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Technology Glossary

Transmissive LCD

A transmissive LCD relies only on its backlight shining through the panel – bright and colorful indoors, but hard to read in direct sunlight.

Also known as: transmissive display, transmissive TFT

A transmissive LCD is a liquid crystal display that relies solely on backlight passing through the matrix to render the image. The LCD itself is transparent to the backlight, with liquid crystals and color filters modulating the light to produce the display content. Transmissive displays offer high brightness, vivid colors, and good readability in controlled or low-light environments.

However, they perform poorly in direct sunlight, where glare and reduced contrast can make images difficult to see. They are the most common type of LCD, used in TVs, computer monitors, indoor HMI panels, and consumer portable devices.

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