>We often hear people talk about technologies such as transmissive, reflective, and semi-transmissive when referring to displays. But what exactly are these technologies, and what characteristics do they have? This article will introduce them respectively.
1. Transmissive screen - There is no reflector on the back of the screen, and the light source is provided by the backlight.
The mobile phones and computers we usually see use this kind of transmissive screen. Due to the maturity of this technology, it has become the first choice for display manufacturers. The mobile phone displays manufactured by Truly also generally adopt the transmissive type.
Advantages: When reading in low-light or no-light environments, it is bright and has vivid colors. Especially in a dark room at night, it can even be used as a light!
Disadvantages: Under outdoor sunlight, because the sunlight is too bright, the ambient light makes the backlight appear seriously insufficient in brightness. Simply increasing the backlight brightness will only cause a rapid loss of power, and the effect is not satisfactory.
2. Reflective screen - There is a reflector on the back of the screen, which provides a light source for reading under sunlight or lamplight.
A classic example is the Truly calculator; its small display can be viewed under sunlight or lamplight without the need for a backlight.
In addition, the 5-inch 480*800 pixel "T501 e-book reader" previously launched by Truly also uses a reflective screen, also known as an e-ink screen. It has the characteristics of being lightweight and having adjustable font sizes, etc.
E-book Reader
Advantages:
*All the light is reflected light, not the direct light of ordinary liquid crystals. No backlight is needed, and power consumption is extremely low.
*There are no issues such as computer blue light and glare. *Because it uses the reflection of ambient light, reading is like reading a real book, which is not easy to cause eye fatigue. Especially outdoors, under sunlight or other strong light sources, the display performance is excellent.
Disadvantages:
*The colors are monotonous and not bright enough, making it unsuitable for entertainment.
*It is hard to see clearly or even impossible to read in low light or no light.
Suitable Text workers, computer workers, people with eye fatigue, dry eye syndrome, high myopia, and reading enthusiasts.
3. Semi-transmissive (semi-reflective) screen - It replaces the reflector on the back of the reflective screen with a mirrored reflective film. When the backlight is turned off, the TFT display can make the displayed image visible by reflecting ambient light.
Reflective film: It looks like a mirror from the front, but from the back, you can see through the mirror, and it is transparent glass. It also incorporates the backlight of the transmissive type; it can be said that the semi-transmissive and semi-reflective screen is a hybrid of the reflective screen and the transmissive screen. It combines the advantages of both, having the excellent reading ability of the reflective screen under outdoor sunlight and the excellent reading ability of the transmissive screen in low light and no light, and also has the advantage of low power consumption.
Schematic diagram of semi-transmissive display,
Smart Watch E-Time
Semi-transmissive displays are widely used in fields such as industry, automotive, wearable devices, and smart homes, especially in outdoor products such as smart watches, GPS, and walkie-talkies. Truly currently has a TFT production line dedicated to industrial and automotive applications, which can provide customers with deeply customized semi-transmissive display products and ensure long-term stable supply.
In short, the transmissive type relies entirely on direct backlight for display, the reflective type relies entirely on ambient light reflection for display, and the semi-transmissive type is a perfect combination of the transmissive and reflective types! If you want the best display effect with the least power consumption, the "semi-transmissive display + automatic backlight switch" solution is the best choice!
