What disadvantage did early liquid crystal display (LCD) technology face?

Early liquid crystal display (LCD) technology faced challenges related to weak contrast and smearing effects. This is primarily because the original designs of LCDs utilized passive matrix addressing, which did not provide the same level of control over individual pixels as active matrix technology does. As a result, the displays often exhibited poor contrast ratios, making it difficult to distinguish between light and dark areas on screens, especially in brightly lit environments.

Additionally, smearing effects occurred due to the slower response times of the liquid crystals when transitioning from one state to another. This was particularly noticeable during the display of fast-moving images or video content, where motion blur could detract from the viewing experience. These limitations made early LCDs less favorable compared to other display technologies available at the time, such as cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, which offered better contrast and faster response times.

The other options, while relevant to different technologies or developments, did not specifically characterize the disadvantageous features of the early LCD technology in the same way that weak contrast and smearing effects did.