Low Power Control Techniques For TFT LCD Displays

Abstract

Display power consumption is often the most significant contributor to the overall power budget for many portable devices. Traditionally, liquid crystal display (LCD) power minimization has focused on technology and circuit design. In this paper we take an orthogonal approach, and we introduce several software-only techniques for LCD dynamic power management, which do not require any hardware changes on existing LCDs and their controllers. The power savings achieved are significant: from 40% (with no perceivable image degradation) to 60% (with significant, but tolerable degradation) of total system power, measured on a prototype wearable system platform.