how important is contrast ratio?

[haugse23]

I'm looking to buy a new hdtv that has full 1080p and seen many sets that have different contrast ratio, ranging from 2500:1 to 1,000,000:1 but i'm not sure what to buy. I have been in stores where i would find one that has 8,000:1 and it would look alot better than a 29,000:1 but then i would find a 50,000:1 that would look better than the 8,000:1. So i was wondering how important this is when buying a tv

[brett_day]

it is really a number that does not mean a whole lot. it is one way that manufacturers use to blow up if you will the stats of their sets compared to their competitors.

contrast ration is basically the difference between the whitest white the tv can display and the blackest black that the tv can display. one thing to remember when searching for a tv is never go on what a tv looks like in a store as none of them are calibrated. if you get a tv with a minimum of 20000:1 you will be set, anything higher will eb better but honestly at a certain point cannot tell a difference.

biggest thing to remember from this though is do not judge a set by the way it looks in a showroom! if you like the tv...get it home, calibrate it, then decide if you like it or not. if you do not like it, take it back and get a different tv!

[haugse23]

im pretty new to this whole hdtv thing so i need to get caught up a little. What do you mean by calibrate?

[My_Two_Cents]

Dynamic contrast ratio is all marketing hype designed to entice the masses who think bigger numbers mean....better. Read these two articles linked below:

http://www.practical-home-theater-gu...ast-ratio.html

http://www.cnet.com/8301-17914_1-9985085-89.html

ANSI/Native Contrast ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that are shown in the set AT THE SAME TIME (like white lettering on a black field or a black and white checkerboard). So a native contrast ratio of 20,000:1 means the black is 20,000 times darker than white. This is the TRUE definition of contrast ratio, because you will always be watching a picture with both light and dark areas displayed at the same time.

Dynamic Contrast Ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that the set is capale of displaying INDEPENDENTLY. So, put an all-white picture on the set and measure it, and then send an all black signal to the set (essentially the set is off) and measure that. Naturally you will get much bigger numbers, but for what purpose? Who is ever going to care what an all-white signal looks like versus the set being off? The reason this number is used predominantly in LCDs is because their native contrast ratios are very low (no counting the new LED backlit sets), so they don't look as good on paper (and hence, in person) as sets with higher contrast ratios. Blacks aren't black; they are more of a dark grey due to the backlight bleeding into the dark areas.

So ignore dynamic contrast ratio numbers. They mean nothing.

[J6P]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Dynamic contrast ratio is all marketing hype designed to entice the masses who think bigger numbers mean....better. Read these two articles linked below:

http://www.practical-home-theater-gu...ast-ratio.html

http://www.cnet.com/8301-17914_1-9985085-89.html

ANSI/Native Contrast ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that are shown in the set AT THE SAME TIME (like white lettering on a black field or a black and white checkerboard). So a native contrast ratio of 20,000:1 means the black is 20,000 times darker than white. This is the TRUE definition of contrast ratio, because you will always be watching a picture with both light and dark areas displayed at the same time.

Dynamic Contrast Ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that the set is capale of displaying INDEPENDENTLY. So, put an all-white picture on the set and measure it, and then send an all black signal to the set (essentially the set is off) and measure that. Naturally you will get much bigger numbers, but for what purpose? Who is ever going to care what an all-white signal looks like versus the set being off? The reason this number is used predominantly in LCDs is because their native contrast ratios are very low (no counting the new LED backlit sets), so they don't look as good on paper (and hence, in person) as sets with higher contrast ratios. Blacks aren't black; they are more of a dark grey due to the backlight bleeding into the dark areas.

So ignore dynamic contrast ratio numbers. They mean nothing.

This is not my understanding of Dynamic Contrast Ratio numbers.

What I understand is that it doesn't have anything to do with how the ratio is measured, but with whether or not processing is applied to the picture to achieve blacker blacks when needed and whiter whites when needed. This is accomplished in many different ways and varies by manufacturer, but it's often done by adjusting the backlight in real-time depending on what is being rendered on screen, or dimming blocks of LEDs in real-time as the newer LCDs do.

[dobyblue]

No, dynamic is measured by the highest white output the set can manage, compared to the darkest it can manage.

The long story short is that dynamic contrast is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

ANSI contrast is the only important figure.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Dynamic contrast ratio is all marketing hype designed to entice the masses who think bigger numbers mean....better. Read these two articles linked below:

http://www.practical-home-theater-gu...ast-ratio.html

http://www.cnet.com/8301-17914_1-9985085-89.html

ANSI/Native Contrast ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that are shown in the set AT THE SAME TIME (like white lettering on a black field or a black and white checkerboard). So a native contrast ratio of 20,000:1 means the black is 20,000 times darker than white. This is the TRUE definition of contrast ratio, because you will always be watching a picture with both light and dark areas displayed at the same time.

Dynamic Contrast Ratio - This is the difference between the whitest white and blackest black that the set is capale of displaying INDEPENDENTLY. So, put an all-white picture on the set and measure it, and then send an all black signal to the set (essentially the set is off) and measure that. Naturally you will get much bigger numbers, but for what purpose? Who is ever going to care what an all-white signal looks like versus the set being off? The reason this number is used predominantly in LCDs is because their native contrast ratios are very low (no counting the new LED backlit sets), so they don't look as good on paper (and hence, in person) as sets with higher contrast ratios. Blacks aren't black; they are more of a dark grey due to the backlight bleeding into the dark areas.

So ignore dynamic contrast ratio numbers. They mean nothing.

Explained perfectly. Great post.

[haugse23]

So after reading all of your posts, what brand of tv should i get and what would be the best contrast ratio? I've heard that you should stick to the 3 s's: Sony, ,Samsung, and Sharp

[callas01]

Originally Posted by haugse23

im pretty new to this whole hdtv thing so i need to get caught up a little. What do you mean by calibrate?

You want to adjust the settings properly, when you get it home the out-of-the-box settings are way off, get a Digital Video Essentials DVD for HD components and it will walk you through calibration. Or you could pay a professional to come out, but DVE disc should be fine, and much cheaper.

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by callas01

You want to adjust the settings properly, when you get it home the out-of-the-box settings are way off, get a Digital Video Essentials DVD for HD components and it will walk you through calibration. Or you could pay a professional to come out, but DVE disc should be fine, and much cheaper.

exactly.

calibrating your set is nothing more than just adjusting the color, contrast, sharpness etc of your set so that you can get the best possible picture in your home environment. as callas says. you can use dve basics and get great results or you can pay for a professional ISF calibration and they will adjust grey scale and the like in the service menu of the tv. however it is not worth paying someone to calibrate your set unless you are dead set on keeping it

[Ray O. Blu]

There is no industry standard for determining contrast ratios. One manufacturer's claim of 30,000:1 might not be tested with the same criteria as another manufacturer's 8,000:1 and actually be inferior in quality.