Is it Bad to Crank Up the Contrast for an LCD Monitor?

[blinkstar]

I keep trying various settings on my new LCD monitor and I think it looks best with contrast cranked way up, because this makes the black portions of the picture look darker by comparison ... I guess I want to know if doing so might somehow shorten the life of my LCD or hurt it in some way?

Any input greatly appreciated!

 

[bigi]

Some people claim that the backlight will get a shorter lifespan beacouse of doing so.
It should not matter that much. A decent LCD will last long enough...

 

[CP5670]

That's only with the brightness setting. The contrast adjustments on LCDs typically don't change anything with the backlight and should have no effect on the lifespan.

 

[blinkstar]

Thanks for responding, guys!

 

[11427]

Average half life of an LCD monitor is about 50,000 hrs, if you crank up the Black Level (more commonly referred to as brightness) you may reduce the life expectancy. Even so, most LCD's can be repaired, if you really like it. At the price of a new LCD monitor I would not worry about it, it'll last as long or longer than a CRT, and be inexpensive to repair or replace when the time comes.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: 11427
Average half life of an LCD monitor is about 50,000 hrs, if you crank up the Black Level (more commonly referred to as brightness) you may reduce the life expectancy. Even so, most LCD's can be repaired, if you really like it. At the price of a new LCD monitor I would not worry about it, it'll last as long or longer than a CRT, and be inexpensive to repair or replace when the time comes.

more like buy the time it dies of back light problems lcds 10 times larger and 500 times better will be cheaper.

 

[BernardP]

Cranking the contrast up may give the impression of a better picture, but there is a price to be paid: black crush or white crush. Check your contrast with the contrast and white saturation tests on this page:

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

 

[blinkstar]

Originally posted by: BernardP
Cranking the contrast up may give the impression of a better picture, but there is a price to be paid: black crush or white crush. Check your contrast with the contrast and white saturation tests on this page:

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Thanks for responding. Believe it or not, Bernard, I had just stumbled onto that very page before I saw your link. It is great resource so anyone wanting to calibrate brightness and contrast should check it out!