Glossy & Matte Coatings & Bezels

NCX

Supreme [H]ardness
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The first 3 pictures were shot with the same camera settings and both monitors were calibrated and set to the same brightness. I used a single 1100 lumen Daylight/6500k LIFX light and set my monitors to 100cdm/2.

A glossy Crossover 2720MDP is on the left and a matte (semi-glossy) Qnix QX2710 is on the right. I sanded and spray painted my Qnix's bezel gray. My work is passable at best, but I rarely notice the imperfections.

Matte bezel on the glossy Crossover

Glossy bezel on the glossy Crossover.

Bezel-less: The silver monitor frame is ugly but greatly increases the perceived black depth.

Glossy black bezels make matte monitors blacks look grayish. Glossy coatings and glossy bezels look fine in very bright rooms, but not in darker rooms.

Gllossy and matte Qnix with a 2600 lumen Daylight/6500k Philips CFL light. Both monitors were calibrated and set to 140cdm/2 brightness.

Edge-to-edge glass placed over top of glossy plastic destroys the perceived black levels of the Apple Cinema/Thunder Bolt Display, Samsung S27B970D and Dell S series monitors.

Left Samsung S27B970D with edge-to-edge glas vs. Matte (semi-glossy) NEC P242W

More coating comparisons from the Plasma Deposition Coating section of my Crossover 2755AMG Review.
 
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I do see the effect and I think I understand the importance of metamerism--there are many many combinations of input levels the 3 color receptors humans have that will all make the same "basic" shades. So two shades of red shown not back to back are "red" to two different people. One of them is not saying, "oh, it's sort of an orangeish red".

The difference between gray and black is obvious, but I don't ever find myself distracted by my "blacker than black" bezels in comparison to the "not as black" LCD. I definitely recognize the effect in the photos you've provided, though. This is probably another one of those things that might be like nails on a chalkboard to one person and not even on the radar of another person.
 
Another debate that will thankfully be rendered obsolete by OLED displays. The reflections in your images are more of a problem than the dark bezels of the edge-to-edge Samsung display. Taken in a dark room (where you're likely to be watching a movie) the effect is hardly so dramatic.
 
Edge-to-edge blacks look significantly lighter than non-glass displays blacks in the dark as well, and the 970D I had was an anomaly since it had a 900:1 contrast ratio after calibration compared to the typical 700:1 of other units tested. I think most people would agree that AHVA/IPS/PLS panels blacks are too light for use in bias lighting free dark rooms, even when using low luminance (70-100cdm/2). Edge-to-edge glass is also significantly more reflective in dark rooms, especially since the gap between the LCD and glass causes internal reflections.

Overexposed 1

The Glossy Crossover 2720MDP is using the original glossy black bezel while the matte (semi-glossy) Qnix QX2710 is using a custom painted, dark gray matte bezel.

Overexposed 2

The Glossy Crossover 2720MDP is using a custom painted, dark gray matte bezel while the matte (semi-glossy) Qnix QX2710 is using all glossy black bezel.

The 4,000$ Sony 4K TV's use edge-to-edge glass=extreme fail. Most of LG's new monitors and TV's have light and dark, matte gray bezels now, as do most professional and business oriented AHVA/IPS/PLS panels.
 
I'd like to see your comparison images shot in a dark room if you wouldn't mind, otherwise they're not all that useful.
 
I don't see any difference in all of those pictures save for the reflection in the last one...
 
Dark room pictures are pointless and my room can be considered dark anyway.

I don't see any difference in all of those pictures save for the reflection in the last one...

Your monitor is crushing blacks and/or is too dim.
 
Dark room pictures are pointless and my room can be considered dark anyway.



Your monitor is crushing blacks and/or is too dim.
True ;). I'm viewing them at work on a pretty crappy TN panel :p. Fiddling with the calibration settings can only get one so far :cool:.
 
Dark room pictures are pointless and my room can be considered dark anyway.

Pointless because there would be no difference between the screens if it was too dark to see the bezels, hence why this is such a minor thing.
 
Even in the same batch of monitors there can be differences
In the end two people can see different variations of color and light on the exact same picture.
I just go what looks good to me
It even changes in different formats within formats (ex movies or picture)
 
Pointless because there would be no difference between the screens if it was too dark to see the bezels, hence why this is such a minor thing.

Most people don't use AHVA/IPS/PLS in the dark without bias lighting because they have poor black levels and the glow is even more obvious.
 
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