We all know basically how an LCD works — there’s a backlight, there are pixels, sub-pixels, and so on. But I was unaware of the polarizing crystals and the reasoning behind top-down refreshes. Bill Hammack from the U of Illinois (and one of my favorite video bloggers right now) shows us what’s what in this great video.

One thing that was not made clear: what about the difference between IPS and lower-grade monitors, offset sub-pixel layouts, or superior methods of backlighting? Guess we’ll have to find out on our own.