At its simplest definition, an LED display can be considered as a video display which uses light-emitting diodes to show or display a picture. This may sound very simplistic, but it is an accurate definition. Up until now LED displays have been predominantly used outdoors as signs and billboards as well as for lights on commercial vehicles such as busses and lorries. LED panels or displays can also be used as a form of light and some torches offer magnificently bright illumination using LEDs as their primary light source.

Now, LED displays essentially come in two flavours - conventional and surface-mounted device panels. Conventional LED displays basically amount to a set of discreet or individually mounted LED clusters of red, green and blue to form one pixel, often square in shape. These are evenely spaced over the whole display panel. SMD or surface-mounted device panels make use of red, blue and green diodes being mounted onto a chip which is then mounted onto a PC board. These diodes are incredibly small - in fact, smaller than a pinhead. With conventional LED displays, you will find that if you get too close to the panel or display, you will lose definition of the picture. These things are somewhat like a renneicense painting - better from far away so that our eyes can sort of blur out the distinction between the pixels and form a coherent image for us. SMD technology allows us to move in closer to the screen or panel and still maintain a sharp picture outline which obviously offers advantages.

Using LEDs in televisions
LEDs are in a sense the ultimate technology to use in televisions. The offer efficient performance as well as the ability to make thinner and lighter televisions, the advantages of which are obvious. The first use of LEDs in a flat panel TV screen was, believe it or not back in 1977 by one JP Mitchell. He created a prototype display panel that was a quarter inch thin - practically unheard of in those days. The prototype screen was monochrome because of the fact that there were no blue LEDs that were efficient enough to use in his television display and it is still working! Mitchell produced a scientific paper off the back of his research where he also mention that liquid crystal display or LCD televisions would be an excellent alternative to CRT televisions. It took over 30 years to get the point where Sony started using LEDs in their TVs despite this early and impressive use of the technology.

The advantages of using LEDs instead of CRTs in televisions is obvious - the technology allows for ultra-thin televisions to be manufactured which appeals to today's minimalist tech lifestyle. The LED based televisions also give better picture quality and allow for High Definition viewing that is just not possible on conventional television sets. Unfortunately, many of today's so called LED televisions are in fact LCD TVs which simply have some backlighting provided by LEDs. This is a common problem which can only confuse the consumer, brought about by the continual one-upmanship needed by audio-visual companies in their marketing campaigns.

While the formal gardens that developed in Europe tended towards being highly manicured and carefully crafted to be symetrical (like for example the beautiful formal gardens at Versailles Palace), Japanese gardens evolved a little differently.  In fact, they tend to be designed to mirror nature a little more than European designs, and of course, given Japan's rugged coastline and many mountains, they can often look far more haphazard than their European counterparts. However, these gardens are just as tightly controled and planned as those in the West, sometimes even more so as I hope to point out.

In a Japanese garden, the idea is to create a layout that in fact gives an impression of being far larger than it actually is - plants, trees and ornaments are used in harmonious asymmetry with a balance between natural and man made items in an ever evolving attempt to perfectly model Yin and Yang and the careful balance that we should be in with nature. This is also seen is the use of water and mountains - water being Yin and mountains being Yang. The structures and shapes in the gardens have symbolic meaning that goes over and above their visual appearance and to truly appreciate the layout and symbolism could take many years of study of not only Japanese garden design, but also Oriental culture. Though of course this isn't necessary if you simply want to wonder around and enjoy the tranquillity that often seems to pervade these gardens.

So what sorts of things might you find in a Japanese garden? Well, starting with the most simple, though possibly quintessential item, you will probably see a stone lantern at some point in the garden. Japanese stone lanterns are incredibly beautiful items with a rich history; having been born in the Shinto temples and shrines, these ornately carved structures made their way into general use into formal tea gardens and eventually into every day use in gardens in Japan because of their usefulness and also their beauty. Other Japanese garden ornaments often include a bridge of some sorts - often wooden as well as torrii gateways. The torri gateways are awesome - free-standing open gates, often a lovely bright red that usually mark the entrance into sacred space or Shinto shrines. Walking through a torrii gateway is said to cleanse a person and prepares them to pray.

The great thing about Japanese gardens is that the whole structure is not always visible. Instead, portions of the garden are revealed as you walk through, so you are often left with surprise and anticipation about what will come next. Though often very brightly coloured flowering plants are used sparsely in the Japanese style garden, evergreen shrubs and trees fill the landscape and are used to symbolize permanence, while pine trees symbolise longevity. Cherry trees that flower and bloom for only a few days a year are planted to remind us of the fleeting and transitory nature of life itself. Even with the natural elements though, the gardens are carefully controlled so some plants are trimmed and cut to look ancient and windswept, while others have been pruned to represent hills, clouds or other natural phenomena.

I hope that's given you a good introduction to Japanese garden design and layout. It's a facinating subject to explore and filled with a rich amount of cultural history.