Mst of all the equipment we use today have displays. Some time ago, those displays were simply used as protective layers but that is not the case in today's society.
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Most of the devices –from our TV's, smartphones all the way to our wristwatches and even some sunglasses– in use today have been digitized in order to provide more efficient and these displays are part of the upgrade that leans towards ensuring a better and noticeably easier user-friendly experience. We are delving into what makes these displays tick!
We all love to see
Imagine using a device that has only buttons and then using one with only a flat/curved screen. The appeal would most likely be different and will be leaning towards the less mechanical one. Engineers thought of this and our economy today is a great consequence of that thought. Before we begin to talk about the types of displays there are, we need to know a little about their most basic functional unit, the Pixel.
The Pixel
An acronym for Picture Element, a pixel is simply a single point in a graphic image. This is the basis which screens display information. A TV, for instance, displays media by dividing the display screen into thousands, even millions of pixels arranged in rows and columns (similar to that of a matrix). The pixels are incredibly close to each other, they all appear connected (though this is dependent on the screen resolution).
In the past when monochrome reigned, pixels were actually dependent on the numbers of bits they were represented with. For example, if we take an 8-bit display, we can represent different shades of black up to 2 to the power of 8 which is equivalent to 256 different colors or shades of black.
Now that was quite primitive. These days, colored displays, while still based on but representation have pixels which are actually made up of three dots: a red, a blue and a green one (RGB) all brought to focus at the same point. So how are the colors controlled then? Simple! They are produced by varying the intensity of each color in the pixel. When the intensity of all the three color components are the same or equal, the color produced lies on the white spectrum ( that is, it is a shade of white). This is known as "Additive color mixing".
Now, the quality of the media shown on display systems immensely depend on the number of pixels it can display, how many bits are used to represent each pixel and its screen resolution. For example,
VGA displays: 640×480 ~307,000 pixels
SVGA displays: 800×600 ~480,000 pixels
True Color displays: 24 bits per pixel ≥16million different possible colors.
Let's discuss some of the properties of a display.
Display resolution: This is probably the most known aspect of a display. Anyone buying a TV, smartphone, etc will most likely ask what the screen resolution is for a number of reasons, clarity being the most obvious. You see, displays having higher resolutions do have better clarity but that is not what the term resolution is defined of. It is simply the total amount of pixels in a display. Let me expand. On taking a 1280×720 (also known as 720p or High-Definition) display, it simply means the display consists of 1280 by 720 matrix of pixels ( having 1280 rows of pixels and 720 columns of pixels). The screen size is basically irrelevant and even if it is as small as a smartphone or as large as a billboard, the resolution remains the same. But we've seen that the clarity of images on bigger screen sizes with a certain resolution is less than on smaller sizes with the same resolution. Hence, screen clarity not mainly dependent on the display resolution. There are different types of resolutions: 360p, 720p (HD), 1080p (FHD), 2K, 4K, 8K, etc.
Pixel Density: This is one of the most important properties as it's what screen clarity is also partly dependent on. It is measured in PPI or "Pixels Per Inch". It is the number of pixels in 1inch of the display. It is very much connected with the resolution as both aptly determines the screen size and clarity. They are connected with this formula:
PD = (√(HNP² +VNP²))/ScS;
where PD: Pixel Density, HNP: Horizontal Number of Pixels, VNP: Vertical Number of Pixels, ScS: Screen Size.
Now let's apply.
Consider we have an FHD TV with a size of 49 inches and resolution of 1080×2160 pixels. For these given specifications, the pixel density is approximately 49.72ppi. This is a relatively low pixel density. You'll soon see why.
Now let's consider having a Google Pixel 3 (no pun intended) which has a 5.5inch display with a resolution of 1080×2160. Its pixel density comes around ~443ppi.
Now their respective pixel densities are incomparable with the Pixel 3 having about 9 times the pixel density of the 49-inch TV. So does that mean smartphones display are clearer than those of TV's (since basically all smartphones have smaller screen sizes and similar resolutions to those of TV's)?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Screen type: This is the most important property. The above two are the basis for screen quality but ultimately, there has been the creation of many different types of screens aimed at improving quality. From the LCDs to the LEDs, the OLEDs to the QLEDs, the AMOLEDs to the P-OLEDs, etc.
Now that we have an expanded knowledge on what makes up our display, we may one day conceive ways of improving those displays. Advancement only stops if we consciously try to stop it. Eventually, you may be viewing this post or any other one on a much more unbelievable display, possibly one that doesn't require a screen.
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