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 does a reflective LCD give you?
1%of transmissive LCD power draw
100,000 luxreadable in direct sunlight
−30 to +85 °Cspecified operating range
Full colourand full-motion refresh
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.
How does a reflective LCD form an image without a backlight?
A transmissive panel puts a light behind the liquid crystal and pushes light through it. A reflective panel puts a reflector behind the liquid crystal instead and lets the environment supply the light, which is why it gets better, not worse, as the light rises.
01
Ambient light enters
Daylight or room light passes through the cover lens and the front polariser into the cell.
02
The cell modulates it
Liquid crystal rotates the polarisation per pixel, exactly as it would in a backlit panel.
03
The reflector returns it
A reflector behind the cell sends the light back out, so the image is made of the light that fell on it.
When is reflective LCD the right call?
Specify it when
The product is used outdoors, or anywhere the ambient level cannot be controlled.
The power budget is measured in milliwatts rather than watts.
The enclosure is unconditioned and a backlight lifetime would have to be derated.
Full colour and video refresh are required, which rules out segmented e-paper.
Consider something else when
The product is read in the dark with no ambient light and no front light fitted.
The design needs the peak indoor luminance only a backlit panel can reach.
The cover lens and bonding method cannot be specified with the panel.
Compare
Reflective LCD against transflective and transmissive
| Criterion | Reflective LCD | Transflective LCD | Transmissive LCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct sunlight | Improves with light | Reflective path holds | Washes out |
| Readable in the dark | With a front light | Yes, backlight | Yes |
| Backlight required | No | Night operation only | Always on |
| Typical panel power | Milliwatts | Milliwatts to watts | Watts |
| Full-motion video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Colour | Full colour | Full colour | Full colour |
| Operating range | −30 °C to +85 °C | −30 °C to +85 °C | Derated by backlight |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Reflective LCD in the catalog
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 for reflective LCD
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.
Evaluating reflective LCD for a product?
Send the enclosure drawing, the ambient range and the power budget. An application engineer returns a specified panel and the figures behind it.
What does a transflective LCD give you?
2 pathsreflective by day, lit at night
100,000 luxreadable in direct sunlight
−30 to +85 °Cspecified operating range
1 driverone panel, one integration
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.
How does a transflective LCD work by day and by night?
Each pixel aperture is split between a reflective area and a transmissive area. In daylight the reflective area carries the image and the backlight stays off. In darkness the backlight switches on and the transmissive area carries it. Nothing else in the system changes.
01
The aperture is split
Part of each pixel reflects ambient light, part passes light from behind the cell.
02
Daylight uses the reflector
Above a set ambient level the backlight is off and the panel behaves as a reflective display.
03
Darkness uses the backlight
Below that level the backlight switches on, at a duty cycle set by the ambient sensor.
When is transflective LCD the right call?
Specify it when
The product is read around the clock, in daylight and in darkness.
A separate night variant of the product would otherwise be needed.
Daylight readability matters but the display cannot go dark at night.
The design has power for an occasional backlight but not a permanent one.
Consider something else when
Daylight reflectance matters more than night operation — a pure reflective panel is brighter.
The product never operates in darkness, in which case the split aperture costs brightness for nothing.
The power budget cannot carry a backlight at any duty cycle.
Compare
Transflective LCD against reflective and transmissive
| Criterion | Transflective LCD | Reflective LCD | Transmissive LCD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct sunlight | Reflective path holds | Improves with light | Washes out |
| Readable in the dark | Yes, backlight | With a front light | Yes |
| Backlight required | Night operation only | No | Always on |
| Typical panel power | Milliwatts to watts | Milliwatts | Watts |
| Daylight reflectance | Reduced by the split aperture | Highest | Not applicable |
| Operating range | −30 °C to +85 °C | −30 °C to +85 °C | Derated by backlight |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Transflective LCD, built to order
Engineered to order
Transflective LCD panels are not in the catalog yet.
We build Transflective LCD panels to order while the published range is reflective. Tell us the diagonal, the interface and how much of the duty cycle happens after dark, and we will quote it. Modules appear here automatically as they go live in the store.
Resources for transflective LCD
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.
Need daylight readability and night operation?
Send the ambient range and the duty cycle you expect after dark. An application engineer confirms whether transflective or reflective is the better fit.
What does a reflectance figure report?
10 to 20 %typical white-state reflectance, D65, 8° / diffuse
15:1 to 30:1typical contrast ratio at 10,000 lux
Luxthe input that sets brightness
0 Wspent producing the image
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.
How is reflectance measured?
A backlit panel is specified in nits, because it makes its own light and the figure is fixed. A reflective panel makes none, so the useful figure is what fraction of the incoming light it returns — once in the white state, once in the dark state. The ratio between those two is the contrast you actually read.
01
Light arrives
Ambient illuminance is measured in lux at the panel face, not at the light source.
02
The stack returns a fraction
Cover lens, polariser, cell and reflector each take a share. What comes back is the white-state reflectance.
03
The dark state returns less
The same path in the dark state returns far less light. That ratio is the contrast, and it holds at any ambient level.
When is reflectance the number to optimise?
Specify it when
The product is read in light you do not control, so a nits figure tells you nothing useful.
You are comparing two reflective panels and need a like-for-like measurement.
The optical stack is still open and the cover lens or bonding method can be changed.
The specification has to survive a field test rather than a lab bench.
Consider something else when
The product is only ever read indoors under fixed lighting, where luminance is the simpler figure.
The comparison is against a backlit panel — the two are measured differently and cannot be put in one column.
No measurement conditions are quoted with the number, in which case it is not comparable to anything.
Compare
Reflectance, luminance and contrast ratio: what each one tells you
| Criterion | Reflectance | Luminance (nits) | Contrast ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Light returned as a share of light received | Light emitted by the panel | White state against dark state |
| Unit | Per cent | cd/m² | A ratio |
| Set by | The optical stack | The backlight | Both states together |
| Useful outdoors | Yes | Only against a known ambient | Yes, if the ambient is stated |
| Changes with ambient | No, it is a property | No, but perceived contrast collapses | No on reflective, yes on backlit |
| Comparable across types | Reflective against reflective | Backlit against backlit | Only with conditions quoted |
Typical behaviour for the technology class, not a specific part. Request the datasheet for the module you are evaluating.
Panels published with reflectance figures
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 reflectance
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.
Comparing reflectance figures between suppliers?
Send us the datasheets. An application engineer tells you which numbers are measured the same way and which are not.