32 inch HDTV, contrast 800:1?

Question

I was wondering what contrast ratio is, and if a contrast ratio of 800:1 would be bad for a 32 inch LCD TV?

It's this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-32PF7320A-Widescreen-Flat-Panel-HDTV/dp/B000AMPGFM

Answer 1

Contrast ratio is something they put on there to make themselves look good. There's no industry standard rating system. So an 800:1 for a Sharp could be the same as a 1200:1 for a Sony. It's an arbitrary stat until the industry standardizes the method for rating and means for measuring.

I'm sorry someone doesn't like my answer. TV Guy is right contrast ratio is the difference from true black to true white, or as close as they can get. However, I am right too in that each company measures this ratio differently so you can't compare one brand to another.

Answer 2

Working in the home theater industry, I would have to disagree with the first poster who says there is no standard rating. There are two ways to measure contrast ratio: full on/full off and ANSI.

Full on/full off is when they flash a complete white image and measure the brightness. Then do the same with a complete black image. This is the most accurate way of measuring the contrast ratio. Most companies in the industry use this for TVs and projectors.

There are some companies who like to cheat the system and advertise a higher number. In this case, they would measure it in ANSI. This produces a higher number. They display a checkboard image and measure the whites and blacks. This is inaccurate because the brightness is averaged and brightness uniformity.

Any who....800:1 is on the low side. Everyone is right, 1000-1500:1 contrast ratio is about average for an LCD TV. The reason why people like plasma TVs is because they go up to 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Higher is better.

Just looking at specs alone, contrast ratio is the only way to tell how well the colors will be reproduced. The higher the number, the better blacks, whites and everything between will be more vivid and vibrant.

Of course, you should just let all these specs be guides, not the decision makers. The final decision maker should always be seeing it in-person and reading reviews. The bottom line is that marketers can legally lie and embellish the specs to a certain degree. Working in marketing, I know.

Answer 3

Contrast ratio is the ratio of: best white/best black
It gives you an estimate of the dynamic range of the TV.
The higher the contrast ratio, the better blacks you get.

These days, most LCD TVs have a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 to 1,500:1

Samsung (and a few others) keeps confusing people by advertising dynamic contrast ratio, which involves changing the intensity of the backlight and it is rather meaningless, but helps Samsung look better. Those numbers are usually: contrast x 4 (or 5), so typical values are 4,000:1 - 6,000:1