Sony LUMA Dimensional drawing

Product Information Manual
Sony Professional LCD Monitors

0 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
Preface

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors 1
Preface
From the advent of television broadcasting, CRT
displays have been the default choice for
monitoring video images in all areas of the
production chain - from acquisition, editing, and
playout at the broadcaster end, to the viewing and
enjoyment of content by the end user.
With the introduction of many new flat panel
display technologies, broadcasters and video
production staff are now confronted with a crucial
question - which display technology will replace
CRT and which technology should they invest in
next.
While LCD monitors have gained a considerable
amount of attention in many video production
areas, none have proven the true potential that
LCD technology can really offer.
This manual addresses Sony’s approach to this
issue, and why we offer the LUMATM Series of
professional LCD monitors as our solution.
By reading through this manual, you will
understand how SONY LUMA Series monitors will
benefit a variety of video production
environments, plus other professional areas
where LCD technology can fully be enjoyed. You
will also discover how this technology will co-exist
with the Sony BVM Series of CRT monitors, which
will remain the first choice for the highest-grade
monitoring applications.
We hope this manual serves as a valuable asset
in your LUMA Series sales activities.

2 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Current Display technologies at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2 The basic mechanisms of display devices -
CRT, LCD and Plasma technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The mechanism of a CRT monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Phosphors emit light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Additive Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Aperture Grille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Beam focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CRT monitors- in summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The mechanism of an LCD monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Color reproduced on an LCD monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Line conversion on an LCD monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Forming an image on the LCD pixel array. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
About LCD response time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
LCD monitors - in summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The mechanism of a Plasma Display Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Plasma displays - An array of tiny fluorescent lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The use of Ultraviolet rays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Electric discharge and forming a plasma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Brightness control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Color Reproduction on a plasma display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Plasma displays - in summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3 LCD Benefits in General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Flicker Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Convergence Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Resistant to magnetic fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Free of Geometric Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Free of Image Burn-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 4 A look into LUMA Servies vs. consumer LCD displays . . . . . . . . . . 20
LUMA Series vs. home LCD TVs - Interface flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
LUMA Series vs. home LCD TVs - faithful reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
LUMA Series vs. PC LCD displays -picture quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
LUMA Series vs. PC LCD displays - viewing angle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors 3
Table of Contents
Chapter 5 LUMA monitors in professional applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
LUMA Series monitor applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Wide viewing angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
X-Algorithm - the highest quality I/P conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The uniqueness of X-Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Three choices of I/P conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
- X-Algorithm with no motion detect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
- Line Doubling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Precise LCD driver bit resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Bright panel performance even in bright environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Anti-reflection coating (AR layer). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The benefits of reduced reflection characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Accurate white balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Accurate color reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Flexible color temperature adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Gamma control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 6 A deeper look into LCD’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Liquid Crystal - a unique substance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Liquid Crystal characteristics used in an LCD device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The characteristics of light and LCD polarized panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
-The characteristics of light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
-Polarized panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
-The mechanism of controlling light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors 5
1
Current Display technologies at a glance
The following chart compares key purchase
decision parameters between CRT, Plasma, and
LCD (LUMA Series) monitors. While the LUMA
Series monitors show better results for most
parameters, some are marked inferior to CRT and
PDP. These parameters are continually evolving
in the LUMA Series and, with current models,
have surpassed the levels suitable for use in
typical broadcast and professional picture -
monitoring applications.
At the same time, for top-end monitoring
applications where such parameters may be
extremely sensitive, Sony continues to offer the
BVM Series of CRT monitors.
Table 1-1. CRT, Plasma and LCD Comparison
Note:
Some ratings in the above chart may change depending on the lighting environment of where the monitor is used.
Also, please note that these comparisons are ratings as of 2005/03/01.
CRT LCD PDP
Mechanism to Emit Light Electron Beam stimulation Backlight control using
LCD shutter
Electric discharge of xenon
gas
Luminance Flux Control Beam intensity Opening of pixels Number of times electric
discharge occurs
Light source Phosphor Backlight Phosphor
Display method Line scanning (variable) Fixed pixel array Fixed pixel array
Pixel Pitch
Brightness
Contrast
Black Reproduction
Image Burn-in Tolerance
Response Time
Viewing Angle ~
Horizontal Resolution
Convergence
Geometric Distortion
Characteristics
Resistance to Magnetic
Fields
Flicker Characteristics ~
Color Reproduction
Life Span
Weight
Depth
Power Consumption
Current Display technologies at a glance

6 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
2
The basic mechanisms of display devices
This section provides you with a general overview
of some common display devices available on the
market today. It describes the basic mechanisms
of a CRT monitor, LCD monitor, and a Plasma
display. Each display device has its unique
mechanism and, therefore, its characteristics are
fundamentally different from others.
Recognizing these differences will lead you on to
an understanding of why LCD technology was
chosen for the LUMA Series of professional
monitors.
The mechanism of a CRT monitor
The Cathode Ray Tube, commonly known by the
acronym CRT, is the most historically used display
system and therefore the first best to understand.
A CRT displays pictures by emitting light from its
phosphors, as a result of stimulating these by
electronic beams. Although the black and white
CRT is the easiest to understand, we will now
consider the mechanism of a color CRT, since
most other display technologies available today
are designed to reproduce color images.
Phosphors emit light
As mentioned above, the CRT monitor
reproduces images by stimulating phosphor
materials.
Inside the CRT tube, there is an inner phosphor
panel situated in front of the CRT’s glass faceplate
(Trinitron’s cylindrical screen). The phosphor
panel appears black, however, a white powdery
substance can be seen by observing it closely.
This powdery substance is the phosphor*
material, a chemical coating applied to the metal
phosphor panel. A unique characteristic of
phosphor material is that it emits light with a
specific color when electrically stimulated.
* In reality, a color CRT uses three types of phosphor
material on its phosphor panel to emit red light, green
light, and blue light, respectively.
Electron Beams
(Red, Green, and Blue)
Aperture Grill
Electron Gun
Phosphor Panel
Figure 2-1. The Trinitron CRT
R
The basic mechanisms of display devices - CRT, LCD, and Plasma technology

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ7
The basic mechanisms of display devices
Scanning
An electronic stimulus is applied to the phosphors
by shooting an electron beam at the area that
should light up. The beam, which is driven by
supplying high voltage to the electron gun, is
steered across the phosphor panel from top to
bottom, hitting one point at a time. This is called
'scanning'. The electron beam scans the
phosphor panel at the field or frame rate of the
input video signal.
Additive Mixing
As earlier mentioned, in a color CRT, three beams
are used in combination with three types of
phosphors, which emit either red (R), green (G),
or blue (B) light when stimulated. The scan
pattern of each electron beam is accurately
controlled so the beam hits its corresponding
phosphor - R, G, or B. The phosphors, in turn,
react to the energy provided by these beams and
emit light in proportion to the intensity of the
beams.
Each beam’s intensity is controlled according to
the R, G, and B video signals supplied to the
electron gun. Accordingly, the R, G, and B
phosphors each emit light in proportion to the
input video signal’s R, G, and B components. To
the human eye, these R, G, and B lights appear as
one ray of light, as a mixture of the three colors.
This principle is known as 'additive mixing’ (see
Figure 2-3). In additive mixing, most hues visible
to the human eye can be composed using the
three primary colors: red, green, and blue. It is
important to note that all other color display
systems, regardless of their operating
mechanisms, also use this principle* to produce
color.
R
G
G
B
R
G
B
R
G
BB
R
G
B
Figure 2-2.
Electron gun
Beam
Phosphor
Green
Blue
Yellow Red
White
Cyan Magenta
Figure 2-3. Additive Mixing
Video
p
roces
s
Light
G
G
G
B
B
B
R
R
R
G
si
g
na
l
G
B
si
g
na
l
B
R
si
g
na
l
R
C
CCD tube
CCD t b
CCD tube
CCD tube
C
CCD tube
CCD tube
Figure 2-4. * Compared to the color CRT,
color cameras use a reverse
process and convert the captured
images into R, G, and B electric signals.

8 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
2
The basic mechanisms of display devices
Aperture Grille
In order for the three electron beams to generate
light in accordance with the input R, G, and B
video signals, they must scan their phosphors
very precisely. To achieve precise scanning, two
key technologies are used: the 'Aperture Grille’
and 'Beam Convergence’.
The Aperture Grille is used so that the R, G, and B
electron beams scan only their corresponding
phosphors, i.e., the grille prevents the electron
beams from hitting the incorrect phosphors. This
is extremely important since the beam
representing the green signal component should
only hit the green phosphor, which is the same
case for the red and blue components.
As shown in Figure 2-5, the three electron beams
also need to cross each other when they pass
through the Aperture Grille in order to land on their
associated phosphors. This is called 'beam
convergence’, which is adjusted at the electron
gun’s convergence plates by applying the
appropriate electric field and 'bending’ the
direction of the beam.
Beam focus
One other key technology worth understanding is
beam focus. While electron beams will generally
tend to diffuse in a CRT monitor, the R, G, and B
beam diameters must be kept as small as
possible in order to pass through the narrow slits
of the Aperture Grille. The electron gun has a
focus lens, which functions to electrically tune the
electron beams and make their diameters small
enough to pass through the Grille.
CRT monitors- in summary
CRT displays, used from the advent of television
broadcast, have undergone decades of
refinements to reach the picture performance they
provide today. The pictures reproduced on CRT
monitors/televisions thus represent a fundamental
and absolute reference for judging the picture
quality that newer display technologies should
challenge and that the Sony LUMA Series
monitors closely approach.
Electron Gun
Aperture
Grile Front
Screen
Convergence
Plates
Figure 2-5.
Focus
Lens

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ9
The basic mechanisms of display devices
The mechanism of an LCD monitor
Compared to CRT monitors, LCD monitors use an
entirely different mechanism for displaying
pictures. While the LCD device itself could be
viewed as playing a similar role to a CRT
phosphor, it actually works in a very different way.
CRT phosphors 'glow’ or emit light while LCD
devices only control (or filter) the amount of light
that passes through them. The light source of an
LCD monitor is a fluorescent light placed behind
the LCD device. What the LCD device does, is
determine the amount of light that should be
directed to the face of the monitor.
LCD devices consist of a number of small pixels,
all of which operate in a similar way to a camera’s
lens iris. For example, an XGA LCD has a pixel
array of 1024 x 768, or 1024 x 768 tiny irises*. By
applying the appropriate drive voltage according
to the input signal, these tiny irises either open or
close to reproduce the images that must be
displayed.
The LUMA Series monitors use wide aperture
LCDs, meaning that the widest opening (aperture)
for each pixel is very wide. This alone contributes
to effective use of the backlight source for the
reproduction of bright pictures.
While many systems place the light back along
the edges of the screen, the backlight of LUMA
monitors is placed right behind the LCD device -
another element making them so bright.
* In reality, LCDs use a liquid crystal substance,
sandwiched by two polarized panels to determine the
amount of light that passes through each pixel. Refer
to 'A deeper look into LCD’s’ (page 30) for more
information. The iris analogy is used for simplicity.
Figure 2-6.
R
G
B
G
B
R
R
G
B
G
B
R
R
G
B
G
B
R
B
R
G
R
G
B
B
R
G
R
G
B
B
R
G
R
G
B

10 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
2
The basic mechanisms of display devices
Color reproduced on an LCD monitor
Trinitron®CRTs use RGB phosphors to display
color pictures. Similarly, LCD panels use three
sub-pixels as one set to reproduce color. The
three sub-pixels have either a red, green, or blue
color filter on their front surface to reproduce the
RGB components of the color signal supplied to
the monitor. Simply put, when an LCD monitor
receives a color signal, each RGB signal
component is used to control the opening of only
the pixels corresponding with the same R, G, or B
color filter.
Line conversion on an LCD monitor
CRTs scan the same number of lines as the input
video signal. In contrast, LCD monitors have a
'fixed’ number of lines or fixed number of vertical
pixels. For this reason, two conversion
processes, generally known as I/P conversion
and scaling, are required to map video signals to
match the LCD’s vertical pixel count.
LCD devices do not operate in interlace mode - all
images must be displayed as progressive frames.
Accordingly, interlace video signals must first be
converted to progressive signals. This is called
I/P (Interlace-to-Progressive) conversion. The line
count of these signals must then be matched to
the LCD’s vertical pixel count using up or down
conversion. This is known as scan conversion.
It is extremely critical to use the correct algorithm
in these processes to maintain image quality,
such as the unique Sony X-Algorithm* adopted in
the LUMA product line.
* X-Algorithm is used only in the separate type LUMA
monitors.
3
5
7
9
11
1
ODD Field
2
4
6
8
10
12
EVEN Field
Interlace Fields Progressive Frame
Figure 2-7.

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ11
The basic mechanisms of display devices
Forming an image on the LCD pixel array
CRTs scan their phosphors point-by-point, from
left to right and top to bottom of the screen.
Therefore at any given time, only one point on
each R, G, and B phosphor will emit light. LCD
monitors, in contrast, do not use 'scanning’ to
display pictures. The entire image or frame is
displayed on the screen at once for the full vertical
frequency period. This difference is somewhat
similar to the difference between tube camera
imagers and CCDs - where tubes scan the
imaging plane point-by-point, as opposed to
CCDs, which capture the entire picture frame at
once.
About LCD response time
CRT phosphors emit light at the moment they are
hit by their electron beams, so the response time
of a CRT monitor has never become an issue.
With LCD monitors, however, the issue of
response time can be a concern. The response
time of an LCD is the time required to open (or
close) the pixel’s aperture to the desired opening
from when the drive voltage was applied. Slow
response time in conventional or non-professional
LCD monitors can result in picture blur across
fast-moving objects.
The response time of the LUMA Series monitors is
extremely short due to the use of highly advanced
LCD technology. This makes them particularly
suitable for professional picture monitoring.
LCD monitors - in summary
Since first used in simple numeric and character
displays, LCD technology has come a long way in
terms of picture quality, reliability, and cost. By
nature, LCD displays are also immune to the many
undesired effects unavoidable in CRT or Plasma
displays. This manual describes these in detail,
leading your understanding as to why LCD has
become the preferred choice for a majority of
professional video production applications.
Formimg an image on a CRT Formimg an image on an LCD
Figure 2-8.
CRT beams
LCD backlight

12 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
2
The basic mechanisms of display devices
The mechanism of a Plasma Display Panel
Plasma display panels have the characteristics of
both CRT and LCD displays, in addition to some
unique characteristics of their own. These
similarities and differences can be summarized
as follows:
1. As with CRTs, Plasma display panels emit
light by stimulating phosphor material.
2. As with LCDs, Plasma display panels use a
fixed pixel array to form an image, and
require I/P conversion and scaling process.
3. Unlike either of these devices, Plasma
display panels discharge a gas (in 'plasma’
state) in order to convert video signals into
light.
By keeping these three facts in mind, the
approach to understanding the mechanism of a
Plasma display panel should be an easy one.
Plasma displays - An array of tiny fluorescent lights
As earlier described, LCD panels consist of a
number of small pixels, each of which operate like
a camera’s lens iris (refer to page 9). In contrast,
Plasma display panels consist of an array of tiny
cells that generate plasma, a state of gas
separated into ions and electrons. Similar to an
LCD device, a Plasma display’s resolution is
determined by the number of cells it has in its
array, i.e., an XGA Plasma display consists of
1024 x 768 cells.
A significant difference between the two is the
way they generate images. Pixels in an LCD
panel control the amount of light (from the
backlight) that should pass through them to
create the corresponding image.
In contrast, Plasma displays do not use a
backlight, but instead, each cell in the array emits
light on its own. The mechanism used to produce
light in each tiny cell is similar to the way a typical
fluorescent tube generates light.
RGBRGBRGBRGB
RGBBR
GBRGB
RGBRGBRGBR RGB
RGBRG GBR
GBRGBRGB
Figure 2-9. Plasma displays are
like an array of tiny fluorescent lights

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ13
The basic mechanisms of display devices
The use of Ultraviolet rays
In CRTs, the R, G, and B phosphors emit light by
the physical impact of the electronic beam hitting
the phosphors. The phosphors convert the
physical energy of the electrons to a different
energy, known to us as light.
Plasma displays also use phosphor material to
emit light, but in a different manner.
Each tiny cell in a plasma display is coated along
the inside with a phosphor material, which
produces either red, green, or blue light when
stimulated.
An important fact to note is that when exposed to
ultraviolet rays (invisible light), phosphor material
converts (the energy of) these rays to viewable
light (visible light). The color of the visible light
produced is governed by the type of phosphor
material used. This energy conversion - from
ultraviolet rays (invisible) to visible light - is the
central mechanism enabling the cells of a Plasma
display to produce color images.
In reality, ultraviolet rays are produced in Plasma
display cells by discharging a gas (usually xenon
gas) concealed within each cell. Each cell is
sandwiched by several electrodes, positioned on
the top and bottom of the cell, to carry out this role.
When voltage is applied to these electrodes in the
appropriate sequence, a current starts running
through the gas, discharging it (see Figure 2-10),
which in turn produces ultraviolet waves. The
phosphor material coated within the cell is then
exposed to these ultraviolet rays, producing R, G,
or B light according to the phosphor type.
electrode
Light
Figure 2-10. The red, green and blue cells of a plasma display
Phosphor
Xenon gas
Phosphor
Xenon gas
Phosphor
Xenon gas

14 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
2
The basic mechanisms of display devices
Electric discharge and forming a plasma
Electricity (or electrons) flows through metal
materials by applying voltage to the two opposite
ends of the metal (using a battery or AC source).
We refer to this as an electric 'current’, which is
the result of electrons (which exist in a metal’s
normal state), being pushed from one end of the
metal to the other by the power of a battery or AC
source.
With gases however, this is not the case. In
normal state, the atoms in a gas have no electrical
charge, which means the gas cannot conduct
electricity. An electrically charged particle or
'carrier’ must exist to create an electric flow or
'current’.
However, a gas is able to conduct electricity when
a plasma state is established within it. The easiest
way to describe a plasma is a gas with its atoms
separated into ions and electrons. Ions have a
positive charge and electrons have a negative
charge, and both particles act as 'electrical
carriers’. Once a plasma is established, the gas
becomes capable of conducting electricity, just
like a piece of metal wire.
When voltage is applied to a gas in plasma state,
a current (an electrical flow) is generated, which is
accompanied by the emission of some sort of light
either in the visible or invisible spectrum.
In the case of a Plasma display, the gas
concealed in each cell is electrically charged to
establish a plasma state - which enables a current
to flow through it when voltage is applied. This
process of establishing a plasma state and
conducting electricity through a gas is called
'electric discharge’.
Plasma displays specifically use xenon gas,
which emits ultraviolet rays when discharged.
Brightness control
In Plasma displays, the brightness of a cell is
controlled by the number of times it is made to
flash (or emit light) due to electric discharge.
Simply put, for bright areas of an image, cells are
discharged at a high frequency, while cells
displaying dark areas are discharged less and do
not flash as much within the given frame rate
period.
Color Reproduction on a plasma display
CRTs use RGB phosphors and LCDs use color
filters to display color pictures. Similarly, Plasma
displays use three R, G, and B sub-pixels as one
set to reproduce color. As mentioned earlier,
each sub-pixel has a phosphor material coating,
which - when exposed to ultraviolet rays - emits
either red, green, or blue light to produce the
required color. (see Figure 2-10)
Plasma displays - in summary
Since their introduction, Plasma displays have
established a position in consumer and industrial
applications for their superb brightness and
contrast ratio. However, they are not the preferred
choice for professional video production
applications due to their insufficient tolerance to
image burn-in when displaying still images.
Considering this fact, and the purpose of this
manual, we have avoided describing Plasma
technology hereafter.
Phosphor
electrode
Xenon gas
Ion
Electron
Figure 2-11. Discharging a plasma display's cell
Light

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ15
The basic mechanisms of display devices

16 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
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LCD Benefits in General
The use of LCDs in the LUMA Series monitors
eliminates many concerns inherent in CRTs. The
following describes how these benefit
professional picture monitoring applications.
Here, we have intentionally dismissed Plasma
technology from the discussion, due to its
insufficient tolerance (image burn-in) for use in
production and broadcast applications.
Flicker Free
In today’s production environments, a variety of
signal formats - each with a different frame rate -
must be handled. The current 625/50i signal is
known to exhibit a considerable amount of flicker.
Formats operating at slower rates, including
24PsF can exhibit even more flicker when
displayed at their raw frame rates.
Compared to CRTs, LCD monitors are, by nature,
easier on the human eye. Plus, with a mechanism
that displays the entire picture frame at once, they
do not cause flicker either, which can cause
fatigue on the human eye.
This is a huge benefit in areas where vast amounts
of acquisition footage must be checked or when
logging material into news server systems, where
operators must keep their eyes on the same
display over a period of time.
Convergence Free
With CRTs, accurate color reproduction can only
be achieved by converging the three R, G, and B
beams to pass the aperture or shadow mask grille
and accurately hit their associated phosphors.
Although convergence is aligned to be precise in
the screen center, this alignment can slightly be
inaccurate near the four corners of the screen.
This is because the R, G, and B beams must travel
towards the screen corners at different angles
both vertically and horizontally. In such cases, the
R, G, and B phosphors will not emit light in
accurate proportion to the R, G, and B input
signals, resulting in a shift in color reproduction.
A typical example is when a white digital clock is
“keyed’ into the corner of the screen, introducing
color smear on the edges of the digits.
To avoid this effect in CRTs, different
convergence alignments must be applied to each
area of the screen - however, this technology is
only available on top-end CRT monitors such as
the Sony BVM Series.
LCD displays do not use beams and therefore are
free from convergence alignments. Instead they
use fixed pixels, each with R, G, and B sub-pixels
so R, G, and B alignment is correct at all times.
Aperture
Grille
Deflection
Yoke
( Top of the CRT )
Beam
GBR
Figure 3-1. Horizontal mis-convergence in a CRT
LCD Benefits in General

Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitorｓ17
LCD Benefits in General
Resistant to magnetic fields
CRT color reproduction can be affected by
terrestrial magnetism. This is because CRT beam
paths can react to even weak magnetic fields,
causing a shift in where the R, G, and B beams
land on the phosphors.
A typical example of this effect can be observed
when using a perfectly aligned CRT monitor in an
OB van. OB vans can be parked in different
directions, which can change the effect of
terrestrial magnetism. If the van is parked in a
different direction from when the CRT was
aligned, a color shift will be seen in the four
corners of the screen. The larger the CRT screen,
the larger the color shift. Needless to say, a
similar effect will be seen when placing a CRT
close to any device that produces a magnetic
field, including large speakers.
As with convergence, LCD displays are
completely free from terrestrial magnetism effects
since they do not use beams.
Figure 3-2. An example of color shifted due to convergence misalignment
Figure 3-3. The affect of magnetic fields on a CRT

18 Product Information Manual Sony Professional LCD Monitors
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LCD Benefits in General
Free of Geometric Distortion
The“raw’ scanning pattern of a CRT monitor is
such that a “pincushion’-shaped picture frame
would be displayed on the screen - as shown in
Figure 3-4 below. This is because today’s CRTs
are made to be as flat as possible, while
technically, the best scanning characteristics
would result from a CRT screen with a curved
surface.
To compensate for this pincushion nature or
geometric discrepancy between the beam scan
and the screen’s flatness, many technologies
have been developed to align the beam scan to
the CRT’s rectangular screen. As shown in
Figure 3-4, the areas in the middle of the screen
must be expanded to fit the CRT screen. This
naturally results in the picture content, especially
along the vertical edges of the screen, being
geometrically distorted. For example, circular
objects displayed in the corners of the screen will
tend to appear as oval-shaped objects, and
characters scrolled across the screen will look
wider near the screen edges compared to the
screen center.
In contrast, LCD displays use fixed pixels and
therefore do not have geometric distortion. This is
important when using the display as a monitor for
creating graphics, titles, and logos that will be
placed near the edges of a display.
Figure 3-4. Pincushion shaped frame
Image area
Figure 3-5. Geometric Distortion