With so many types of displays introduced in the market today, which is the best option for you? Having the different display types explained will help you pinpoint the ideal screen that can meet your requirements and help you achieve your goals. 

What is display type and how does one qualify for it? The display type definition is a subjective term. They can range from displays using old technology to screens integrated with the latest LED technology or just start when the screens offered to the market are flat. 

How many types of displays are there in the market and industry today? There are several and there may be more types to come as long as the wheel of innovation keeps on turning. For now, though, let’s start with the 7 that are considered the most popular in the global market and display technology alike. 

1. Display Types Explained: LED Displays

LED displays are one of the most popular types of display ever developed. However, what does it mean to wield the power of LED technology?

What are LED Displays?

LED stands for “light-emitting diodes,” which are the elements that make it possible for the technology to function. LEDs are semiconductors that create light when the power is turned on. The light that comes from these elements are the ones responsible for the colors produced by the device, which later form images. 

To know more about these LED screens, let’s check out the major characteristics of this type of display. These are some of the notable ones.

• Directional light – The LEDs on this display often produce directional light, which pertains to light that faces only one direction. This is one of the aspects behind the screen’s light efficiency that makes it energy-efficient too. 
• Energy-efficient – LED technology does not need high energy to operate because of the directional lighting and the minimal electric current it requires for this type of technology to function. Being energy-efficient also translates to lower electric bills.
• Temperature-sensitive – The semiconductors inside an LED display are known to be easily affected by the rise in temperature, which can also influence the device’s entire operation and quality of light. 
• Long lifespan – LED screens are guaranteed to last long, which is approximately 10 years before the LEDs start to depreciate and your device requires maintenance. 

How do LED Displays Operate?

To have display types explained well, let’s look into the actual process of how this specific display works. The operation of LED displays hinges heavily on electroluminescence, the process that involves a light-emitting process in a way that does not produce heat and flow easily on a substrate. 

To produce realistic and vibrant images, different colors of light are emitted from the display. This is made possible through the use of RGB LEDs or LEDs in red, green, and blue. These basic colors are enough to create other colors (in fact, up to 16 million in total) and complete vibrant images.

One of the important info to remember is that LED displays include an LCD layer that helps produce better and clearer images on the screen. The layer is made from transparent panels with crystals in between them, which are responsible for the added lighting in the module. The combination of these two technologies in this display is why others also call it LED-backlit LCD screens. LEDs are also responsible for controlling the amount of light from the LCD layer to be used by the display.

What are the Different Types of LED Displays

Having LED display types explained will need to consider all the sub-categories under the display. In terms of LED displays, these are the major types you need to explore and learn about.

Direct-lit LED Display

A direct-lit LED display refers to the type of screen with the semiconductors organized directly behind the panel. This arrangement allows the protection of these internal parts, which depend heavily on the manufacturing standards. 

The local dimming feature proves to be one of the best characteristics that a direct-lit LED display offers its users. The feature is only possible for this kind of LED screen. 

Edge-lit LED

An edge-lit LED display refers to devices when the semiconductors are strategically arranged on the border of the panels. Since the lighting is only located along the edges, the backlighting needs to come from another source, which is where the LCD panel comes in. It’s the layer responsible for the backlighting of the display and the creation of images. 

This is the LED display that’s also known as LCD-backlit LED display. What’s notable about it is its slim look and body, which are aesthetically pleasing. The big disadvantage though comes with the absence of local dimming, which limits the color contrast and the vibrancy of the images. The ones with dark and black colors are bound to be inauthentic.

2. Display Types Explained: LCD Displays

How about LCD displays? These displays are often confused with LED displays and it’s understandable. This article where the display types explained to you will give you a clearer look at the difference between the two. 

What are LCD Displays?

LCD stands for liquid crystal display, which pertains to the use of this specific element in producing lighting that allows the device to also produce images. While not as advanced, it is a necessary innovation for the development and reach of the display industry. Some of the characteristics notable about these displays are the following: 

• Requires a light source – The LCD panel cannot operate as a standalone since it needs a light source for its backlighting, which can either be arranged on the edges or behind the display module. 
• Different from LED-backlit LED screen – This type of display is different from the LED display that uses LCD panels. 
• Not energy-efficient – Unlike LED displays, LCD screens use a lot of power to operate. When you use high brightness on your LCD screen, you’re bound to use too much electricity (this is only applicable if the chosen light source is fluorescent). 

How do LCD Displays Operate?

Do you need to know how LCDs operate to have the different display types explained thoroughly? Definitely! In the case of LCD displays, the device is structured with two transparent panels with the “liquid crystals” or the “special liquid” placed between these panels. 

The display operates on electricity and relies on other light sources for the lighting. When light passes through the ensemble, it produces colors that can be directed towards the direction you want. 

What are the Different Types of LCD Displays

For a discussion of display types explained better, look into the different LCD displays introduced to users throughout the years. These are the popular types of LED screens. 

VA or Vertical Alignment LCD Displays

This type of LCD display has its crystals organized in a vertical line-up, which is how it got its name in the first place. It prevents backlight from leaking through the entire panel, which ensures that the colors of the images are more on-point and authentic. The downside though is that they have a narrow viewing angle and poor response rate. 

TN or Twisted Nematic LCD Displays

TN LCD displays have crystals in a twisted arrangement when power is turned off. The arrangement makes sure that no lighting goes through the panels when it’s not needed. The order of the crystals changes when electricity is turned on.

TFT or Thin-film Transistor LCD Displays

This involves LCD screens that are known to show images with vibrant and realistic colors. It is the type of LCD display that delivers a high-quality viewing experience, promising high resolution and response time. It’s one of the reasons why it’s a favorite display to be integrated with many gadgets today.

All of these characteristics were made possible with the entire functionality of the display. It is structured to be capable of controlling each pixel by controlling the “liquid crystal” in the panels. This is due to the addition of transistors in the system.

IPS or In-plane Switching LCD Displays

These LCD displays have their “liquid crystals” arranged in a horizontal setup, preventing the lighting of the devices. However, the arrangement changes once electricity is added to the mix. It transforms and rotates once the power is on.

3. Display Types Explained: OLED Displays

Have you ever heard of OLED displays before? A discussion of display types explained well often includes.OLED displays. And truthfully, not many know about this type of display. 

What are OLED Displays?

OLED means “Organic Light-emitting Diode” and compared with LED, the term “organic” is added to the mix. However, what’s the major difference between the two? 

LED displays need an added LCD panel to function but OLED displays don’t. The light comes directly from the LEDN conductors, offering an entirely new experience to users and viewers. Here are some of the most notable characteristics of this amazing innovation. 

• High contrast levels – The pixels in OLEDs are capable of individually switching, leading to high and well-facilitated contrast levels. Because of this factor, they have advanced features, including high response time and incredible local dimming. Their vibrant and realistic colors, as well as their brightness, are all well evident in this type of display. 
• Accurate color mimic – Without the LCD backlighting panel, this type of display is actually able to produce colors more vividly and authentically. Since the pixels can independently function, they can accurately show “true black” and showcase the real shades of other colors. 
• Wide viewing angle – When an expert has different display types explained to you, this feature is one of the most evident and exciting aspects of OLED displays. It also means that the screen can be viewed from angles you would not often see the display clearly. These screens also have a high resolution, promising vibrant and colorful images, because of the small pixels bound on their panels.  
• Burn-in effects – One of the downsides to this magnificent display is the possible burn-in effects on the surface of the screen. Burn-in refers to when an image somehow sticks to the screen even when it’s not the one that should be seen. This effect can either be temporary or permanent, depending on the current condition of the display and its age. 

How do OLED Displays Operate?

What made OLED displays among other types of screens is its magnificent operation. It is one of the best ways to have display types explained to you. With the term “organic” right in its name, it means that the semiconductors used in the display are organic in nature. 

While LED displays have an LCD panel, OLED displays use a conductive layer, which is responsible for helping the electricity reach the semiconductors faster, which are mounted on another layer in the device called the emissive layer. 

The emissive layer is where all the magic happens and electroluminescence does its work to produce light and as a result, colors. At the end of this process are vivid and accurate reproductions of colorful images.

What are the Different Types of OLED Displays

Another aspect of the display types explained in this article includes the other classifications under the display’s wing. With OLED displays, these are some of the types you can look into. 

AMOLED Displays

AMOLED means “Active matrix OLED” and it pertains to the use of a TFT or thin film transistor in the operation of this display. These transistors are capable of controlling pixels one by one, providing more accurate management for these semiconductors and in the process more control over colors, brightness, and response rates. 

This excellent control is the main reason why it’s called the active matrix. And this type of OLED display is the more renowned and market favorite because of this accurate control and flexible setup. 

PMOLED Displays

The opposite for AMOLED, the “P” in PMOLED stands for passive, which pertains to the passive behavior of the system when dealing with the display’s pixels. Unlike its counterpart’s individual pixel control, PMOLEDs are managed based on how they are organized–which is in columns and rows. It means that pixels light up and turn off in lines and not individually. 

Because of this process, this type of OLED display performs poorly compared to its counterpart, the AMOLED screen. It has low brightness and resolution. Despite these limitations though, they are pretty popular for digital wearables and medical display devices. 

4. Display Types Explained: QLED Displays

Another type of display that’s part of this several display types explained discussion is the QLED display. This type is often mistaken for OLED, which is not a difficult thing to happen considering they one have one letter that differentiates one from the other. 

What are QLED Displays?

The term “QLED” means “quantum dot LED,” which if you think about it should really be QDLED. It might help avoid the confusion between OLED and QLED. However the real difference–the secret lies in the quantum dot technology that runs the entire system. 

Quantum dot technology is an advanced innovation that makes it possible to minimize the size of the pixels through their semiconductor chips. The technology was created to be used in small displays, which is how these minute semiconductors came about. And the creation of these tiny semiconductors paved the way to the following characteristics: 

• High Dynamic Range – QLED has HDR capabilities, which point to the display’s wide range of light and dark colors. This wide arrangement allows the device to show vivid images with accurate colors. 
• Excellent Adaptability – QLED displays are known for their power to provide a better viewer experience One of the features that make it highly adaptable is local dimming. Through this feature, the screen’s brightness is automatically adjusted.
• Free from Burn-in Effects – QLED display is able to resolve the issue you would probably encounter with the burn-in effects. It improves viewer experience and adds a massive point to QLEDs over OLEDs.
• Inorganic Quantum Dots – Unlike OLEDs, this type of display uses inorganic semiconductors, which tend to be more durable and do not easily degrade in time. This means that these displays can serve as a long-term investment. 

How do QLED Displays Operate?

QLED’s technology is an interesting topic to pay attention to when you have the different display types explained to you. And one thing you should thank for the innovation of this incredible technology is the giant company Samsung, which developed it for the world to use. 

Quantum dot technology involves nanoparticles (ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers) as the semiconductors for this type of display. This nanoparticle is also referred to as a quantum dot in this case. To give you a clearer image, the size of a nanoparticle is when you divide a strand of your hair by thousands. It’s so small that it may seem unbelievable. 

A color filter layer is a unique addition to this display ensemble, which helps ensure a high-quality viewing experience by auto-correcting the brightness and colors of images. This is a separate layer from its light source, which includes blue LED chips.

Another amazing tidbit about this technology is that the starting resource of image reproduction is white light. It changes its color once it passes through the color filter layer, which is then when different colors are produced and images are reproduced. 

5. Display Types Explained: Mini-LED Displays

Mini-LED displays are an excellent addition to this discussion. This is especially relevant if you want display types explained thoroughly to you. 

What are Mini-LED Displays?

Mini-LED displays, while may carry the term “mini” in their name, are not really the smallest among all displays. The size of this display is a good middle ground however, it is still sufficiently smaller than the traditional displays. 

One of the things that are noticeable with mini-LED displays is that their small size contributes to a better viewing experience for their users. Some of its most notable features include the following:

• Smart Features – Mini-LED displays feature IoT or The Internet of Things, which is an innovation that led many developments in smart devices today. It promises complete connectivity and revolutionizes convenience like never before. Under this incredible technology, there are different intelligent features that are integrated in the this display–one of which is the shape adaptive light control. 
• Advanced Operation – No one can deny the fact that mini-LED displays function better than standard LED screens. This advanced operation is primarily due to several characteristics that aid to a better display performance, including the following:
  • Better pixel control
  • Local dimming feature
  • Image enhancement
• Possible Blooming Effect – While indeed a revolutionary technology, one of the biggest downside of mini-LED displays comes in the form of the blooming effect. This pertains to the light spilling into areas of the screens where it should not be seen. The light spill is caused by overexerting efforts on true blacks and leads to awful contrast ratios. 

How do Mini-LED Displays Operate?

Learning how mini-LED displays operate helps to have display types explained better. Considering it is one of the newest technologies in the market, it’s not surprising that the technology caught the attention of industry and markets. 

Mini-LED screens function like the standard LED display because of its backlighting. The screens both use an LCD panel for their backlighting. However, its technology is more advanced and leads to better performance in the following aspects:

• Brightness levels
• Color accuracy
• Pixel density
• Equipped with more features (ex. Shape Adaptive Light Control)
• Smaller size

6. Display Types Explained: Micro-LED Displays

Micro-LED screens are one of the display types explained in this discussion. If you want to learn more about this kind of display, let’s start with the definition. 

What are Micro-LED Displays?

To have these different display types explained well, diving into what differentiates micro-LED from the mini-LED display is key to better understanding this screen. It is one of the advanced technologies that were developed by the industry for the revolution of displays. 

The term “micro” comes from the fact that these displays use microscopic size semiconductors, which allow the screens to be as small as they need to be. Epitaxy or these microscopic-sized LED chips are developed to be used and mounted on the panels. These small semiconductors help to have the following characteristics. 

• Incredible Image Quality – Micro-LED screens have incredible display quality because of their superior performance in several elements compared to other displays. Some of these aspects include the following:
  • Color gamut
  • Power efficiency
  • Screen brightness
• High Pixel Density – This display uses tiny pixels, which ensures that the device has a high density of pixels, leading to clearer and quality images.
• High Manufacture Cost – One major disadvantage to micro-LED screens is its expensive price tags and it comes from its high manufacturing costs. Since this display is often used in small digital devices, it takes a lot of effort to produce them. And the technology is not cheap too.

How do Micro-LED Displays Operate?

Micro-LED displays function similarly to OLEDs and this is the best way to have these display types explained better. In its operation, electroluminescence is a major process involved in how micro-LED works. The process enables these small semiconductors to emit colors different from each other based the their respective wavelengths. 

Micro-LED screens use a number of LED chips in one pixel, which is very different from OLEDs which only have the three RGB chips. It is this very construction that makes this type of display a league of its own, especially in terms of the brightness of the screen. 

Another element that supports micro-LED displays is the addition of the TFT backplane layer. This layer is responsible for managing the brightness of the pixels, transforming the operation of this type of display to be much more impressive. Some of the results of this construction are the following:

• Local dimming
• Color mixing technology
• Individual pixel control
• More accurate color reproduction
• Better brightness and luminance

7. Display Types Explained: Plasma Displays

Plasma displays should also be one of the display types explained to you. If you recall one of your science lessons, plasma is named a state of matter, along with solids and others. Plasma is a state of matter that possesses both negative and positive electrodes, making them highly reactive to electricity. 

One thing you should know about plasma displays though is that unlike the successes of OLED, QLEDS, mini-LEDs, and micro-LEDs, plasma displays start to be non-existent in the market because many manufacturers decided to stop producing them. Admittedly, plasma displays came after CRTs and LCDs and were even noted to perform better than the other two. The flat panel display quickly disappeared from the scene after OLEDs were introduced to the market, which is considered significantly way better than plasma displays. 

Where do you use specific types of displays?

With all of these display types explained to you, it can definitely be overwhelming, especially when deciding what type of display a specific device uses. Different displays have different purposes and you need to be able to identify which specific application works well for a specific display. 

Confusing? Yes, it can be confusing. With several incredible choices to consider, it can be equally frightening (You might just waste your money if you choose wrong). To give you a hint though, here are some of the popular devices that use the specific display types explained in this article. 

TVs (Television)

Display Choices: LCD, OLED, QLED

Remember the CRT televisions? They don’t exist now with the modern TVs reigning supreme. And they are often using LED-backlit LCD screens. However, for more advanced televisions with smarter features, expect OLED and QLED displays to be used. There are even times when you’ll see mini-LED and micro-LED too. 

Large Displays

Display Choices: OLED or QLED

Large displays have become popular in the marketing world today, whether it’s a spectacular outdoor billboard or an elegant LED video wall indoors. These massive displays became a favorite of event organizers and marketers in order to add grandness to their projects. 

For a gigantic display, putting it together requires the use of OLED or QLED panels, which can be put together for a large display, however massive you need them to be. 

Digital Signage

Display Choices: LED-backlit LCD Displays

For a thorough display types explained article, digital signage should also not be overlooked. While they’re not the most advanced, they are highly significant for businesses, both local and international. 

Digital signages are often made of LED-backlit LCD screens, since technically they don’t need complex features to do their job. They don’t even need trendy technology or even a high-quality image and pixel resolution. Basically, they just need the right backlighting. 

Smart Devices

Display Choices: OLED (Specifically AMOLED)

Smart devices are everywhere and for sure, you’d want to have the different display types explained to you. Smart devices are not only limited to smartphones and tablets since there are also devices dedicated for smart home usage. 

These modern devices use advanced technology in order to keep up with the demands of smart devices, including but not limited to the following:

• Clear and bright display
• Touchscreen function
• Extreme condition durability
• High usage

With all of these demands, OLEDs, specifically AMOLEDs, prove to be the ideal type of display for such devices. However, the choice of technology will still depend on the preference of the manufacturers. 

Laptops

Display Choices: LCD and OLED

Today’s laptops are made from LCDs and OLEDs, which are fortunately some of the display types explained to you earlier. The screens in laptops are not as complex as other modern devices like smart devices. Many just settle with a backlit LCD display to operate. Most of them use Twisted Nematic and In-plane Switching LCD displays.

However, there are special laptops that want to achieve higher image resolution. This is where OLEDs come to play from some manufacturers. Sooner or later, there will be laptops using mini-LED and micro-LED displays too. 

Digital Wearables

Display Choices: OLED (PMOLED)

Who will forget trendy digital wearables like smartwatches? Do you know that these devices are also part of the display types explained to you in this article?

The displays used for these devices are OLEDs, primarily due to their sizes. However, since their functionalities are not as complex and demanding as the majority of smart devices. PMOLED displays do a great job in supporting the features of these devices. However, in the near future, more will be explored about wearables and there will be an opportunity where AMOLEDs and micro-LEDs will be used for these types of devices. 

Conclusion

To have the different display types explained more thoroughly, compare the major displays in terms of function and operation. Considering innovation is still currently ongoing, more advanced types will surely be introduced to the market, giving users more options to consider. The current set of displays in the industry is already powerful and can help you achieve your viewing needs, whether it’s a simple event planning or a marketing strategy.