What is Contrast Ratio?

A projectors Contrast Ratio is a ratio that defines the difference between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks the projector can achieve. If the peak white value is significantly different than the peak black value, the signal is said to have high contrast resulting in well-defined shading. A contrast of 10,000:1 means that the images blackest black will be 10,000 times darker than the whitest white.

The contrast ratio is an important specification to check should you be looking for a home theatre projector or if you wish to project in a darkened room. When projecting in high ambient light environments the contrast is of less importance due to the ambient light 'washing out' any effects of poor contrast. Contrast ratio does not have an agreed standard of measurement across brands so can be difficult to compare. Many projector brands also use motorised filters, called an Auto-Iris, to assist in maximising the contrast in response to changes in the content being projected.

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