Display Elements and Gaps: A Comparison of Flat Panel Display Characteristics

The relation between typical flat panel display characteristics and display quality was studied. Subjective preferences were obtained with respect to simulated black-on-white flat panel displays. The displays differed in the sort of separation between the display elements and the shape of these elements. Further, the height/width ratio of the front was studied in relation with a fixed font matrix. The preferences were obtained through a paired comparison of all possible pairs of simulated displays. The observers appeared to be sensitive and to respond to differences in the stimuli. It is not clear, however, if they responded to the type of gap and shape of display elements or to the luminance modulation, which co-varied with the two experimental factors. It can be concluded however that the integrity of the character area is important to the observers. Further, the usefulness of interactively designing spatial display characteristics and the font is discussed. There is currently a great deal of interest in flat panel displays (FPDs) and much effort is being put into further development of FPD technologies. FPDs have great potential for a number of reasons (eg. portability, power requirements), but from the ergonomist's point of view there are also several problems that are more or less uniquely associated with these display technologies. To be able to deal with the human factor in the development and design of FPDs as part of the human-machine interface, there is a need to investigate the ergonomic aspects of such displays. Ultimately, it is the compatibility of a display's visual properties with the properties of the human visual system and with the human information processing characteristics that determines the quality of a display. These visual properties pertain to the spatial, temporal and luminance domain. Spatial