Contrast Ratio

[MrRoy]

So I have read that the human eye can only distinguish up to a 300:1 contrast ratio. Should this be true, then all the contrast ratio information on tv's is useless. My current TV has a static 1800:1 (Sony LCD). When I have looked at other TV's with a higher contrast ratio (dynamic or static) there is nothing that jumps out at me that makes me want that TV over mine. I absolutely love my Sony.

With that being said, do any of the experts on here know if the 300:1 is true? I read this the other day, but I have read a lot of other things in the past. It is hard to find the truth in all the BS.

Thanks for your input!

[xneox]

You have to take specs, distance charts, numbers that seem to originate from people's asses, etc. with a grain...no, a pound of salt.

No one can account for every individual's visual acuity and perception - let's face it, we're not robots with calibrated cameras for eyes and assembly-line visual processors for brains. The details I personally pick up on typically go unnoticed by my wife and most of my friends...and a few people pick up on the things that I miss too. Don't bother with the brain surgeon's claims - doctors are all just guessing anyway.

Also, while a particular spec may not make each and every scene different, each of them can affect a small part of certain scenes, making the overall experience better. This alone makes the point at which specs cease to be noticed impossible to quantify. Test images only go so far.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by MrRoy

So I have read that the human eye can only distinguish up to a 300:1 contrast ratio. Should this be true, then all the contrast ratio information on tv's is useless. My current TV has a static 1800:1 (Sony LCD). When I have looked at other TV's with a higher contrast ratio (dynamic or static) there is nothing that jumps out at me that makes me want that TV over mine. I absolutely love my Sony.

With that being said, do any of the experts on here know if the 300:1 is true? I read this the other day, but I have read a lot of other things in the past. It is hard to find the truth in all the BS.

Thanks for your input!

300:1 contrast of the human eye is probably true when a fixed iris position is considered. However, human eye is a complex machine and iris changes continuously depending on your eye movement, where you looking and amount of light etc. Due to this continuous change I thick human eye can experience huge differences in contrast like million to one. For example, the difference in contrast in dimly lit cinema and a bright sunny outdoors could be million to one and human eye can cope with that very easily.

[genkifd]

have been trying to determine Contrast Ratio for the last few days.

from what i read Full on / Full off CR is dynamic contrast ratio meaning maximum white and maximum blacks.....

Static & Ansi is native CR which is basically using the Checker board technique and give a more true on screen figure. however this figure is really effected by the room - light, wall colours etc ...

None of the above are truely accurate....

As a result the best thing is use your own eyes - as blacks should be black not dark grey....

a tv with high dynamic CR doesnt mean it has got great blacks.....

[syncguy]

Yes, certainly high on/off contrast is very important. However, cannot discount auto iris based dynamic contrast since it reduces overall light level thus reducing the brightness of the picture leading to perceivable higher black level. So, IMO, dynamic contrast is important as well.