Refresh rate.
Expressed in Hz, in interlaced mode this is the number of fields written to the screen every second. In non-interlaced mode it is the number of frames (complete pictures) written to the screen every second. Typical color displays use a low-persistence phosphor that must be refreshed 60 or more times per second, i.e. at a frequency of 60 to 70Hz. Generally, the faster the vertical scanning frequency the less the perceived flicker - and flickering screens cause strained eyes.

Autoscan.
A microprocessor-based feature of Philips monitors incorporating automatic synchronization of their horizontal and vertical frequencies with those of the installed video graphics adapter. An autoscan monitor can thus operate with a wide range of video adapters.

Multi-frequency.
A monitor's ability to change resolution or refresh rate when signaled by a video adapter. Graphics adapters -"Video cards" - have the ability to "tell" a monitor to use various display resolutions and refresh rates. If the resolution or refresh rate is within a monitor's scanning range, multi-frequency monitors adjust to the resolutions and refresh rates "ordered" by the video adapter.

Dot Pitch.
The shortest center-to center distance between two phosphor dots of the same color on the screen. The smaller the dot pitch, the better the potential resolution of the monitor. High resolution monitors may have a dot pitch of 0.28 mm. Dot pitch measurements between conventional tubes and Sony's Trinitron tubes are roughly, but not exactly equivalent. The Trinitron uses vertical stripes, not dots, and its pitch is the distance between stripes.