in China. So we can guarantee our quality seriously and availably. Within these four years we sell not only our products but also our service to clients throughout the world.

One of the strengths of AIDA64 has been providing users with precise and abundant hardware monitoring information. The software offers several ways to visualize sensor data, such as clock rates, temperatures, voltages, fan speeds etc. For the past few months we have been working hard to give you even more opportunities for displaying such info: we"ve been adding support for a huge number of external displays,VFDs (vacuum fluorescent display), LCDs and even OLEDs.

Using such devices can come in handy when you want to keep an eye on hardware related information at all times, even when watching a movie or playing a game in full screen. Now AIDA64 can send information to external displays directly, without the need to use third-party applications. And you can select and edit what and how you want to show on these displays, right from AIDA64.

The latest stable already supports dozens of displays, and the number is constantly growing as our developers are working hard to implement support for even the most exotic panels you guys may be using. Your feedback is welcome here: if you happen to use displays that AIDA64 does not support yet, please let us know in the forums.

LCD support has been designed with power users in mind, users who prefer customizing every single detail in both the layout and the set of displayed values. In this blog post we want to show you how you can create a customized LCD in AIDA64.

Specifically, we are going to describe how you can populate a color LCD with hardware monitoring info as well as some eye-candy. However, AIDA64 supports a couple of less fancy devices as well: if you use alphanumeric displays or monochrome LCDs your options will obviously be more limited. On an alphanumeric device, for example, you can only visualize “Simple sensor items”, that is text, while monochrome LCD can cope with some basic imagery only.

Abacom / Acer / Adafruit / AlphaCool / Aquaero / AX206 / BWCT / CH424 / Crystalfontz / ct-Mausekino / Cwlinux / Dangerous Prototypes / Digital Devices / EastRising / EVGA / Futaba / GLCD2USB / Gravitech / IkaLogic / LCD Smartie / LCD2USB / LCDInfo / Leo Bodnar / Logitech Arx / Logitech G15G19 / LPT Mad Catz / Matrix Orbital EVE / Matrix Orbital GLK / Matrix Orbital GX / Matrix Orbital LK / Modding-FAQ / nMedia / Noteu / Odospace / Odroid / Pertelian / Phidget / picoLCD / POS / Pyramid / Razer / RemoteSensor / Roccat / Saitek / Samsung / SDC Megtron / SoundGraph iMon LCD / SoundGraph iMon VFD / SpikenzieLabs / Sure / Trefon / UCSD / USB2LCD+ / VL System LIS 2 / VLSystems LIS / Wallbraun / Yoctopuce

If you use a color LCD, you have the choice to use either a background color or a custom background image. You can come up with spectacular results both ways. If you go for a solid color background you have to specify the color here. If multiple pages are available on the display, the color selected here will be used on all the pages. If you want a custom background image, you have to upload it in the editor (see step 4 below). The tabs often give you the chance to adjust brightness and/or contrast for monochrome and alphanumeric displays.

Now let"s open the LCD layout editor which is available in File / Preferences / Hardware Monitoring / LCD / LCD Items. What you"ll see here is a preview of the external display and the list of items shown on the panel. To those who have already experimented with the SensorPanel the editor will look quite familiar: it"s not a coincidence as both work exactly the same way. The only difference is that here you can design more pages for a single device, if the external display can handle multiple pages. You can select each page by clicking on its tab, just like you do in web browsers.

Hint: you can add any image to the display this way, and set its position on the panel by specifying the X and Y coordinate values. But you can also position any item in the layout by selecting it in the item list and using the arrows on the right. We can move items up or down in the list. Items are displayed as layers on the display, and this list determines the order of the layers: the topmost item in the list will be the background layer, the next one the first layer and so on. By default, an item listed under another will cover at least parts of those listed above it if they overlap each other on the panel. Because of that, always make sure to make the background image the topmost item.

Now we are going to populate the blank screen with sensor items: first, a gauge indicating CPU Utilization. Let"s select “New”, then “Gauge” from the “Item type” drop-down menu, then “CPU Utilization” from the list. We can customize the gauge by selecting the size, color, label, font type etc. we want to use.

Hint: If you are not satisfied with the default gauges, and you are not afraid of using Photoshop or other graphics editors either, feel free to create and use custom gauges. To do this, you fist need to draw all the 15 possible indicator states and upload them one by one in AIDA64 by selecting Custom in the Type menu, and then clicking on the “States” drop-down list. (You can download the default AIDA64 gauge states from here [link]. Feel free to modify them!)

Adding a graph works just like adding a gauge. For example, if you want to display the utilization of CPU Core 1 in a graph, all you need to do is clicking on “New”, then selecting “Graph” from the “Item type” drop-down menu, and then selecting CPU1 Utilization. You may need to set the min and max threshold values for the graph, but in this case the default 0 to 100 range is just fine. You can now position the graph and define its width and height as you wish. There are a couple of other things you can customize, including background color, grid color, graph line color and thickness, label font etc.

Hint: if you want to use more sensor items of the same kind (gauge, graph), customize the first and then duplicate it (Duplicate) as many times as required.

Hint: You can also display whatever labels you want for each sensor item. It"s recommended to change the default label which is usually too dull and too long. :) You can even delete the labels, which may come in handy on low-resolution alphanumeric LCDs where each pixel counts.

In the Preferences / Hardware Monitoring / Update Frequency menu, you can set how often AIDA64 Extreme updates the sensor readings on the LCD. Currently, the lowest selectable refresh rate is 500 ms.

Bonus: Even though AIDA64 cannot measure FPS in games, with a little help from a friend it can show FPS info on external displays. You need to install and run FRAPS to make this happen. When FRAPS is running, it will appear among the available sensor items.

Planar® CarbonLight™ VX Series is comprised of carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility, available in 1.9 and 2.6mm pixel pitch (wall) and 2.6mm (floor).

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe MicroLED Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. HDR support and superior dynamic range create vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge MicroLED technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior décor.

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. These professional-grade displays provide vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior decor.

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe MicroLED Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. HDR support and superior dynamic range create vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge MicroLED technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior décor.

Planar® CarbonLight™ VX Series is comprised of carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility, available in 1.9 and 2.6mm pixel pitch (wall) and 2.6mm (floor).

Carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility for various installations including virtual production and extended reality.

a line of extreme and ultra-narrow bezel LCD displays that provides a video wall solution for demanding requirements of 24x7 mission-critical applications and high ambient light environments

Since 1983, Planar display solutions have benefitted countless organizations in every application. Planar displays are usually front and center, dutifully delivering the visual experiences and critical information customers need, with proven technology that is built to withstand the rigors of constant use.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a common thermoplastic polymer. It is a form of plastic with higher impact resistance and toughness. ABS polymers are resistant to aqueous acids, alkalis, concentrated hydrochloric and phosphoric acids, alcohols and animal, vegetable and mineral oils. ABS enclosures are also much easier to customize with colors since it allows paint to adhere more than steel.

AG glass is added to protect the monitor’s LCD panel. When sunlight hits AG glass, the light energy is dispersed equally across the entire screen; these are no reflection “hot spots”. The AG coating results in a matte finish on the screen.

AR glass is added to protect the monitor’s LCD panel. When sunlight hits AR glass, the light energy is consolidated into a small but very bright reflected spot of light; the image on the rest of the screen stays in tact. By tilting or turning the monitor a few degrees, the operator can usually eliminate the bright spot entirely from his screen, and see clear start images even in direct bright sunlight.

The aspect ratio of a LCD display is the proportional relationship of its width compared to its height. The two numbers are commonly separated by a colon. The most common aspect ratios are 16:9 (aka widescreen) and 4:3 (closer to the shape of a square monitor, such as old CRT’s and TV’s). It is best to choose a monitor with the same aspect ratio as your video signal. You cannot customize a monitor’s native aspect ratio, so it is critical to know the aspect ratio of your incoming video signal beforehand.

Auto re-start after power loss is a built-in feature, standard with all TRU-Vu monitors which ensures video is immediately displayed upon restoration of power following a power loss.

An automated ambient light sensor (sometimes shortened to ALS) on an LCD monitor allows for automatic brightness adjustment based on the environmental light surrounding the monitor. Ambient Light Sensors allow users to set brightness and timing ranges to control the intensity of these automatic adjustments. This means users have the ability to specify the maximum and minimum brightness levels the Ambient Light Sensor can adjust between. Additionally, you can specify how long you would like the sensor to wait before adjusting the brightness (between 1 and 60 seconds).

The bezel is the outside frame or edge that surrounds the monitor’s front glass or LCD panel. For aesthetics or hygiene, some people prefer frameless, Zero-Bezel monitors.

Luminance (AKA Brightness) is the measurement of how much light a monitor emits. The SI unit for luminance is Candela per Square Meter (Cd/m²). One Cd/m² is equal to one “nit,” a more common term with LCD monitors. The measure of nits a LCD display emits will be the main factor in determining the monitor’s perceived brightness. A monitor luminance of around 250-350 nits will work well indoors and most monitors fall in this range. 400-700 nits would be ideal for daylight use (Daylight Viewable monitors). 1,000 nits or more is required for viewing in direct, bright sunlight (Sunlight Readable monitors)

BNC Loop-Thru refers to a BNC input and BNC output on the same device. This will “loop” the input signal back out of the device (as an output) to send to other equipment. For example, BNC Loop-Thru enables you to have a camera connected to a monitor that displays the image. The monitor then sends those same video images to second monitor (in another area) or to a DVR (digital video recorder).

Color temperature is a way to describe light appearance provided by a video source or monitor. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) and typically ranges from 2500K to 7500K. Higher Kelvin results in a cooler, bluer, daylight color temperature. Lower Kelvin results in a warmer, redder, candlelight color temperature. A balanced color temperature where the colors look natural for the scene is considered “white balanced.” This is when the color white looks like a true white without any other color present. NTSC, PAL, and now ATSC standards suggest video content on monitors to be displayed using 6500K. However, not all content adheres to this, so monitors may need to be tuned for the content to achieve white balance.

The contrast ratio measures the range of brightness to darkness the monitor can produce. The end ratio is presented as X:1, where X represents the size of the range. The higher the number, the better the image quality. This is measured by showing the whitest white and comparing it to the blackest black on screen. The static contrast ratio is tested using the same image (usually a black and white checkered display) on screen to measure the range. Dynamic contrast ratio is unrealistic, and will inflate this number greatly by adjusting the screen settings during testing.

The control of a LCD monitor is usually accomplished through the OSD (On-Screen Display) via a small group of pushbuttons on the rear or front of the monitor, or via an IR remote that allow the user to access the monitor’s settings.

A monitor with Dim-to-Black control means the monitor’s up and down arrow buttons have been programmed to adjust the monitor’s brightness and contrast at the same time. Dim-to-Black is useful in applications where the monitor is constantly used in different lighting environments. Rather than searching through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu each time to adjust the screen’s brightness, Dim-to-Black allows for manual transitions on the fly. This is different from the Ambient Light Sensor, which adjusts the monitor’s brightness automatically.

Display Colors is the number of colors the monitor can display. The higher, the better. These numbers are always shown in millions unless it is a dated monitor. Standard LCD monitors have 16.7 million colors, which equals 24-bit color. Color bits and display colors are directly related since display colors is based on the power of two. This is because 2 raised to the 24th power comes out to ~16.7 million.

The humidity specification on the LCD monitor data sheets relate to relative humidity (RH) and is shown as a percentage. Relative Humidity measures water vapor, but relative to the temperature of the air. It measures the amount of actual water vapor in the air compared to the total amount of vapor that can occur at the current temperature. The same absolute humidity level but in two different climates will result in two different relative humidities. The relative humidity would be higher in the cooler climate, and lower in the warmer climate. The higher the percentage, the more humid it is relative to the temperature in the environment. At 100% relative humidity, the air is saturated and is at its dew point.

Hertz (Hz) is the unit used to measure the refresh rate of a monitor. The refresh rate refers to the number of times a monitor can show a static image per second. This is similar to frame rate, but slightly different. Frame rate refers to the content itself, refresh rate refers to the display. Too low of a refresh rate on a monitor with high frame rate content will result in excessive motion blur.

Interlaced is a method of scanning video. Video sources that have the letter i in them are interlaced (e.g. 1080i). This method of scans the even and odd numbered lines as two separate fields. First the even scan lines are drawn, then the odd scan lines. One each of complete even and odd scan line fields make up one video frame. Interlaced video will double the perceived frame rate of a display without consuming extra bandwidth. However, interlacing effects like combing can occur if the interlaced video is displayed using a slower speed than it was captured, or in still frames.

IR (Infrared) touch screen monitors do not overlay the display with an additional screen or screen sandwich. Instead, infrared monitors use IR emitters and receivers to create an invisible grid of light beams across the screen. This ensures the best possible image quality. When an object interrupts the invisible infrared light beam, the sensors are able to locate the touch point, and send the X and Y coordinates to the controller. IR touch screens generally feature larger screen sizes.

Isotropic Failure results when direct sunlight and high ambient temperatures combine to overheat the LCD screen. The screen will darken, or turn completely black. If the monitor’s internal temperature approaches 100°C (212°F) temperatures, the LCD panel will suffer irreparable harm. Please note that a monitor’s internal temperature may far exceed ambient temperatures when positioned in direct, bright sunlight. Therefore, the rated operating temperature of the LCD panel and the overall monitor must be sufficient to survive the worst-case heat scenarios that the monitor will be exposed to.

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. The LCD panel directs the light from the backlight and produces the picture we see on the monitor’s screen. LCD panels use tiny liquid crystals to shift the light from one color to the next. The crystals are controlled using voltage from the monitor. Different LCD panels offer different advantages and can vary the overall cost of the monitor greatly.

LED Backlights are the most common backlights used in LCD flat panel displays today. The LED backlights are what illuminates the LCD panel. Without any backlights, an image could not be seen. A monitor’s life is based on the life of the backlights because they are so essential. LED backlights succeeded CCFL backlights and are more energy efficient, offer better contrast and brightness, and greater color range. LED backlights must be used with LCD panels to display an image.

Luminance (AKA Brightness) is the measurement of how much light a monitor emits. The SI unit for luminance is Candela per Square Meter (Cd/m²). One Cd/m² is equal to one “nit,” a more common term with LCD monitors. The measure of nits a LCD display emits will be the main factor in determining the monitor’s perceived brightness. A monitor luminance of around 250-350 nits will work well indoors and most monitors fall in this range. 400-700 nits would be ideal for daylight use (Daylight Viewable monitors). 1,000 nits or more is required for viewing in direct, bright sunlight (Sunlight Readable monitors)

MTBF stands for Mean Time Between Failure. A monitor’s MTBF refers to the time period when the the monitor’s backlights will dim to 50% of the original brightness. MTBF is typically measured in hours. If the backlights of an LCD monitor with standard brightness levels dim to 50%, it is considered unusable because the screen is not bright enough for any use.

The MVA panel is a type of LCD panel. MVA panels are newer than TN panels and offer wider viewing angles (typically 178° x 178°) This allows the monitor to be used in landscape or portrait mode, or mounted above eye level, with no loss of image quality.

Nits is the measurement of luminance. Nit is believed to come from the Latin word nitere, to shine. It is the measure of light emitter in a unit area and frequently used to specify the brightness of a display. Standard displays feature 200-300 nits, whereas Sunlight Readable Monitors range from 1,000 – 2,500 nits.

Open frame monitors are provided without typical enclosures. They are often used for limited-space applications, or when the display will be integrated into a machine or system. Open frame monitors and touch screens are available in two configurations: all components are mounted to the rear of the LC panel, or in a “kit” version, the LCD panel and all other components are provided loose, enabling the end user to mount them in any way they desire.

The operating temperature of the LCD video display is the range of temperature that is deemed acceptable for using the monitor. Operating outside the high end of this range can result in isotropic failure, or the components can begin to fail at temperatures below the low end of the range. The storage temperature of a monitor will always be equal to or greater than the operating temperature since monitors generate heat when operated.

Adding glass over a LCD panel does protect it. However, this also causes increased internal reflections, both from external light as well as from the LCD’s own backlights, thereby reducing image quality. It also creates an air gap between the glass and the panel.

Optical Bonding is the process of injecting an optical-grade resin into the gap between the LCD panel and the glass. This eliminates internal reflections, eliminates the possibility of internal condensation, increases the contrast ratio, and improves the image quality.

Sometimes referred to as a “dot,” as in “dots per inch”, “Pixel” is short for picture elements, which make up an image, similar to grains in a photograph or dots in a half-tone.  Each pixel can represent a number of different shades or colors, depending on how much storage space is allocated for it.  Pixels per inch (ppi) are sometimes the preferred term, as it more accurately describes the digital image.  The actual physical size of the pixel is equal to the pixel pitch of the display.  If your display is set to something less than the maximum resolution, then a pixel will be larger than the actual size of the screen dot, i.e., a pixel will use more than one dot.

Pixel pitch (AKA Dot Pitch) is the distance from one pixel’s center to the adjacent pixel’s center. Pixel pitch is measured in millimeters (mm) and most LCD monitors range from 0.10mm to 0.70mm. Pixel pitch is directly correlated to resolution and viewing distance. The smaller the pixel pitch, the more condensed the pixels are, and the higher the resolution. However, a smaller pixel pitch requires a closer viewing distance. The viewing distance should decide the ideal pixel pitch for you.

Polarizing filters are made from a type of transparent crystal, which allow certain light waves to pass through. A vertical allows vertical light waves, and blocks horizontal light waves, and vice versa. LCD monitors use two polarizers to control the brightness of the light. Care must be taken to choose the proper polarizers. For example, Incorrect polarizers used in Sunlight Readable monitors would result in the monitors appearing invisible to anyone wearing polarized sunglasses.

Protective glass is when an extra layer of glass is added onto the front of the LCD screen. The primary reason to place glass over the LCD panel is to protect the panel from damaged. AR (Anti-Reflective) or AG (Anti-Glare) glass will help to reduce unwanted reflections and glare.

Rack mount is a type of enclosure that features flanges on the left and right sides suitable for mounting directly into a standard 19” rack with the face of the LCD monitor visible at all times. The height of the unit is measured in rack units (RU) where 8U and 9U are most common to fit 17-inch or 19-inch LCDs.

The refresh rate refers to the number of times a monitor can show a static image per second. Hertz (Hz) is the unit used to measure the refresh rate of a monitor. This is similar to frame rate. Frame rate refers to the content itself, whereas refresh rate refers to the display showing the content. Too low of a refresh rate on a monitor with high frame rate content will result in excessive motion blur. Almost all monitors built for use in North America feature a 60Hz refresh rate. However some gaming monitors can feature refresh rates of 144Hz or higher.

The display resolution of a LCD monitor is the number of horizontal pixels multiplied by the number of vertical pixels. TRU-Vu’s display resolutions range from 640 x 480 up to 3840 x 2160 (aka 4K resolution). Larger display sizes will typically require higher resolutions that provide sharp image quality. However, LCD displays with smaller screen sizes can have lower pixel resolutions but still produce excellent image quality.

RGB stands for Red Green Blue. It is the color model used in sensing, representing, and displaying images in electronic systems like monitors and computers. RGB is an additive color model that adds the 3 primary colors (red, green, and blue) together to reproduce a an array of colors. Red, green, and blue together will result in white. LCD monitors will use RGB sub-pixels to create different colored pixels in order to represent a larger picture.

The screen size of an LCD monitor is determined by measuring from one corner of the LCD screen (excluding the bezel) diagonally to the opposite corner of the LCD screen. Screen size is measured in inches. Screen size is not to be confused with Viewable Area, as the viewable area is the horizontal measurement multiplied by the vertical measurement of the LCD Screen.

The shock rating shows the maximum amount of shock that can occur without damaging the display. The shock rating of a monitor is measured by the maximum acceleration of gravity (G) over a given time, usually milliseconds (msec). A monitor experiencing a shock greater than the provided rating or if the shock occurs quicker than the given time will result in complications or failure.

Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) is a set of video standards one step above VGA. SVGA can display up to 16 million colors with a resolution of 800 x 600 compared to VGA’s maximum of 640 x 480.

The TN panel is a type of LCD panel; TN stands for twisted nematic and is one of the most widely used, cost effective, but oldest LCD panels available. The viewing angles are not as good as other types of panels, and are generally worn when viewing the monitor from below. However, the response time is one of the quickest out of all LCD panels.

Other technologies allow for multitouch functions such as pinch-to-zoom, but cannot work with operators wearing thick gloves. The type of touch screen technology you select will be contingent upon many factors, including type of data to be displayed (video, graphics, text), the intended users, the operating environment and where/how it will be mounted. Chosen correctly, touch screen monitors will be an excellent addition to your system. Please see our touch screen guide for further details.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is a technical standards organization that has created many computer display standards. Its most prominent standard today is the VESA Mounting Interface Standard (MIS) or simply the VESA Mount. VESA Mounts simplify mounting by standardizing the hole pattern that a monitor and mount must fit. VESA mount patterns are measured in millimeters and listed as the horizontal by vertical distance between the center of the mount holes. An example would be “VESA 75×75” meaning the 4 screw holes are all 75mm apart.

The video inputs on a monitor show what incoming video signals the monitor can interpret. This also tells you what cables are needed to send the signal from your source to the monitor. Common video inputs include: HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, Composite BNC, DVI, and HD-SDI. Some transmit audio and video, others only transmit video.

The viewable area of a video display is the actual width of the LCD screen (typically in inches) x by the height of the LCD screen in inches (excluding the enclosure). This measures the total area of the screen and shows how wide and tall the screen will be. Monitors with the same Screen Size will have the same Viewable Area and visa versa.

The viewing angle of a monitor is the maximum angle the monitor can be viewed at before image quality degrades. Viewing angles are measured in horizontal and vertical degrees. When the monitor is in a position where viewing occurs outside of this maximum angle, the brightness and contrast ratio will begin to drop. At a severe enough angle, the perceived colors on screen will begin to shift. Make sure your monitor’s end position will allow viewing within these angles for ideal results. The worst viewing angle for most LCD panels is usually from the bottom looking upward at the panel. A MVA-type panel will provide full 178° x 178° viewing angles.

Zero Bezel or Bezel-Less enclosures are monitors which have no bezel, frame, or edge around the front edges. If you run your finger across the monitor’s front face, you would never feel a bump on the edges. Zero Bezel or Bezel-Less monitors are more stylish and hygienic. They are far superior medical displays, as the bezels found on standard LCD monitors often able germs and debris to collect near and under the bezel.