Tech Glossary
Acoustic Pulse Recognition

Touch at each position on the glass generates a unique sound. Four tiny transducers attached to the edges of the touch screen glass pick up the sound of the touch. The sound is then digitized by the controller and compared to a list of prerecorded sounds for every position on the glass. The cursor position is instantly updated to the touch location. The touch screen itself is made of ordinary glass, giving it good durability and optical clarity. It is usually able to function with scratches and dust on the screen with good accuracy. The technology is also well suited to displays that are physically larger. A motionless finger cannot be detected. (See Single-Touch)

AMOLED

(active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio is an image projection attribute that describes the proportional relationship between the width of an image and its height.

Backlight

Form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays(LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light themselves (unlike for example Cathode ray tube (CRT) displays), they need illumination (ambient light or a special light source) to produce a visible image. Backlights illuminate the LCD from the side or back of the display panel, unlike frontlights, which are placed in front of the LCD. Backlights are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions, and in computer displays and LCD televisions to produce light in a manner similar to a CRT display.

Brand

OEM monitor manufacturer.

Capacitive

A capacitive touch screen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the screen’s electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch. The location is then sent to the controller for processing. Unlike a resistive touch screen, one cannot use a capacitive touch screen through most types of electrically insulating material, such as gloves; one requires a special capacitive stylus, or a special-application glove with an embroidered patch of conductive thread passing through it and contacting the user’s fingertip. This disadvantage especially affects usability in consumer electronics, such as touch tablet PCs and capacitive smartphones in cold weather.(See Dynamic-Touch)

CCFL

a cold cathode is a cathode used within nixie tubes, gas discharge lamps, discharge tubes, and some types of vacuum tube which is not electrically heated by the circuit to which it is connected.

Cloud Computing

is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network (typically the Internet).

Desktop

17”-30” small format monitor with built in stand.

Desktop Digital Sinage

17”-30” small format electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages.

Digital Sinage/Kiosk

Guard your information display from public abuse and other environmental elements.

Dispersive Signal Technology (DST)

This system uses sensors to detect the Piezoelectricity in the glass that occurs due to a touch. Complex algorithms then interpret this information and provide the actual location of the touch. The technology claims to be unaffected by dust and other outside elements, including scratches. Since there is no need for additional elements on screen, it also claims to provide excellent optical clarity. Also, since mechanical vibrations are used to detect a touch event, any object can be used to generate these events, including fingers and stylus. A downside is that after the initial touch the system cannot detect a motionless finger. (See Single-Touch)

Display Performance Measurements

The performance of a monitor is measured by the following parameters:

  • Luminance is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2 also called a Nit).
  • Aspect ratios is the ratio of the horizontal length to the vertical length. Monitors usually have the aspect ratio 4:3, 5:4, 16:10 or 16:9.
  • Viewable image size is usually measured diagonally, but the actual widths and heights are more informative since they are not affected by the aspect ratio in the same way. For CRTs, the viewable size is typically 1 in (25 mm) smaller than the tube itself.
  • Display resolution is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. Maximum resolution is limited by dot pitch.
  • Dot pitch is the distance between subpixels of the same color in millimeters. In general, the smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the picture will appear.
  • Refresh rate is the number of times in a second that a display is illuminated. Maximum refresh rate is limited by response time.
  • Response time is the time a pixel in a monitor takes to go from active (white) to inactive (black) and back to active (white) again, measured in milliseconds. Lower numbers mean faster transitions and therefore fewer visible image artifacts.
  • Contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the monitor is capable of producing.
  • Power consumption is measured in watts.
  • Delta E Color accuracy is measured in delta-E; the lower the delta-E, the more accurate the colour representation. A delta-E of below 1 is imperceptible to the human eye. Delta-E’s of 2 to 4 are considered good and require a sensitive eye to spot the difference.

Viewing angle is the maximum angle at which images on the monitor can be viewed, without excessive degradation to the image. It is measured in degrees horizontally and vertically.

Display Protection

LCD screen protection maximizes your investment by protecting your LCD display. These polycarbonate filters are especially designed to protect your LCD display surface from dust, dirt, or a light accidental touch. The liquid crystal display pixels making up your computer screen are easily crushed by dull poking or cut sharp objects such as pens, and can be scratched by using paper towels to wipe off dust. Utilizing an LCD accessory like these screen protectors is an affordable and worthwhile investment.

Dual Touch

Dual-touch technology can only resolve two inputs at a time. See Optical imaging. Gestures can resolve complex W7 Gestures; pinch , expand, rotate, swipe, scroll, constant touch.

Dynamic Touch

Features a durable surface capacitive touch system. 350+ million touch activations. Industry best 93% optics. 9H (hardness), hard coating for vandal proof, scratch resistant surface. Medical glove touch capable. Anti bacterial technology, killing bacteria on contact. EMI environment scanning controller reduces possible noise for better accuracy.

Edge-LEDs

This method of back-lighting allows LED-backlit displays to be extremely thin. The light is diffused uniformly across the screen by a special panel.

Education

Keep your school as healthy as possible and clean from bacteria with this easy to clean screen protector.

Embedded PC

Embedded systems contain processing cores that are typically either microcontrollers or digital signal processors (DSP).[4] The key characteristic, however, is being dedicated to handle a particular task. They may require very powerful processors and extensive communication.

Expansion Slot

The expansion card (also expansion board, adapter card or accessory card) in computing is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a computer motherboard or backplane to add functionality to a computer system via the expansion bus.

Gestures

A gesture is an action, typically a movement of a user’s finger on a Touchpad or Touch screen interface, that is recognized by a device to perform a specified function. The functions associated with a gesture are customizable and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of a device or application. As human interfaces become more intelligent and intuitive, more and more gestures can be used to control device applications. Examples: Pinch , expand, rotate etc…

Healthcare

Protect your displays from harsh chemicals used for anti-bacterial sterilization of LCD’s in all areas of your hospital and or clinic.

High Bright Monitor

Also known as a sunlight readable monitor or VHB (very high brightness) monitor is a computer monitor designed to operate in very bright environments, for example in broad daylight. High brightness monitors are typically used commercially in a kiosk stand for out-of-home advertising.

Infrared (IR)

IR uses an array of X-Y infrared LED and photodetector pairs around the edges of the screen to detect a disruption in the pattern of LED beams. These LED beams cross each other in vertical and horizontal patterns. This helps the sensors pick up the exact location of the touch. A major benefit of such a system is that it can detect essentially any input including a finger, gloved finger, stylus or pen. It is generally used in outdoor applications and point of sale systems, which can’t rely on a conductor (such as a bare finger) to activate the touch screen. Unlike capacitive touch screens, infrared touch screens do not require any patterning on the glass, which increases durability and optical clarity of the overall system. IR is capable of 6+ points of touch or Multi-Touch with complex W7 gestures.

Interactive

Allowing or relating to continuous two-way transfer of information between a user and the central point of a communication system, such as a computer or television.

Kiosk

An interactive computer terminal available for public use, as one with Internet access or site-specific.

Large Format

32”-plus monitor.

Large Format Digital Signage

32”-plus electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages.

LCD

Short for liquid-crystal display. A low-power, flat-panel display used in many digital devices to display numbers or images. It is made of a liquid containing crystals that are affected by electric current, sandwiched between filtering layers of glass or plastic. LCDs do not produce light of their own; instead, when electric current is passed through the material, the molecules of the “liquid crystal” twist so that they either reflect or transmit light from an external source.

LED

Light-emitting diode: a semiconductor diode that emits light when conducting current and is used in electronic equipment, especially for displaying readings on digital watches, calculators, etc.

LED-Backlit LCD

An LED-backlit LCD display is a flat panel display that uses LED backlighting instead of the cold cathode (CCFL) backlighting used in other LCD displays. While not an LED display, televisions using this display are called “LED TV” by some manufacturers and suppliers.[1] The use of LED backlighting allows a thinner panel, lower power consumption, better heat dissipation, a brighter display, and better contrast levels.[1] LED backlit LCD TVs are using the same TFT LCD technologies as a CCFL backlighted LCD TVs. Picture quality is primary based on TFT LCD technology independent on backlight type. LED backlighting in color screens comes in two flavors: white LED backlights and RGB LED backlights.[1] White LEDs are used most often in notebooks and desktop screens, and in virtually all mobile LCD screens. A white LED is typically a blue LED with broad spectrum yellow phosphor to give the impression of white light. Since the spectral curve peaks at yellow, it is a poor match to the transmission peaks of the red and green color filters of the LCD. This causes the red and green primaries to shift toward yellow, reducing the color gamut of the display.

LG

LG Display Solutions, high quality, OEM, display manufacturer & partner. Commercial display solutions Sharp: Sharp Display Solutions, high quality, OEM, display manufacturer & partner. (Commercial display solutions)

Monitor

A monitor or display(also called screen or visual display unit) is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure. The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) thin panel, while older monitors use a cathode ray tube.

Multi-Touch

In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface’s (trackpad or touch screen) ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface. This plural-point awareness is often used to implement advanced functionality such as pinch to zoom or activating predefined programs. In an effort of disambiguation or marketing classification some companies further breakdown the various definitions of multi-touch. An example of this is 3M defining multi-touch as a touch-screen’s ability to register three or more distinct positions.

NEC

NEC Display Solutions, high quality, OEM, display manufacturer & partner. Commercial display solutions Samsung: Samsung Display Solutions, high quality, OEM, display manufacturer & partner.  (Commercial display solutions)

Optical Imaging

Two or more image sensors are placed around the edges (mostly the corners) of the screen. A touch shows up as a shadow and each pair of cameras can then be pinpointed to locate the touch or even measure the size of the touching object This technology is growing in popularity, due to its scalability, versatility, and affordability, especially for larger units. Optical imaging is capable of dual-touch with W7 gestures.

OPS

The open pluggable specification (OPS) helps standardize the design and development of digital signage devices and pluggable media players. Intel created the OPS to address digital signage market fragmentation and simplify device installation, usage, maintenance and upgrades. The OPS enables digital signage manufacturers to deploy interchangeable systems faster and in higher volumes, while lowering costs for development and implementation. Installing digital signage equipment based on Intel® architecture helps you implement scalable digital signage applications that can network easily with other equipment. This simplifies interoperability and application upgrades designed to meet the digital signage requirements of individual customers, while helping to future-proof technology investments.

PCoIP

Desktop virtualization (sometimes called client virtualization), as a concept, separates a personal computer desktop environment from a physical machine using the client–server model of computing. Virtual desktop infrastructure, sometimes referred to as virtual desktop interface (VDI) is the server computing model.

POS

Point-of-sale; point-of-sales. Used for retail.

Privacy Screen

An accessory to decrease the viewing angle of a monitor, preventing it from being viewed from the side. Healthcare, Financial & Education.

Projected Capacitive

Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT) technology is a capacitive technology which permits more accurate and flexible operation. An X-Y grid is formed either by etching a single conductive layer to form a grid pattern of electrodes, or by etching two separate, perpendicular layers of conductive material with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid (comparable to the pixel grid found in many LCD displays) that the conducting layers can be coated with further protective insulating layers, and operate even under screen protectors, or behind weather- and vandal-proof glass. Due to the top layer of a PCT being glass, it is a more robust solution than resistive touch technology. Depending on the implementation, an active or passive stylus can be used instead of or in addition to a finger. This is common with point of sale devices that require signature capture. Gloved fingers may or may not be sensed, depending on the implementation and gain settings. Conductive smudges and similar interference on the panel surface can interfere with the performance. Such conductive smudges come mostly from sticky or sweaty finger tips, especially in high humidity environments. Collected dust, which adheres to the screen due to the moisture from fingertips can also be a problem. PCT is capable of 20+ touch points and W7 complex W7 Gestures.

Resistive

A resistive touch screen panel comprises several layers, the most important of which are two thin, transparent electrically-resistive layers separated by a thin space. These layers face each other, with a thin gap between. One resistive layer is a coating on the underside of the top surface of the screen. Just beneath it is a similar resistive layer on top of its substrate. One layer has conductive connections along its sides, the other along top and bottom. When an object, such as a fingertip or stylus tip, presses down on the outer surface, the two layers touch to become connected at that point: The panel then behaves as a pair of voltage dividers, one axis at a time. For a short time, the associated electronics (device controller) applies a voltage to the opposite sides of one layer, while the other layer senses the proportion (think percentage) of voltage at the contact point. That provides the horizontal [x] position. Then, the controller applies a voltage to the top and bottom edges of the other layer (the one that just sensed the amount of voltage); the first layer now senses height [y]. The controller rapidly alternates between these two modes. As well, it sends position data to the CPU in the device, where it’s interpreted according to what the user is doing. Resistive touch is used in restaurants, factories and hospitals due to its high resistance to liquids and contaminants. A major benefit of resistive touch technology is its low cost. Disadvantages include the need to press down, and a risk of damage by sharp objects. Traditional resistive technology is single touch. Some newer technologies can handle dual-touch with W7 gestures.

Single Board Computer

A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Unlike a typical personal computer, an SBC may not include slots into which accessory cards (“daughterboards”) may be plugged.

Single Touch

Single-Touch technology can only resolve one input of touch at a time. See Dynamic-Touch. Gestures: Can resolve simple gestures; swipe, scroll, constant touch.

Size

Monitor diagonal screen dimension

Standard Aspect Ratio

5:4 or 4:3 aspect ratio, traditional monitor standard. (See Aspect Ratio)

Surface Capacitive

Only one side of the insulator is coated with a conductive layer. A small voltage is applied to the layer, resulting in a uniform electrostatic field. When a conductor, such as a human finger, touches the uncoated surface, a capacitor is dynamically formed. The sensor’s controller can determine the location of the touch indirectly from the change in the capacitance as measured from the four corners of the panel. As it has no moving parts, it is moderately durable but has limited resolution, is prone to false signals from parasitic capacitive coupling, and needs calibration during manufacture. It is therefore most often used in simple applications such as industrial controls and kiosks. ATM, POS, automatic ticket vending systems, gambling machines and entertainment arcade cabinet’s work best with our capacitive touch screens. (See Dynamic-Touch)

Touch Screen

A touch-sensitive display screen: touching different portions of the screen with a finger will cause the computer to take actions determined by a program. A visual display unit screen that allows the user to give commands to the computer by touching parts of the screen instead of using the keyboard.

Tech Armor

Tech Global offers our TECH-ARMOR product in a high-tech non-glare Acrylic or Polycarbonate solution depending on your application. Both are lightweight and break-resistant with excellent “Water-Clear” transparency. Our product is an ideal material for optical displays, improving screen clarity with more than 97% light transmission. Tech Armor cuts glare to less than 2% total light reflectance allowing displays to be easily viewed from any angle regardless of light conditions.

Tech Privacy

TECH-PRIVACY was designed to help prevent inadvertent disclosures of information with the intricate option of being integrated with TECH-ARMOR, high-tech display protection or Dynamic-Touch, surface capacitive touch screen. *Both options come with an embedded privacy filter. (*See TECH-ARMOR & Dynamic-Touch for more information regarding these products)

Tech Global Inc.

Tech Global develops and manufactures “interactive” hardware and software for Government, Medical, Retail, Industrial, Corporate and Education verticals.

VMware

A virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 computers from VMware, a division of EMC Corporation, which allows users to set up multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual machines (VMs) and use one or more of these virtual machines simultaneously with the hosting operating system. Each virtual machine instance can execute its own guest operating system, including Windows, Linux, BSD variants, and others. (See also PCoIP)

Warranty

All Tech Global products carry a warranty. Please ask your sales person about the warranty for specific products.

Wide Aspect Ratio

Images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film. For television, the original screen ratio for broadcasts was 4:3 (1.33:1). In the 2000s, 16:9 (1.78:1) TV displays came into wide use. They are typically used in conjunction with high-definition television (HDTV) receivers, or Standard-Definition (SD) DVD players and other digital television sources. With computer displays, aspect ratios wider than 4:3 are also called widescreen. Widescreen computer displays were previously typically of 16:10 aspect ratio, now they are shifting to 16:9.