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Hi Guys i ‘m struggling abit with the concept of contrast ratio of a monitor.
The way i understand it is that the contrast ratio is the difference in luminance between black and white.
So lets assume one monitor is 1000:1 and the other is 1600:1 if both monitors can achieve the same black level in nits for example 0.13 then the difference would be to on the whites for example on could reach 300 and the other 400.
But since we usually calibrate a monitor at around 120nits or even less so the whites are fixed way below monitor capabilities shouldn’t the contrast ratio of both monitors when they are been calibrated the same? If that is correct isn’t the contrast ratio of a monitor in practice a bit irrelevant?
Thanks in advance
It depends on the display type. OLED’s and microLED’s, for example, don’t have a contrast ratio since you can’t divide by zero. For everything else, however, when you turn down the backlight to lower your peak luminance, your black level goes down as well, so even at a set 120 nits, the display with the higher contrast ratio will have deeper blacks, maintaining its contrast-ratio advantage. The situation gets more complicated with dimming (dynamic contrast ratio), but it still applies to *native* contrast ratio. In short, contrast ratio is relevant, albeit less so for displays with dimming
Thank you for your reply, I ‘m talking for traditional ips monitors like benq sw series or eizo cg series.So for example in my scenario my benq is able to reach 0.15 nits for black level when calibrated at 100cd/m2 which is if i ‘mot mistaken 400:1 contrast ratio (according to its specs the monitor is capable of 1000:1).
Reading the specification of CG2700S which has a contrast raito of 1600:1 and also reading their software manual they advise 0.2 nits for black level (though they have an option to put the black level at monitor’s capability ( for which i dont have any metric).So lets just say i calibrate both monitors at black level of 0.2 nits and at 100 cd/m2, both monitors will have the exact same contrast ratio no matter their specifications is that correct?
Thank you for your reply, I ‘m talking for traditional ips monitors like benq sw series or eizo cg series.So for example in my scenario my benq is able to reach 0.15 nits for black level when calibrated at 100cd/m2 which is if i ‘mot mistaken 400:1 contrast ratio (according to its specs the monitor is capable of 1000:1).
That is a HW limitation of Benq monitors due to low quality panels + wrong settings and wrong approach to calibratin in its PME/PMU software.
400:1 is the result of applying uniformity compensation to a bad pannel + absolute black setting in PME/PMU.
Reading the specification of CG2700S which has a contrast raito of 1600:1 and also reading their software manual they advise 0.2 nits for black level (though they have an option to put the black level at monitor’s capability ( for which i dont have any metric).
That’s false.
CG2700S should have a CR about nominal value to >1000:1 with uniformity compensation ON (which only affects brightness since dC uniformity for coloredges are perfect, that’s you pay for)
This is the upper constraint. Choosing D50 will lower contrast a little or using grayscale priority in CN7, or simulating some black level at user’s choice
What you read is not a recommendation at all, it’s the limitation of internal colorimeter when using OSD built in programable calibration. You can aim using that built in colorimeter for min (native contrast) or 0.2-3.5 range. But you can use an i1d3 and calibrate to whatever blacklevel you want (as long as it is smaller or equal than native contrast or native contrast + UC)
So lets just say i calibrate both monitors at black level of 0.2 nits and at 100 cd/m2, both monitors will have the exact same contrast ratio no matter their specifications is that correct?
It will be a waste for CG unless using it for softproof on verly limited image edition software.
But if you want it, calibrate that useless Benq first (try PMU 1.1), then read actual black level with displaycal. Then run Colornavigator (patch EDR if needed), and choose 100nit and the blakc level you mesured for the Benq.
This does not mean they will look equal on color managed software since PME/PMU usually stores infinite contrast in ICC (hence softproofing may lift shadows) and CN7 by default uses it too (useful on 1000:1) but can be configurable to store actual black.
Calibrite Display Pro HL on Amazon
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases..15-nit black level and 100-nit white level is about a 667:1 contrast ratio (100/.15)
Usually, you want to use your display’s native black level unless you really need it to match another display in that regard
Your last statement is correct. Both will have a contrast ratio of 100/.2 = 500:1
