How is each individual pixel controlled on a 4K display with millions of pixels?

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I understand that for both LCD and OLED, different voltages are applied to get the diode to react differently and emit different colors and brightness levels. But how do they control each of these millions of pixels simultaneously? Are there literally millions of tiny copper wires going to each pixel?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Modern LCD and OLED panels are what’s called “active matrix”, which means there is a wire for each row and each column, forming a matrix, and an active component at each crossover point joining the rows and columns.

The active component is a transistor, an electronic switch. The switch only turns on only if it receives a signal on both the row and column, so you can address M x N individual pixels with only M + N wires. The panel controller activates each combination of row and column in turn. How strong the signal is determines the final brightness of the (sub)pixel controlled by that transistor.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD#Construction

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