Are TV screens darker than computer monitors?

[HiddenZephyr]

I've noticed that my TV display is slightly darker than my LCD monitors. This is especially noticeable when I'm playing a game with friends and they can see in the dark while I am just blind. So are TV screens darker than computer monitors? Or is my Windows calibration just off? If so, how could I fix it?

Much Thanks!

 

[nukemaster]

Chances are people just have the screens set to high.

To be honest I would say a very high number of gamers run the gamma WAY too high.

For example. In games like left 4 dead, they do have spots that are supposed to be very dark.

Another thing that may effect you is that every screen is different. some simply do not display dark colors right, they just all become on shade of dark grey.

If it bugs you, you may try to increase the game gamma to see if it helps.

An image showing how some screens just do not display darker colors. the screen on the left is set to 14 for brightness(out of 100) while the screen on the right is set to MAX and it still can not show dark colors at all. the strange blue tint is screen glow.

So this may have to do with the screen more than it being a TV or monitor

 

[ihog]

It varies. That specific TV might be just darker than normal or your monitor may be lighter than normal for whatever reason. There is no solid rule that says TVs are darker than monitors.

 

[HiddenZephyr]

Chances are people just have the screens set to high.

To be honest I would say a very high number of gamers run the gamma WAY too high.

For example. In games like left 4 dead, they do have spots that are supposed to be very dark.

Another thing that may effect you is that every screen is different. some simply do not display dark colors right, they just all become on shade of dark grey.

If it bugs you, you may try to increase the game gamma to see if it helps.

An image showing how some screens just do not display darker colors. the screen on the left is set to 14 for brightness(out of 100) while the screen on the right is set to MAX and it still can not show dark colors at all. the strange blue tint is screen glow.

So this may have to do with the screen more than it being a TV or monitor

Thanks! Actually, stuff that bugs me is when I'm playing minecraft and I get stuck in a dark cave without torches. It's irritating because it's impossibly hard to get out without any light, and I even play on the max brightness setting (game setting). How would I change the gamma? I don't think my TV has that option...

 

[nukemaster]

You can try the video card control panel.

Please note that some games will blank out colors in dark sections to prevent use of gamma to see better(doom 3 comes to mind).

In the images above, the screen on the right was actually quite bad at Terraria(2d Minecraft type game), but at least with a mining helmet it was playable.

Another thing to look at would be your HDMI settings. sometimes they default to 16-235 this means all the darkest and lightest colors get cut out(I do not know how this ever became a standard as it makes things look washed out). This setting normally makes things look brighter overall in the dark however.

Anyway, see if gamma or video card adjustments help.

 

[HiddenZephyr]

You can try the video card control panel.

Please note that some games will blank out colors in dark sections to prevent use of gamma to see better(doom 3 comes to mind).

In the images above, the screen on the right was actually quite bad at Terraria(2d Minecraft type game), but at least with a mining helmet it was playable.

Another thing to look at would be your HDMI settings. sometimes they default to 16-235 this means all the darkest and lightest colors get cut out(I do not know how this ever became a standard as it makes things look washed out). This setting normally makes things look brighter overall in the dark however.

Anyway, see if gamma or video card adjustments help.

One of the reason's I don't like adjusting the gamma, though, is because it throws off the color settings for everything else. My entire windows desktop will look terrible

 

[nukemaster]

They used to have an option to only apply it to games(well full screen applications). I have not seen it as an option in years.

Third party applications like Game Companion can do it but then you need more software.

Does this work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APcr5fSVoTc

ini editing has been used for years to edit unseen game settings

 

[HiddenZephyr]

They used to have an option to only apply it to games(well full screen applications). I have not seen it as an option in years.

Third party applications like Game Companion can do it but then you need more software.

Does this work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APcr5fSVoTc

ini editing has been used for years to edit unseen game settings

That's great! Thank you so much. The thing for me is that I don't want to have to crank up my gamma to give change my entire game. For me, I'm just wondering really why on almost every computer monitor I see, it's bright enough to see what's going on in deep caves, but on my TV screen, it just looks black.

 

[nukemaster]

They seem to sell computer monitors on brightness or something(people see it as more vibrant).

I mean I run mine as said at 14 out of 100 and it looks great. 100 is just eye melting.

Maybe the optimization for video playback(as well as being used in darker rooms in many cases) is also why many tv's are darker..

I just tend to see lots of variation in all the screens be it TV or computer monitor. I think it comes down to personal preference. For me, the darker the backs are(as long as the bright parts are not effected), the better(I can not stand black that looks like dark grey or dark purple). Again, my personal preference.

Another thing that I am not 100% percent sure of on TV's but is used on computer monitors from time to time(ok they all have it, but you can shut it off on most) is something called dynamic contrast. It makes dark darker(sometimes my lowering the backlight brightness) and bright brighter, but if you have half dark and half light, it will not do its thing(so realistically it is mostly marketing). It also can cause noticeable brightening and darkening of the screen while gaming(if TV's use this, the dark parts in the game will actually get DARKER).

Either way, with your game settings changed you should be able to see better.

 

[HiddenZephyr]

They seem to sell computer monitors on brightness or something(people see it as more vibrant).

I mean I run mine as said at 14 out of 100 and it looks great. 100 is just eye melting.

Maybe the optimization for video playback(as well as being used in darker rooms in many cases) is also why many tv's are darker..

I just tend to see lots of variation in all the screens be it TV or computer monitor. I think it comes down to personal preference. For me, the darker the backs are(as long as the bright parts are not effected), the better(I can not stand black that looks like dark grey or dark purple). Again, my personal preference.

Another thing that I am not 100% percent sure of on TV's but is used on computer monitors from time to time(ok they all have it, but you can shut it off on most) is something called dynamic contrast. It makes dark darker(sometimes my lowering the backlight brightness) and bright brighter, but if you have half dark and half light, it will not do its thing(so realistically it is mostly marketing). It also can cause noticeable brightening and darkening of the screen while gaming(if TV's use this, the dark parts in the game will actually get DARKER).

Either way, with your game settings changed you should be able to see better.

Okay. Do you think that you could pull out any possible specifics? My TV is the Samsung P2370HD-1

Old model and a bit busted. Using a DVI-VGA connection.

 

[nukemaster]

Well it does have dynamic contrast, but it is a setting under magic bright. I do not think it is on by default.

I think this is the manual for your screen.

http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200910/20091023093805125/BN59-00910G-00Eng.pdf