What exactly is backlight in laptops?

[johny_]

I'm trying to track back a possible bug related to my video card.
I was searching for clues on Launchpad and came across many threads with word "laptop backlight" mentioned.
Since English isn't my mother tongue, I don't know if this term is related to any laptop video screen, or it is kind of special feature not every model has.

Can you please explain me?

Thanks in advance

[dyingsun]

I think all laptops with LCD displays have backlights. It illuminates the screen, so you can see the image even in the dark. If the backlight is broken, there is still an image on the screen but it is harder to see, especially when there is not much light in the room.

[Sashin]

Well if you have an older gameboy (advanced for example) model, you'll notice you can't play in the dark. This is due to the lack of backlight, however with a newer model (SP, micro) or a DS, PSP or modern phone you can play in the dark due to the backlights presence. Also Brightness is fixed (really dim) without a backlight, whereas in newer machines you can toggle the brightness.

[johny_]

I'm getting you. So it's not any external source of light located on laptop case, right?
Why is it call "backlight", not just "light"; the name makes think about something different than a normal light :)

[mkendall]

From wiki-wiki-wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlight): "A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Backlights illuminate the LCD from the side or back of the display panel, unlike frontlights, which are placed in front of the LCD."

An example of backlight vs frontlight is laptop vs. Kindle

[johny_]

From wiki-wiki-wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlight): "A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Backlights illuminate the LCD from the side or back of the display panel, unlike frontlights, which are placed in front of the LCD."

An example of backlight vs frontlight is laptop vs. Kindle
Thank you.
I can't exactly understand what you mean by "kindle", but the whole concept is now much more clear to me, than it was before.

Thanks