Comparison of display technology

This is a comparison of various properties of different display technologies.

General characteristics

Comparison of various properties of different display technologies

Display technology	Screen shape	Largest known diagonal		Typical use	Usable in bright room
		(in)	(cm)
Eidophor Eidophor An Eidophor was a television projector used to create theater-sized images. The name Eidophor is derived from the Greek word-roots ‘eido’ and ‘phor’ meaning 'image' and 'bearer'...  front projection	Flat	(limited only by brightness)		TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Shadow mask Shadow mask The shadow mask is one of two major technologies used to manufacture cathode ray tube televisions and computer displays that produce color images. The other approach is aperture grille, better known by its trade name, Trinitron. All early color televisions and the majority of CRT computer monitors...  CRT Cathode ray tube The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...	Spherical curve or Flat	42	107	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Aperture grille Aperture grille An aperture grille is one of two major technologies used to manufacture color cathode ray tube televisions and computer displays; the other is shadow mask....  CRT Cathode ray tube The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...	Cylindrical curve or Flat	42	107	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Monochrome Monochrome Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...  CRT Cathode ray tube The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...	Spherical curve or Flat	30	76	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound... , Radar display Radar Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio... , Oscilloscope Oscilloscope An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
Direct view Charactron Charactron Charactron was U. S. registered trademark by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation for its shaped electron beam cathode ray tube. Charactron CRTs performed functions of both a display device and a read-only memory storing multiple characters and fonts. Typotron was U. S...  CRT Cathode ray tube The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...	Spherical curve	24	61	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , Radar display Radar Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
CRT Cathode ray tube The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...  self-contained rear-projection	Flat lenticular Lenticular lens A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...	80	203	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
CRT front projection CRT projector A CRT projector is a video projector that uses a small, high-brightness CRT as the image generating element. The image is then focused and enlarged onto a screen using a lens kept in front of the CRT face. Most modern CRT projectors are color and have three separate CRTs , and their own lenses to...	Flat	(limited only by brightness)		TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...  or presentation
Plasma display panel Plasma display A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...  (PDP)	Flat	152	386	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
Direct view LCD	Flat	108	274	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
LCD self-contained rear-projection LCD projector An LCD projector is a type of video projector for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. It is a modern equivalent of the slide projector or overhead projector...	Flat lenticular Lenticular lens A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...	70	178	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
LCD front-projection LCD projector An LCD projector is a type of video projector for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. It is a modern equivalent of the slide projector or overhead projector...	Flat	(limited only by brightness)		TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...  or presentation
DLP self-contained rear-projection	Flat lenticular Lenticular lens A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...	120	305	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
DLP front-projection	Flat	(limited only by brightness)		TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...  or presentation
LCoS Liquid crystal on silicon Liquid crystal on silicon is a "micro-projection" or "micro-display" technology typically applied in projection televisions. It is a reflective technology similar to DLP projectors; however, it uses liquid crystals instead of individual mirrors. By way of comparison, LCD projectors use...  self-contained rear-projection	Flat	110	279	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
LCoS Liquid crystal on silicon Liquid crystal on silicon is a "micro-projection" or "micro-display" technology typically applied in projection televisions. It is a reflective technology similar to DLP projectors; however, it uses liquid crystals instead of individual mirrors. By way of comparison, LCD projectors use...  front-projection	Flat	(limited only by brightness)		TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...  or presentation
Laser self-contained Rear Projection	Flat lenticular Lenticular lens A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...	75	191	TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
SED Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display A surface-conduction electron-emitter display is a display technology which is currently developing various flat panel displays by a number of companies as a electronic visual displays. SEDs use nanoscopic-scale electron emitters to energize colored phosphors and produce an image...	Flat	55	140	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
FED Field emission display A field emission display is a display technology that incorporates flat panel display technology that uses large-area field electron emission sources to provide electrons that strike colored phosphor to produce a color image as a electronic visual display...	Flat			Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
EPD (e-paper)	Flat (flexible)			Electronic paper Electronic paper Electronic paper, e-paper and electronic ink are a range of display technology which are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays, electronic paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper...
OLED Organic light-emitting diode An OLED is a light-emitting diode 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...	Flat	40	102	Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure... , TV Television Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound... , Mobile phone Mobile phone A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
QDLED Quantum dot display A quantum dot display is a type of display technology used in flat panel displays as an electronic visual display. Quantum dots or semiconductor nanocrystals are a form of light emitting technology and consist of nano-scale crystals that can provide an alternative for applications such as display...
IMOD Interferometric modulator display Interferometric modulator display is a technology used in electronic visual displays that can create various colors via interference of reflected light...	Flat	1.2	3	Mobile phone Mobile phone A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
Laser Phosphor Display (LPD)	Flat / Box			Computer monitor Computer display A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...
Virtual retinal display Virtual retinal display A virtual retinal display , also known as a retinal scan display or retinal projector , is a display technology that draws a raster display directly onto the retina of the eye. The user sees what appears to be a conventional display floating in space in front of them...	Any shape			Experimental, possibly virtual reality Virtual reality Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...	Depends on system
Display technology	Screen shape	Largest known diagonal		Typical use	Usable in bright room
		(in)	(cm)

Temporal characteristics

Different display technologies have vastly different temporal characteristics, leading to claimed perceptual differences for motion, flicker, etc.
The figure shows a sketch of how different technologies present a single white/grey frame. Time and intensity is not to scale. Notice that some have a fixed intensity, while the illuminated period is variable. This is a kind of pulse-width modulation

Pulse-width modulation

Pulse-width modulation , or pulse-duration modulation , is a commonly used technique for controlling power to inertial electrical devices, made practical by modern electronic power switches....

. Others can vary the actual intensity in response to the input signal.

• Single-chip DLPs use a kind of "chromatic multiplexing" in which each color is presented serially. The intensity is varied by modulating the "on" time of each pixel within the time-span of one color. Multi-chip DLPs are not represented in this sketch, but would have a curve identical to the plasma display.
• LCDs have a constant (backlit) image, where the intensity is varied by blocking the light shining through the panel.
• CRTs use an electron beam, scanning the display, flashing a lit image. If interlacing is used, a single full-resolution image results in two "flashes". The physical properties of the phosphor are responsible for the rise and decay curves.
• Plasma displays modulate the "on" time of each sub-pixel, similar to DLP.
• Movie theaters use a mechanical shutter to illuminate the same frame 2 or 3 times, increasing the flicker frequency to make it less perceptible to the human eye.