VESA introduces special DisplayHDR standard for OLED and microLED monitors

By admin On Jan 4, 2019

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The Video Electronics Standards Association has released an update to the DisplayHDR standard introduced over a year ago. This standard did not yet take into account monitors with OLED panels; the new DisplayHDR True Black specifically responds to this.

DisplayHDR True Black is a variant of the DisplayHDR standard released in December 2017, according to VESA. The new standard is optimized for emissive screen technologies, such as OLED and future microLED screens. The new standard allows 100 times deeper black levels, as well as greater dynamic range and faster rise time; the latter concerns the speed with which a screen can achieve the transition from black to white.

VESA has specified two new levels with which to certify emitting displays such as OLED monitors: DisplayHDR 400 and 500 True Black. This stands for a maximum peak brightness of 400 or 500cd/m² and, for example, the possibility to display 90 percent of the dci-p3 color space. Furthermore, the black value with DisplayHDR True Black screens must be much lower than with the regular DisplayHDR labels: 0.0005cd/m² against an average of 0.16cd/m² with the DisplayHDR standard intended for the LCD monitors. For the time being, the new DisplayHDR True Black standard has not been assigned to a screen.

The already existing three levels intended for LCDs, namely DisplayHDR 400, 600 and 1000, will continue to exist. DisplayHDR 400 is awarded to monitors with a peak brightness of 400 cd/m², DisplayHDR 600 requires a peak brightness of 600 cd/m² and the DisplayHDR 1000 label only comes on screens that achieve a peak brightness of 1000 cd/m². This format for LCD monitors now gets a fourth level: DisplayHDR 500.

According to VESA, both DisplayHDR 500 True Black and DisplayHDR 500 are primarily intended to meet the need for thin, light laptops with HDR support. Laptops certified to this standard must meet the same requirements as DisplayHDR 600 and 1000 compliant screens, but the new level with the 500 designation means a slightly lower maximum peak brightness of 500cd/m² compared to DisplayHDR 600 displays. necessary; according to VESA, this enables better ‘heat control’ in the screens of very thin laptops.

With this True Black update of the DisplayHDR standard, VESA probably wants to respond to OLED monitors that will be released in 2019 and beyond. Samsung is reportedly going to produce OLED panels for laptops and monitors, and Asus already announced a 4k OLED monitor a year ago.

Presumably, VESA also wants to respond to an industry need with the new DisplayHDR 500 level, because screens of yet-to-be-released thin and light laptops may fall between two stools without this 500 level: some new laptops will have their screens probably better than what the minimum DisplayHDR 400 standard requires, but not good enough for DisplayHDR 600.

At the moment there are about thirty monitors that have received a DisplayHDR 400, 600 or 1000 label. According to VESA, this number will increase significantly in the coming months. More monitors that carry a DisplayHDR label will probably be introduced at the upcoming CES fair.