3 ms·
One point against matte screens that you need to consider... Matte screen coatings eliminate reflections by diffusing them over the entire field of view. As th
by gilgoomesh 14y ago
One point against matte screens that you need to consider...
Matte screen coatings eliminate reflections by diffusing them over the entire field of view. As the total brightness of your room increases, matte screens diffuse all of it evenly, eliminating reflections but also losing contrast ratio.
As the total ambient light increases, your screen's contrast ratio can drop from 800:1 to 50:1 (or worse). Any contrast ratio lower than about 300:1 can cause eye strain.
End result: with a typical screen of about 200cd/m^2 a matte coating is totally unusable if your room is brighter than about 1000 lux but falls below 300:1 contrast around 450 lux (typical office lux is between 350 and 500).
In summary... you need to know your environment. Matte screens work great in dark rooms with lots of spot lights to cause reflections. Glossy screens work great in bright ambient conditions with even lighting. Semi matte works well if you need a balance.
- thrownaway2424 14y agoIs that typical? The monitor I'm using right now maxes out at 370 nits, not 200.
- alok-g 14y agoIs there any data in support for < 300:1 contrast ratio causing eye strain? Kindles have a contrast ratio of about 10:1 [1]. As I know, prints have contrast ratio in 10:1 to 15:1 range. [1] http://www.best-ereaders.com/2010/09/02/eink-pearl-vs-eink-vizplex/ http://www.best-ereaders.com/2010/09/02/eink-pearl-vs-eink-v...
- gilgoomesh 14y agoNo, I don't have data. I'm running off memory from when I worked at a printing and display company (8 years ago so memory could be faulty). The point is actually related to the way your eye adjusts to ambient brightness levels. It's not about the contrast on its own but about the contrast, the number of brightness levels of the display and the brightness level with respect to the ambient conditions. The rule of thumb was that less than 300:1 starts to cause eye strain on an 8 bits per channel (256 levels) gamma power curve (non-linear) device when the device had a limited maximum brightness output (for LCDs at the time that was 200cd/m^2) and the room was bright (for an office). Kindles are 4 bits per channel (16 levels) linear and their contrast ratio isn't a complete lie (unlike most LCD makers contrast ratios who report only the absolute best case). But that's not the biggest reason why they're different. Kindles don't emit light, they reflect it (not including the Kindle White and Fire). This means that they maintain their brightness level with respect to the environment much better. Of course, Kindles start to suffer at low light (for similar reasons -- they lose their apparent contrast level).