Glossary

Stands for "Thin Film Transistor." These transistors are used in high-quality flat panel liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). TFT-based displays have a transistor for each pixel on the screen. This allows the electrical current that illuminates the display to be turned on and off at a faster rate, which makes the display brighter and shows motion smoother. LCDs that use TFT technology are called "active-matrix" displays, which are higher-quality than older "passive-matrix" displays. So if you ever see a TFTAMLCD monitor at your local computer store, it is a "thin-film transistor active-matrix liquid crystal display." Basically, it is a high-quality flat screen monitor.