How best to see very high dynamic range images

How do display devices like CRT, LCD and Plasma monitors, that use
transmitted light with additive color, compare to other devices like
projectors, that use transmitted light with subtractive color, to paper
that uses incident ambient light (that could be very bright) with
subtractive color, in terms of dynamic range? I am guessing that the
transmitted light devices will always have an advantage over ambient
devices but I am not at all sure about that. Is there an inherent
advantage to an additive vs. subtractive color model?
Much of the relationship must be temporal because the brain, it seems
to me, would perceive greater dynamic range by looking at a looking at
a very bright image after looking at a long series of dark ones
-probably because the brain is constantly moving its black point
around.
Is money better spent on a high end device like a plasma monitor, a
projector or a viewing room with controlled lighting, for displaying
still images with very high dynamic range?


Thanks,
Ron

ronviers.TakeThisOut@gmail.com wrote:
> How do display devices like CRT, LCD and Plasma monitors, that use
> transmitted light with additive color, compare to other devices like
> projectors, that use transmitted light with subtractive color, to paper
> that uses incident ambient light (that could be very bright) with
> subtractive color, in terms of dynamic range? I am guessing that the
> transmitted light devices will always have an advantage over ambient
> devices but I am not at all sure about that. Is there an inherent
> advantage to an additive vs. subtractive color model?
> Much of the relationship must be temporal because the brain, it seems
> to me, would perceive greater dynamic range by looking at a looking at
> a very bright image after looking at a long series of dark ones
> -probably because the brain is constantly moving its black point
> around.
> Is money better spent on a high end device like a plasma monitor, a
> projector or a viewing room with controlled lighting, for displaying
> still images with very high dynamic range?
>
>
> Thanks,


You bring up a good point. Virtually NO display device, including
prints, can show the whole range of a 16 bit per color image. This is
nothing new- prints never could show the whole range of film negatives.
Viewing the old transparencies in a completely dark room with a good
projector was the only way to even approach the range on films.

There is a lot of specsmanship going on in display advertising these
days. I do not believe at all the dynamic ranges they say they are
getting.

The reason for using RAW or things like that is that you can select
yourself what parts of the available tonal scale to print, not be a
slave to a computerized determination of which tones to save during
compression (yes, jpeg compresses tonal range).

To really get full tonal range of ANY display, wear dark clothing and
work in a completely dark room. Have no large white or light colored
objects between you and display, or anywhere near the display. Any
ambient light bounces off screens raising black level, and light from
light areas of screen can bounce off of you and white colored objects,
bouncing back at screen, where it is re-reflected.

> Ron