Numerous press articles have appeared since mid-2015 on this type of radical display which uses what is called "quantum dot technology". At first glance, it might look like another one of those overrated, unaffordable technologies, but once you take a closer look, it looks promising. Whenever new technologies appear, it is natural for people to ask a lot of questions about them. The media usually do everything they can to make sure people are aware of the concept itself, but sometimes they do a lousy job of explaining how it works. It's a void that should probably be filled before you decide to go out and open your wallet to a store clerk. Without further ado, it's time to discuss what a quantum dot monitor actually is!
Have you ever used an OLED screen on a high-end smartphone? The black color is very deep, without the typical "noise" that you would encounter with any other "normal" screen. You may also have noticed that the colors displayed are more vivid. This is also how quantum dot (QD) technology works, except that it doesn't use organic molecules to create its light.
What makes it so much more special than anything else is its propensity to minimize power consumption while still being potentially more affordable technology than the OLED screens we're used to. Since quantum dots can be both photo-active (i.e., light triggers it) and electro-active (i.e., electricity triggers it), this means that we can trigger certain pixels to light up in color while selectively turning off whatever we want to display as black. . Your typical LED screen will still have a backlight to kill the mood while you're watching a dark scene in a movie. This backlight requires some power (my 27-inch monitor draws about 45-48 watts nominal). You can technically cut that in half by using a QD monitor because it doesn't use any power to display black as a color.
QD's usefulness doesn't end there, however. Artists and web designers are able to see very accurate color reproduction thanks to the sharpness of the image. On top of that, larger screens may not "fuzz" as much with resolution as their LED counterparts. The fact that these screens are potentially quite inexpensive to manufacture (as well as the fact that they actually shine brighter without losing their shine as quickly as other screens) makes the technology very promising.
Here's a fun fact. QD technology is not necessarily new. The idea came around the 1980s before personal computers with separate monitors became widespread. Now that monitors are almost everywhere and there is no home without a computer, it is worth another look.
What do you think? Can QD tech keep its promise? Tell us more in the comments!
