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Brightness and Contrast

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

While OLEDs aren’t as bright as their premium LCD counterparts, they completely dominate the contrast contest with their unmeasurable black levels. If you want 1,000 nits, there are plenty of Mini LED panels available but if you want the most impactful and realistic image, OLED is king.

The OLED G8 manages 237 nits peak in SDR mode which is bright enough for any indoor environment. I noted that it does not vary output based on average picture level like most OLEDs which means a full white field measures the same as a white window pattern. In practice, you won’t see any variation in overall brightness as picture content changes. Resulting contrast is theoretically infinite since the G8’s black level cannot be measured.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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When brightness is set to 200 nits, there is no change in contrast. The black level still cannot be measured by any instruments I’m aware of. The Philips is a rare exception among OLEDs in that it doesn’t get completely black, i.e., it doesn’t turn its pixel array completely off. That’s why its black level can be measured, and its contrast ratio is 27,726.9:1. It still looks better than any LCD but doesn’t quite match the performance of the other OLED panels.

The OLED G8’s ANSI, or intra-image, contrast is also infinite. The black squares in my checkerboard pattern cannot be measured.

Test Takeaway: I doubt I’ll ever stop saying that contrast is king. It is the most important element of image quality and the OLED G8 delivers the same stunning picture as every other OLED I’ve tested. Not only are blacks true and depth extreme, but color saturation is high with a vivid and vibrant picture.

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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.