Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
refreshed 85 times per second. Refresh rates that are too low cause the screen to flicker,
contributing to eyestrain.
Plasma Display Technology
Plasma displays have a long history in PCs. In the late 1980s, IBM developed a mono-
chrome plasma screen that displayed orange text and graphics on a black background.
IBM used a 10-inch version of this gas plasma display on its P70 and P75 briefcase port-
able systems that were released way back in 1988.
Unlike the early IBM monochrome plasma screens, today's plasma displays are capable
ofdisplaying24-bitor32-bitcolor.Plasmascreensproduceanimagebyusingelectrically
charged gas (plasma) to illuminate triads of red, green, and blue phosphors, as shown in
Figure 12.24 .
Figure 12.24 A cross-section of a typical plasma display.
The display andaddress electrodes create agridthat enables each subpixel tobeindividu-
ally 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 inches to 50 inches or larger. Because they
are primarily designed for use with DVD, TV, or HDTV video sources, they are sized and
optimizedforvideoratherthancomputeruse.Theirquickresponsetimemakesthemgood
choices for enjoying sports, streaming HD video, or Blu-ray movies.
 
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