Why do most LED monitors have low contrast ratios? (1000:1)

Question

I was just looking on newegg.com and I noticed that there are about 28 monitors have have a 1000:1 contrast ratio but only 5 that have the 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio...how come most LED monitors have a low contrast ratio? My LCD monitor now has a contrast ratio of 20,000:1.

What am I not understanding here?

Answer 1

Dynamic Contrast.

It is also common to market only the dynamic contrast ratio capability of a display (when it is better than its static contrast ratio), which should not be directly compared to the static contrast ratio. A plasma display with a static 5000:1 contrast ratio will show superior contrast to an LCD with 5000:1 dynamic and 1000:1 static contrast ratio when the input signal contains a full range of brightnesses from 0 to 100% simultaneously.

One reviewer is giving up:

There was a time when I used to lambast the meaninglessness of dynamic contrast ratio figures quoted in the latest TVs and monitors, but now I just give up...

Samsung has launched the 'XL2370', a 23in 16:9 LED backlit monitor which it claims has a 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Let me say that again: 5,000,000:1. To put this in perspective, the eighth generation Pioneer Kuro - a set which revolutionised the HDTV landscape (as is still only bettered by its successor) - has a 16,000:1 contrast ratio. Sigh.

Answer 2

Ignore the dynamic contrast ratio. Only pay attention to the static or typical contrast ratio. The dynamic contrast ratio is just a number someone pulled out of the air.

Answer 3

More expensive Samsung LED's have lower dynamic contrast ratios than less expensive ones. For example, the 2450 LED has a 1,000,000: 1 dcr while the 2431 LED has a 5,000,000: 1 dynamic contrast ratio. Having read the comments above, I believe the dcr is a bunch of pooey and that only a visual inspection of each monitor will tell you if the comfort and feel meets your expectations. This is getting more difficult to do online.

Answer 4

The contrast ratio isnt a standardized measure, maybe the company making the monitor uses a lower scale than some other companies

Answer 5

In my opinion, which is just personal observation from being a consumer not an engineer or some mad scientist, you should not only focus on the the dynamic and static contrast/aspect ratios. Picture quality to the human eye also relies heavily on the refresh rate and refresh rate response time, I personally will never purchase a tv under 240hz or over 5ms response time. And everyones eyes are different, so always go in person to look at models before buying, for instance most people love sony bravias for some reason my eyes think those things are fit for a baseball bat and a dumpster with the way that they are priced, again just my eyes. And even in person it's always a crapshoot, due to large cable runs, image feeds being split improperly a gazillion times, large dep't stores not setting the tv's image to optimum settings, or the resolution of the image feed not being adjusted correctly. Also 1080p or "fullhd" can't be fed with most basic cable boxes, most providers only offer up to 720p, so check with your cable provider if your mainly using the tv...for tv, im not sure about satelite. Gaming relies more heavily on refresh rate also, especially online gaming if your into that stuff. And once you've actually selected the tv for you and want to utilize it's full potential of the image and sound capabilities get a bitchin blu-ray player, a diesel ass hdmi cable, and let 'er rip. And all of the above goes for computer monitors also, the most important thing with monitors- !!!making sure your video card can dish out the hd image you want!!