Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Dot-matrix display
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The dot-matrix display is also known by the obsolete term “punktmatrix display” (<a href="/facts/German_Language/oWaQIDA8">German</a> for dot-matrix) due to the dot matrix being created in <a href="/facts/Weimar_Republic/LYYS66ad">Germany</a> by <a href="/facts/Rudolf_Hell/wzSxj7d4">Rudolf Hell</a> in 1925. </p><p>In September 1977, the <a href="/facts/US_Army/WACWBEK9">US Army</a> wrote up a form to the Westinghouse Research and Development Center requesting a more effective energy source that soldiers could use in their technology in the field.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a> and <a href="/facts/America/hEuUTL4K">America</a> were using the LCD matrices to develop Casio TVs from 1984 to 2000 creating and experimenting with different display setups.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> In the 1980s and 1990s, dot-matrix displays were introduced into several technologies including televisions, computers, video game systems, and pinball machines. Dot-matrix displays were added into new pieces of technology as a background part of LCD or OLED displays<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> as the technology improved. </p> <h2 id="pixel-resolutions">Pixel resolutions</h2> <p>Common sizes of dot-matrix displays: </p> <ul><li>128×16 (Two-line)</li> <li>128×32 (Four-line)</li> <li>128×64 (Eight-line)</li></ul> <p>Other sizes include: </p> <ul><li>92×31 (Four or three-line)</li></ul> <h2 id="character-resolutions">Character resolutions</h2> <ul><li>A common size for a character is 5×7 pixels, either separated with blank lines with no dots (in most text-only displays), or with lines of blank pixels (making the real size 6×8). This is seen on most <a href="/facts/Graphic_calculator/GHxINXgk">graphic calculators</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Casio/yFj9XMgC">Casio</a> calculators or <a href="/facts/TI-82/pqcQIR1w">TI-82</a> and superior. It is also seen on some elevator floor indicators and logic cabinets. (Schindler FI MXB/MXV Indicator & Miconic MX-GC cabinet)</li> <li>A smaller size is 3×5 (or 4×6 when separated with blank pixels). This is seen on the <a href="/facts/TI-80/bL4yWC0n">TI-80</a> calculator as a "pure", fixed-size 3×5 font, or on most 7×5 calculators as a proportional (1×5 to 5×5) font. The disadvantage of the 7×5 matrix and smaller is that lower case characters with <a href="/facts/Descender/4Hlu3whC">descenders</a> are not practical. A matrix of 11×9 is often used to give a far superior resolution.</li> <li>Dot-matrix displays of sufficient resolution can be programmed to emulate the customary <a href="/facts/Seven-segment_display/4rzfu0q0">seven-segment</a> numeral patterns.</li> <li>A larger size is 5×9 pixels, which is used on many "natural display" calculators, shop checkouts and some Schindler FI MXB elevators.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Display_examples/nLHswGeR">Display examples</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Flip-disc_display/hYnfPTCI">Flip-disc display</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Fourteen-segment_display/PfteYoCd">Fourteen-segment display</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Hitachi_HD44780_LCD_controller/ht1UBfXK">Hitachi HD44780 LCD controller</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/LED_panel/IT6VF6vd">LED panel</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sixteen-segment_display/n3EtQ5rv">Sixteen-segment display</a></li> <li>The military request form source number 2.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li>Detailed manual from <a href="/facts/Sharp_Corporation/IbmkAjKB">SHARP Corporation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li></ul> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dot-matrix displays. <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Dot Matrix Definition". techterms.com. Retrieved 2021-09-22. <a href="https://techterms.com/definition/dotmatrix" target="_blank">https://techterms.com/definition/dotmatrix</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Brody, Thomas P.; Luo, Fang C.; Davies, David H. (1977-09-01). "Thin Film Transistor-Addressed Display Device". Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA052084" target="_blank">https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA052084</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"TFT vs. IPS Display: What's the Difference?". Nauticomp. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2021-09-22. <a href="https://nauticomp.com/tft-vs-ips-display-whats-difference/" target="_blank">https://nauticomp.com/tft-vs-ips-display-whats-difference/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Brody, Thomas P.; Luo, Fang C.; Davies, David H. (1977-09-01). "Thin Film Transistor-Addressed Display Device". Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA052084" target="_blank">https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA052084</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Part 6: The history of Pocket Television". www.guenthoer.de. Retrieved 2021-09-22. <a href="http://www.guenthoer.de/e-history.htm" target="_blank">http://www.guenthoer.de/e-history.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Dot matrix LCD displays module or as OLED, for text graphics". www.lcd-module.com. Retrieved 2021-09-22. <a href="https://www.lcd-module.com/displays/dot-matrix-lcd-displays.html" target="_blank">https://www.lcd-module.com/displays/dot-matrix-lcd-displays.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Article title [bare URL PDF] <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA052084.pdf" target="_blank">https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA052084.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Dot-Matrix LCD Units (with built-in controllers) (PDF). Sharp. 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2022. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220609050959/https://eecs.oregonstate.edu/education/docs/datasheets/lcd-spec.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20220609050959/https://eecs.oregonstate.edu/education/docs/datasheets/lcd-spec.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>