LCDs can be either transmissive or reflective, depending on the location of the light source. A transmissive LCD is illuminated from the back by a backlight and viewed from the opposite side (front). This type of LCD is used in applications requiring high luminance levels such as computer displays, televisions, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones. The illumination device used to illuminate the LCD in such a product usually consumes much more power than the LCD itself.

Up till the late nineties, CRT monitors were the standard and the norm. Since the introduction of LCD monitors, more and more people have started to buy this new technology. Because of this demand, technology giant Sony, has started to phase out its CRT production. Does this mean that LCD monitors are better than CRT monitors?

LCD screens are uniquely modern in style, and the liquid crystals that make them work have allowed humanity to create slimmer, more portable technology than we’ve ever had access to before. From your wrist watch to your laptop, a lot of the on the go electronics that we tote from place to place are only possible because of their thin, light LCD display screens. Liquid crystal display (LCD) technology still has some stumbling blocks in its path that can make it unreliable at times, but on the whole the invention of the LCD screen has allowed great leaps forward in global technological progress.

Important factors to consider when evaluating an LCD monitor include resolution, viewable size, response time (sync rate), matrix type (passive or active), viewing angle, color support, brightness and contrast ratio, aspect ratio, and input ports (e.g. DVI or VGA).

While CRTs are capable of displaying multiple video resolutions without introducing artifacts, LCD displays produce crisp images only in their "native resolution" and fractions of that native resolution. Attempting to run LCD display panels at non-native resolutions usually results in the panel scaling the image, which introduces blurriness or "blockiness".