LCD monitors are comprised of different components under the hood. In a typical LCD monitors you will find two to three components like- a LCD panel, Backlights and the inverters (Most common in the older models). They all work in conjunction to finally bring in the result you see. If are interested to learn more about them, this article will provide you with such information.
Basic functions of LCD components
The LCD panel is responsible to create the image, backlights illuminate the image so that you see it and the inverters provide power to the backlight which needs alternating current (AC) electricity. Of course, there are more components that makes up a whole monitor but we just talked about something that typically you will find inside any LCD monitor.
So let’s take a look at these components in a little more depth.
LCD Panel Technologies
LCD panel manufacturers tries out variations like orientation of liquid crystal molecules inside the glass along with various underlying electronic aspects to create a slick display that meets the user requirements with things like fast response, more details and crispiness. There are three most common type of panels are out today. Like Twisted Nematic (TN), in-plane switching (IPS) and the vertical alignment (VA).
To keep it short, TN panels are the ones which are faster but their colours are limited. IPS panels provide fantastic colour. VA panels are in between the TN and IPS regarding responsiveness and colour accuracy. Which is better requires understanding of various other aspects involved. Such as the following ones discussed.
Backlights
This is responsible for lighting up the panel and they vary based on the technology used in the display as well as the how the backlight is implemented. Now, we are at the time when these LCDs are using light-emitting diode (LED) for backlights. Older generations used something called CCFL technology. One of advantage for which the LEDs took over CCFL is, CCFL used DC electricity (Direct Current) which consumed way more electricity. LED consumes way more less electricity than CCFL and produce almost no heat. LEDs use thin screens like we see today, from smartphones to desktop monitors. Under the hood in the modern display you will find the inverter missing.
There are two kind of implementations of these backlight are found one is the edge LED backlighting and the other Direct LED backlighting. The first one is where the backlight LED is placed both on top and bottom of the screen and the latter one is placed in the centre, which is pretty high-end monitor. The former one has one downside (depends on your point of view) which is the bottom and top part of the screen are more brighter than the centre.
Back in the days, LCDs used something called Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) technology, which was popular for its low power usage before the latter ones hit the market, for brightness and long life. CCFLs needed much electricity and required the use of an inverter to convert the DC from the monitors power supply. You will still find some of these still in use, which are much more thicker than what we have today. It is advised to replace them in case any parts die inside. Modern monitor are way superior than CCFLs.