Whether watching TV, using a tablet, or smartphone, or changing car radio stations, you’re looking at a digital screen. Most people do not give a second thought to the type of screen it is – they just know it works. However, there are different types of screens that have evolved over the years, and some of them work better on certain devices than others.

History of the Digital Screen

The television made its first debut publicly in the late 1920s. During the years following, people did not spend a lot of time in front of screens, and it was limited to some TV and an occasional movie. Since then, there have been significant strides in technology, and the components of screens have improved dramatically. As a result, most people spend an average of 40% of their time in front of screens.

During the 1960s, inventors created popular digital technologies like LED, LCD, and plasma, but these technologies didn’t achieve widespread success until they became integrated into the mainstream, which happened many years later.

Researchers developed touchscreen technology in the mid-1960s, primarily for air traffic control. It began seeing broader applications in ATMs around the mid-1990s. Today, many devices, including cell phones, tablets, and car dash displays, use touchscreen digital displays. Researchers and inventors continue to make improvements to digital technology to improve quality and display.

Types of Digital Display Screens

Plasma

At one time, plasma displays were all the rage when it came to large TVs because of their great contrast, viewing angles, and color reproduction. This type of display is made up of many blue, green, and red pixels made of gas. An electric charge excites these pixels, which causes them to glow, and this shows up as color on the screen. This occurs millions of times every second.

Because plasma screens need a lot of power, are thick, and require large amounts of pixels, they are not a good technology for smaller devices. Plasma is better for large digital signs and HD televisions.

LCD

LCDs are replacing plasma TVs and are common in phones, tablets, and laptops. An LCD has two pieces of polarized gas that have liquid crystals in between. You are able to see images and colors due to a backlight (made up of CCFL or LED) and electrical currents that align the liquid crystals.

LCD is a good choice for a variety of devices for a number of reasons. The majority of LCD displays use a thin film transistor, which allows for active matrix display. With a TFT, each pixel has its own transistor, so it takes a smaller current to illuminate each pixel, and it can be turned on and off quickly.

An LCD display has in-plane switching, which allows for a wider range, and more accurate color. This makes it popular with artists and photographers. LCD also allows for vertically aligned panels.

OLED

OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays are the latest technology for consumer devices. This type of technology works similarly to how a plasma screen does, but the electrodes stimulate an organic polymer that, in turn, releases light.

This technology offers energy efficiency, fast response, high contrast, and versatile viewing angles. Also, unlike plasma technology, it works well on smaller devices such as smartphones and tablets.