The Science of OLED Brightness: How It Works and How to Control It
OLED display technology is widely regarded as one of the best display technologies in the market today. It offers stunning image quality with infinite contrast, perfect blacks, accurate colors, wide viewing angles, and fast response time.
However, one of the challenges that OLED faces is controlling its brightness level. How bright are OLED displays and why does it matter? How can OLED achieve higher brightness without compromising its image quality and durability?
And how can you adjust the brightness of your OLED display according to your needs and preferences? In this blog post, we will answer these questions and more. We will also share some tips on how to choose the best OLED display for your purpose and budget. So, let’s get started!
How Bright Are OLED Displays and Why Does It Matter?
Brightness is one of the key factors that affect the image quality and performance of a display. Brightness refers to how much light a display can emit or reflect. It is measured in nits or candelas per square meter (cd/m2). The higher the brightness, the more visible and vivid the image. Brightness is important for several reasons:
Contrast Ratio
This is the ratio between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. A high contrast ratio means that the image has more depth and detail. Brightness affects the contrast ratio by determining how bright the highlights can be and how dark the blacks can be.
OLED displays have an advantage over other display technologies in terms of contrast ratio because they can turn off individual pixels completely to create perfect blacks.
HDR Expression
This is the ability of a display to reproduce high dynamic range (HDR) content, which has a wider range of brightness and color than standard dynamic range (SDR) content. HDR content can offer more realistic and immersive images with enhanced details and colors.
Brightness affects the HDR expression by determining how bright the peak brightness can be and how well the display can handle bright scenes without clipping or losing details.
Ambient Light
This is the amount of light in the environment where the display is used. Ambient light can affect the visibility and clarity of the image on the display by washing out or reflecting on the screen.
Brightness affects how well a display can cope with ambient light by determining how bright the average brightness can be and how well the display can adjust its brightness according to the ambient light level.
How Can OLED Achieve Higher Brightness Without Compromising Its Image Quality and Durability?
OLED displays are generally seen as dimmer than their LCD or Mini-LED counterparts, given that OLED uses self-emissive pixels rather than a scalable backlight. It is harder to illuminate the entire picture effectively with OLED than with LCD or Mini-LED.
Moreover, increasing the brightness of OLED displays can also cause some issues such as burn-in, degradation, power consumption, and heat generation.
However, OLED displays have made significant progress in improving their brightness level over the years, thanks to various innovations and enhancements in their technology and design. Some of the ways that OLED displays can achieve higher brightness without compromising their image quality and durability are:
New Materials
OLED displays use organic compounds that emit light when an electric current is applied to them. The choice of materials can affect the brightness, color, efficiency, and lifespan of OLED displays.
By using new materials that have higher luminance, wider color gamut, lower power consumption, and longer durability, OLED displays can achieve higher brightness without sacrificing their image quality and durability.
For example, LG’s OLED EVO TVs use a new material for the emissive layer of OLEDs that increases their luminance by 20% compared to previous models.
New Structures
OLED displays use thin layers of organic compounds that are arranged on a substrate that acts as both the electrode and the screen. The structure of these layers can affect the brightness, contrast, color accuracy, and viewing angle of OLED displays.
By using new structures that optimize the light emission, reflection, absorption, and transmission of these layers, OLED displays can achieve higher brightness without sacrificing their image quality and durability. For example, LG’s META technology uses micro lenses that emit even.
New Algorithms
OLED displays use algorithms that control the brightness, color, and image processing of the display. The algorithms can affect the brightness, contrast, color accuracy, and HDR expression of OLED displays.
By using new algorithms that enhance the brightness, contrast, color accuracy, and HDR expression of OLED displays, OLED displays can achieve higher brightness without sacrificing their image quality and durability.
For example, LG’s META booster is a smart brightness enhancing algorithm that precisely analyzes brightness information and makes adjustments in each scene to achieve peak brightness accurately even when areas of peak brightness in the image increase.
How Can You Adjust the Brightness of Your OLED Display According to Your Needs and Preferences?
OLED displays have various settings and modes that allow you to adjust the brightness of your display according to your needs and preferences. Some of the ways that you can adjust the brightness of your OLED display are:
Brightness Setting
This is the basic setting that allows you to manually adjust the overall brightness level of your display. You can increase or decrease the brightness setting according to your preference or the ambient light level.
However, you should be careful not to set the brightness too high or too low, as it may affect the image quality and durability of your display. A moderate brightness level is recommended for optimal performance and longevity of your display.
OLED Light Setting
This is a specific setting for OLED displays that allows you to adjust the maximum luminance level of your display. You can increase or decrease the OLED light setting according to your preference or the content type.
However, you should be careful not to set the OLED light too high or too low, as it may affect the image quality and durability of your display. A high OLED light level may cause burn-in or degradation issues, while a low OLED light level may cause dimness or loss of details.
A balanced OLED light level is recommended for optimal performance and longevity of your display.
Picture Mode
This is a preset setting that allows you to choose a predefined combination of brightness, contrast, color, and other image parameters for your display. You can choose from various picture modes according to your preference or the content type.
For example, you can choose a cinema mode for watching movies or shows, a game mode for playing games, or a standard mode for general viewing. Each picture mode has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of brightness and image quality.
You can also customize each picture mode according to your preference or the content type.
AI Features
This is an advanced feature that allows you to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically adjust the brightness and other image parameters of your display.
You can use various AI features such as AI Brightness Control, AI Picture Pro, AI Sound Pro, or AI Adaptive Sound Control to enhance the brightness and image quality of your display according to the content type and the ambient light level.
These AI features use sensors and algorithms to analyze the content and the environment and make adjustments accordingly. These AI features can offer a more convenient and smart way to adjust the brightness and image quality of your display.
Conclusion
Brightness is an important factor that affects the image quality and performance of OLED display technology. OLED displays have made significant progress in improving their brightness level over the years, thanks to various innovations and enhancements in their technology and design.
OLED displays can achieve higher brightness without compromising their image quality and durability by using new materials, new structures, and new algorithms. OLED displays also have various settings and modes that allow you to adjust the brightness of your display according to your needs and preferences.
We hope this blog post has helped you understand what brightness is and how to control it in OLED display technology. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them below. We would love to hear from you.
