i think 5x7 is used because it is the cheapest thing that works
and all the drivers and the like are there for it, no need to roll your o=
wn
10x14 driver chip with all the charicters programmed in.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu]On Behalf
> Of Hern=E1n Freschi
> Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 15:20
> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public.
> Subject: Re: [PIC] LED Matrix
>
>
> yeah but even today highway signs for example still have 5x7, and also
> many other kinds of displays, but we are way beyond that age.
> there must be some important advantage of 5x7 which makes it still the
> "standard". maybe because signs like that are designed to be readable
> (and those 5x7's look quite ok), and nobody cares about nicer
> characters?
> i remember the clock at some building in Buenos Aires (i think it was
> the Ita=FA Bank). It was huge, and had some beautiful numbers, all roun=
d
> and stuff. (obviously it was WAY beyond 5x7. )
> http://www.itau.com.ar/institucional/img/empresa_edificioitau.GIF
> here's a drawing of the building (couldn't get a picture) but you can
> see that the clock is one story tall. it looks pretty neat, and i saw
> it from several blocks away.
>
> hjf
>
>
> On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 15:55:05 +1300, Russell McMahon
> <apptech@paradise.net.nz> wrote:
>
> > In the goode olde days when displays were very very very expensive to
> > make and dot matrix printers were trying to take over from fixed
> > character printers (such as daisy wheel, golf-ball, chain, band, etc)
> > and also very very expensive, it was desirable to make characters
> > using as few dots as possible. It was determined that 5 horizontal by
> > 7 vertical was about as small a character matrix as you could get
> > without doing excessive violence to the appearance. You can go smalle=
r
> > and be recognisable BUT it is immediately obvious that you are doing
> > strange things. 5 x 7 usually looks really bad but the characters are
> > instantly recognisable.
> >
> > --
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