Display apparatus and method for driving the display apparatus

A display apparatus which is supplied with display data, said display apparatus comprising:

• a display panel having a plurality of picture elements which are arranged in a matrix having rows and columns;
• signal processing means for producing image signals corresponding to the display data and for outputting the image signals;
• scanning means for sequentially selecting each row of said display panel;
• display signal supplying means for selecting each column of a next row in the sequence, producing display signals corresponding to the image signals for that row and supplying the display signals to the picture elements in that row in response to the scanning means;
• determining means for determining whether the display data represents a still image;
• control means for stopping the operation of said display signal supplying means including the selection of each column in the next row in the sequence after the display signals representing the still image are supplied to all picture elements unless and until said determining means determines that the display data no longer represents the same still image;
• read-out means for reading out the display signals retained in the picture elements when said control means stops the operation of said display supplying means;
• modulating means for modulating the display signals read out from the picture elements by said read-out means in order to obtain appropriate display signals to maintain displaying the still image on said display panel;
• and
• re-writing means for writing the modulated display signals into the picture elements from which the display signals were read out by said read-out means.