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By Root 1454 0

plasma TVs have two issues that make them a bad choice for PC use. First, they have strange native resolutions (such as 1366 × 768) that are hard to get your video card to accept. Second is burn-in—the tendency for a screen to “ghost” an image even after the image is off the screen. Plasma TV makers have virtually eliminated burn-in, but even the latest plasma displays are subject to burn-in when used with PC displays.

DLP

Digital Light Processing (DLP) displays use a chip covered in microscopically small mirrors (Figure 19-79).

Figure 19-79 DLP chip (photo courtesy of Texas Instruments)

These individual mirrors move thousands of times per second toward and away from a light source. The more times per second they move toward a light source, the whiter the image; the fewer times they move, the grayer the image. See Figure 19-80 for a diagram of how the mirrors would appear in a microscopic close-up of the chip.

Figure 19-80 Microscopic close-up of DLP showing tiny mirrors—note that some are tilted.

Figure 19-81 shows a diagram of a typical DLP system. The lamp projects through a color wheel onto the DLP chip. The DLP chip creates the image by moving the tiny mirrors, which in turn reflect onto the screen.

Figure 19-81 DLP in action

DLP was very popular for a time in home theater systems, as it makes an amazingly rich image. DLP has had very little impact on PC monitors, but has had great success as projectors. DLP projectors are much more expensive than LCD projectors, but many customers feel the extra expense is worth the image quality.

Chapter Review

Questions

1. What do we call the time it takes to draw the entire screen and get the electron guns back to the upper-left corner?

A. Horizontal refresh rate

B. Horizontal redraw rate

C. Vertical refresh rate

D. Vertical redraw rate

2. What does the dot pitch signify about a CRT monitor?

A. The resolution, such as 1024 × 768

B. The sharpness of the picture, such as 0.31 or 0.18

C. The maximum refresh rate, such as 100 Hz

D. The minimum refresh rate, such as 60 Hz

3. On an LCD monitor, what is the technology that uses a matrix of wires under colored glass?

A. Active matrix

B. Passive matrix

C. Active TFT

D. Passive TFT

4. What provides the illumination for LCD monitors?

A. Backlights

B. Inverter

C. Lamp

D. LCD panel

5. Which statement best describes the difference, if any, between CRT and LCD resolution?

A. The CRT has a single native resolution; LCDs have no native resolution.

B. The CRT has three native resolutions; LCDs have no native resolution.

C. The CRT has no native resolution; LCDs have three native resolutions.

D. The CRT has no native resolution; LCDs have a single native resolution.

6. Which typically uses more wattage?

A. CRT

B. DVI

C. LCD

D. VGA

7. What is WSXGA resolution?

A. 1024 × 768

B. 1280 × 1024

C. 1440 × 900

D. 1920 × 1080

8. What is the processor on a video card called?

A. CPU

B. GPU

C. GDDR

D. MPU

9. What Microsoft API supports 3-D graphics?

A. Active Desktop

B. DirectX

C. Glide

D. OpenGL

10. How would you adjust your screen settings in Windows Vista?

A. Go to Start | Run and type DISPLAY to open the Display applet.

B. Go to Start | Control Panel and double-click the Personalization applet icon.

C. Go to Start | Control Panel and double-click the Display applet icon.

D. Go to Start | All Programs and select the Display applet icon.

Answers

1. C. The amount of time it takes to draw the entire screen and get the electron guns back to the upper-left corner is called the vertical refresh rate.

2. B. The dot pitch, measured in millimeters, tells you how fine the screen will be.

3. B. Passive matrix technology uses a matrix of wires under colored glass.

4. A. The backlights provide the illumination for the LCD panel.

5. D. The CRT has no native resolution; LCDs have a single native resolution.

6. A. CRTs use a lot more wattage than LCDs.

7. C. WSXGA resolution