At Dolby Laboratories, we continually work to bring electronic entertainment as close as possible to the real experience. Our new Dolby local dimming technologies—Dolby Contrast and Dolby Vision—represent a breakthrough in LCD displays, providing previously unavailable contrast and brightness levels that deliver images closer to real life than ever before seen on TVs. You've heard the Dolby difference—now see it.
Simply put, Dolby's local dimming technologies greatly improve the visual impact of an LCD picture. Compared with other HDTV displays, these technologies immediately and dramatically stand out, delivering amazingly lifelike images with virtually all the natural contrast, vivid colors, true blacks, and subtle shadings that can be seen live. This intimate and engaging viewing experience is stunningly superior to conventional displays.
Dolby's high dynamic range technology addresses LCD display limitations through proprietary designs that employ locally modulated LED backlighting rather than the current conventional cold-cathode fluorescent (CCFL) tubes. Our technology delivers images that approach the full dynamic range of what the human eye can see. This is done by locally controlling the brightness to provide the precise level that each portion of the image requires.
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Current LCD Panels: Performance Advantages and Limits
Essentially, an LCD screen consists of the LCD array itself plus various protective and diffusing layers and a backlight module. The LCDs themselves do not produce light, relying on illumination from the backlight to produce an image on the screen.
Current LCD technology excels in resolution but has limitations that prevent it from reproducing a truly lifelike image. Even in their "off" state, LCDs cannot completely block the illumination emanating from the CCFL backlight; there is always some leakage. Consequently, LCD panels cannot produce true black, and the contrast ratio is limited to about 1,200:1. Black levels can be improved by turning down the backlight, but at the expense of brightness. Also, brightness and power consumption remain constant even when images require little light.
Although HD pictures stand out in comparison to standard definition (SD), the nature of the backlight gives an artificial look to colors, particularly flesh tones, and to depth and texture.
