STN (Super-Twist Neumatic, passive matrix) - These panels are best told by their "ghosting" when there is fast movement on screen, and more often than not, they are monochrome. Earlier screens were non backlit and looked more like a Game Boy screen, later on we got the blue and white versions found on a lot of 8086 and 286 laptops, then came the black & white versions we saw later. These also came in color. Eventally DSTN "Dual Scan" screens became common on low-to-mid level laptop computers up through the period of which this group of pages is interested in. Popular brands included Philips/Hirose, Casio, Kyocera (NEC), Sharp, and Toshiba.

TFT (Thin Film Transistor, aka Active Matrix) - These panels are best told by how crisp, defined, and vibrant they can be with their colors, and the fact that they have a faster response speed, so theyu are THE screen to have on a "retro gaming" laptop computer. Most vintage laptops that have this type of screen can bet old apart from the regular STN passive matrix screens by the lack of a contrast slider. We are only focusing on the oldest units - which still used Twisted Neumatic technology like the passive matrix screen above - as True-Color capable TFTs and high speed TFT did not really become a thing until 1996 or later.

Usually a cable or a group of cables (wiring harness) runs from the motherboard up into the screen for connection, the harness could have up to three connectors, or even just be one connector in some really simple, monochrome laptop designs. Most of the time in the 486+ era there would be up to three connectors coming from the motherboard in a wiring hardness which then splits off, and thoes to a ballast/adapter board of some kind that will either downgrade or pass on the signal to the LCD Panel Some laptops, like the NEC Versa, which used Active Matrix screens on the majority - sent signals directly from the motherboard to the screen.

STN Monochrome
- STN Monochrome "Passive Matrix" screens usually have 14-17 pins on the connector, and I've read in some places that these are roughly the same pinout for most of them, making them wildly interchangeable. There's usually a startup/enable pin, a clock, a data latch pin, power supply lines for the logic, LCD itself, and sometimes CFL ballast or CFL direct. Then there's 8-data lines - 4 for the upper half the screen, 4 for the lower half of the screen. STN stands for Super Twist(ed) Neumatic. Basically, the liquid crystal is rotated to change the lightness and darkness of the pixel, either by partially or fully blocking or allowing light from the backlight to pass through. DSTN has the screen split in TWO - basically, two smaller screens controlled by separate electronics that allow for better constrast. An example of a STN screen would be an eight data line screen with all eight lines dedicated to color, while a DSTN screen - the most popular duing the 486 era - would have 4 upper and 4 lower data lines. They are called "PAssive Matrix" because there are no active electronics within the LCD panel itself producing the image.

CSTN Color - Works much the same way as a STN Monochrome screen, except instead uses a set of filters to generate the colors we see on screen. These were extremely popular on low and mid-level laptop computers of the early 1990's. It uses Red, Green, and Blue color filters to generate each color as a "Sub Pixel", allowing them to be mixed in varying amounts. These amounts are controlled by the Liquid Crystals changing shape and only allowing certain light colors to go through. These crystals change shape by rotating, just like the monochrome screens, but paired with the filters, allows for multiple colors to be shown.

Active Matrix LCD - ACtive Mamtrix LCDs, or "Thin Film Transistor" (TFT) as they are called, are a form of LCD Screen that rather than using Liquid Crystals controlled by passive current, these are active Transistors making up each subpixel - RGB. Because of this, Active Matrix panels are far more complex and require more data-lines than a DSTN or STN Monochrome Screen. The backlight still serves to light up the screen from behind. Typically a Active Matrix TFT LCD will have 3-4 data lines for Red, Green, and Blue, a Clock or two for the pixel clock, horizontal and veritcal sync, various mode changers and data enablers. IF you look at a NEC NL6448AC30-10 display from an NEC Versa laptop - you'll notice it has around 40ish pins for display signals vs. the 15-17 of a STN Mono screen or the 20-30 something of a DSTN Color display.

Vintage laptops were often availiable with multiple screen tecnologies to meet various price points. There would usually be a Monochrome model soldd with a "M" designator on the low end, a DSTN Color version that would mostly be the top seller and adequate enough for most people, and then a high end Active Matrix "workstation". Some comapnies, like NanTan, achieved this on the same model of laptop by offering a converter/ballast board inside the screen that could reduce the signals down for Monochrome or DSTN from the regular signals for Active Matrix. While other companies, such as NEC's Versa line, which was sold on the premise of a user-upgradable screen - could do the conversion on the fly using different LCD panels ranging from a 640x490 9.4" Monochrome passive matrix screen, to a DSTN color screen, to the line's popular "C" models with a 640x480 Active Matrix TFT, to Pen/Touch models in both variations, and even a 9.4" and 10.4" 800x600 LCD. Some laptops require a BIOS change/upgrade to move between technologies, while some like the NEC Versa, do not.

Laptops Used In: DFI MediaBook NB9200M, NanTan Notebook FMAP9200M, NanTan Notebook FMAK9200M, Prostar 9200M

Laptops Used In:

Laptops Used In:

Laptops Used In:AT&T Safari 3181, AT&T Safari 3182, AT&T Globalyst 250, AT&T Globalyst 250P, NCR Safari 3180, NEC ULtralite Versa 20C, NEC Ultralite Versa 20CP, NEC Ulralite Versa 25C, NEC Ultralite Versa 25CP, NEC Ultralite Versa 33C, NEC Ultralite Versa 33CP, NEC Versa 40EC, NEC Versa 40ECP, NEC Versa 50EC, NEC Versa 50ECP,NEC Versa 75EC, NEC Versa 75ECP, NEC Versa V/50C, NEC Versa V/75C, NEC Versa M/75C, NEC Versa M/75CP, NEC Versa M/100C, NEC Versa M/100CP, NEC versa P/75C, NEC Versa M/75HC, NEC Versa P/75HC

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Laptops Used In: BSI NB4SX25, NanTan Notebook 3500C

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