43-Inch RLCD Display
A 43-inch hanging RLCD display designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content with…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
ApplicationsIndustrialRetailTransportationOEMBy conditionDirect sunlightBattery and solarExtreme temperatureBy technologyReflective LCDTransflective LCD
What happens to contrast as the light rises?
100,000 luxambient at midday, unshaded
1.4:1transmissive contrast in full sun
12:1reflective contrast, unchanged
0 Wspent fighting the sun
Characteristic behaviour of the technology, not the rating of a specific module. Per-module figures are issued as a datasheet with the conditions behind each one.
Why does adding brightness not fix a washed-out display?
Surface reflection adds the same amount of light to every pixel, bright or dark. On a backlit panel that addition is a fixed offset on top of a fixed output, so the dark state climbs towards the white one and the ratio collapses. On a reflective LCD (RLCD) both states scale with the ambient level together, so the ratio is the same at ten lux and at a hundred thousand.
01
Glare adds to both states
Roughly four per cent of the light hitting an uncoated front surface comes straight back, regardless of what the pixel is doing.
02
A backlit black state lifts
The backlight output is fixed, so as glare grows it dominates the dark state and the contrast ratio falls towards one.
03
A reflective panel scales
Both states are made from the same ambient light, so they rise together and the ratio between them holds.
What to check before trusting a readability claim
Specify it when
The contrast figure is quoted with the ambient level it was measured at.
The measurement geometry is stated — light source angle and viewing angle both change the result.
The cover lens and any anti-glare treatment are named, because they are part of the result.
The worst case in the test matches the worst case in your product.
Consider something else when
A nits figure is quoted with no ambient condition, which says nothing about outdoor performance.
The panel is only ever read indoors, where a backlit display has the simpler answer.
The comparison is between two different measurement standards and cannot be put in one table.
Compare
How the three technologies behave as light rises
| Criterion | Reflective LCD | Transflective LCD | Transmissive LCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| At 500 lux | Readable | Readable | Excellent |
| At 10,000 lux | Improving | Improving | Degrading |
| At 100,000 lux | Best case | Readable | Washed out |
| Readable in the dark | With a front light | Yes, backlight | Yes |
| Contrast trend | Flat with ambient | Flat by day | Falls towards 1:1 |
| Power to stay readable | None | None by day | Rises with brightness |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Panels specified for outdoor readability
43-Inch RLCD Kiosk
A 43-inch free-standing RLCD kiosk designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
Resources on sunlight readability
On request
Datasheets
Each module is characterised before its datasheet publishes, so we issue the current specification directly rather than list a stale one.
Not yet published
Integration guides
Written against real integrations rather than in advance. If you are driving a panel now, an application engineer walks the interface and timing through with you.
Available now
Power calculator
Size a reflective panel against your power budget before samples arrive. A sizing aid, with its assumptions stated on the page.
Failing a daylight readability test?
Send the test conditions and the panel you are using. An application engineer tells you whether the optical stack or the technology is the limit.
How much power does a reflective LCD draw?
1.8 mWreflective, holding a static frame
2.4 Wcomparable transmissive panel
1%of transmissive LCD power draw
0 Wbacklight draw in daylight
Characteristic behaviour of the technology, not the rating of a specific module. Per-module figures are issued as a datasheet with the conditions behind each one.
Where does the current go?
A transmissive panel spends almost all of its power on illumination and only a fraction on switching pixels. Take the illumination away and what remains is the switching — which, on a frame that is not changing, is close to nothing. That is why duty cycle matters more than diagonal when you budget a reflective display.
01
Illumination dominates
On a backlit panel the LEDs account for the overwhelming majority of the draw, and they run whenever the display is on.
02
Switching is cheap
Driving the liquid crystal costs a small fraction of the illumination, and only while pixels are changing.
03
Static frames cost least
A frame that holds — a price, a reading, a status — settles to a near-zero average, so refresh strategy sets the real figure.
When is the power case decisive?
Specify it when
The product runs on a battery, a coin cell or a solar panel with a fixed budget.
The display is the largest single load and is blocking a smaller enclosure or a longer interval.
Content is mostly static, so most of the duty cycle costs almost nothing.
Thermal headroom is tight and the backlight is also the main heat source.
Consider something else when
The product is mains-powered and the display budget was never the constraint.
Content is full-motion video for most of the duty cycle, where the switching term stops being negligible.
Night operation dominates, so a backlight is running for most of the time anyway.
Compare
Display power across the technologies
| Criterion | Reflective LCD | Transflective LCD | Transmissive LCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Static frame, daylight | Milliwatts | Milliwatts | Watts |
| Static frame, darkness | Milliwatts plus front light | Backlight duty cycle | Watts |
| Full-motion video | Low, switching only | Low by day | Watts |
| Peak draw | Set by switching | Set by the backlight | Set by the backlight |
| Scales with brightness | No | At night only | Yes |
| Heat contributed | Negligible | Low by day | Significant |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Panels specified into tight power budgets
43-Inch RLCD Display
A 43-inch hanging RLCD display designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content with…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
43-Inch RLCD Kiosk
A 43-inch free-standing RLCD kiosk designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
Resources on display power
On request
Datasheets
Each module is characterised before its datasheet publishes, so we issue the current specification directly rather than list a stale one.
Not yet published
Integration guides
Written against real integrations rather than in advance. If you are driving a panel now, an application engineer walks the interface and timing through with you.
Available now
Power calculator
Size a reflective panel against your power budget before samples arrive. A sizing aid, with its assumptions stated on the page.
Is the display over the power budget?
Send the power budget and the duty cycle. An application engineer returns a panel and a refresh strategy that fits inside it.
How wide is the operating envelope?
−30 to +85 °Cspecified operating range
0 LEDsno backlight lifetime to derate
10 yrtypical field life
IP65sealed against dust and damp
Characteristic behaviour of the technology, not the rating of a specific module. Per-module figures are issued as a datasheet with the conditions behind each one.
Why does the backlight set the temperature limit?
LED life falls sharply with junction temperature, and in a sealed enclosure the backlight is simultaneously the largest heat source and the part least able to tolerate heat. Designers answer that with derating margin, venting or active cooling. Removing the backlight removes the curve, the heat and the cooling requirement together.
01
Heat accumulates
A sealed enclosure in sun reaches well above ambient, and the display adds to the load it has to survive.
02
LED life falls with it
Rated hours are quoted at a junction temperature that a hot cabinet does not hold, so real life is shorter than the datasheet.
03
Nothing left to derate
With no LEDs the panel is limited by the liquid crystal and the polarisers, both specified across the full range.
What to confirm for a wide-range build
Specify it when
The enclosure is sealed or unvented and cannot be actively cooled.
The product is sold into both hot and cold markets without a separate variant.
Service intervals are long and a display replacement is an expensive site visit.
The design has to pass thermal cycling or shock testing.
Consider something else when
Start-up is required below the specified minimum, which needs a heater regardless of technology.
The product cycles through the dew point inside the enclosure and sealing has not been addressed.
Response time at the cold extreme matters more than life, in which case the cell chemistry is the question.
Compare
Temperature behaviour across the technologies
| Criterion | Reflective LCD | Transflective LCD | Transmissive LCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specified range | −30 °C to +85 °C | −30 °C to +85 °C | Derated by backlight |
| Lifetime curve | None | Backlight hours only | Sets the service life |
| Heat contributed | Negligible | Low by day | Significant |
| Cooling required | No | Rarely | Often |
| Cold start | Slower response | Slower response | Slower response |
| Failure mode | Optical, gradual | Backlight first | Backlight first |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Panels specified across the full range
43-Inch RLCD Display
A 43-inch hanging RLCD display designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content with…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
43-Inch RLCD Kiosk
A 43-inch free-standing RLCD kiosk designed for digital signage, delivering clear portrait-format content…
Reflective LCD · 43 in
Resources on temperature range
On request
Datasheets
Each module is characterised before its datasheet publishes, so we issue the current specification directly rather than list a stale one.
Not yet published
Integration guides
Written against real integrations rather than in advance. If you are driving a panel now, an application engineer walks the interface and timing through with you.
Available now
Power calculator
Size a reflective panel against your power budget before samples arrive. A sizing aid, with its assumptions stated on the page.
Specifying for an enclosure you cannot condition?
Send the ambient range and the thermal path. An application engineer confirms the panel against both ends before you commit to tooling.