23. Brightness And Contrast: Means, Minimums And Maximums

First, let's take a look at a table that shows the mean, minimum and maximum brightness and contrast values for the displays of each of the five Windows MCE notebooks in this roundup. Each of the three brightness values for a display is computed from an 8 x 8 matrix, the data for which is derived by measuring 64 white rectangles across the display with brightness set at maximum. Each of the three contrast values for a display is based on an 8 x 8 matrix derived by dividing the 64 values in the 8 x 8 white matrix by the values in an 8 x 8 matrix that includes values derived by measuring 64 black rectangles across the display with brightness set at maximum.

Measurements are made with a luminance meter that provides values in candelas per square meter (cd/m^2). Mean brightness is used frequently to indicate a display's brightness. Mean contrast is often presented as a display's "contrast ratio."

Overall the Acer Aspire AS9504WSMi had the brightest display, though the other notebooks produced very respectable brightness for Windows MCE computers. The best contrast award goes to HP's Pavilion with a contrast ratio (white:black) of 595. Again, the other notebooks had very respectable contrast ratios for MCE machines.

The less variability in brightness and contrast ranges the more even the display looks. High brightness ranges show up as splotches of lightness or darkness on the display. High contrast ratio ranges can make it more difficult to see parts of the screen with significantly lower contrast.

All of the notebooks showed relatively low brightness ranges. The Acer's 91 cd/m^2 was the highest and the HP DV8299XX's 64 cd/m^2 was the lowest. The Acer had the lowest contrast ratio range at 154 and the Sony VAIO AX580G the highest at 288.

Before we draw any conclusions regarding the winners and losers among the displays, we need to show you some charts that make it easier to see how brightness and contrast are distributed on the displays of each of the notebooks covered in this roundup.