Research

clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat electronic visual display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals (LCs). LCs do not emit light directly.

They are used in a wide range of applications, including computer monitors, television, instrument panels, aircraft cockpit displays, signage, etc. They are common in consumer devices such as video players, gaming devices, clocks, watches, calculators, and telephones. LCDs have displaced cathode ray tube (CRT) displays in most applications. They are usually more compact, lightweight, portable, less expensive, more reliable, and easier on the eyes. They are available in a wider range of screen sizes than CRT and plasma displays, and since they do not use phosphors, they cannot suffer image burn-in.

clipped from: www.maxi-pedia.com

TFT LCD display or monitor

TFT stands for Thin-Film Transistor. TFT technology is a new standard these days for manufacturing displays, monitors, laptop screens, and other devices. TFT LCD displays can show crisp text, vivid colors, fast animations, and complex graphics.

Each pixel on a TFT display is backed by a tiny transistor. Transistors are so small these days, they need only a very minimal charge to control what they do. TFT displays are much more energy efficient than regular CRT screens that need a powerful light source.

What are the benefits of a TFT display?

TFT displays also allow for very fast re-drawing of the display, so the image has very little chance to flicker. This was not always the case with flat-panel monitors. Original passive matrix LCD displays were not able to refresh at very high rates and therefore could not keep up with fast moving images. A TFT monitor refresh rate is very high resulting in a display that can be used for video, gaming, and all forms of multimedia.

A TFT monitor delivers crisp text, vibrant colors, and an improved response time for multimedia applications. Today’s standard for response rate in TFT monitors is 16 ms or less.
clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

Organic light-emitting diode

An organic light emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes. Generally, at least one of these electrodes is transparent.

OLEDs are used in television screens, computer monitors, small, portable system screens such as mobile phones and PDAs, watches, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs are also used in light sources for general space illumination and in large-area light-emitting elements. Due to their comparatively early stage of development, they typically emit less light per unit area than inorganic solid-state based LED point-light sources.An OLED display functions without a backlight. Thus, it can display deep black levels and can also be thinner and lighter than established liquid crystal displays. Similarly, in low ambient light conditions such as dark rooms, an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LCD using either cold cathode fluorescent lamps or the more recently developed LED backlight.

ADVANTAGES

Lower cost in the future: OLEDs can be printed onto any suitable substrate by an inkjet printer or even by screen printing, theoretically making them cheaper to produce than LCD or plasma displays. However, fabrication of the OLED substrate is more costly than that of a TFT LCD, until mass production methods lower cost through scaleability.

Better power efficiency: LCDs filter the light emitted from a backlight, allowing a small fraction of light through so they cannot show true black, while an inactive OLED element does not produce light or consume power.

DISADVANTAGES

Power consumption: While an OLED will consume around 40% of the power of an LCD displaying an image which is primarily black, for the majority of images it will consume 60–80% of the power of an LCD – however it can use over three times as much power to display an image with a white background such as a document or website. This can lead to disappointing real-world battery life in mobile devices.

Screen burn-in: Unlike displays with a common light source, the brightness of each OLED pixel fades depending on the content displayed. The varied lifespan of the organic dyes can cause a discrepancy between red, green, and blue intensity. This leads to image persistence, also known as burn-in.

Water damage: Water can damage the organic materials of the displays. Therefore, improved sealing processes are important for practical manufacturing. Water damage may especially limit the longevity of more flexible displays.

clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

Touchscreen

This touch sensitive pad on the Acer Aspire 8920 laptop can increase and reduce the volume of the speakers.

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus.

The touchscreen has two main attributes. First, it enables one to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than indirectly with a cursor controlled by a mouse or touchpad. Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device that would need to be held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers, or to networks as terminals. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances such as the personal digital assistant (PDA), satellite navigation devices, mobile phones, and video games.

clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

High-definition television

High-definition television (or HDTV, or just HD) refers to video having resolution substantially higher than traditional television systems (standard-definition TV, or SDTV, or SD). HD has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD. Early HDTV broadcasting used analog techniques, but today HDTV is digitally broadcast using video compression. Some personal video recorders (PVRs) with hard disk storage but without high-definition tuners are legitimately described as “HD”, for “Hard Disk”, which can be a cause of confusion.

A comparison of multiple TV resolution standards as if it were viewed on a fixed-pixel display at full 1080p resolution. View at full size for proper comparison.

Besides an HD-ready television set, other equipment may be needed to view HD television. In the US, Cable-ready TV sets can display HD content without using an external box. They have a QAM tuner built-in and/or a card slot for inserting a CableCARD.

High-definition image sources include terrestrial broadcast, direct broadcast satellite, digital cable, IPTV, the high definition Blu-ray video disc (BD), internet downloads, the Blu-ray disc compatible Sony PlayStation 3 video game console (PS3), and the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console.

clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

Progressive scan

Progressive or noninterlaced scanning is a way of displaying, storing or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to the interlacing used in traditional television systems where only the odd lines, then the even lines of each frame (each image now called a field) are drawn alternately.

clipped from: en.wikipedia.org

When interlaced video is watched on a progressive monitor with very poor deinterlacing, it exhibits combing when there is movement between two fields of one frame.

clipped from: www.wayfinderkiosk.com

One of the most asked about interactive systems is a Wayfinder kiosk, sometimes known as a Directory Information Kiosk or a Building Directory Kiosk. These are an ideal way to provide customers or visitors with a simple method of finding their way to their destination as quickly as possible, with the minimum of interaction with members of your staff. They are typically provided with disabled access features, and also can also be provided with multiple language options which mean more support for your visitors.

Print-out Maps:

Providing a printed map of the route with directions from the kiosk. This provides clear instructions and can also be used to retrace the route in reverse once the visit is finished.

Portable Device Navigation:

Portable Devices – If the person already owns a mobile device (e.g. web-enabled Cell/Mobile Phone) they can be provided with a website link (either via Bluetooth or SMS push, or just type the URL in).

clipped from: www.pindar.com

Brunel University interactive mapping website goes live

Brunel University have launched a new interactive mapping website developed in partnership with Pindar, which is designed to encourage staff, students and visitors to and from the university using a sustainable mode of travel.

The website features:

• Interactive pan-able mapping showing bus/cycle and walk routes

• Link to timetables via clickable bus numbers on the map

• Link to real time information for tube and rail stations

• Interactive search functionality by area name, road name, timetable and places of interest

• Interactive hotspots for local amenities (supermarkets, library, doctors, post office etc) linking to websites for further information

• Link to Brunel University Campus Site Map

The mapping is also available via scanning Quick Response (QR) codes placed on the back of promotional materials with a Smartphone linking straight to the Universities website giving users to access information on the move.

Various information can be found at :   http://www.magictouch.com/monitor.html