Filter
Top Products
DV300/DV301B 30" Multimedia Information Display
LCD Panel Technology
Q: What is a Liquid Crystal Display?
A: A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is an optical device that is commonly used to display ASCII characters
and images on digital items such as watches, calculators, portable game consoles, etc. LCD is the
technology used for displays in notebooks and other small computers. Like light-emitting diode and
gas-plasma technologies, LCD allows displays to be much thinner than cathode ray tube (CRT)
technology. LCD consumes much less power than LED and gas-display displays because it works on
the principle of blocking light rather than emitting it.
Q: How are LCDs made?
A: LCDs are created from two glass plates separated from each other at a distance of a few microns.
The plates are filled with liquid crystal and then sealed together. The top plate is coloured with an RGB
pattern to make the colour filter. Polarizers are then glued to both plates. This combination is sometimes
called ‘glass’ or ‘cell.’ The LCD cell is assembled into a ‘module’ by adding the backlight, driver
electronics and frame.
Q: What is polarization?
A: Polarization is basically directing light to shine in one direction. Light is electromagnetic waves.
Electric and magnetic fields oscillate in a direction perpendicular to the propagation of the light beam.
The direction of these fields is called the ‘polarization direction’. Normal or non-polarized light has fields
in several directions; polarized light has a field in only one direction.
Q: What differentiates passive matrix LCDs from active matrix LCDs?
A: An LCD is made with either a passive matrix or an active matrix display grid. An active matrix has a
transistor located at each pixel intersection, requiring less current to control the luminance of a pixel.
For this reason, the current in an active matrix display can be switched on and off more frequently,
improving the screen refresh time (your mouse pointer will appear to move more smoothly across the
screen, for example). The passive matrix LCD has a grid of conductors with pixels located at each
intersection in the grid.
Q: How does a TFT LCD Panel work?
A: On each column and row of the TFT LCD panel a data source drive and a gate drive are attached
respectively. The TFT drain of each cell is connected to the electrode. The molecular arrangement of
liquid crystal elements differs acceding to whether it is impressed with voltage or not. It varies the
direction of polarized light and the amount of light by letting it through different arrays of liquid crystal
elements. When two polarized filters are arranged vertically on a polarized light pole, the light that
passes through the upper polarized panel is turned 90 degrees along with the spiral structure of the
liquid crystal molecules and goes through the polarized filter at the bottom. When impressed with
voltage, liquid crystal molecules are arranged vertically from the original spiral structure and the direction
of the light is not turned through 90 degrees. In this case, light that comes through the top polarized
panel may not go through the polarized panel at the bottom.
56
Q: Can the Diamond Digital LCD Monitor be mounted on the wall or used as a touch panel?
A: Yes, Diamond Digital LCD monitors have this optional feature. The standard VESA mount holes on the
back cover allow the user to mount the Diamond Digital monitor on any VESA standard ARM or
accessories. Touch panels are being developed for future applications. Check with your Diamond Digital
sales representative for more information.
Screen Adjustments
Q: When I install my monitor, how do I get the best performance from the monitor?
A: For best performance, make sure your display settings are set at 1280x768@60Hz. Note: You can check
the current display settings by pressing the OSD OK button once. The current display mode is shown in
the product information in the OSD main controls.
Q: How do LCDs compare with CRTs in terms of radiation?
A: Unlike CRT, the LCDs do not use an electron gun, so they do not generate the same amount of radiation
at the screen surface.
Compatibility with other Peripherals
Q: Can I connect my LCD monitor to any PC, workstation or Mac?
A: Yes, all Diamond Digital LCD monitors are fully compatible with standard PCs, Macs and workstations.
You may need a cable adapter to connect the monitor to your Mac system. Please contact your
dealer/retailer for more information.
Q: Are Diamond Digital LCD monitors Plug-and-Play?
A: Yes, the monitors are Plug-and-Play compatible with Windows® 95, 98, 2000, XP platforms.
Q: What is a TV System?
A: Television pictures are not broadcast in the same way in all countries. There are different standards: BG,
DK, I and L L’. The SYSTEM setting is used to select these different standards. This is not to be
confused with PAL or SECAM colour coding. PAL is used in Australia and the majority of European
countries, Secam in France, the CIS and the majority of African countries. The United States and Japan
use a different system called NTSC.
Q: What is SCART?
A: The SCART is a 20-pin rectangular connector fitted to the vast majority of PAL market TV receivers. It
provides composite video inputs and outputs, stereo audio in and out, and RGB input. It is also known
as Euro connector and PERI-tel.
Q: What are S-VIDEO Signals?
A: These are 2 separate Y/C video signals from the S-VIDEO and Hi-8 recording standards. The luminance
signals Y (black and white) and chrominance signals C (colour) are recorded separately on the tape. This
provides a better picture quality than is achieved with standard video (VHS and 8mm) where the Y/C
signals are combined to provide only one video signal.
55