Display Technologies Comparison

by Brad Larson  |  August 31, 2010

In the course of this article I will try to describe the main differences between screen display technologies in terms of viewing quality, reliability and overall user experience, while referring to some common denominators like average diagonal size, thickness of the screen, lifespan, resolution and so on. With the arrival of the 3D TV sets that have drawn quite a hype on the designated market, it seems like a good idea to skim through the current technologies, to see which one is the most suitable for the everyday user, and whether 3D TVs are really worth their price right now.

Since the golden days of the giant cathodic ray tubes, TV sets have come a long way, climbing higher up the living room walls and losing some weight in the process. There are quite plenty TV sets available on the market right now, but in the end they're are all variations of the same sort of display technology. Particularly, you can find within the range of products from the same manufacturer an overall pattern of used technologies. Panasonic, for example, has a good reputation for plasma TVs in a market where most producers have oriented themselves towards LCDs, whereas Samsung delivers top notch quality in LCD screens. Other major manufacturers are Sony, LG, Toshiba and maybe Vizio, but in the end the choice comes down to what suites the user best. So let's start with brief explanations of how every display technology works.

The LCD screen basically consists of a layer of liquid crystals squashed between two plates, that are altered through a series of electrical charges. They are lighter than CRT screens and plasma screens, easier and cheaper to manufacture and have gained a lot of popularity since their appearance on the market, practically replacing CRT sets in the common household. They can be found in a wide range of sizes, from the smallest, 5 inches, to largest, 65 inches and above. They are highly used for computer monitors.

An addition to this part of the market for flat screen HDTV sets are the new LED TVs. Contrary to their name, which is only for marketing purposes, they are not LED consisting panels, but actually normal LCD screens that have LED backlighting instead of the fluorescent normal one. This type of TV sets represent a step forward for the LCD technology offering higher brightness, thinner bodies (as thin as 9.9mm) and longer lifespan.

Depending on the position of the LEDs, they can be: RGB LEDs or Edge-LEDs. The former can be found behind the panel and allow a higher contrast ration, while the latter are positioned “around the rim of the screen” and permit manufacturers to build very thin LED TVs.

Another plus brought about by the LED TVs is that they are mercury free, making this type of sets more environmental friendly. On the other hand, the big disadvantage of the LED backlightning is cost, implementing this technology can be very expensive. Sony and Samsung are two major manufactures of this type of TV, and while Sony uses both RGB LED and Edge-Led technologies for its Sony Bravia sets, Samsung prefers the Edge-LEDs for its thin TVs.

The PDP, better known as the Plasma Display Panel, is a type of display mostly used for the manufacture of TVs with a diagonal larger than 80cm. The word “plasma” comes from the plasma cells which make up a pixel. A pixel is made out of three plasma cell, each one of them containing a primary color (blue, red, yellow), allowing a precise color reproduction.

A plasma display is suitable for someone who wants a large size TV set (above 32 inches) with a slim figure, great color contrast, and the possibility to mount it on a wall. However, a plasma has a shorter lifespan than its LCD counterpart, uses more electricity, and its harmful for the environment by employing nitrogen trifluoride in the manufacture process.

A Rear-projection TV, most commonly know as RPTV or projection TV, is a type of large-screen TV which employs the rear projection technology. Popular in the '70, this kind of TV is the bulkier and heavier relative of the LCD and plasma displays. Although improved RPTVs are capable of a 1080p resolution (e.g. Sony SXRD), now on the market they are regarded as the cheaper option for newer flat technologies. The increasing popularity of LCD displays have determined companies such as Sony and Phillips to cease the production of rear-projection TVs. The remaining manufacture companies of RPTVs are: Samsung, Panasonic, ProScan, JVC...etc.

The OLEDs (organic light emitting diode) are the preferred displays when it comes to smartphones, PDAs and other digital media players screens. The advantages that an OLED display has over its flat competitors are the following: environmental friendly (by using organic semiconductors), flexibility (if the substrate used is PET), higher contrast ratio (than LCDs; it doesn't need a backlight), faster response time and smaller production costs.

Although all the above specifications are pretty impressive, the OLED technology has also some major minuses: being made from an organic compound it doesn't have a high lifespan (particular case: blue OLEDs have the shortest life), the organic compound is sensible to water, higher power consumption and others.

Depending on the matrix scheme that it uses, an OLED display can be: passive-matrix or active-matrix. The active-matrix OLED is widely known as the AMOLED display, and its peculiarity stands in the fact that the OLED pixels have been integrated into a TFT (thin film transistor) in order to form a matrix. Thanks to this, the AMOLED displays use less power, and have a higher refresh rate, making this technology suitable for portable gadgets. Among the smartphones that have incorporate an AMOLED display are: Nexus One  - the Android phone from HTC, HTC Desire, HTC Legend, Nokia N85, Nokia N86, and much more.

However, similar to their OLED relatives, the AMOLEDs have a shorter lifespan and it can be rather difficult to see the display in direct sunlight.

 Special case: The 3D TV

The long awaited 3D TV set is capable to project your favorite TV show into the three-dimensional field. Although the 3D technology has been employed since 1922, when the first 3D movie was released to the public, lately this technology was used in the manufacture of 3D TVs. The are two models of 3D TVs: 3D-ready TV and Full 3D TV. More information about these two formats you can find reading the article: “The World is HD”.

On the other hand, the 3D-ready TVs have already entered the consumer market with a wide range of products: Panasonic Viera, Samsung, Philips, Toshiba..etc, while the Full HD TV sets are still a work in development, and up to now only Panasonic and Sony have released a Full HD 3D (at a price range between $2000 and $2500). At this point developers are still struggling to adapt the Full 3D technology to fit our living rooms at moderate prices.

But the 3D, it's not all about TVs. Efforts are made to adopt the same standard for all 3D electronics. More and more movies are released in the 3D format, and more and more TV shows are filmed using the 3D technique. As a result, televisions need to find new ways to broadcast the 3D signal more efficiently. Sky is one of the first to release an entire 3D Channel, called Sky Sports 3D, and this autumn a second channel will be released: Sky Movies 3D.

So, it seems that the battle between displays will continue to favor those companies that can adapt quickly to the trends in the market and to consumer's needs, all at the best price.

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