Native contrast

Full-white luminance ÷ full-black luminance, with no dynamic iris or light modulation. This is the true black-level capability of the light valve and optics.

Unit: :1
Standard: ISO/IEC 21118 contrast item; IEC 61947-1 methods
ISO 21118: ISO 21118 optional
Better: ↑ Higher
Status: Standard reference being re-verified

Simulated at 5,000:1 (illustrative scene). Black floor shown: rgb(1,1,1). Your display limits what you see.

Native contrast5,000:1

Reference: pure #000, what a perfectly dark pixel would be on an OLED or in a dark room.

Show the numbers

1,000:1	black = 0.100 % of white (rgb(3,3,3))
5,000:1	black = 0.020 % of white (rgb(1,1,1))
20,000:1	black = 0.0050 % of white (rgb(0,0,0))
100,000:1	black = 0.0010 % of white (rgb(0,0,0))
Model	displayed = black floor + signal × (1 − floor), sRGB-encoded

Simulation: white is held constant and the black floor is set to white ÷ contrast; stars sit at 0.05 % to 50 % of white in linear light. Tiny differences (such as 20,000:1 versus 100,000:1) fall below one 8-bit step on most screens, so a real projector in a dark room shows more than this can. Ambient light also raises the floor.

A simulated night scene with stars and a moon, rendered with a black floor equal to white divided by 5,000, that is 0.020 percent of peak white. Faint stars below that floor are lost, so higher contrast reveals more of them. It is a simulation, and your display limits what you see. Presets compare 1,000, 5,000, 20,000 and 100,000 to 1.

How to compare it

Native on/off contrast(:1)

The best single predictor of dark-room image depth. Rough measured bands by technology: - Single-chip DLP: ~1,000–2,500:1. - 3LCD: a few thousand to 1 without an iris. - Sony SXRD: roughly 10,000–40,000:1. - JVC D-ILA: tens of thousands up to 100,000:1+ claimed. Compare measured values, not rated ones.

Manual iris / aperture

A user-settable static aperture that trades lumens for native contrast.

Lets one projector serve a dedicated bat-cave or a living room. Strongly valued by enthusiasts.

Standard: Vendor

Marketing traps

Native on/off contrast: Watch for two things: - Many 'native' claims are measured with the iris stopped down, which the user can do too but at the cost of brightness. - Some brands only publish dynamic. ISO's contrast item and its exact method still need confirming against the full text.

Across the catalogue

Native on/off contrast

5 of 24 projectors list it

Highest

See every projector sorted by native on/off contrast

Deep cut

Native on/off contrast. Native contrast depends on aperture: closing a manual iris raises it and lowers lumens. So report it as a pair (lumens, contrast) at one setting. JVC D-ILA's lead comes from vertically aligned LC plus a wire-grid polariser optical block.

Manual iris / aperture. Closing the iris also deepens depth of field and can improve sharpness slightly (fewer aberrations at higher f-number).

Terms on this page

Native contrast (on/off)

Full-white luminance divided by full-black luminance, with the iris and dimming fixed. This is the single most important picture-quality spec for dark-room viewing. JVC states 40,000:1 (NZ500/NZ7/NP5) to 100,000:1 (NZ9) native. Sony and Epson don't publish native figures on current models (dynamic or "∞:1" only). Home DLP is usually ~1,000–3,000:1 (Samsung LSP9T: 1,500:1). For 3LCD there are no reliable manufacturer native figures, so use measured values. ⚖ contrast.native_on_off ↑

ANSI contrast (checkerboard / intra-scene)

A 4×4 black/white checkerboard: average white ÷ average black. It measures simultaneous contrast, including lens flare and room reflections. Values typically fall around 150–600:1. ⚖ observed.ansi_contrast ↑