LCDs and the ability to display black

[RPatrick]

I recently bought a NEC Accusync LCD 52V which is my first LCD monitor. I have found it does not display black properly (I have heard of this problem). It is not noticable in the daytime or in a lighted room, or when the screen is full of other colors. It is very noticable at night with no other lights on, when the screen is mostly black such as in a space simulation game. When the screen should be almost completely black, it is a sort of very dark blue color. Under these circumstances the image looks washed out with poor contrast. Even if I turn the brightness and contrast both down to zero, the dark blue color does not get darker.

My question is, are all LCD monitors like this ? I know there are different contrast ratios available but that seems to be mostly marketing hype these days. In a brightly lit store there is no way for me to tell. If so, are there any new display technologies coming out that will fix this issue ?

 

[IcePickFreak]

LCDs will all have that by design. They're back-lit, so when displaying black it's just trying to cover up the back lighting.

This is why for TV's, plasma screen are known for having much deeper blacks than LCD screens.

 

[CP5670]

Yes, if you are a dark room gamer, all LCDs have this problem. OLED monitors won't suffer from this since they emit light directly instead of filtering it, but they are still a while off, 2010 last I heard.

 

[RPatrick]

Thanks for the information.

As a space sim fan it is frustrating that I can't walk into a store and buy a new monitor that will give me that "look". However it is great to hear that another technology is on the way. I hope by that time they will still be able to display something like 1024 X 768 so I can see my old favorites with the new technology.