Ultra Black Technology for Those of Us Who Don’t Turn Off the Lights to Watch TV

How many people watch TV in complete darkness? A GfK Omnibus consumer survey* conducted late last year found that relatively few viewers actually do so. Indeed, some 85-86 percent of people surveyed say they watch TV with lights in the room, with only 14-15 percent viewing in pitch-black conditions.

With this in mind, Samsung has created its latest range of SUHD TVs in the hope of delivering an optimum viewing experience, regardless of consumers’ indoor lighting conditions.

Brighter Screens, Enhanced Viewing

In an ideal TV viewing world, users would be able to turn off all the lights and close the curtains before watching TV, but practically speaking, this is not always doable. In such a case, one way to boost picture quality without requiring users to create a pitch-dark environment is to up the TV set’s brightness in order to better fit with its surroundings; remember how often we adjust the brightness level of our smartphones and tablets when using them outside in the sun.

Samsung, using Quantum Dot technology, helps boost brightness. The 2016 SUHD TVs have peak brightness levels of up to 1,000 nits** (while also using even less in the way of overall energy consumption).

Ultra Black Technology

However, it is not enough to simply turn up the brightness – minimizing the possibly negative effects of outside light on picture quality is also important, and this is where Ultra Black technology comes in.

When there is another source of light – like the lighting in the living room or sunlight through the window – glare can often compromise image quality. This is why Samsung SUHD TVs have taken their inspiration from nature, with a new panel innovation that could help to dramatically reduce the effect of glare.

The outer layer of a moth’s eyes feature nano-sized bumps and grooves, allowing it to better absorb light and thus prevent predators from spotting the reflections off the eyes.

SUHD TVs feature a layer of panel coated with tiny uniform bumps. These bumps, inspired by moths’ eyes, can absorb or re-direct external light without hindering the light emitted from the panel.

Whether or not to turn the lights off usually doesn’t cross our minds when we pick up the TV remote and click on the power button. But that’s okay. There are people like Samsung’s engineers who research how people watch TV and constantly push the boundaries of technology so you don’t have to worry as much.

* The survey was conducted online in GfK’s Omnibus from December 11-13, 2015 using the GfK KnowledgePanel®. The study consisted of a nationally representative sample of 1,020 U.S. adults, selected using random probability address-based sampling. The margin of error for this study is +/-3 percent points.

** A nit is a standard unit of luminance, frequently used in measuring the brightness of display devices. One nit is the luminous intensity of a candle lighting an area of one square meter.