In-flight entertainment system controlling backlighting while erasing retained images on liquid crystal displays

A liquid crystal display, LCD, display unit comprising:

• a backlight panel;
• a polarizer layer on the backlight panel, the polarizer layer having a uniform polarization direction;
• a transistor array layer on the polarizer layer;
• a liquid crystal layer on the transistor array layer, wherein transistors of the transistor array layer are operable to generate fields controlling directional orientation of liquid crystals forming pixels of the liquid crystal layer;
• a color filter layer on the liquid crystal layer;
• a backlight driver connected to drive light sources of the backlight panel to emit light through the polarizer layer and the transistor array layer toward the liquid crystal layer;
• and
• an LCD controller operative to:
• during an image display mode
• receive data defining an image to be displayed, and
• control transistors of the transistor array layer based on the data to directionally orient liquid crystals of corresponding pixels of the liquid crystal layer relative to the polarization direction of the polarizer layer to adjust light transmissivity of the corresponding pixels and define the image;
• and
• during a retained pattern erase mode,
• control the backlight driver to turn off or dim below a threshold level the light sources of the backlight panel, and
• while maintaining the light sources of the backlight panel turned off or dimmed below the threshold level, selectively control transistors of the transistor array layer to repetitively cycle directional orientations of liquid crystals of corresponding pixels between at least two offset directions to at least partially erase a retained pattern bias among the pixels.