Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Computer monitor
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Cathode-ray tube=== {{Main|Cathode-ray tube}} The first computer monitors used cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Prior to the advent of [[home computer]]s in the late 1970s, it was common for a [[video display terminal]] (VDT) using a CRT to be physically integrated with a keyboard and other components of the workstation in a single large [[chassis]], typically limiting them to emulation of a paper [[teleprinter|teletypewriter]], thus the early epithet of 'glass TTY'. The display was [[monochrome monitor|monochromatic]] and far less sharp and detailed than on a modern monitor, necessitating the use of relatively large text and severely limiting the amount of information that could be displayed at one time. High-resolution CRT displays were developed for specialized military, industrial and scientific applications but they were far too costly for general use; wider commercial use became possible after the release of a slow, but affordable [[Tektronix 4010]] terminal in 1972. Some of the earliest home computers (such as the [[TRS-80]] and [[Commodore PET]]) were limited to monochrome CRT displays, but color display capability was already a possible feature for a few [[MOS Technology 6502|MOS 6500 series]]-based machines (such as introduced in 1977 [[Apple II]] computer or [[Atari 2600]] console), and the color output was a specialty of the more graphically sophisticated [[Atari 8-bit computers]], introduced in 1979. Either computer could be connected to the antenna terminals of an ordinary color TV set or used with a purpose-made CRT color monitor for optimum resolution and color quality. Lagging several years behind, in 1981 IBM introduced the [[Color Graphics Adapter]], which could display four colors with a resolution of {{resx|320 x 200}} pixels, or it could produce {{resx|640 x 200}} pixels with two colors. In 1984 IBM introduced the [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter]] which was capable of producing 16 colors and had a resolution of {{resx|640 x 350}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infodingo.com/electronics/computer-monitors/types-of-computer-monitors/crt/ |title=Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitors |publisher=Infodingo.com |access-date=2011-05-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326184456/http://www.infodingo.com/electronics/computer-monitors/types-of-computer-monitors/crt/ |archive-date=2011-03-26 }}</ref> By the end of the 1980s color [[progressive scan]] CRT monitors were widely available and increasingly affordable, while the sharpest [[prosumer]] monitors could clearly display [[high-definition video]], against the backdrop of efforts at [[HDTV]] standardization from the 1970s to the 1980s failing continuously, leaving consumer [[SDTV]]s to stagnate increasingly far behind the capabilities of computer CRT monitors well into the 2000s. During the following decade, maximum display resolutions gradually increased and prices continued to fall as CRT technology remained dominant in the [[Personal computer|PC]] monitor market into the new millennium, partly because it remained cheaper to produce.<ref name="pctech1">{{cite web |url=http://www.pctechguide.com/crt-monitors |title=CRT Monitors |publisher=PCTechGuide.Com |access-date=2011-05-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523052246/http://www.pctechguide.com/crt-monitors |archive-date=2011-05-23 }}</ref> CRTs still offer color, grayscale, motion, and latency advantages over today's LCDs, but improvements to the latter have made them much less obvious. The dynamic range of early LCD panels was very poor, and although text and other motionless graphics were sharper than on a CRT, an LCD characteristic known as pixel lag caused moving graphics to appear noticeably smeared and blurry.
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)