ME401T

Computer Aided Design

Hardware and Display devices

Video display devices

CRT: Uses a vacuum tube that provides high vacuum and
voltage.
OperaAon is based on the concept of using an electron gun to
re a beam of electrons onto a colour phosphor coaAng in the
back of the display surface at very high speed.

Video display devices

CRT: Energy transfer from the electron to the phosphor due

to the impact causes it to illuminate and glow.

Electrons are generated by the electron gun which contains
the cathode and they are focused into a beam by the focusing
unit.
Persistence: how long they conAnue to emit the light

Video display devices

CRT: The control of the beam's direcAon and intensity in a

way that is related to the graphics informaAon (CAD data)

generated in the computer allows us to display meaningful and
desired graphics on the screen.

Video display devices

How to prevent the beam electrons from interfering with
each other as they hit the phosphor?

Shadow mask: Dot pitch (smaller) = Image (sharper)
Aperture grill (Developed by Sony): Features light, painted in
verAcal stripes.
Crisper image = Finer dot pitch
Less interference Brighter image

Some CRTs use a single light gun instead of three separate guns
(red, green and blue)

Video display devices

OperaAon of a shadow
mask CRT.


Three electron guns, aligned
with the triangular colour
dot paSerns on the screen,
are directed to each dot
triangle by a shadow mask.

Video display devices

DeecAon system: Controls x and y posiAons of the beam

This is related to the graphics informaAon through the
display controller which typically sits between the
computer and the CRT.

Video display devices

Controller gives output acceptable to CRT.

Other names for the display controller are the display
processor, the display logical processor, or the display
processing unit.

Display processor: Main Task Voltage level convergence
between the computer and CRT, generaAon of graphics
and texts.

It also uses extra hardware shading, geometric
transformaAon etc..

Video display devices

Scan technologies: For controlling

electron beam for graphics
1. Random scans
2. Raster scans

R
a n d o m s c a n s : ( S t r o k e

wriAng, Vector wriAng)

Creates graphics by drawing
vectors in a random order
(controlled by user input
and soYware).
Electron beam is directed
only to the parts of the
screen where a picture is
to be drawn.

Video display devices

Raster scans:
CRT are based on raster scan.
The electron beam is swept
across the screen, one row
at a Ame from top to boSom
and leY to right.
As the electron beam moves
across each row, the beam
intensity is turned on and o
to create a paSern of
illuminated spots.
Picture deniAon is stored in a
memory area called the
refresh buer or frame
buer.

Video display devices

Shortcomings of CRT:
Size ( Q space required by electron gun and its focusing unit)
Heavy
Suers from icker (phosphorous electron light emission rate
decreases faster and needs to be refreshed frequently)
Actual viewable screen size is smaller than measured glass
face due to casing overlap with it
Consumes too much electricity (high voltage needed by tube)
Uses VGA (Video Graphic Adapter)

Video display devices

Flat screen CRT:

Flat screens
More comfortable to look from wide viewing angels
Larger viewable area compared to curved CRT
Well suited for touch-screen applicaAons

Video display devices

Flat panel displays:

These overcome all shortcomings of CRTs
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), TFT (Thin Film Transistors)
Used in: desktops, laptops, pocket PCs, cell phones, wall
mounted screens

Raster displays

All types of displays are

scanned by this method.
Pixels
ResoluAon: N M

Raster displays

A set of scan conversion

algorithms

Color raster display with 8 planes

SpecicaAons
Screen size: Specied by its diagonal length. Typical sizes are 15,
17, 19 and 21.
In CRTs the size of the viewable area is less than the monitor size,
why?
ResoluAon: Determined by the number of pixels in both the
horizontal and verAcal direcAons (width height). e.g. 640 512,
1280 1024, 4096 4096.
dpi: Only resoluAon is not enough to determine the quality of the
picture.
Dots means number of pixels that a monitor has in a horizontal or
verAcal distance of one inch. dpi = 1/(dot pitch)
Aspect raAo: RaAo of verAcal pixels to horizontal pixels necessary
to produce equal length lines in both direcAons of the screen. e.g.
aspect raAo of means verAcal line ploSed with three pixels has
the same length as a horizontal ploSed with 4 pixels.

SpecicaAons
Screen type: describes the material used to make the display
surface of the monitor. e.g. AMLCD (acAve-matrix liquid
crystal display), TFT (thin lm transistor) LCD, ResisAve and
capaciAve LCDs, OLED (Organic light emimng diode),
AMOLED (acAve matrix organic light emimng diode), super
AMOLED (by Samsung) is much more responsive than
AMOLEDs.

Viewing angle: The angle between the line of sight of an eye
looking at the screen of a monitor and the monitor surface.

The perfect viewing angle is 900. Because LCDs are

transmissive (passes light through the screen) so we
experience glare on the screen.

SpecicaAons
Bitmap (frame buer): The values of the pixels are stored

in a memory called a frame buer or bitmap. Each pixel

value determines its colour (or gray level) on the screen.
There is one-to-one correspondence between every cell in
the bitmap memory and every pixel on the screen.

Display depth: Bitmap is a collecAon of bits and the values of
the bits are the color values of the pixels.
A bit can hold only 2 values (21): 0 or 1. One bit/pixel produces
only a two level image (black or white)
8 bits per pixel are needed to produce saAsfactory conAnuous
shades of grey monochrome displays.

SpecicaAons
Refresh rate: In order to maintain a icker-free image on

the screen, the screen must be refreshed frequently.

Important formulas:

1. RAM = Bitmap = (no. of planes or display depth) (no.
of pixels) (bits)

3. Total no. of colors = 2no. Of planes

Monitor parameter calculaAons

SoluAon

Monitor parameter calculaAons

Monitor parameter calculaAons

SoluAon:

a) Bitmap size = RAM = (4096 4096 3)/(8 1024 1024) = 6 MB

b) No. of planes for rst display = RAM (bits) / ResoluAon

= (4096 4096 3)/(512 512)
= 192


No. of planes for second display = RAM (bits) / ResoluAon
= (4096 4096 3)/(1024 1024)
= 48

SoluAon:

a) Bitmap size = RAM = (1024 1280 8)/(8 1024 1024) = 1.25 MB
b) ts = (1/(60 1280)) 106 = 13 s
tp = (13/1024) 103 = 12.69 nanoseconds
c) No. of colors = 28 = 256