Why Offset Lighting Increases Your TV’s Contrast and Preserves Your Eyes
Lighting bias can help reduce eye strain caused by long exposure on TVs and monitors in dark rooms, but it can also help to make the grayscale and blacks appear richer on the screen.
A bias backlight is placed behind the TV to increase the ambient light around the screen without increasing the light entering the viewer’s eyes. This type of light helps reduce eye strain and fatigue by preventing our eyes from constantly adapting to bright screen lighting levels as opposed to dark room lighting levels. In the How-To Geek article, Lifehacker alumnus Jason Fitzpatrick explains how some basic lighting offsets increase screen contrast, using the optical illusion above as an example:
… that our eyes perceive gray as darker and richer when viewed against a light background, and more washed out when viewed against a dark background. Light the wall behind the screen, and the same illusion of contrast appears: the grays and blacks on the screen will become more saturated, and the contrast between them and the surrounding area will appear stronger … many people change the brightness and contrast values to higher values. levels to obtain the desired color intensity and black contrast. If the environment in which you are looking at the screen already helps increase the contrast and creates a prettier image on the screen, you can reduce the brightness again.
Fitzpatrick notes that dimming the screen will also help extend the life of the TV. We’ve discussed some great ways to do this: using a Raspberry Pi , some custom LED strips, and even Arduino-based methods for monitors. Of course, there are many sets in stores too. As time goes by, screens are becoming a larger part of our lives, so you can do whatever you can to save your eyes. The entire How-To Geek article is worth reading, so find out more about offset lighting at the link below.
What Is Lighting Offset And Why You Should Use It | How-To Geek