internet.com logo

ISP Glossary
Find an ISP Term
Search ISP Sites
Search:
Search internet.com
ISP Resources
ISP-Lists
ISP Glossary
ISP News
CLEC-Planet
The List
ISPCON
Free Newsletter

IT
Developer
Internet News
Small Business
Personal Technology

Search internet.com
Advertise
Corporate Info
Newsletters
Tech Jobs
E-mail Offers

internet.commerce
Be a Commerce Partner













I S P  G L O S S A R Y
Your source for the most up-to-date terms, definitions, and acronyms for and about internet service providers.

Search for an ISP term
by a keyword...
 
...or by category.
 

color monitor
Last modified: Friday, March 12, 2004 

(n.) A display monitor capable of displaying many colors. In contrast, a monochrome monitor can display only two colors -- one for the background and one for the foreground. Color monitors implement the RGB color model by using three different phosphors that appear red, green, and blue when activated. By placing the phosphors directly next to each other, and activating them with different intensities, color monitors can create an unlimited number of colors. In practice, however, the real number of colors that any monitor can display is controlled by the video adapter.

Color monitors based on CRT technology employ three different techniques to merge phosphor triplets into pixels:

  • Dot-trio shadow masks place a thin sheet of perforated metal in front of the screen. Since electrons can pass only through the holes in the sheet, each hole represents a single pixel.
  • Aperture-grille CRTs place a grid of wires between the screen and the electron guns.
  • Slot-mask CRTs uses a shadow mask but the holes are long and thin. It's sort of a cross between the dot-trio shadow mask and aperture-grill techniques.
  • Also see The Science of Color and Northern vs. Southern Hemishpere Monitors in the Did You Know . . . ? section of Webopedia.

      Related Links

    Macintosh monitors
    Provides notes on connecting and adjusting Macintosh monitors.The sections covered are: basic information, Macintosh sense pins, modifying a monitor, sync on green, cable information, and examples.

    PC Guide's monitor reference
    Comprehensive guide to the operation of the monitor. Covers construction and operation, resolution, color, refresh, size and size matching, CRT characteristics, and power and safety issues.

    Yahoo!'s monitors page
    Yahoo!'s directory of monitors.

    Related Categories

    Graphics

    Monitors

    Multimedia

    Related Terms

    analog monitor

    CRT

    degauss

    dot pitch

    LCD monitor

    mask pitch

    monitor

    OLED

    PLED

    RGB monitor

    shadow mask

    video adapter