Video Hardware, Part 1 - Plasma Displays
(Page 8 of 12 )
Plasma, the latest technology for large wide-screen displays, actually has a long history. In the late 1980s, IBM developed a monochrome plasma screen that displayed orange text and graphics on a black background. Toshiba used this display in its T3100 and T3200 laptop computers, which featured double-scan CGA/AT&T 6300-compatible 640x400 graphics.
Unlike the early IBM monochrome plasma screen, today's plasma displays are RGB devices capable of displaying 24-bit or 32-bit color, TV, or DVD signals. Plasma screens produce an image by using electrically charged gas (plasma) to illuminate triads of red, green, and blue phosphors, as shown in Figure 15.6.
The display and address electrodes create a grid that enables each subpixel to be individually addressed. By adjusting the differences in charge between the display and address electrodes for each triad's subpixels, the signal source controls the picture.
Typical plasma screens range in size from 42'' to 50'' or larger. Because they are primarily designed for use with DVD, TV, or HDTV video sources, their resolution is typically 852x480 with a 16:9 aspect ratio (some 50'' units have 1366x768 resolution WXGA resolution). Although 852x480 is too low for mainstream computer applications, many displays can accept VGA and DVI inputs as well as S-video or composite inputs, so they can be used with a PC for DVD or similar entertainment applications.
Figure 15.6 A cross-section of a typical plasma display.
 | This chapter is from Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 16th edition,by Scott Mueller. (Que Books, 2004, ISBN: 0789731738). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now! |
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