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Surface Pro Display Technology Shoot-Out

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

 

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

Copyright © 1990-2015 by DisplayMate Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This article, or any part thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated

into any other work without the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

 

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

 

Introduction

The key element for a great Tablet has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge Tablets have always flaunted their beautiful high tech displays.

 

With the latest fourth generation Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has produced another excellent professional grade high performance display for Windows that breaks a number of LCD Tablet performance records. In fact, based on our extensive lab tests and measurements, the Surface Pro 4 has one of the very best and most accurate displays available on any mobile platform and OS. It joins near the top of a small set of Tablets that have excellent top tier displays – for professionals that need a very accurate and high performance display for their work, and for consumers that want and appreciate a really nice and beautiful display.

 

The display on the Surface Pro 4 is actually a major upgrade and enhancement to the already excellent display on the Surface Pro 3, with significantly higher screen resolution (2736x1824 to 2160x1440), 24 percent higher Pixels Per Inch (267 to 216 ppi), and 60 percent more total pixels (5.0 to 3.1 million). In addition, every display performance metric has been improved over the already excellent Surface Pro 3, including the display’s Maximum Brightness, Contrast Ratio, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angle Performance, and with lower screen Reflectance, resulting in much better performance in Ambient Light. We’ll cover these issues and much more, with in-depth comprehensive display tests, measurements and analysis that you will find nowhere else.

 

Microsoft provided DisplayMate Technologies with a production unit of the Surface Pro 4 so that we could perform our well known objective and comprehensive display Lab tests, measurements, and analysis, explaining the in-depth display performance results for consumers, reviewers, and journalists.

 

The Display Shoot-Out

To examine the performance of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Display we ran our in-depth series of Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out Lab tests and measurements in order to determine how it performs compared to other leading Tablets. We take display quality very seriously and provide in-depth objective analysis based on detailed laboratory tests and measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test patterns, test images and test photos. To see how far LCD and OLED mobile displays have progressed in just five years see our 2010 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out.

 

Results Highlights

In this Results section we provide Highlights of the comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests and measurements and extensive visual comparisons using test photos, test images, and test patterns that are covered in the advanced sections. The Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table summarizes the Lab measurements in the following categories:  Screen ReflectionsBrightness and ContrastColors and IntensitiesViewing AnglesLCD SpectraDisplay Power. You can also skip these Highlights and go directly to the Conclusions.

 

12.3 inch Display with 3:2 Aspect Ratio

The Surface Pro 4 is designed to perform both as a large Tablet and a small Laptop with its detachable keyboard. With a 12.3 inch screen diagonal it is considerably larger than most Tablets, with a screen area that is 54% larger than the Apple iPad Air 2, and 40% larger than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, but 13% smaller than the iPad Pro. With its adjustable kickstand, the angle of the display can be adjusted in the same way as a Laptop, an important viewing and working advantage.

 

The Screen’s 3:2 (1.50) Aspect Ratio is an excellent compromise between the 4:3 (1.33) Aspect Ratio for most documents (the same as 8.5x11 inch paper with 0.5 inch borders, and also the iPad’s 4:3 (1.33) Aspect Ratio) and 16:9 (1.78) Aspect Ratio for widescreen video content (and similar to Android Tablets that have a 16:10 (1.60) Aspect Ratio).

 

Display Sharpness and Sub-Pixel Rendering

The display’s 2736x1824 pixel resolution has 5.0 Mega Pixels, 2.4 times the number of pixels on an HDTV, but on a 12.3 inch screen. The screen’s 267 pixels per inch (ppi) is Excellent for a full size Tablet, a trifle higher than the 264 ppi for the Apple iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro (so the Surface Pro 4 is what Apple classifies as a Retina Display), but slightly lower than the record high 287 ppi for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 inch Tablet. The larger the screen the further away its typical viewing distance. The Surface Pro 4 pixels are not resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at viewing distances of 13 inches or more, so the display appears perfectly sharp for typical viewing distances of 16 inches or more. In addition, the Surface Pro 4 uses Sub-Pixel Rendering (called ClearType in Microsoft’s implementation) that significantly improves the visual sharpness of text over standard Pixel Rendering that is used in most mobile displays. For black and white and gray images with sub-pixel rendering, there is up to a factor of 3 improvement in image sharpness.

 

Color Gamut and Absolute Color Accuracy

The Surface Pro 4 has the most accurate on-screen colors of any Tablet display that we have ever measured for the sRGB/Rec.709 Standard that is used for virtually all current consumer content for digital cameras, HDTVs, the internet, and computers, including photos, videos, and movies. The Color Gamut is 102 percent, very close to the Standard Gamut as shown in this Figure. The Average Absolute Color Accuracy over the entire Color Gamut is an Excellent 1.9 JNCD, which is typically visually indistinguishable from perfect. It is the most color accurate display that we have ever measured for a Tablet. The Maximum Color Error of 4.1 JNCD is larger, but it is centered on Blue, which is less visually important as explained in this article. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD and the Color Accuracy Figures showing the measured Color Errors. See the Color Accuracy section, the Color Gamut Figure, and the Color Accuracy Figures for measurements and details.

 

Producing high Absolute Color Accuracy is incredibly difficult because everything on the display has to be done just right. In addition, Microsoft itself individually calibrates every Surface Pro 4 display on the production line to optimize the Color Gamut and White Point. Color Accuracy is especially important for professional imaging applications when you must be sure of the on-screen image colors, when viewing photos from family and friends (because you often know exactly what they actually should look like), for some TV shows, movies, and sporting events with image content and colors that you are familiar with, and also for viewing online merchandise, so you have a very good idea of exactly what colors you are buying and are less likely to return them.

 

Intensity Scale and Accurate Image Contrast

The Intensity Scale (sometimes called the Gray Scale) not only controls the contrast within all displayed images but it also controls how the Red, Green and Blue primary colors mix to produce all of the on-screen colors. So if the Intensity Scale doesn't follow the Standard that is used to produce virtually all consumer content then the colors and intensities will be wrong everywhere in all images. Unfortunately, many manufacturers are quite sloppy with the Intensity Scale on their displays (because it is logarithmic and not linear). Fortunately, the Intensity Scale on Surface Pro 4 is a close match to the sRGB/Rec.709 Standard – very smooth and (logarithmically) straight, but slightly less steep, with a slope Gamma of 2.13 compared to the Standard 2.20. See Figure 3 for a plot of the measured Intensity Scale and the Colors and Intensities section for measurements and details.

 

Display Brightness

The Surface Pro 4 has a measured Peak Brightness of 436 cd/m2 (nits), which is Very Good, and among the highest for full size Tablets that are 9 inches or larger, but still lower than many Smartphones and smaller Tablets. High screen Brightness is only needed when in High Ambient Light, but since the Surface Pro 4 is larger it is less likely to be opened outdoors in unshielded high ambient light environments like Smartphones and smaller Tablets, so its Peak Brightness should not be an issue for most users and applications. See the Brightness and Contrast section for measurements and details.

 

Display Contrast Ratio

The Display’s Maximum Contrast is the Ratio between its Peak White Brightness (Luminance) and its darkest Black Luminance, one of the more important measures of LCD performance quality. We measured the Black Luminance at 0.31 nits, giving the Surface Pro 4 a True Contrast Ratio of 1406, higher than Microsoft’s own specification of 1300, and among the highest we have ever measured for a mobile LCD display. Note that some manufacturers list a much higher (Dynamic) Contrast Ratio for their LCDs, but that is just meaningless marketing puffery. The Contrast Ratio changes with Viewing Angle, and the Surface Pro 4 has the highest we have ever measured for an LCD Tablet (see below).

 

Screen Reflectance and Performance in Ambient Lighting

Displays are seldom used in absolute darkness, so their Screen Reflectance and performance in Ambient Lighting is very important. For the Surface Pro 4 it is not as critical as with Smartphones and smaller Tablets because its larger 12.3 inch screen is less likely to be opened outdoors in unshielded high ambient light environments. The adjustable kickstand is particularly useful for adjusting the display angle in order to minimize reflections.

 

The Surface Pro 4 has a Gorilla Glass 4 cover that is optically bonded to the PixelSense Pen and Touch Interface and the LCD panel without any air gaps. The measured Screen Reflectance for the Surface Pro 4 is 5.6 percent, which is Very Good and lower than most other Tablets and Smartphones, but also much higher than the iPad Air 2, which has an Anti-Reflection coating that provides 2.5 percent Reflectance.

 

The display’s Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light measures the screen’s readability in Ambient Light and depends on both the Screen Reflectance and Maximum Brightness. For the Surface Pro 4 it is 78, which is Very Good and 24 percent higher than the Surface Pro 3, and better than most full size Tablets, but also much lower than the 166 for iPad Air 2 with its low Reflectance coating. However, the adjustable kickstand for the Surface Pro 4 can be used to reduce reflections, and its larger 12.3 inch screen is less likely to be opened outdoors in unshielded high ambient light environments. See the Screen Reflections and Brightness and Contrast sections for measurements and details.

 

Viewing Angle Performance

While Tablets are primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with Viewing Angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold the display at a variety of viewing angles, plus they are large enough for sharing the screen with others. One important advantage of the Surface Pro 4 is its adjustable kickstand, which makes it possible to adjust the Viewing Angle of the display in the same way as a Laptop. That is not only convenient but also reduces any Viewing Angle effects.

 

The Surface Pro 4 has a high performance IPS / PLS LCD display, so we expected it to show very small color shifts with Viewing Angle, and our lab measurements confirmed its excellent Viewing Angle performance, with no visually noticeable color shifts. The Contrast Ratio also changes with Viewing Angle, and at 30 degrees the Surface Pro 4 Contrast Ratio is 809 in Landscape mode and 865 in Portrait mode, the highest we have ever measured for an LCD Tablet. However, all LCDs, do have a strong decrease in Brightness (Luminance) with Viewing Angle, and the Surface Pro 4 showed (as expected) slightly more than a 50 percent decrease in Brightness at a modest 30 degree viewing angle. See the Viewing Angles section for measurements and details.

 

Viewing Tests

With its accurate Intensity Scale and high Color Accuracy the Surface Pro 4 provides very nice, pleasing and accurate image colors and picture quality. The very challenging set of DisplayMate Test and Calibration Photos that we use to evaluate picture quality looked Beautiful, even to my experienced hyper-critical eyes. However, viewers that instead like vivid or exaggerated colors and image contrast may find the accurate Surface Pro 4 images to appear somewhat subdued.

 

Display Power Efficiency

While the Surface Pro 4 display is considerably larger in area than the other top tier Tablets and would normally be expected to require considerably more power, its display is more power efficient and it actually uses less power than many smaller Tablets (including the iPad Air 2). The Surface Pro 4 has a Display Power Efficiency comparable to the Surface Pro 3, but considerably better than the iPad Air 2. On the other hand, the higher Pixels Per Inch lowers the Display Power Efficiency because at higher densities the LCD Backplane circuitry proportionally blocks more of the Backlight. However, the IGZO Metal Oxide Backplane in the Surface Pro 4 reduces this effect and increases the light output improving its power efficiency. See the Display Power section for measurements and details.

 

 

Surface Pro 4 Conclusions:   An Excellent Top Tier Display…

The primary goal of this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series has always been to publicize and promote display excellence so that consumers, journalists and even manufacturers are aware of and appreciate the very best in displays and display technology. We point out which manufactures and display technologies are leading and advancing the state-of-the-art for displays by performing comprehensive and objective scientific Lab tests and measurements together with in-depth analysis. We point out who is leading, who is behind, who is improving, and sometimes (unfortunately) who is back pedaling… all based solely on the extensive objective careful Lab measurements that we also publish, so that everyone can judge the data for themselves as well…

 

The Conclusions below summarize all the major results. See the main Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table for all the DisplayMate Lab measurements and test details, and see the Results Highlights section above for a more detailed introduction and overview with expanded discussions and explanations.

 

An Excellent Top Tier Display

Based on our extensive Lab tests and measurements on the display for the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has produced an excellent professional grade high performance display for Windows that breaks a number of LCD Tablet performance records. In fact, the Surface Pro 4 has one of the very best and most accurate displays available on any mobile platform and OS. It joins near the top of a small set of Tablets that have excellent top tier displays – ideal for professionals that need a very accurate high performance display for their work, and for consumers that want and appreciate a really nice and beautiful display.

 

In addition, what is particularly significant and impressive is that Microsoft has systematically improved every display performance metric over the already excellent Surface Pro 3, including the display’s Maximum Brightness, Contrast Ratio, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angle Performance, and with lower screen Reflectance, resulting in much better performance in Ambient Light.

 

The Surface Pro 4 delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier display performance: it is only one of a few displays to ever to get all Green (Very Good to Excellent) Ratings in all test and measurement categories (except for Brightness variation with Viewing Angle, which is the case for all LCDs) since we started the Display Technology Shoot-Out article Series in 2006, an impressive achievement for a display. See the Shoot-Out Comparison Table for the detailed test and measurement results.

 

Most Accurate Colors

The Surface Pro 4 also has the most accurate on-screen colors of any Tablet display that we have ever measured for the sRGB/Rec.709 Standard that is used for virtually all current consumer content for digital cameras, HDTVs, the internet, and computers, including photos, videos, and movies. That is another impressive achievement because everything in the display has to perform just right in order to produce very accurate colors – it is the single most challenging and important performance characteristic for a display. The Average Absolute Color Accuracy for the Surface Pro 4 is an Excellent 1.9 JNCD, which is typically visually indistinguishable from perfect. It is the most color accurate display that we have ever measured for a Tablet. The Maximum Color Error of 4.1 JNCD is larger, but it is centered on Blue, which is less visually important as explained in this article. See the Color Accuracy section and Color Accuracy Figures for measurements and details.

 

Color Accuracy is especially important for professional imaging applications when you must be sure of the on-screen image colors, when viewing photos from family and friends (because you often know exactly what they actually should look like), for some TV shows, movies, and sporting events with image content and colors that you are familiar with, and also for viewing online merchandise, so you have a very good idea of exactly what colors you are buying and are less likely to return them.

 

There are many other applications that require or would benefit from much better Absolute Color Accuracy, such as in sales and marketing presentations, and especially in medical imaging, where it can improve diagnostic accuracy for doctors, hospitals and patients. For digital photography, the Surface Pro 4 is an excellent large mobile display that has much better picture quality and color accuracy than the camera's own display, for reviewing your photos as you are taking them or for showing them off.

 

Comparing Tablet Displays

You can directly compare all of the display performance measurements and results for many other Tablets by referring our Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out article series by using a Tabbed web browser on the Comparison Table for each article. The entries for all the articles are mostly identical with only minor formatting differences, so it’s easy to make detailed side-by-side comparisons by simply clicking through the Tabs for each Tablet.

 

Below are links for the Tablet Comparison Tables mentioned in the article:

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Apple iPad Air 2 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Samsung OLED Tablet Display Technology Shoot-Out

 

The Next Generation of Mobile Displays  –  Better Performance in Ambient Light

The most important improvements for both LCD and OLED mobile displays will come from improving their image and picture quality and screen readability in real world ambient light, which washes out the screen images, resulting in reduced image contrast, color saturation, and color accuracy. The key will be in lowering screen Reflectance and implementing Dynamic Color Management with automatic real-time modification of the display’s native Color Gamut and Intensity Scales based the measured Ambient Light level in order to have them compensate for the reflected light glare and image wash out from ambient light as discussed in our 2014 Innovative Displays and Display Technology and SID Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.

 

The displays, technologies, and manufacturers that succeed in implementing this new real world high ambient light performance strategy will take the lead in the next generations of mobile displays… Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display technology coverage.

 

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone and Tablet displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

 

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

 

Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table

Below we examine in-depth the display on the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 based on objective Lab measurement data and criteria. For comparisons and additional background information see our Surface Pro 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out, our Surface 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out, our iPad Air 2 Display Technology Shoot-Out and our OLED Tablet Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.

 

For comparisons with the other leading Tablets, Smartphones and Smart Watch displays see our Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out series.

 

Display Specifications

 

Categories

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Comments

Display Technology

12.3 inch diagonal

IPS / PLS LCD

IGZO Metal Oxide LCD Backplane

with a PixelSense Pen and Touch Interface

The diagonal screen size.

In Plane Switching  Plane to Line Switching

Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide

Screen Shape

 3:2 = 1.50

Aspect Ratio

The 3:2 Aspect Ratio is between 4:3 for documents

and 16:9 for widescreen video content.

Screen Area

69.8 Square inches

A better measure of size than the diagonal length.

Display Pixel Resolution

 2736 x 1824 pixels

Screen Pixel Resolution.

Total Number of Pixels

 5.0 Mega Pixels

Total Number of Pixels.

Pixels Per Inch

 

 

 

 

 267 ppi

RGB Stripe Pixels

 

with ClearType Sub-Pixel Rendering

Very Good

Sharpness depends on the viewing distance and ppi.

See this on the visual acuity for a true Retina Display

 

 

 

20/20 Vision Distance

where Pixels or Sub-Pixels

are Not Resolved

Individual Pixels are Not Resolved at 12.9 inches or more

For 20/20 Vision the minimum Viewing Distance

where the screen appears perfectly sharp to the eye.

Display Sharpness

at Typical Viewing Distances

 

 

 

 

Display Appears Perfectly Sharp

Pixels are not Resolved with 20/20 Vision

at Typical Viewing Distances of

16 inches or more

 

The Sub-Pixel Rendering significantly improves Display Sharpness

The Typical Viewing Distances for this screen size

are 16 inches or more.

 

 

 

 

Appears Perfectly Sharp

at Typical Viewing Distances

Yes

Typical Viewing Distances are 16 inches or more.

Photo Viewer Color Depth

 

 

 Full 24-bit Color

No Dithering Visible

256 Intensity Levels

Many Android Smartphones and Tablets still have some form of 16-bit color depth in the Gallery Viewer.

The Surface Pro 4 does not have this issue.

 

Overall Assessments

This section summarizes the results for all of the extensive Lab Measurements and Viewing Tests performed on the display

See  Screen ReflectionsBrightness and ContrastColors and IntensitiesViewing AnglesLCD SpectraDisplay Power.

 

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

Viewing Tests

in Subdued Ambient Lighting

 

Very Good Images

Photos and Videos

have Excellent Color

and Accurate Contrast

The Viewing Tests examine the accuracy of

photographic images by comparing the displays

to a calibrated studio monitor and HDTV.

 

Variation with Viewing Angle

Colors and Brightness

 

See Viewing Angles

 

Small Color Shifts

with Viewing Angle

 

Large Brightness Shift

with Viewing Angle

Typical for all LCDs

The Surface Pro 4 display has small Color Shifts

with Viewing Angle.

 

All LCDs show a large Brightness shift with angle.

 

See the Viewing Angles section for details.

Overall Display Assessment

Lab Tests and Measurements

Excellent LCD Display

The Surface Pro 4 display performed very well

in the Lab Tests and Measurements.

 

 

Color Gamut

102 percent

sRGB / Rec.709

sRGB / Rec.709 is the color standard for most

content and needed for accurate color reproduction.

Absolute Color Accuracy

Measured over Entire Gamut

 

See Figure 2 and Colors

Excellent Color Accuracy

Color Errors are Small

Average 1.9 JNCD

 

Very Accurate Display

Absolute Color Accuracy is measured with a

Spectroradiometer for 21 Reference Colors

uniformly distributed within the entire Color Gamut.

 

See Figure 2 and Colors and Intensities for details.

Image Contrast Accuracy

 

See Figure 3 and Contrast

Very Good Contrast Accuracy

Image Contrast

Slightly Too Low

The Image Contrast Accuracy is determined by

measuring the Log Intensity Scale and Gamma.

 

See Figure 3 and Brightness and Contrast for details.

Performance in Ambient Light

Display Brightness

Screen Reflectance

Contrast Rating

 

See Brightness and Contrast

See Screen Reflections

High Display Brightness

436 nits

 

Medium Reflectance

5.6 percent

 

Contrast Rating

in High Ambient Light

78  Very Good

Tablets are seldom used in the dark.

Screen Brightness and Reflectance determine

the Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light.

 

See the Brightness and Contrast section for details.

See the Screen Reflections section for details.

 

Overall Display Calibration

Image and Picture Quality

Lab Tests and Viewing Tests

Excellent Calibration

The Surface Pro 4 factory calibration delivers

very accurate colors and excellent overall

image and picture quality.

 

Overall Display Grade

Overall Assessment

Overall Surface Pro 4 Display Grade is A

Excellent Top Tier Mobile Display

The Surface Pro 4 is an excellent Top Tier

professional grade high performance display

that has one of the very best and most accurate

displays available on any mobile platform and OS.

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

 

Screen Reflections

All display screens are mirrors good enough to use for personal grooming – but that is actually a very bad feature…

We measured the light reflected from all directions and also direct mirror (specular) reflections, which are much more

distracting and cause more eye strain. Many Tablets still have greater than 10 percent reflections that make the

screen much harder to read even in moderate ambient light levels, requiring ever higher brightness settings that waste

precious battery power. Hopefully manufacturers will reduce the mirror reflections with anti-reflection coatings and

matte or haze surface finishes.

 

Our Lab Measurements include Average Reflectance for Ambient Light from All Directions and for Mirror Reflections.

 

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

Average Screen Reflection

Light From All Directions

5.6 percent

Ambient Light Reflections

Very Good

Measured using an Integrating Hemisphere and

a Spectroradiometer. The best value we have

ever measured for a full size Tablet is 2.5 percent.

Mirror Reflections

Percentage of Light Reflected

6.3 percent

for Mirror Reflections

Very Good

These are the most annoying types of Reflections.

Measured using a Spectroradiometer and a narrow

collimated pencil beam of light reflected off the screen.

 

Brightness and Contrast

The Contrast Ratio is the specification that gets the most attention, but it only applies for low ambient light, which is seldom

the case for mobile displays. Much more important is the Contrast Rating, which indicates how easy it is to read the screen

under high ambient lighting and depends on both the Maximum Brightness and the Screen Reflectance. The larger the better.

 

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

Measured Maximum Brightness

100% Full Screen White

Brightness 436 cd/m2

Very Good

This is the Brightness for a screen that is entirely

all white with 100% Average Picture Level.

Measured Peak Brightness

1% Full Screen White

Brightness 436 cd/m2

Very Good

This is the Peak Brightness for a screen that

has only a tiny 1% Average Picture Level.

 

Low Ambient Light

Lowest Peak Brightness

Brightness Slider to Minimum

7 cd/m2

Very Good for Low Light

The Lowest Brightness with the Slider set to Minimum. This is useful for working in very dark environments.

Black Brightness at 0 lux

at Maximum Brightness Setting

0.31 cd/m2

Very Good for Mobile

Black brightness is important for Low Ambient Light,

which is seldom the case for mobile devices.

Contrast Ratio at 0 lux

Relevant for Low Ambient Light

1,406

Very Good for Mobile

Only relevant for Low Ambient Light,

which is seldom the case for mobile devices.

 

High Ambient Light

Contrast Rating

for High Ambient Light

78

Very Good

Depends on the Screen Reflectance and Brightness.

Defined as Maximum Brightness / Average Reflectance.

Screen Readability

in High Ambient Light

Very Good  A –

 

 

Indicates how easy it is to read the screen

under high ambient lighting. Depends on

both the Screen Reflectance and Brightness.

See High Ambient Light Screen Shots

 

Colors and Intensities

 

Figure 1

Color Gamuts

Click to Enlarge

 

Figure 2

Color Accuracy

Click to Enlarge

 

Figure 3

Intensity Scale

Click to Enlarge

 

The Color Gamut, Intensity Scale, and White Point determine the quality and accuracy of all displayed images and all

the image colors. Bigger is definitely Not Better because the display needs to match all the standards that were used

when the content was produced. For LCDs a wider Color Gamut reduces the power efficiency and the Intensity Scale

affects both image brightness and color mixture accuracy.

 

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

Color of White

Color Temperature in degrees

 

Measured in the dark at 0 lux

See Figure 1

6,886 K

Close to Standard

1.5 JNCD from D65 White

 

See Figure 1

D65 with 6,500 K is the standard color of White

for most Consumer Content and needed for

accurate color reproduction of all images.

 

See Figure 1 for the plotted White Points.

Color Gamut

Measured in the dark at 0 lux

 

See Figure 1

102 percent

sRGB / Rec.709

Close to Standard

 

See Figure 1

sRGB / Rec.709 is the color standard for most

content and needed for accurate color reproduction.

 

Color Accuracy

Absolute Color Accuracy

Average Color Error at 0 lux

 

For 21 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

See Figure 2

Average Color Error

From sRGB / Rec.709

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0076

 1.9 JNCD

 

Excellent Accuracy

 

See Figure 2

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for

Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.

 

Average Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Average Errors 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Average Errors above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

Absolute Color Accuracy

Largest Color Error at 0 lux

 

For 21 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

See Figure 2

Largest Color Error

From sRGB / Rec.709

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0165

4.1 JNCD for Blue

 

Very Good Accuracy

 

See Figure 2

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for

Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.

 

Largest Errors below   7.0 JNCD are Very Good.

Largest Errors 7.0 to 14.0 JNCD are Good.

Largest Errors above 14.0 JNCD are Poor.

This is twice the limit for the Average Error.

 

Intensity Scale

Dynamic Brightness

Luminance Decrease with

Average Picture Level APL

No Decrease

Excellent

This is the percent Brightness decrease with APL

Average Picture Level. Ideally should be 0 percent.

Intensity Scale and

Image Contrast

 

See Figure 3

Very Smooth and Straight

But Slightly Too Low

 

See Figure 3

The Intensity Scale controls image contrast needed

for accurate Image Contrast and Color reproduction.

See Figure 3

Gamma for the Intensity Scale

Larger has more Image Contrast

 

See Figure 3

Average Gamma is 2.13

Close to 2.20 Standard

But Slightly Too Low

Gamma is the log slope of the Intensity Scale.

Gamma of 2.20 is the standard and needed for

accurate Image Contrast and Color reproduction.

See Figure 3

Image Contrast Accuracy

Very Good Contrast Accuracy

See Figure 3

 

Viewing Angles

The variation of Brightness, Contrast, and Color with Viewing Angle is especially important for Tablets because

of their larger screen and multiple viewers. The typical manufacturer 176+ degree specification for LCD Viewing Angle

is nonsense because that is where the Contrast Ratio falls to a miniscule 10. For most LCDs there are substantial

degradations at less than ±30 degrees, which is not an atypical Viewing Angle for Tablets and Smartphones.

 

Note that the Viewing Angle performance is also very important for a single viewer because the Viewing Angle can vary

significantly based on how the Tablet is held. The Viewing Angle can be very large if resting on a table or desk.

 

 

Surface Pro 4

Comments

Brightness Decrease

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

 55 percent Decrease

Large Decrease

Typical for all LCDs

Most screens become less bright when tilted.

 

LCD decrease is generally greater than 50 percent.

Contrast Ratio at 0 lux

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

     809 for Landscape

865 for Portrait

Very Good for Mobile

A measure of screen readability when the screen

is tilted under low ambient lighting.

 

White Point Color Shift

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Small Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0069

 1.7 JNCD

White moves closer to D65 within 0.2 JNCD

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

 

Primary Color Shifts

Largest Color Shift for R,G,B

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Small Color Shift

Largest Δ(u’v’) = 0.0056 for Blue

1.4 JNCD

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

 

Color Shifts for Color Mixtures

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Reference Brown (255, 128, 0)

Small Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0058

1.4 JNCD

 

 

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

Color Shifts for non-IPS LCDs are about 10 JNCD.

 

Reference Brown is a good indicator of color shifts

with angle because of unequal drive levels and

roughly equal luminance contributions from Red

and Green. See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

 

 

 

Figure 4

Display Spectra

Click to Enlarge

 

 

Display Power Consumption

The display power was measured using a Linear Regression between Luminance and AC Power with a fully charged battery.

 

Since the displays all have different screen sizes and maximum brightness, the values were also scaled to the

same screen brightness (Luminance) and same screen area in order to compare their Relative Power Efficiency.

 

LCDs are typically more power efficient for images with mostly white content (like text screens, for example), while OLEDs

are more power efficient for mixed image content because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the

Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content. For LCDs the display power is independent of image content.

 

The Surface Pro 4 has a Display Power Efficiency comparable to the Surface Pro 3, but considerably better than the iPad Air 2.

The higher Pixels Per Inch lowers the Display Power Efficiency because the Backplane circuitry proportionally blocks more of the Backlight.

The IGZO Metal Oxide Backplane in the Surface Pro 4 reduces this effect and increases the light output improving its power efficiency.

 

 

Microsoft

Surface Pro 3

Microsoft

Surface Pro 4

Apple

iPad Air 2

Comments

Maximum Display Power

Full White Screen

at Maximum Brightness

3.5 watts

371 cd/m2

66.5 inch2 Screen Area

4.8 watts

436 cd/m2

69.8 inch2 Screen Area

5.1 watts

415 cd/m2

45.2 inch2 Screen Area

This measures the display power for a screen that

is entirely at Peak White for Maximum Brightness.

 

Relative Power Efficiency

Display Power Scaled to the:

Same Luminance 436 cd/m2 Same Screen Area 69.8 inch2

4.3 watts

 

216 Pixels Per Inch

4.8 watts

 

267 Pixels Per Inch

8.3 watts

 

264 Pixels Per Inch

This compares the Relative Power Efficiency

by scaling to the same screen brightness and

same screen area as the Surface Pro 4.

 

Higher Pixels Per Inch lowers the Power Efficiency.

 

 


 

About the Author

Dr. Raymond Soneira is President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire, which produces display calibration, evaluation, and diagnostic products for consumers, technicians, and manufacturers. See www.displaymate.com. He is a research scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any comments or questions about the article, you can contact him at dtso.info@displaymate.com.

 

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone and Tablets displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

 

About DisplayMate Technologies

DisplayMate Technologies specializes in proprietary advanced scientific display calibration and mathematical display optimization to deliver unsurpassed objective performance, picture quality and accuracy for all types of displays including video and computer monitors, projectors, HDTVs, mobile displays such as Smartphones and Tablets, and all display technologies including LCD, OLED, 3D, LED, LCoS, Plasma, DLP and CRT. This article is a lite version of our intensive scientific analysis of Smartphone and Tablet mobile displays – before the benefits of our advanced mathematical DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve many of the display deficiencies. We offer DisplayMate display calibration software for consumers and advanced DisplayMate display diagnostic and calibration software for technicians and test labs.

 

For manufacturers we offer Consulting Services that include advanced Lab testing and evaluations, confidential Shoot-Outs with competing products, calibration and optimization for displays, cameras and their User Interface, plus on-site and factory visits. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, and production quality control so they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our Display Technology Shoot-Out series. See our world renown Display Technology Shoot-Out public article series for an introduction and preview. DisplayMate’s advanced scientific optimizations can make lower cost panels look as good or better than more expensive higher performance displays. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to turn your display into a spectacular one to surpass your competition then Contact DisplayMate Technologies to learn more.

 

 

Article Links:  Surface Pro 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links:  Surface 3 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links:  iPad Air 2 Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links:  OLED Tablet Display Technology Shoot-Out

 

Article Links:  Mobile Display Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

Article Links:  Display Technology Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

 

 

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