LCD TV viewing in a dark room

[rjs316]

Hey,

As you can see this is my first post although i have read the forums for a while now.

I have seen reports that LCD screens sometimes have problems when viewing in a dark room.

I'm looking at buying the Sony s32a12u soon and wondered if any members have had any problems they could share.

Thanking you in advance,
Rich

 

[richard plumb]

probably be the same as most LCDs.

LCDs work by shining a bright light, then blocking that with the LCD pixels. So to show black, you have to block any light from coming through. LCD isn't completely great at that, so absolute black isn't possible.

In normal light this isn't so noticable, but in a dark room, it can show itself as light 'leaking' through the screen, and a black scene can glow slightly.

Best solution is to always watch in a light room, or at least keep a lamp on. This also helps to keep your eyes balanced so you don't strain them, and it enhances the perceived contrast.

 

[Kit2005]

I can only get grey in a dark room, but the blacks look pure black when there's bright ambient daylight, so long as the sun isn't directly behind the TV screen.

I was thinking it would be possible to improve the blacks by setting up a couple of lamps to shine on the TV screen. Any suggestions on how to go about this? Yellow electric light doesn't seem to do the trick.

TIA

 

[neilmcl]

I can only get grey in a dark room, but the blacks look pure black when there's bright ambient daylight, so long as the sun isn't directly behind the TV screen.

I was thinking it would be possible to improve the blacks by setting up a couple of lamps to shine on the TV screen. Any suggestions on how to go about this? Yellow electric light doesn't seem to do the trick.

TIA

You should never shine lights on the screen, any ambient lighting should be behind the screen itself and should be a slightly lower brightness than the white that the screen is set up to produce.

Also if you can get an LCD with manual backlight control and turn the backlight to it's lowest settings then this will also improve things greatly.

I currently watch DVDs on my Sharp LC37P50E with the a setup for night viewing, ie, backlight turned all the way down and all other settings set accordingly via DVE and the blacks are more than OK.

 

[Rob1698]

I was thinking it would be possible to improve the blacks by setting up a couple of lamps to shine on the TV screen. Any suggestions on how to go about this? Yellow electric light doesn't seem to do the trick.

TIA

The lights should not shine on the screen but on the wall (or area) around it.
Look at what Philips ambilight is doing.

 

[DanVJ]

Well *in theory* one should never be watching TV on a completely dark room. There should always be some ambient light, because having the TV as your only lightsource in the room can strain your eyes.
That's why even cinema's always have some lights on even when the movie is playing.

 

[mr-monday]

I thought it was so people coud get to the toilet without getting bloody shins!

 

[DanVJ]

I thought it was so people coud get to the toilet without getting bloody shins!

Well.. uhm... that MIGHT have helped the case too...

 

[Kit2005]

Right. So is there any particular kind of lamp or bulb or wattage that's particularly suited for use with an LCD?

I've heard energy saving bulbs recommended when they give out pure light white, but a lot of these are described sold as "warm white." Will that do?

TIA

 

[sallyann]

No doubt some enterprising company will 'develop' a ridiculously expensive 'must have' light bulb specially designed for use behind an LCD TV!

Please send me your cheques for £99.99 and I'll send you a suitable bulb by return of post.

 

[PUD the Ancient]

You should use a halogen bulb as they give out a pure white light which will not influence the the onscreen colours as a normal bulb would

 

[andrewfee]

You should use a halogen bulb as they give out a pure white light which will not influence the the onscreen colours as a normal bulb would

Halogen bulbs are far from white from my experience. I've had halogen bulbs in my room for a few years now (hate the things) and they give off a very strong orange cast. They put out loads of heat too.

What you want is a 6500k bulb of some sort behind your screen. There are some designed to be attached to LCDs/Plasmas, but they seemed rather expensive when I last checked.

I've been redecorating and will be changing the light fixture in my room. It's not 6500k, but I've bought a "daylight" energy saving bulb with a 6400k temperature, which is about as close as you're going to get without spending much. (100k is not much difference at all)

Got it in a lamp behind the screen just now until the new fixture is put in, but it does a fantastic job.

This is the one I bought:

http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/variant_detail.asp?var=3675

Unlike previous energy saving bulbs I've used, this one doesn't need to "warm up" - it's at full brightness straight away.

 

[TJNewton]

On one of the Toshiba thread's someone was using blue LED's for a backlight, any comments?

 

[elkabyle]

On one of the Toshiba thread's someone was using blue LED's for a backlight, any comments?

Check out this article:
http://www.bit-tech.net/preview/hardware/brightside_hdr_edr/1.html
(if you're lazy, go to page 8 directly to see a comparison between a conventiomal lcd display and an HDR one).
You'll want to hold off from buying a lcd display today and wait one or two years until those new babies go mainstream.

 

[RyanK]

Hey,

As you can see this is my first post although i have read the forums for a while now.

I have seen reports that LCD screens sometimes have problems when viewing in a dark room.

I'm looking at buying the Sony s32a12u soon and wondered if any members have had any problems they could share.

Thanking you in advance,
Rich

Stop watching those Films

 

[Kit2005]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Will one of these fancy bulbs as ambient light, ie the main room ceiling bulb, help, or does it have to be behind the telly?

 

[andrewfee]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Will one of these fancy bulbs as ambient light, ie the main room ceiling bulb, help, or does it have to be behind the telly?

Shouldn't have to be behind the TV, but it'll have the greatest effect there.

If it's just a ceiling light then it'll also light the front of the screen; although that's not a big issue with LCDs, as you don't get the reflections you would with a CRT/Plasma, as it's not got the glass in front.

 

[ijd]

i thought most ambi lights were neon, blue or pink seem to be the favourites,give off a glow rather than light.

 

[Kit2005]

Righto. Can any one recommend a nice lamp to stick one of these bulbs in?

TIA

 

[TJNewton]

You'll want to hold off from buying a lcd display today and wait one or two years until those new babies go mainstream.[/QUOTE]

The future's bright the futures Brightside, wow!

 

[Kit2005]

I've been redecorating and will be changing the light fixture in my room. It's not 6500k, but I've bought a "daylight" energy saving bulb with a 6400k temperature, which is about as close as you're going to get without spending much. (100k is not much difference at all)

Got it in a lamp behind the screen just now until the new fixture is put in, but it does a fantastic job.

This is the one I bought:

http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/variant_detail.asp?var=3675

Unlike previous energy saving bulbs I've used, this one doesn't need to "warm up" - it's at full brightness straight away.

I've bought one of these and it definitely helps. It's not a huge improvement, but as ambient light the blacks seem blacker. I think the mean difference is that the quality of light is so much easier on the eyes, making watching with the light on a more pleasant experience all round.

The bulb is bright but not dazzling if you don't look right at it, and the light cast seemss a very very pale blue color.

 

[screemer]

So if i get a lamp and stick one of those bulbs in, should i put the lamp behind the screen on the floor so i cant actually see the bulb or place it on a table or something so i can see the bulb??

 

[andrewfee]

So if i get a lamp and stick one of those bulbs in, should i put the lamp behind the screen on the floor so i cant actually see the bulb or place it on a table or something so i can see the bulb??

You definitely don't want to see the bulb. I'd place it behind the TV, or at least get a shade that stops you seeing just how bright it is.

 

[Morris Schæffer]

So I've got an halogen lamp behind me. Is that ok also or does it have to be near the display?

 

[Morris Schæffer]

So I've got an halogen lamp behind me. Is that ok also or does it have to be near the display?

Anyone?