Contrast Ratio Explained
If you own a television set then you must have surely heard of the contrast ratio for your TV at some point or the other. Different televisions have different contrast ratios, or this is what the manufacturers would have us believe. But how much difference does it really make?
We are led to believe by the manufacturers of TV sets that if a TV has a higher contrast ratio, the picture quality will be better. In fact, some High-definition TVs (HDTVs) today even boast a ratio of as high as 3,000,000:1. This is a very large number to be brandishing about in reference to something to do with the picture quality, so ignorant customers get fooled easily. But in reality, this is just a number set to impress people.
What is Contrast Ratio?
Let us first try and understand what we mean exactly by contrast ratio. Technically speaking, it refers to the difference in the amount of light between the darkest shade of black and the lightest shade of white that we can see on the screen. The term 'contrast ratio' originates from the fact that it is actually the degree of difference, or the contrast, between these two extreme shades of darkness and brightness. Some TV sets will show a black rock as just a dark-colored lump. Better TV sets will highlight the details in the rock and show all the pores and crevices on it. The level of these details that we see on the screen are also determined by the contrast ratio of the TV set.
Static and Dynamic Contrast Ratio
An article about plasma and LCD TV contrast ratio would be incomplete without the mention of static and dynamic contrast ratio. These are two very different ways of looking at it, and the truth is that dynamic contrast ratio tends to over-exaggerate the numbers in order to make it look more impressive.
A static contrast ratio is the more accurate of the two, and it is usually a much smaller number than the dynamic contrast ratio. Also known as the display device native contrast ratio, the static contrast ratio represents the true contrast ratio of the TV set. Thus it is telling you about the difference between the darkest black and the whitest white that it can support at any given time. On the other hand, the dynamic contrast ratio simply tells us the ratio between the darkest black and the whitest white as they appear at separate times. Hence the extremely high figures like 3,000,000:1. In reality, the TV screen would be unable to support such shades at the same time. This is why these figures are highly misleading.
The main trouble with judging TV sets based on their contrast ratios is that there are no industry standards for these ratios. So, each manufacturer is free to issue their own contrast ratios based on their own production and engineering. This has caused quite a stir and controversy in the TV market, and the people who have to suffer the most are the poor ignorant customers. They end up paying very high amounts for TV sets that have exaggerated dynamic contrast ratios, when in reality the static contrast ratios are similar to the TV sets that cost half as much.
If you have heard or read about HDTV contrast ratio from a TV manufacturer or a salesman, you will surely have heard about the merits these high contrast ratios have. The only advice we can give you is to not be swayed by such things, and to educate yourself further about the differences between static contrast and dynamic contrast ratios.
The main aim of these people is to sell off their television sets as fast as possible, and the best way to do this is by enticing customers with these large exaggerated figures. Hopefully, this article on TV set projector contrast ratio will help you avoid falling for such marketing gimmicks.
