rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted May 5, 2011 NOVA Display vs Super AMOLED Plus vs Retina Display vs Super LCD Which One is Better? Find Out in This Detailed Comparison Source The LG Optimus Black has finally arrived in its final version and it brings an all-new display technology dubbed NOVA display for its brightness and deep blacks. First thing we did? We put it alongside three smartphone heavyweights for an ultimate screen showdown. The Optimus Black faced the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Apple iPhone 4 and the LG Optimus 2X. For our tests we used studio setup identical to the one we used when we first got the Samsung Galaxy S II: with diffused lighting on both sides with the same color temperature as daylight, for reference purposes, and then we turned the light off for shots in complete darkness. For the camera white balance adjustment, we used three matte patches on cardboard: 90% white, 18% grey, and 1% black (velvet). The two sources have the same color temperature as daylight Brightness The NOVA display boasts an incredible brightness. The luminosity measures at 700 nits (the equivalent of 700 candelas per square meter if you wish), far more than the 500 nits on the similar IPS-LCD on the iPhone 4 and noticeably brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S II and its Super AMOLED Plus. Performance on paper aside, our real-world experience with the screens proved that the NOVA display on the Optimus Black is indeed shining brightest. Winner: NOVA Display Outdoor Visibility Actually, LG goes on to claim that 700 nits is the exact threshold for perfect outdoor visibility, allowing the human eye to easily make out pictures even in direct sunlight. Overcast skies didn't allow us to test the screen under the sun, but we can confirm that we had no trouble whatsoever with it in cloudy weather. Comparatively, it measures a bit better than the iPhone 4, which in turn is a tad bit brighter than the Galaxy S II. Winner: NOVA Display Text readability In terms of text readability, the resolution of the screen makes a huge difference and the iPhone 4 easily won the first place here. The NOVA display does well, but there is still some noticeable pixelization, just as on the Super AMOLED Plus-wielding Samsung Galaxy S II, which is still a significant improvement from its predecessor in the Galaxy S. Winner: IPS-LCD "Retina Display" on iPhone 4 From left to right - LG Optimus Black, Samsung Galaxy S II, Apple iPhone 4, LG Optimus 2X 100% Crops Color gamut You might have also wondered about the origin of the Black part of the LG Optimus Black name. And again it's the deep blacks, which consume zero watts that are the likely justification. But it's not only the blacks – the whites are also clear and colors are soft. The difference is striking when put alongside a Super AMOLED Plus screen, where a cold blueish hue is noticeable, and despite being punchy, colors on a Super AMOLED Plus display look comparatively exaggerated. Ultimately, we'd go for the balanced and accurate colors on the iPhone whereas the Optimus Black produces slightly warmer colors, with a perceptible yellowish tone to the white. Winner: IPS-LCD on iPhone 4 From left to right - LG Optimus Black, Samsung Galaxy S II, Apple iPhone 4, LG Optimus 2X Wide-angle view Wide-angle visibility is top-notch on the Galaxy S II with almost no change in color and contrast. The LG Optimus Black, when viewed from extreme angles, has a slight purplish shade, also noticeable (in a lesser degree on the iPhone 4). Although the Galaxy S II with its Super AMOLED Plus display does not perform convincingly at the most extreme angles (at which you'll probably never look your phone), it's the best when it comes to angles up to 140 degrees. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S II From left to right - LG Optimus Black, Samsung Galaxy S II, Apple iPhone 4, LG Optimus 2X From left to right - LG Optimus Black, Samsung Galaxy S II, Apple iPhone 4, LG Optimus 2X Finally, the NOVA screen technology is battery-savvy, working in concert with the energy effective TI OMAP chipset to deliver excellent battery life. But in pure screen fight, it wins only in the brightness department. When it comes to screen legibility and resolution, it's the IPS-LCD that truly wins here – a technology used in professional monitors, yielding the most accurate colors. If you value accuracy first, you'd appreciate what the iPhone 4 has to offer, with the LG Optimus Black being a runner-up with a slight yellowish hue, but if you value great contrast and high saturation for extremely punchy images, Super AMOLED Plus on the Galaxy S II is the way to go. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digitalnirvana 646 Report post Posted May 5, 2011 Good information thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KanagaDeepan 1,084 Report post Posted May 6, 2011 Nice infos... Thanks Rajan bhai... But AMOLED (also PLUS) is the best for me... In my EPIC, I just use lowest brightness settings in indoor and switch to FULL in direct sunlight (using QuickSettings)... Also I use a PURE-BLACK wallpaper and Black themes in all apps... It saves huge battery power comparing the NOVA/RETINA/SC-LCD, which is the only problem in Android, imho... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parin 857 Report post Posted May 6, 2011 I have seen Optimus G2x & Epic But on G2x resolution is good & natural while on amoled ti very bright & sharp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
I_C_U 10 Report post Posted May 6, 2011 Also I use a PURE-BLACK wallpaper and Black themes in all apps... It saves huge battery power comparing the NOVA/RETINA/SC-LCD, which is the only problem in Android, imho... Does this work.. i mean setting black background saves battery. where can i get more technical info on this setting? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajanmehta 4,056 Report post Posted October 22, 2011 Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus sport HD Super AMOLED - is the PenTile Matrix Bad For You? Source The first generation Super AMOLED displays, as found on the Samsung Galaxy S, used a then new matrix arrangement called PenTile, which allowed for high resolutions on the tricky to manufacture OLED displays. For various reasons it degraded visibility in certain conditions, compared to the traditional RGB matrix. Since then many smaprthones, and even tablets, started using the PenTile matrix, in both AMOLED and LCD screens. Now that we are holding the first HD Super AMOLED display on a prototype Samsung Galaxy Note, we decided to check if things are advancing with the PenTile pattern on the new HD displays. To PenTile or not to PenTile – where's my resolution? Samsung's seed investment Nouvoyance, the company behind the PenTile matrix used in the HD screens of the Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus, informs us that the PenTile matrix technology complies with the accepted VESA standard for display resolution. While the PenTile creators say the technology is just different from the stripes we are used to look at with RGB matrices, but its subpixels are a third wider, thus increasing aperture, some argue about the "missing subpixel" paradigm. Others even go as far as cutting the default horizontal and vertical numbers by a third, and then calculating the density from a subpixel standpoint. Nouvoyance says that the difference in pixel arrangement is clearly visible only when you look closer while displaying small details on saturated red for the RGBG PenTile in AMOLED displays, and when showing them on saturated green for the RGBW PenTile in LCDs, like the one on Motorola's qHD Droids. Moreover, the Android UI used some elements that exacerbated the PenTile pattern visibility, such as pixel-wide UI elements, and some fonts on saturated primary colors, where the matrix arrangement could make things appear fuzzy. The ATRIX, for example, used to have this solid green battery icon that showed RGBW PenTile pattern visibility when looked at from very close, so Motorola changed it with one of the software updates. With the new Roboto font in Android Ice Cream Sandwich, built from scratch for high-res displays, this should be even less of an issue. The premise of the PenTile creators is that their invention is not inferior to the traditional RGB, but actually a different way to arrange a display matrix, where you lose some definition diagonally, visible at lower pixel densities, but gain brightness, ease-to-manufacture, contrast and power efficiency. For higher pixel densities you stand to gain from PenTile, they argue, and, since this novel arrangement is slowly creeping into both LCD and AMOLED screens of various high-end smartphones, starting with Samsung and Motorola, we'd better check if these claims hold water. We test The corporate Kool-Aid is neverending, that is why we were eager to explore the new HD Super AMOLED using PenTile against the Super AMOLED Plus with a traditional RGB matrix on the Samsung Galaxy S II. We threw in another new phone with huge display, but lousy WVGA resolution for its 4.7" size, the HTC Titan, and added the pixel density king to beat, Apple's iPhone 4, for good measure. To save you the suspense we want to state clearly that at no point while using the 800x1280 pixels 5.3" screen on the Galaxy Note could we see any jaggies or the pattern of the pixels arrangement - even on individual letters at full zoom at the closest possible distance to our eyes we couldn't discern anything, let alone in normal use. Cold colors making white appear blueish ever since the Super AMOLED on the first Galaxy S - yes, that exists even in the new HD Super AMOLED , but details were the clearest we've seen on any AMOLED to date. Left to right - Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, Apple iPhone 4, HTC Titan This is somewhat visible in the pictures we took of the screens, but in reality the HD Super AMOLED screen fares even better. If you look at the zoomed in 100% crops of pics made from the same distance, the letter borders have deeper jaggies on the Samsung Galaxy S II, as opposed to the ones from the Galaxy Note display, which are closer to the smoothness of the iPhone 4's screen. If we follow the “cut a third” logic, then the Galaxy Note density should go down to about 190ppi from the official 285, and thus fare worse than the 217ppi on the Galaxy S II, which is not the case. Again, this is zoomed to a level that you will never encounter on the phones themselves. Of course, the best way to compare an HD screen with PenTile is to pit it against another HD one with traditional RGB matrix, but for now we are working with what we have. We also ran the red test, and indeed the RGBG PenTile display on the Galaxy Note looks as if a fish net texture has been cast over, compared to the traditional RGB stripe matrix on the Samsung Galaxy S II, which shows lines. That, however, is not visible to the naked eye on the Galaxy Note, even if you stretch the picture at maximum in the Gallery. Galaxy Note And Galaxy S II Conclusion To wrap it up we'd say that the fears about PenTile appear hugely overblown when it comes to the new HD Super AMOLED technology, which delivers higher pixel density. The folks from Nouvoyance seem to be open about the advantages and disadvantages of their matrix arrangement, and never said flaws don't exist in certain conditions. Moreover, it seems that PenTile is here to stay, and Samsung is even prepping an RGBW LCD screen with 1600x2560 pixels resolution, resulting in 300ppi at 10.1-inch size. In any case, if we nitpickers couldn't find anything troubling with the screen on our prototype Galaxy Note, then the average user shouldn't even care what matrix their smartphone or tablet display uses to bring them those entertaining YouTube clips of cats falling off TVs. additional info: OLED-A & PenTileBlog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drsandyppc 6 Report post Posted October 27, 2011 Good Information! But display should be energy efficient too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santanu@impaq 16 Report post Posted January 23, 2012 I have been using Galaxy Note since mid Nov and I do not feel the ill effects of Pentile config at the resolution offered by note. I can only feel the grainyness on white background with non black text at very small point sizes in the browser. At other times it is almost undetectable while watching from normal viewing distance. A good trade off between quality of display vs manufacturability vs HD resolution. Btw the size is homongous , you will either like it or fully hate it, nothing in between, you know what I mean. The galaxy nexus screen will definitely be outstanding since it gives almost same resolution at smaller screen thereby enhancing density further. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
