A+ 1001: Display Tech Flashcards
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display
Doesn’t glow, can only block light or let it through, and so all LCD display requires some sort of backlight
Uses either CCFL or LED for backlight
Pixel
Picture Element
3 individual LCD elements that emit either Red Green or Blue light
CCFL
Cold Cathode fluorescent lamp
Used as a backlight for LCD’s
Replaced by LEDs in modern displays
Types of LCD technologies
TN (Twisted nematic)
- inexpensive
- Speed
IPS (In-Plane Switching)
- Wide range of view
Resolution
Brightness
Measured in Nit (nt)
The average LCD panel is between 200 - 500 nt
Attributes of LCD screens
Resolution
Brightness
Response Time
Response Time
The time it takes for a pixel to reset itself. To go from All black to All white, back to all black again.
most monitors have response times of between 1ms - 4 ms
OLED
Organic LED
Doesn’t use a backlight as the pixels make their own light
Advantages:
- thin monitors (eg. phones)
- flexible monitors
Digital LIght Processing
Digital Light Processing
uses a grid of tiny mirrors that shine through a color wheel to create an image
Commonly used with projectors
Parts of a Monitor
LCD Screen & Controller
CCFL tubes or LEDs and backscreen
(distributes the light emanating from the CCFL or LED backlights)
PSU AC to DC
Inverters (to convert DC back into AC for the CCFL Tubes)
Connectors for input from video card
GPUs
Graphics processing unit
Found on Video Card
Frame buffering
Using Ram to keep track of each pixels state on a screen
Video Card
GPU:
Ram: Keeps track of pixels, and help resolve the screen
Integrated GPU
GPU Built into the CPU
AMD calls their integrated CPU an APU
VGA
Visual Graphic Array
Connector type found on graphic cards
has 15 pin holes on three rows, commonly blue
VGA is Analog, which means that monitors need to convert the analog signal to digital before updating pixels
DVI
Digital Visual Interface
common connector type found on graphics cards
DVI connectors are digital,
however, some formats (DVI-I) provide support for analog signals, by allowing DVI to VGA adaptors
DVI-D is digital only
Two versions of DVI:
- Single Link (has a gap between pins)
- Dual-link (to run more than one monitor, or high resolution monitors)
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia interface
Connector type commonly found on graphic cards
- Regular HDMI
- Mini-HDMI
Used for Sound and Video
Display Port
Connector found on graphic card
- Regular
- Mini
Has a speed advantage over HDMI
When installing a new video card, which setting do we need to check in the CMOS after installation?
Initial Display Output
Riser Card
A card that plugs into an expansion slot and gives you an extra slot
When buying a new monitor, what do you need to consider?
Ensure you have a graphics card that can match the native monitor resolution
Projectors
Two dominant technologies: DLP or LCD
LED has a removable light bolt
Lumens is the measure of brightness
Throw: The distance the image can be projected
Geometric adjustments:
- Pincushion
- Keystone
- Skew
Overheat Shutdown
The video card is overheating
Not getting enough ventilation
Fans are not plugged in or not working properly
Dead Pixels
Happens on LCD monitors
Pixel is always black or white
Artifacts
Images are not resolved properly, things are out of place
Possible causes
- Video Ram (plug in another video card to test)
incorrect color patterns
Can see the images, but the colors are weird
possible causes:
- video ram
- cables not propperly connected
Dim image
The backlights are not making enough light
Common problem with ccfls as they tend to dim over time
Solution:
- replace the light source
Flickering image
Most likely a poorly connected cable
Check connection
Distorted Image
Ensure you are running at the native resolution of the monitor
Burn in
On plasma monitors, an image could become burned into the screen
On LCD screens it is called image persistence, and can be fixed by simply placing different images on the screen
Oversized images and icons
Fixed in windows settings
Which is a monitor backlight technology?
A.) LCD
b. ) LED
c. ) OLED
d. ) Nit
b.) LED
LEDs are a monitor backlight technology. LCDs don’t make their own light (thus the need for a backlight). OLEDs make their own light (they don’t need a backlight). Nit is a unit used to measure monitor brightness.
Which display technology uses moving mirrors?
DLP
DLP uses tiny, moving mirrors to create the projected image.
An AMD CPU with a built-in GPU is a what?
APU
Which is not true of DVI connectors?
a. ) Dual-link connectors can support multiple monitors
b. ) DVI-I supports only one monitor
c. ) DVI can support analog or digital signals
d. ) Dual-link cards can support higher resolutions
b.) DVI-I supports only one monitor
DVI-I can support one or more monitors. The other statements are all true regarding DVI.
Which interface supports DRM?
a. ) HDMI
b. ) CCFLs and OLEDs
c. ) VGA
d. ) DVI-i
a.) HDMI
HDMI supports DRM. The other interfaces do not.
Which is not a task performed in Windows when installing a video card?
a. ) Adjust PCLe power
b. ) Adjust font size
c. ) Update drivers
d. ) Set resolution to native
Which is not a standard projector adjustment?
a. ) Keystone
b. ) Pincushion
c. ) Skey
d. ) threading
d.) threading
Threading is not a projector adjustment. Keystone, skew and pincushion are all standard projector adjustments.
Which may be corrected by resetting a connector?
a. ) Dead Pixel
b. ) Dim Image
c. ) Burn-In
d. ) Incorrect Color Patterns
d.) Incorrect Color Patterns
Incorrect color patterns may be caused by loose or failing connectors. Dead pixels and burn-in cannot be fixed. Dim images are caused by a low brightness setting, failing CCFL, or failing inverter.
Which is not a cause of an overheat/shutdown?
a. ) Bad Fan
b. ) Poor Ventilation
c. ) Failed DC inverter
d. ) High Video Load
c.) Failed DC inverter
A failed inverter will make a monitor dim, not shut down a video card. Bad fans and poor ventilation can cause a video card to overheat. High video workloads may cause overheating.
