A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a screen that creates images by applying electric fields to liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between polarizing filters. The electric field untwists the crystals, blocking or passing the backlight to form pixels. Because the crystals do not emit their own light, the display requires a backlight, making it highly power-efficient but limiting its ability to show true black.
The LCD on this multimeter is completely washed out if you look at it from an angle.
Related terms
AMOLED
Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode displays use a thin-film transistor array to control individual pixels.
CRT
A cathode-ray tube is a vacuum envelope containing an electron gun and a phosphorescent screen.
TCON
A timing controller is an integrated circuit that dictates the precise row and column addressing for a display panel.