Contrast Ratio

Hello,

I purchased two LG L1970HR 19 inch monitors for dual monior usage in the office. They seem quite nice. They come with a contrast ratio of 2000:1. I do not know a lot about LCD screens so I am asking you guys is that too high a ratio for general office usage? Some people are telling me that the high contrast ratio will cause things to be too bright so I should get two LG screens in the same line but at 800:1 ratio. I thought I would solicit opinions on this subject.

2000:1 is "creative" (read, phony). 800:1 might be genuine, but unusable.

In real usage, you are most likely to experience approx 200:1 (with white set to usable 100 nits, black likely about 0.50 nits...)
Well Hose summed it all up. Let me complicate it for you.

Contrast ratio is the difference between the darkest dark and the brightest bright.
So... all the manufacturers have to do in order to list a higher contrast ratio is to increase the brightness beyond any sane level and, whala, you have inflated high contrast ratios. (Note: all monitors allow you to turn down the brightness, so that is not an issue; the issue is how misleading "contrast ratio is" because of this trick.) It should also be noted, that manufacturers add another lie/trick to create even higher fake contrast ratios. They include what is referred to as a dynamic contrast ratio that use software or something to adjust the screen, resulting in the high numbers like 2000:1. Hose might understand this more than I do, and maybe can explain it.

His comment about "usable 100 nits" explains the fact that you only need a certain amount of brightness; after that point it will hurt your eyes. So, if contrast ratio is the difference between the darkest dark and the brightest bright, and you can only turn it up so bright before it hurts your eyes, then that means that in order for an LCD monitor to really and truly get better contrast (under normal use) it needs to have darker darks.
Some panels are better than others when it comes to producing darker darks; unfortunately, there is no spec that lists this info. Ideally this spec would be very useful to know; but, unfortunately, manufacturers might just end up finding a way to lie about it too like they do about pretty much every other LCD spec.

You might try the Samsung 971P. I recently read a review that claimed an acutally measured 1200:1 contrast ratio! With the white brightness set to 120 nits, the black measured 0.1 nits.

This is how monitors should be made!