how to increase brightness of lcd display factory

How does the song go?My future’s so bright I need to wear shadesI"ve got a job waiting for my graduationFifty thou a year, buys a lot of . . . coffee??????

This article is limited to monochrome since they perform better in direct sunlight and can still be read when the back light is off. Also, the tooling cost, if necessary, is much lower.

Swap out the transflective polarizer with a transmissive polarizer. This increases the brightness without increasing the amount of power necessary or decreasing the half-life of the LEDs. The one downside is the display will be a bit more difficult to read when the back light is off, but it is still readable.

Every monochrome display with a LED back light contains a current limiting resistor. The lower the resistor value, the higher the current draw. Hence the brighter the back light. The down side is the back light draws more power (not always good for battery powered products) and it reduces the half-life of the LED back light.

Once the design is done and your customers see the light, the good people at Masterelectronics.comcan hold your inventory so you have more time to ship shades to your customers.

For the video display developer LCD panels are available in many sizes and resolutions, they are also available with many choices of maximum brightness. The following considers the topic of LCD panel brightness, the choices, the methods for adjusting brightness and some brightness adjustment scenarios.

LCD panels are generally rated as to their maximum brightness level which is expressed in Nits, it is equal to Candela/sqm (cd/m2), and this will be at a particular color temperature as noted in the specification, usually 10,000 K. In terms of a practical understanding, the following is a rough guide:

Outdoor displays range from a low end of 700 nits to typically 1,000 or 1,500nits and up with 2,000~2,500nits and even up to 5,000nits seen with some models. This may include standard LCD panels, custom LCD panels as well as custom cut LCD panels.

Virtually all LCD panels have a LED backlight these days, these are powered by an LED driver board. Brightness control via the driver board will be by one of two methods:

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation): This varies the duty cycle of the backlight “on time” – it is predominant in modern LCD panel LED backlight designs to enable support for digital brightness controls.

Analog: Uses a simple variable voltage to adjust brightness, for example this might be a dial or slider type potentiometer / variable resistor. To see how to enable analog backlight adjustment visit: https://www.digitalview.com/blog/brightness-adjustment/

One of the advantages of LED for the backlight is the range of adjustment that is possible, however it is important to note that the range varies significantly from model to model. Some industrial panels can be turned to very low light levels making them suitable for use in special environments such as at night. Lower cost panels limit the range of brightness to what might be required for typical usage, whereas panels with full range dimming from full off to full on require more complex backlight drivers.

Backlight lifetime: Many LCD panels have a backlight lifetime rating of 50,000 hours (typically measured to half brightness), this can be extended by running the LED backlight at a lower brightness level. Some panels may only offer 30,000 hours as a lower cost solution while other panels may offer up to 100,000 hours for high end applications.

An LCD panel backlight may be constructed so the LED’s are mounted directly behind a light guide diffuser, or they may be mounted along one or more edges of the light guide.

Active backlight: This is a function of some LCD panel backlights to automatically adjust the backlight brightness in response to the image. For more advanced systems there is an LED array making up the LED backlight, this adjusts the brightness in areas localized to the image being shown. This can greatly enhance the brightness across the display and is being used primarily with video, for example on consumer TV sets. It is not useful to all image types, for example a spreadsheet or content like maps or data is not likely to benefit.

Local dimming: Some LCD panels with direct LED may support local dimming so the LED’s are dimmed in response to the image close to them. This will not be at the same resolution as the LCD panel itself but will help greater contrast over the display by enhancing the brightness in bright areas of the image and darkening the image in dark parts of the image.

Both of the above techniques are likely to be more beneficial to certain types of content than others. For example a movie is likely to benefit more than a spreadsheet.

For the LCD monitor manufacturer it is important to consider that any covering over the LCD panel will reduce the brightness. For example the protective glass over a digital signage display, or a touch screen, or a semi-silvered mirror. So if a specific brightness is required the measurement should be taken with these in place.

There are various relatively low cost brightness meters available, typically in the couple of hundred dollars range. It is difficult to comment on the accuracy of these but we have found them to be within 5% of each other, though more importantly they do appear to be quite consistent in measurement so good for measurement comparisons. For more accurate measurement there are light meters from companies such as Minolta that can be calibrated, the cost may run into several thousand dollars.

Examples of light meters costing a few hundred dollars include SpyderX by Datacolor (needs a PC), a handheld meter is the SM208 by Sanpometer (search SM208 meter). Note: Many light meters, including smartphone apps, will be meters used for photography and not give readings in nits (or candelas). LCD panel specifications are typically measured using nits.

PWM and Analog: Most Digital View LCD controllers support PWM and Analog as a method for adjusting the backlight brightness level (this is noted in the column headed “Other” on the controller board summary table: https://www.digitalview.com/controllers/lcd-controllers-home.html. Also see https://www.digitalview.com/blog/brightness-adjustment/ for a guide to using a dial or slider type variable resistor to adjust the backlight.

DPMS (Display Power Management System): The backlight will be automatically turned off after a period if there is no valid video signal being received.

Ambient light sensor: The backlight is adjusted for brightness or powered off depending on ambient light conditions. This uses a light sensor attached to the LCD controller board, see https://www.digitalview.com/blog/light-sensor-app-note/ for more details.

The specifics of the backlight control are documented separately for each LCD controller model (product summary here) in the product manual available for download on the product page.

Note: There are two ways to adjust the perceived brightness of a LCD panel or LCD monitor, the backlight and the black-level. Very often, particularly in the past, the monitor brightness setting adjusted the black-level, this adjusts the LCD but not the backlight.

Color, color temperature etc: In addition to adjusting the brightness other settings may be adjusted as well. For example the color temperature or for example a switch to green monochrome for night vision.

Auto-dim if lights dimmed for a projector. This might be triggered by a command from a room sensor or automatically by an ambient light sensor (Autobrite+).

Night-safe lighting (update) : Dual-rail backlights can also be supported. These special backlight enable normal brightness and extreme low level brightness with custom night-safe lighting. Contact us for details.

Note: We have a blog on methods for implementing an ambient light sensor with Digital View LCD controller boards to automatically adjust the backlight or system power, see: Ambient Light Sensor

Update March 2019: Most of the above remains unchanged except for the increased availability of high bright LCD panels of around the 1,000 nit to 2,500 nit range. AUO for example has a number of large size LCD panels with 1,500 nit brightness for the digital signage market. Tianma has panels under 20″ with 1,000 nit to 1,500 nit brightness for various outdoor applications.

The other change is that high bright panels are now increasing edge-lit, this makes the panels thinner and these panels tend to use less power than the previous models. One of the benefits for monitor designers is easier heat management and reduced overall display system costs.

Note: Ensure to set your LCD panel to factory settings at this point. Otherwise, you will not get the best results. To reset your LCD panel to factory conditions, use the buttons that are located on the front, side, or back. However, if your LCD panel lets you set the gamma, you should set it to 2.2 or as close as possible.

Next, use the slider to adjust the gamma. To do this, move the slider until the dots in the middle of the image appear less visible. This changes both the brightness and color of your screen.

Note: Do not worry if you cannot make the circles in the center completely disappear. If you want a better way of testing, you can also use this gamma correction test image. Try to make as many numbers appear on the top and bottom bars as possible. With better LCD panel s, you can see 6 numbers in each bar, while lower-grade LCD panel s will only be able to show 4 numbers.

Note: If you cannot adjust the slider, you might have to change the gamma settings by using your LCD panel ’s controls. You should still keep the display settings window and gamma correction image test open while you do this.

Next, adjust the brightness. To do this, use the control buttons on your LCD panel until you can see the shirt and suit in the image, but not so much that the X stands out from the background. You should still be able to see the "X," but the wall behind it should not be washed out.

Note: Your screen looks different depending on what angle you are looking at it. For the best results, you should step back and look at your LCD panel from far away.

Next, adjust the contrast. To do this, use the buttons on your LCD panel. You want to set your contrast so you can just see the wrinkles and buttons on the shirt of the man in the figure. The background of the image should not be bright white.

Then adjust your colors. To do this, use the sliders at the bottom of the window until all the bars are a neutral gray. If you find this difficult, you can also download an image of color bars and use that image to see when your colors are off.

Next, click Previous calibration and Current calibration to see if you like the changes you made. Doing this will not change your calibration. You can go back and change any settings by clicking the arrow in the top-left corner of the window.

If you are satisfied with the new calibration, click Finish. If not, click Cancel, and you can start all over. To get the best results, you can do the steps over again. For best results, you might want to go through the steps again, but backward this time. This is because each step affects the next one, so changing the order helps you fine-tune your calibration even more.

Note: You can check the "Start ClearType Tuner…" box to adjust the clarity of text on your screen. You will then be asked to do a quick test to calibrate the text on your screen.

We can enhance LCD brightness by increasing the luminance of the backlight component of the LCD screen. A majority of standard off-the-shelf LCD screens in the market are of normal brightness due to the mass demand of the market that do not require super bright LCD that will increase the cost of the display. However, normal brightness LCD screens will not be readable under strong sunlight condition.

A lot of times customers found a suitable LCD to use except for its low luminance specification. This is our bread and butter in making a normal brightness LCD panel to attain high brightness. To this end, customer will provide us with the LCD specification and from there, we will do a preliminary study to ensure feasibility. On some projects, we advise customer that a physical sample may need to be procured and inspected to ensure meeting the high brightness requirement. We will consider many steps to enhance LCD brightness, including thermal management, to attain high luminance intensity and reliability

Our factory has been under-taking many projects that requires enhancing existing LCD panels that were not bright enough. Sunlight basically just washes away the whole screen with a normal brightness LCD panel.

We also have our own range of standard high brightness LCDs for customers that have such requirements. Here is our standard model range. We update this list from time to time. Please contact us if you have not found the high brightness model that you want. Tell us more of your specification and it is possible that we can find a solution for you.

There are more and more TFT displays used in outdoor applications, such as automobile display, digital signage and kiosks. High ambient light in outdoor environment often causes wash-out image and renders the screen not readable. Readability & sustainability of TFT  display under direct sunlight is becoming vital. Topway Display has been developing sunlight readable LCD display solution for years. The company understands the ins and outs of sunlight readable TFT LCD.

For an LCD to be readable in outdoor environment with very bright ambient light, the LCD screen’s brightness needs to exceed the intensity of light that is reflected from the display surface. To be comfortably viewed by human eyes, the LCD’s brightness needs to exceed its reflected light by a factor of 2.5 at minimum. Naturally, to make an LCD sunlight readable, we can work on two areas, increasing brightness or reducing reflectance.

On a clear day in direct sunlight, the ambient brightness is about 6000 cd/m2. And a typical TFT LCD with touch screen reflects about 14% of ambient light, which is around 840 cd/m2. These days, most LCD displays use LED backlight as light source. It is not too difficult to increase an LCD’s brightness to 800 ~ 1000 Nits, to overpower the bright reflected sunlight. Thus, you have a sunlight readable TFT LCD.

However, this method requires more backlight LEDs and/or higher driving current. The drawbacks are high power consumption, more heat dissipation, increased product size and shorter LED backlight lifespan. Apparently, increasing backlight to make TFT LCD sunlight-readable is not a very good solution.

Transflective TFT LCD is a TFT LCD with both transmissive and reflective characteristics. A partially reflective mirror layer is added between LCD and backlight. This change turns part of the reflected ambient light into LCD’s light source, increasing the TFT display’s brightness. However, transflective TFT LCD is more expensive than transmissive one. At the same time, the partially reflective mirror layer will block some of the backlight, making it not ideal in indoor or low ambient light environment.

What causes light reflection? When light traveling in one transparent medium encounters a boundary with another transparent medium, a portion of the light bounces off the border. Through the simplest version of Fresnel’s equation, we can calculate the amount of reflected light.

The total reflectance on a TFT LCD with touch panel is the sum of reflected light on any interface where two materials meet. As an example, between polarizer and display glass, the difference in index of refractions for the two materials is very small, around 0.1. So the reflected light on this interface is only 0.1%. As Fresnel’s equation points out, we should focus reflection reduction on air interfaces. For air, its index of refraction is 1; for glass, it is 1.5. And that results in a reflectance of 4.5%. Therefore, the three air interfaces contribute majority of TFT LCD’s reflectance, at about 13%.

The quick and easiest thing we can do to reduce air-glass interface reflectance is to use an Anti-Reflection and Anti-Glare film or apply AR coating. An external film with AR properties not only reduces reflected light, but also brings other benefits.

For food industry application, shattered glass is a serious problem. An LCD screen with external film solves this issue nicely. As for automotive applications, in an accident, broken LCD with top AR film won’t produce sharp edge glass that could harms auto occupant. Nevertheless, a top film always reduces TFT LCD’s surface hardness. And it is susceptible to scratches. On the other hand, AR coating retains LCD’s hardness and touch performance. But it comes with a bigger price tag.

Another quick and easy way to tackle reflectance is to affix a linear polarizer on the top of TFT screen. When ambient light gets to the top polarizer, only half of the light passes through. Which results in reflection light cutting to half. This is a very low cost way to increase TFT LCD’s contrast, such that making it more sunlight readable.

Laminating a circular polarizer in TFT LCD will get rid of a lot of reflectance. That is because when ambient light passes through circular polarizer it gets circularly polarized. And when it is reflected, the polarization direction flips by 180 degrees. So when reflected light comes back to the circular polarizer, nothing goes through to viewer’s eyes.

This method is very effective for an LCD display with resistive touch panel. We know resistive touch LCD has two air gaps: air gap between two ITO layers and air gap between touch panel and LCD display. Reflectance caused by the two air gaps is very high. Applying circular polarizer blocks off most of the reflected light, and makes the LCD display sunlight readable.

The disadvantage of such solution is its cost. Since we need not only a circular polarizer, but also a retarder film on the top of LCD display, making sure light originates from within LCD is not blocked by external circular polarizer.

Add AR films on both interfaces of internal air gap. The add-ons can reduce this area’s reflection from 8.5% to 2%. And since the AR films are not outside facing, they are much cheaper than the one used outside. Keeping the air gap also retains the ease of service, in case either touch panel or LCD display needs to be repaired.

The most effective way is to eliminate air gap totally, by using optical bonding. In plain language, we fill air gap with special optical adhesive, to smooth out the area’s refraction index differences. Such that reflectance caused by internal air gap drops from 8.5% to 0.5%. Optical bonding is expensive but effective way to improve TFT LCD sunlight readability. It enhances durability and resistance to impact. Moreover, no air gap means no moisture condensation and fogging.

There are many ways to make TFT LCDsunlight readable. They all have their own pros and cons. With 20+ years" LCD design and manufacturing experience, Topway knows how to create the best sunlight readable TFT LCD for challenging environments. Leave us a message and let"s start the conversation of creating suitable sunlight readable TFT LCD for your project.

If you are having difficulty reading the information displayed on the LCD, try changing the contrast setting. Adjusting the contrast will give the information a sharper and more vivid appearance.

Adjust the individual brightness of the LCD monitor"s R/G/B components. Overall brightness can be adjusted in the main menu → [DISPLAY SETUP] → [LCD SETTING] → [LCD BRIGHTNESS].ItemDescription of settings[R OFFSET]Adjusts the brightness of the LCD monitor"s R component.

To test everything with your screen i suggest you launch the test menu and see if everything works there, there is a special button called "dimming" there to test as such;

When you need to use your notebook frequently for business, you need to be comfortable to be productive. The Lenovo ThinkPad features a brightness control function that enables you to make the screen dimmer or brighter. For example, looking at a bright screen in the dark will strain your eyes, but dimming the screen increases your viewing comfort. Dimming the screen also helps save battery power, so you can use the laptop longer before you need to charge it.

If the monitor does not include a CD, the .INF and .ICM files can be downloaded from the HP monitors support Web site. See Downloading from the Internet in this chapter.

The .INF file defines monitor resources used by Microsoft Windows operating systems to ensure monitor compatibility with the computer’s graphics adapter.

This monitor is Microsoft Windows Plug and Play compatible and the monitor will work correctly without installing the .INF file. Monitor Plug and Play compatibility requires that the computer’s graphic card is VESA DDC2–compliant and that the monitor connects directly to the graphics card. Plug and Play does not work through separate BNC type connectors or through distribution buffers/boxes.

The .ICM files are data files that are used in conjunction with graphics programs to provide consistent color matching from monitor screen to printer, or from scanner to monitor screen. This file is activated from within graphics programs that support this feature.

You may need to install the digitally signed monitor .INF and .ICM files manually from the CD in the event of an installation error. Refer to the Monitor Driver Software Readme file on the CD.

You can optimize the screen performance for the VGA (analog) input by using the OK/auto button on the monitor and the auto-adjustment pattern software utility on the CD provided.

Do not use this procedure if the monitor is using a DVI or DisplayPort input. If the monitor is using a VGA (analog) input, this procedure can correct the following image quality conditions:

You can also press the Menu button, then select Image Control > Auto-Adjustment from the OSD Main Menu. Refer to Adjusting the Monitor Settings in this chapter.

If there is a problem with the display settings, try resetting the settings to the factory defaults by opening the OSD and selecting Factory Reset from the OSD menu.

To select an item from the OSD Menu, use the + or – buttons to scroll to and highlight your selection, then press the OK button to select that function.

If the buttons remain untouched for 30 seconds (factory default) while displaying a menu, the firmware will save the current adjustments and exit. Also, if the video controller changes video mode while the OSD is active, the current (adjusted) settings will not be saved, the OSD will be turned off, and the new mode will be displayed.

The following table lists the On-Screen Display (OSD) menu selections and their functional descriptions. After changing an OSD menu item, and if the menu screen has these options, you may choose to:

The Clock must first be set correctly since the Clock Phase settings are dependent on the main Clock setting. Use these controls only when the auto-adjustment function does not provide a satisfactory image.

When adjusting the Clock and Clock Phase values, if the monitor images become distorted, continue adjusting the values until the distortion disappears. To restore the factory settings, select Yes from the Factory Reset menu in the on-screen display.

HP Display Assistant, included on the software and documentation CD, is a software utility that guides you through the tuning process with easy to understand instructions and background patterns designed for each monitor control. It provides:

Software control of the monitor image and color settings to eliminate dependence on the monitor’s front panel buttons and On-Screen Display (OSD) menu.

Asset Management and Power Management capabilities that include remote control for individual or a group of displays on the domain from a centralized console application.

Power Saving Plug-in feature that applies power saving modes to the display and a schedule power saving feature that allows the display to be set to idle (stand-by) mode or powered off after a pre-determined time of inactivity.

The HP Display Assistant Utility has two modes of operation: Wizard and OSD mode. The preferred method of use is Wizard mode, which takes you through a step-by-step process to accurately calibrate the monitor. This method relies on a sequence of steps that will obtain the best display results when completed.

Monitor Status—When the monitor is powered on or when the input source signal is changed, a Monitor Status message is displayed for five seconds. The message shows which input is the current active signal, the status of the auto-switch source setting (On or Off), the default source signal, the current preset display resolution, and the recommended preset display resolution.

Input Signal Out of Range—Change resolution setting to 1920 x 1080 – 60Hz—Indicates the monitor does not support the input signal because the resolution and/or refresh rate are set higher than the monitor supports (model ZR22w).

Input Signal Out of Range—Change resolution setting to 1920 x 1200 – 60Hz—Indicates the monitor does not support the input signal because the resolution and/or refresh rate are set higher than the monitor supports (model ZR24w).

No Source Signal—Indicates the monitor is not receiving a video signal from the PC on the monitor video input connector. Check to determine if the PC or input signal source is off or in the power saving mode.

OSD Lockout—The OSD can be enabled or disabled by pressing and holding the Menu button on the front panel for 10 seconds. If the OSD is locked, the warning message OSD Lockout displays for ten seconds.

Theft Mode Enabled—Indicates that theft deterrence mode has been activated. Theft deterrence is an optional feature that can be set up in HP Display Assistant. Theft deterrence mode is triggered if both the power and display cables have been disconnected from the monitor, the monitor is reconnected to a different computer, and the theft deterrence PIN number is not entered within the elapsed time. When the monitor is in theft deterrence mode, all front panel buttons are disabled other than the power button.

The Sleep Timer mode is an energy-saving feature that enables you to set a time for the monitor to power on and off at the same time every day. This also extends the life of the backlight bulbs in the monitor. The Sleep Timer has five settings:

You must set the current local time before you reset the time for Sleep Time or On Time. Note that the time is displayed in a 24–hour clock format. For example, 1:15 p.m. is displayed as 13 hours 15 minutes.

The fifth selection, Sleep Now, turns the monitor backlights off immediately and stays in sleep mode until the next On Time activates or a monitor button is pressed.

HP Display LiteSaver is a software application, available on the CD, that increases monitor life and saves energy. It allows you to place the monitor into its low power sleep mode at predefined times by shutting down or reducing power to most internal circuits. This helps protect the LCD panel against image retention. Image retention can occur when the monitor is left on while displaying the same image for an extended period of time, leaving a shadow of the image on the screen.

After installing the software, click the HP Display LiteSaver icon in the Windows system tray or right-click the icon and select Configure from the pop-up menu.

Display OffSets the time when the monitor automatically turns off. This does not affect screen saver operation, which has priority over the HP Display LiteSaver.

Display OnSets the time when the monitor automatically turns on. This does not affect screen saver operation, which has priority over the HP Display LiteSaver.

Activity ExtensionSets the time in minutes before the monitor turns off if there is any keyboard or mouse activity after the Display Off time is reached. If the keyboard or mouse is used, then HP Display LiteSaver waits until the set amount of time before turning the display off again. Set to 0 to disable. If disabled, the monitor will turn off as soon as the Display Off time is reached, regardless of keyboard or mouse activity.

To take advantage of the sRGB support, you will need to change the monitor’s color temperature to Standard and install the sRGB color profile (ICM) file.

To complete the following procedure, you must be logged in as an administrator or a member of the administrator’s group. If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure. The sRGB ICM file does not support Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems.

To activate a color profile for the monitor, you must set it as the Default Monitor Profile. Select sRGB Color Space Profile, then click Set as Default button.

To activate a color profile for the monitor, you must set it as the Default Monitor Profile. Select sRGB Color Space Profile, then click the Set as Default button.

To activate a color profile for the monitor, you must set it as the Default Monitor Profile. Select sRGB Color Space Profile, then click the Set as Default button.