Refresh
The process in which the monitor repaints an image.

Refresh Rate
The rate at which a monitor repaints an image. A low vertical refresh rate (e.g. 60Hz) produces visible flicker. For most people, flicker cannot be seen above 75Hz.

Resolution
The density of pixels available to create sharpness in the screen image. For example, a monitor with a resolution of 1024 x 768 has 1024 pixels running horizontally and 768 pixels running vertically for a total of 786,432 pixels available to create an image. Each pixel consists of a red, green or blue sub-element to allow different colours to be displayed.

Saturation Voltage
RMS voltage required to turn fluid to 90% ON.

Scaling
An operation performed by a digital signal processor to fill the screen with an image not being displayed in the native resolution of the LCD panel.

Scan
The process by which an image is formed on the screen. The electron beams excites the phosphor on the monitor screen dot by dot and line by line. The faster the scanning the quicker the screen will be refreshed, thus reducing flicker.

Shadow Mask
A perforated metal mask located behind the faceplate in the CRT.

SOG
Sync On Green. Video transmission protocol where composite sync information is carried on the same cable as the Green Picture Signal.

Stripe Pitch
The horizontal distance in millimetres between phosphor stripes of the same colour on monitors with aperture grille technology. A monitor with smaller stripe pitch produces a higher resolution image.

Subpixel
A red, blue, or green liquid crystal shutter. One subpixel of each colour forms a pixel capable of displaying as many as 16.7 million colours.

SuperClear?
A type of CRT using high contrast phosphor achieved by using coloured filters incorporated into each phosphor dot, allowing higher light transmission faceplate glass to be used than conventional CRTs. SuperClear offers up to 30% more brightness and contrast.

SuperClearMVA (Multi-Domain Vertical Alignment)
Combines SuperClear screen technology digital with a liquid crystal technology in which each subpixel is subdivided into four regions in which the liquid crystal molecules align at angles to each other. The advantages of MVA are wider viewing angles and faster video response than TN or IPS.

SVGA
Video Standard with resolution 800x600. Stands for Super Video Graphics Array.

Swim
An image should be rock-steady on the monitor screen. Swim, like the similar characteristics jitter and drift, is a measure of how much an on-screen image wavers over a given time.

TCO
Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees' monitor radiation standard having more stringent electromagnetic field levels than those defined in MPR-II.

TCP-IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

TFT
Thin Film Transistor = switching method for individual pixels in LCD's.

Threshold Voltage
RMS voltage required to turn fluid to 10% ON.

TMDS
Transition Minimised Differential Signalling digital protocol proposed by Silicon Image for large LCDs with their propriety name 'Panel Link'.

Transmissive
An LCD which does not have a reflector or transflector laminated to the rear polariser. A backlight must be used with this type of LCD configuration.

Triad
An arrangement of phosphors in a shadow mask CRT. A triad contains three phosphor filled dots-one red, one green, and one blue-arranged in a triangular fashion. Each of the three electron guns is dedicated to one of these colours ( for example, the red gun excites only a triad's red phosphor dot). As the guns scan the screen, each active triad produces a single colour, which depends on the combination of excited colour dots and how active each dot is (Roost, 1991).

Twisted Nematic (TN)
A type of liquid crystal in which the alignment surface, and therefore the liquid crystal molecules, is oriented 90 degrees from each surface of glass.