This would mean the TV has a contrast ratio of The most common word used to describe a TV that looks like that is "washed out. Most TVs these days have a contrast ratio of around 5, Some are a lot more, but we'll get to that later. Let's use that as a baseline, and say that TV looks like this:. Not bad, right? The dark parts are dark, the bright parts are bright. Well, sort of. Obviously I can't magically manipulate your screen to display what different contrast ratio TVs look like, so I'll have to use images that represent them.
In most comparisons I've done, and that others have done , with TV reviewers and enthusiasts alike, the TV with the best contrast ratio as long as it doesn't mess up anything else almost always wins. It's also the most obvious aspect of picture quality. If the colors are a little bit off, or if there's extra resolution, it isn't as instantly obvious without another TV nearby to compare to.
A TV with a great contrast ratio "wows" regardless. In the discussion of contrast ratio, a distinction has to be made between native contrast ratio and dynamic contrast ratio. Native contrast ratios for LCD have improved quite a bit in the last few years, and rarely is it a serious issue the exception is IPS panels; see below. Plasma's biggest advantage over LCD was its better native contrast ratio. That crown is now on OLED. With local dimming , the dark parts of the screen can get darker, while the bright parts stay bright.
There are two types of local dimming, too. The first is "full-array" or "direct," which means the LEDs are arranged behind the screen, and the best can dim relatively small sections. How small depends on the total number of "zones" the more the better , though most companies don't release this info.
Roughly, it might look something like this:. Again, I can't make the image on your screen darker or lighter, but here's kinda what it would look like:.
As you can see, a display with a high native contrast is the way to go, if that's what you're going for. The night sky is black, but the streetlights pop out. The day sky is bright, but the dark jacket is dark. This is more like CRT, more like film, more like life.
The technology with the highest native contrast ratio is Sony's version SXRD comes in a rather distant second. Third is plasma, though some DLP projectors are close. LCD has come a long way in the past decade, but still lags behind the other technologies. Thankfully, the better LCD manufactures know this and have come up with a few ways to mimic the high native contrast ratio of the other technologies.
The best way to get a high intra-scene contrast ratio with LCDs is with local dimming. It's not done on a per-pixel level, but LED zones are generally small enough that the overall effect is quite good.
It's far better than what the LCD panel can do itself. The downside is an artifact known as "halos" where the LEDs are lit behind small bright areas of the screen, but these areas are visible because the other parts of the screen are dark. This is very noticeable on specific types of content like movie credits or star fields but generally local dimming works really well. I was going to Photoshop some halos onto a screenshot of the one movie where I actually had a screen credit, but it came across more douchey than helpful.
Unfortunately, most manufactures have moved away from full array LED backlights, which are the only kind that can do local dimming well, because of the cost. Several companies have developed methods to dim areas of the screen with LED edge lighting, though the effect isn't as good as full array LEDs.
You may be asking yourself: How can you, as a consumer, find out what display has the best contrast ratio? Good question. As mentioned, all manufacturers manufacture their numbers with little basis on reality, so spec sheets are out. So that leaves reviews. Sadly, few review sites measure contrast ratio, and those that do don't have consistency between them. There is no set standard for reviewers on how to measure contrast ratio either, so numbers are going to be extremely different.
And then what do you measure? This certainly gets a decent view of the overall contrast ratio, but isn't terribly relevant with actual video which is never totally dark or totally white. Also, what about a TV where the dynamic circuitry can't be disabled?
That's not a valid measurement, when compared to those that can. Or how about displays that actively limit the total current draw all plasmas. With these, a full white field will be significantly darker than what's possible on smaller areas of the screen. ANSI contrast ratio is a good addition. This is where eight-each white and black boxes in a checkerboard pattern are measured and averaged. This gives a good idea of what a display is doing, and is far more relevant to compare to actual video.
Even this, though, is problematic, as the brightness of the white boxes can affect the measurement of the black boxes. Done right, it is also exceedingly time consuming. Spending that much time on one measurement that most people will overlook is not an effective use of time. I hate to say it, but there is no good answer. Browse All iPhone Articles Browse All Mac Articles Do I need one? Browse All Android Articles Browse All Smart Home Articles Customize the Taskbar in Windows Browse All Microsoft Office Articles What Is svchost.
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