In 2019, BOE showed new screens with a high contrast ratio of 150,000: 1. However, it is very difficult to find a description of this technology, there is practically no information about them on the network. From the official release, it can be understood that these (BD Cell Display) are good displays with very good technical characteristics.
According to the official press release:
BD Cell is a display technology introduced by BOE that can significantly improve display contrast and heralds a new breakthrough in TFT-LCD technology. BOE innovatively designs two layers of black and white and color cells for the display and uses pixel division and micron-level dimming technology for more precise image control so that the display can have ultra-high contrast ratios up to a millionth level and display the most natural colors. In addition, this display technology has clear advantages in the black field and grayscale. The BD Cell display has a black field of fewer than 0.003 nits and can realize 12-bit color depth. Its low grayscale is more natural and every color and every detail in an image can be clearly represented. This innovative technology can make users feel better and have a mind-blowing UHD experience. BOE’s BD Cell technology is said to be used in medium to large displays such as TVs, laptops, and monitors. More devices with BD Cell technology are yet to be brought to market.
However, our goal is to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the BD Cell in simple terms.
BD Cell Display Technology Explained
In fact BD Cell display is an IPS ADS display technology. BD Cell is the next generation of IPS displays that BOE is developing.
BD Cell Displays are displays that use two layers of pixels. The structure of these displays is shown in the figure below.
Also Read: What is ADS Display
In such displays, the backlight is located behind the screen. Then there is a layer of black pixels, and then a third layer with an RGB matrix.
How the BD Cell display works
In fact, the second black and white layer act as backlight control to improve image quality. As you know, the main drawback of IPS displays is the lack of rich black color. Even when displaying a black image, light penetrates the pixels and makes the screen gray. Thus, the image looks desaturated and unnatural.
The second layer also blocks the light output, and the image becomes more realistic in black tones. And since the pixels of both layers overlap each other, this allows for pixel-level control of the lighting. Thanks to the ability to control the illumination of each pixel, it is possible to turn off the illumination very selectively. This, in turn, reduces the halo around bright objects and increases the contrast of the image, which makes it more realistic.
It is also possible to completely include all the pixels in the RGB layer and manipulate the image using only the second layer of black pixels, this allows you to create black and white images with more colors. According to BOE, BD CELL displays are 12-bit grayscale. When displaying a color image, the color depth is 10 bits.
BOE positions its BD displays as competing with OLED displays. Time will tell if this is true or not, given that BD Cell displays did not begin mass production until 2021, and this is only the first generation.