Nailing down the exact launch date of the very first colour LCD monitor for the PC isn’t easy. But one of the earliest was certainly the NANAO F-1020 from Eizo. Launched way back in 1993, the F-1020 spanned a mighty 10.4 inches and rocked no fewer than 640x480 pixels. Count ‘em!
As it happens, by Eizo’s own estimations, it was a sales flop. Yet here we are nearly 30 years later drowning in LCD panels. The technology absolutely owns the PC monitor market. But is everything about to change? The arrival of the awesome new Alienware OLED gaming panel (see APC 506 for the review, where it scored a perfect 5/5) certainly suggests so.
At last, per-pixel lighting is actually a thing for the PC and not just smartphones and TVs. Plus far faster response, not to mention much better pixel response, and... we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The reality is that OLED isn’t going to assimilate the monitor market overnight. What’s more, LCD technology still has plenty more to give.
So, yes, the story of the PC monitor in 2022 is likely to be one of a technological turning point, the beginning of the end for LCD panels. But even if that is the overarching narrative, there are plenty of other subplots to enjoy, including 8K awesomeness, ridiculous refresh rates, and a whole lot more besides.
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. LCD is a terrible technology for a full-colour display. Truly, it could hardly be less suitable. The basics involve shining light through a small aperture containing liquid crystals, the latter changing orientation in response to an electrical current.
That enables light to either pass through or be blocked. Put three of these tiny, independently controlled “subpixel” windows together – one red, one green, and one blue respectively – and you have a system that, in theory, can render any colour. The critical phrase here is “in theory”. Because in practice,
