Abstract: A display terminal comprises a running or scanning character display together with a keyboard. The display may comprise a gas panel having a plurality of orthogonal conductors disposed in a gas filled envelope, the intersection of these conductors defining gaseous discharge sites. Phase shifted control signals applied to selected sites of the display are used to improve the optical quality and resolution of the characters displayed without increasing the number of light spots. Alternatively, the number of light spots might be reduced without degradation of optical quality or resolution of the display.