Engadget

Latest smartphone displays pitted in no-holds-barred deathmatch

Chris Ziegler — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:45:00 EST

If you're a numbers geek, you're trying to be scientific about your next smartphone purchase, or you just like pretty colors, you might appreciate DisplayMate's latest report rounding up examples of all (well, most) of the latest and greatest display technologies out there: IPS LCD, Super AMOLED, AMOLED, and TFT, represented by the iPhone 4 and Droid, the Galaxy S, the Nexus One, and the iPhone 3GS, respectively. Noticeably missing is SLCD, the technology HTC has been using to make up for lost ground on its AMOLED shortage from component supplier Samsung, but we've got a hunch DisplayMate's hard at work at adding that into the mix.

Anyhow, considering the sheer number of variables the firm takes into consideration -- everything from color depth, to brightness, to reflectance, to color gamut -- there's no clear-cut winner, but the Droid and iPhone 4 are obviously a cut above the rest with generally higher scores and better performance across the board. The Galaxy S' Super AMOLED turns in a decent performance, too, but takes a little hit for its 16-bit color depth and blown-out colors. Of course, if you consider any of these -- even the crappy TFT on the 3GS -- to a phone from five years ago, it still looks like science fiction... so you really can't go wrong, can you?

Latest smartphone displays pitted in no-holds-barred deathmatch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 4's retina display claim put under the math microscope

Vlad Savov — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:01:00 EST

Samsung might have entertained us with some trash talk about the iPhone 4's IPS LCD yesterday, but this stuff is of a rather more somber variety. Raymond Soneira, president of monitor diagnostics firm DisplayMate, has said that Apple's retina display marketing is inaccurate, because he believes a display that truly makes pixels indistinguishable to the human eye would require a density in the vicinity of 477dpi. The iPhone 4 has 326dpi, and by now you might be surmising that Steve Jobs flat out lied when he said that the iPhone 4's pixels are too small for the human retina to discern from 12 inches away.

But not so fast, says Phil Plait from Discover, whose résumé includes calibrating a camera on board the Hubble space telescope. He's done the math too and finds that the 477 number applies only to people with perfect vision. For the vast majority of us, Steve's claim stands up to scrutiny; even folks with 20/20 eyesight wouldn't be able to tell where one pixel ends and another begins. So it turns out Apple can do its math, even if its marketing isn't true for every single humanoid on the planet.

iPhone 4's retina display claim put under the math microscope originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HDTV tests pit fantasy land specs against real world performance -- guess what happens

Richard Lawler — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:12:00 EST

Good luck keeping up with the ever changing specs on the latest HDTVs, but as the numbers get more impressive, are the displays actually improving in any noticeable way? Dr. Raymond Soneira , president of DisplayMate, goes about breaking down many of the more often misused and misleading technical buzzwords in an article on MaximumPC. If you're wondering how manufacturers have advanced contrast ratios from thousands, to millions, to unlimited over the space of just a few years, there's a breakdown of what "dynamic contrast ratio" actually measures and why it's worth ignoring -- unless you watch your TV when it's only displaying one color at a time. When it comes to colors, some of the most scathing words were pointed towards Sharp's Quattron quad-pixel technology, which "can only decrease picture quality and accuracy!"

Whether you believe the good Dr., a glistening review or Cmdr. Sulu, the factual heat burned hottest during a test of motion blur compared on LCDs, LED LCDs, plasmas and even a pro CRT. While additional motion processing and upgraded internals on newer HDTVs can help in many other ways, viewers couldn't detect any blur caused by a display even on an old 60Hz set, despite newer and faster 120Hz, 240Hz and 600Hz (plasma) sets claiming their technology helped them eliminate it. You'll need a minute to read through for the full details but it's a good, and unfortunately necessary, reminder to keep your eyes on the display and not just the spec sheet (just make sure you're getting a proper look that represents the way you watch TV at home first).

HDTV tests pit fantasy land specs against real world performance -- guess what happens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 01:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Numbers be damned, plasma eats LCD's cake in DisplayMate's tests

Steven Kim — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:38:00 EST

Even as the past year has been cruel to plasma, we've stood by the "old" gas capsule technology. The results of DisplayMate's controlled tests clearly show some of the reasons why we love us some plasma. The lineup of 2008-vintage, top of the line LCDs from Samsung, Sharp and Sony were calibrated and pitted against a top-end Pansonic plasma. You'll have to hit the link to get the full blow-by-blow results, but suffice it to say that the plasma set trumped the LCDs in the areas of contrast, color accuracy (to be fair, the Sony came close) and black level -- both on and off axis. Even for LCD fans, these results show that the side of the box with its inflated specs is no place to look for indications of picture quality. For those already in the know about plasma, though, there's a lot of reason to hope that even if the technology is in its autumn years, there's an Indian summer up ahead.
[Via TVSnob]

Filed under: Industry, Reviews, Displays, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, LCD, Plasma

Numbers be damned, plasma eats LCD's cake in DisplayMate's tests originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DisplayMate USB makes calibration easy

Darren Murph — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:34:00 EST

Sure, the DisplayMate USB won't do your standalone display much good so long as it remains disconnected from a PC, but for HTPC owners the world over, calibrating your display just got a whole lot simpler. The aforementioned USB stick simply plugs into one's PC, launches automatically (and without storing any data on the host computer) and provides users with a smorgasbord of "test patterns and expert advice" for setting up your projector, monitor or HDTV. More specifically, you can expect a whole slew of test patterns and tips, and considering that it runs at the true native resolution of your display, there's no worrying over compatibility. Intrigued? It's available now in a trio of flavors, and can secured for $79, $99 or $495, depending on model.

Filed under: DIY, Misc, Displays, Other hardware

DisplayMate USB makes calibration easy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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