Display Monitor

What Does Display Monitor Mean?

A display monitor is an electronic device used to display video output from computers. Display monitors are used in many computer devices, ranging from personal computers (PC) and laptops to small handheld mobile devices, like cellphones and MP3 players.

Techopedia Explains Display Monitor

A display monitor is comprised of the following:

Display module: Often the type that uses thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology
Circuitry
Case or enclosure

Originally, display monitors were found only on computer devices. As screen technology has become smaller, cheaper and more powerful, display monitors have increasingly been added to a variety of devices.

Until the early 2000s, the prevailing technology was cathode-ray tube (CRT), which was less bulky with a smaller resolution and used more power. Liquid crystal display (LCD) is thinner and consumes less power but was more expensive. So, throughout the 1990s, LCDs were only used in laptops, where portability justified its pricing. Other technologies used are plasma and organic light-emitting diode (OLED).

Many companies brand their monitors as “LED,” which means that LED is used for screen backlighting, versus traditional fluorescent lighting.

Monitor performance is measured according to the following main factors:

Luminance: Brightness in candelas per square meter (cd/m2 or Nits)
Aspect ratio: Ratio of vertical and horizontal length as in 4:3, 16:9, 16:10
Display resolution: Number of pixels per square inch
Refresh rate: Number of times the display changes
Response time: The time it takes for a pixel to be active (on) to inactive (off) and vice versa. Measured in milliseconds.
Contrast ratio: Ratio of luminosity of the brightest (white) to darkest color (black) that can be produced by the monitor
Power consumption: Measured in Watts