Large TV pictures are available today from several different types of projectors, including units for affluent consumers. Flat-panel displays of the future should out-perform projectors. Almost all flat-panel research is based on the use of a matrix array of display devices, which leads to important constraints on the characteristics of the devices. In particular, they must have sharp thresholds, and they must be uniform both in threshold voltage and in output characteristics beyond threshold. Several techniques are summarized; gas discharge displays, electroluminescence, passive displays, (the outstanding examples are liquid crystals electrochromics and electrophoretics) and thin film transistors.