Display Unit

How Computer Monitors Work ?

Monitor (CRT Display): A monitor is the most used output device on a computer. Because we use them daily, many of us have a lot of questions about our displays and may not even realize it. What does "aspect ratio" mean? What is dot pitch? How much power does a display use? What is the difference between CRT and LCD? What does "refresh rate" mean?

Often referred to as a monitor when packaged in a separate case, the display is the most-used output device on a computer. The display provides instant feedback by showing you text and graphic images as you work or play. Most desktop displays use a cathode ray tube (CRT), while portable computing devices such as laptops incorporate liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), gas plasma or other image projection technology. Because of their slimmer design and smaller energy consumption, monitors using LCD technologies are beginning to replace the venerable CRT on many desktops.

Display Technology Background

In 1981, IBM introduced the Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), which was capable Of rendering four colors, and had a maximum resolution of 320 pixels horizontally by 200 pixels vertically. IBM introduced the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) display in 1984. EGA allowed up to 16 different colors and increased the resolution to 640x350 pixels,improving the appearance of the display and making it easier to read text. In 1987, IBM introduced the Video Graphics Array (VGA) display system. Most computers today support the VGA standard and many VGA monitors are still in use. IBM introduced the Extended Graphics Array (XGA) display in 1990, offering 800x600 pixel resolution in true color (16.8 million colors) and1,024x768 resolution in 65,536 colors. Most displays sold today support the Ultra Extended Graphics Array (UXGA) standard.

Points to remember when Purchasing Monitor

Your decisions include:Display technology - Currently, the choices are mainly between CRT and LCD technologies. Cable technology - VGA and DVI are the two most common. Viewable area (usually measured diagonally) Aspect ratio and orientation (landscape or portrait) Maximum resolution Dot pitch Refresh rate Color depth Amount of power consumption.

Display Technologies : VGA

Once the display information is in analog form, it is sent to the monitor through a VGA cable. Pin Function Direction 1 Red video Out 2 Green video Out 3 Blue video Out 4 Monitor ID 2 In 5 TTL Ground (monitor self-test) 6 Red analog ground 7 Green analog ground 8 Blue analog ground 9 Key (plugged hole) 10 Synch Ground 11 Monitor ID 0 In 12 Monitor ID 1 In 13 Horizontal Synch Out 14 Vertical Synch Out 15 Monitor ID 3 In Now VGA replace with HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). It is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data.

Resolution of Monitor

Maximum Resolution and Dot Pitch :Resolution refers to the number of individual dots of color, known as pixels, contained on a display. Resolution is typically expressed by identifying the number of pixels on the horizontal axis (rows) and the number on the vertical axis (columns), such as 640x480. The monitor's viewable area (discussed in the previous section), refresh rate and dot pitch all directly affect the maximum resolution a monitor can display.

DOT PITCH
Dot Pitch :A measurement that indicates the diagonal distance between like-colored phosphor dots on a display screen. Measured in millimeters, the dot pitch is one of the principal characteristics that determines the quality of display monitors. .

A display normally can support resolutions that match the physical dot (pixel) size as well as several lesser resolutions. For example, a display with a physical grid of 1280 rows by 1024 columns can obviously support a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. It usually also supports lower resolutions such as 1024x768, 800x600 etc.

CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION OF CRT
Its a glass vacuum tubes into which an electron gun emits a flow of electrons guided by an electrical field towards a screen covered in small phosphorescent Elements. The electron gun is made up of a cathode, The cathode emits the electrons attracted by the anode. The anode acts as an accelerator and concentrator for the electrons, forming a flow of electrons aimed at the screen.

A magnetic field guides the electrons from left to right and from top to bottom. It is created with two electrified X and Y plates (called deflectors) which send the flow horizontally and vertically, respectively. Activating the magnetic field causes the electrons to follow a scan pattern, going from left to right and then down to the next row once they reach the end.

Construction of Color Monitor

1) Electron Gun : For producing stream of electron. Here it contains 3 gun for different color (RGB). 2) Focusing & Accelerating Anode(G1-G3) : Producing sharply and narrow focused beam of electron. 3) Horizontal & Vertical Deflecting plate: moving beam respectively. 4) Screen : A glass envelope having a phosphor coated screen at end and produces bright spot when stuck by electron beam.This arrange into an array of millions of tiny cell, called pixels.

Working of CRT
An

electron gun at one end emits an directed electron beam towards screen. When the electron strikes on screen it will lit up the pixel. Beam is deflected with horizontal or vertical deflecting plated. To produce an image electron is turn on or off. The video information from computer is used for turning the beam on or off.

COLOR MONITOR OPERATION

There

are three electron guns that control display of red,green and blue. Each dot on screen is combination of RGB color triplet. So there is 3 electron gun which fires respective color dots. By varying the intensity of RGB we get full range of different colors. Here it may case that beam spill over the screen and hit other triplet so we use Shadow Mask to prevent this.

Shadow Mask

A fine metal sheet with round holes called a shadow mask. The shadow mask is same shape as the surface of the CRT which has round hole for pass the electronics beam. By carefully positioning the masks, the beam strikes only the correct dots. The electron pass through a hole in a shadow mask and hit a particular dot.

Scanning Technique
1st shows vector scanning Raster Scanning: Starting from top left, a horizontal line is traced by sweeping the X-voltage. On reaching the right edge, the beam is blanked and quickly returned to the left (horizontal retrace) to trace the next line. The Y-voltage is increased slightly so that the beams begins from a new starting point below the previous line. After the bottom line is traced, the vertical retrace takes place, blanking the beam and quickly moving it back to the top of the screen even as the horizontal retrace takes place

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages: Low cost because of volume of production. Speed of updating and the retention of image is good. Colour display is available. Text and graphics display modes. Disadvantages: Large size and weight: Typical CRT displays are at least as deep as they are wide High voltage and power consumption. Also generate a lot of heat. CRT displays are glass vacuum tubes, and are therefore relatively fragile. The microprocessor interface is relatively complex.

LCD MONITOR

Advantages of LCDs

Physical Size
Compact and Lightweight Space saving Can be mounted on a wall or panel

Advantages of LCD

The sharpness of a LCD display is at maximum tweakness. Zero geometric distortion at the native resolution of the panel. High peak intensity produces very bright images. Best for brightly lit environments. Screens are perfectly flat. Thin, with a small footprint. Consume little electricity and

produce little heat The LCD display unit is very light and can be put anywhere or moved anywhere in the house. Lack of flicker and low glare reduce eyestrain.

Disadvantages of LCD

After a while the LCD display the some of the pixels will die you will see a discoloured spot on a black spot on the display. The cost of a LCD is considerably at a high price. The LCD display will have slow response times. The LCD display has a fixed resolution display and cannot be changed.

LCDs use analog interface making careful adjustment of pixel tracking/phase in order to reduce or eliminate digital noise in the image. The viewing angle of a LCD display is very limited due to the Automatic pixel tracking/phase controls.

Troubleshooting of CRT

The absence of one or more of the primary colours is usually caused by broken pin(s) in the data connector. A makeshift repair is to replace the connector, but the whole cable is better replaced. With a "dead" monitor, the on/off switch should first be checked (a surprisingly common fault), followed by the switched mode power supply and the fuse(s) therein. If the screen is blank but the indicator light (if any) is illuminated, the likely cause is a faulty line output transformer. A single horizontal line in the middle of the screen denotes collapse of the vertical oscillator/amplifier or a defect in the deflection yoke. A single vertical line can also be indicative of a deflection yoke fault. Distorted images can easily be caused by interference from nearby electro-magnetic sources such as another monitor. Wavy images are due to one or more inadequate supply voltages. Too bright or dim displays are again due to supply voltage abnormalities (within the monitor), assuming the brightness/contrast controls are correctly adjusted. Visible raster lines on the display should be eliminated by the brightness/contrast controls. If they are not, the CRT's control voltages should be checked along with the line output transformer and the horizontal output transistor. A rolling or an unsynchronized display could also indicate the existence of a broken pin in the connector. An imbalance of colours indicates lack of gain in one of the colour video circuits. The appropriate transistor should be replaced. Raster present but no images could be due to a faulty CRT. Other CRT related problems include an out of focus display, a dim image lacking in contrast and an image saturated with green or magenta.

Troubleshooting of CRT

Video Adapter Problems Before assuming the monitor to be faulty, it is worthwhile substituting it with another in order to establish that the video card of the PC is working. Normally such faults as intermittent assortment of odd characters, perhaps some flashing in vivid colours on the screen are indicative of a video card fault. If the problem appears to be related to mode changing, e.g. form VGA to Super VGA, this may well be due to malfunctioning logic circuitry, relays or solid-state switches, which are best left alone unless the repairer is prepared to spend some considerable time to effect the repair. Many problems arise from inappropriate configuration of the video card. It is often forgotten that many monitors are not designed to operate at high resolutions and high vertical and horizontal frequencies. Using monitors of modest specifications in excess of their design limits will display out-ofsync images possible together with audible buzzing. Persistently overdriving monitors in this way can lead to physical damage of the monitor's circuitry. This phenomenon can be checked by temporarily resetting the PC's display to the standard VGA setting of 640 by 480 pixels.

Fault conditions & possible causes

1 - No power. Is the power switched on? Is the power light on? If not it is possible that it is a fuse, but not very likely. Fuses usually blow for a good reason. Do you have high tension? When switched on at the power switch, monitors usually make a "SSST" sound. This is the picture tube energising. Inside the glass, it is recieving approx. 27 Kv. (Kilo Volts) If you hold your arm. (or something else hairy,) in front of the pic. tube when you turn it on, you will feel the hairs stand on end, due to an intense static charge inside the tube. This can sometimes be followed by the sound of a relay. This is the Degauss cct kicking in. If you here & feel this it is reasonably safe to assume that (most) of the power supply is operating. 2 - Picture comes on for a while, but gradually fades away,sometimes the pic. will fade back on for a while & then fade away again This is an indication of a "dry joint" in the heater cct. For the electrons to be emitted properly, their need to be a "heater" at the back of the tube. That is the orange glow you see around the neck of the tube while it is running. The heater operates off 6.3 volts, usually supplied by the power supply in monitors, & usually from the LOPT (Line OutPut Transformer) in televisions. 3 - Screen comes up intensely white. Sometimes with fine white diagonal lines through it Probably a fault with the ABL (Automatic Beam Limiter) part of the cct. The electron guns are being overdriven. 4 - Screen comes up intensely Red, Green, or Blue, with fine lines diagonally through it Possibly a shorted picture tube, but probably a faulty drive transistor, or accociated drive circuitry

Fault conditions & possible causes

5 - Screen intermittently drops one colour, or one colour missing a: Faulty cable.Monitor cables frequently fail around the HD15 plug (High Density 15 Pin Plug) b: Possibly pic. tube again. But more likely a faulty drive transistor, or accociated drive circuitry. 6 - De Gauss Picture tubes being electro-magnetic devices are effected greatly by stray magnetic fields. Magnets, speakers or even turning the picture tube on its side, while running are enough to upset the purity of the screen. If you have green, red or blue patcheson the screen. It is because of either a problem with the automatic Degauss cct, or the automatic degauss cct is unable to cope with the degree of induced magnetism in the screen. Usually a sweep with a degaussing wand is enough to rectify the problem.