Mobile Video Terms
| Monitor | A Video Monitor is strictly a video display and can be used for a wide variety of applications such as security, entertainment and mobile computer accessories. It displays a video signal that is fed into it. In many models a speaker is not built in. A monitor must not be confused with a television, which has a tuner, screen display and the speaker. |
| Active Matrix Displays | An Active Matrix Display provides a marked improvement in viewing quality compared to a passive LCD display. Active display panels provide a more accurate color rendition, no ghost trails, and greater viewing angles. |
| TFT | TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor. Underneath the surface of the display panel are tiny transistors in a liquid material. When the transistors are energized they react with the liquid and produce a transparent red, blue or green hue. Energizing a combination of different colored transistors at varying levels of intensity produce other colors. The screen itself does not produce any light. There is a light assembly behind the LCD panel. As the panel produces the various colors the ligth shines through the panel providing the Brigthness (Luminance) to the image. |
| Pixel Count: | An LCD screen's image is made up of hundreds of thousand of green, red and blue dots. These dots are known as pixels. The more pixels in a display, the more detail can be reproduced resulting in a sharper image. |
| Composite Video | This is a signal which contains all the video information on one shielded cable. This signal is usually found on most video equipment on a yellow RCA connector. All our monitors accept composite video input. NOTE: a composite video signal must not be confused with the 75 ohm antenna cable with "F" connectors that interconnect most household VCR's to TV set. |
| Component Video | The component Video Term, for the most part, is found on the high-end video equipment. It means that the video information for each color travels through individual cables (Red, Green, Blue, Luminance & Sync). This method of video transmission is superior to that of composite video because it eliminates the need of encoding the signals for transmission, then decoding for playback. |
| Diversity Antenna System | This system consists of two antennas connected to a special diversity capable tuner. One antenna is installed vertically, the other hosizontally. The diversity circuit will constantly measure the signal strenght of both antennas and feed the stronger of the two signals to the electronic tuner. This is very important in a mobile situation because with the frequent turning, the signals strength is constantly changing. |
| Viewing Angle | There are three basic types of LCD screens: Passive Displays- It is necessary to stand almost directly in front of these screens to see the entire image. If viewing the screens merely 15 degree off axis, the image would look inverted and the colorss muted. Active Displays- TFT active display provides great picture quality up to about 45 degrees. Then the same washed out effect takes place as passibe LCD's. High Quality TFT Displays- These type of displays provide viewing angles of almost 80 degrees off axis, but are much more expensive than standard TFT Active Diplays. |
| NTSC | This is the Televison standard for video transmission in the United States. NTSC and PAL equipment are not compatible. |
| PAL | This is the Television standard video transmission in Europe and Middle Eastern countries. |