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- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Test Methodology Coverage
- When It Matters
- Our Tests
- Conclusion
- Comments
Our Total Reflected Light test encompasses both direct and indirect reflections and takes into account how much light is reflected, diffused, and diffracted off a TV screen. This is one of four main tests we do to see how well a TV performs in a bright room, with the others being our Direct Reflections, Ambient Color Saturation, and Ambient Black Level Raise tests.
Test results
Test Methodology Coverage
We added this test as part of our 2.0 test bench update. Some elements of this test, like the Bright Room Off Picture, have been carried over from our previous reflections test. However, the way we measure the amount of total reflected light and present this information has changed drastically, so TVs that haven't been tested on 2.0 or later don't have these results. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work.
| 1.11 | 2.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Reflected Light Intensity | ❌ | ✅ |
| Diffraction Artifacts | ❌ | ✅ |
When It Matters
When using a TV in a bright room, you need a TV that reduces the intensity of lights reflected off the screen. Although a TV's brightness can help overcome glare from pesky light sources, you need a TV with good reflection handling, especially when you have a mix of overhead lights, lamps, and windows in your viewing space.
Our Tests
Our total reflected light test is done with the TV turned off. Our goal here is to measure the native reflectivity of the panel itself, and we can't do that with the TV turned on. Furthermore, reflections tend to be the most noticeable during dark scenes where there are a lot of blacks and near-blacks on the screen, so by having the TV turned off, we can simulate that.
Bright Room Off Picture
We start by photographing the TV we're testing in a bright room with our overhead lights turned on. We also place a lamp and a very bright light that mimics a window during a sunny day. By doing this, we can simulate the reflections you might see if you're in a well-lit room with both indirect and direct light sources. We don't score this test, but if our setup resembles your room, this test gives you a good idea of how your TV will look during dark scenes.
Below, we can easily see that the Sony A95L OLED does a significantly better job reducing the intensity of reflected light than the Sony X90L/X90CL.
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Total Reflected Light Intensity
This test looks at the total intensity of reflected light on the screen. Unlike our direct reflections test, where we take a slice in the middle of the screen, this test looks at the total reflected light over the entire area of the screen. The heatmap itself shows how spread out the reflections are, and the different colors within the heatmap indicate the varying intensity levels of the reflections. The color scale on the left side can be used as a legend of sorts to see what area of the reflection is the most intense and which areas are less visible.
Below is the Sony X90L/X90CL's reflection intensity graph. By measuring the area under the curve, we can see how intense and spread out the reflected light is. You can then visualize this in our ring light photo. Since this TV does a poor job handling light, reflections are very intense.
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To compare that with a TV that performs much better here, look at the Sony A95L OLED, which has reflections that are much less intense and spread out. As you can see on the graph, the area under the curve is much smaller. Furthermore, the peaks themselves are a lot narrower, so reflections are less spread out.
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Diffraction Artifacts
Diffraction artifacts are another important aspect of a TV's reflection handling, with the most common form of these artifacts being light banding and rainbow smearing. Instead of just seeing a mirror image of your direct lighting on the screen, TVs with diffraction artifacts will spread those reflections out, which makes them more distracting.
Below, you can see that the LG C4 OLED has no diffraction artifacts, whereas the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED has both rainbow smearing and echoes of light.
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Conclusion
Our total reflected light tests give you a good idea of how your TV will perform in a bright room with a mix of both direct and indirect reflections. This batch of tests is done with the TV turned off so we can simulate how noticeable reflections are during dark scenes. No TV will completely eliminate reflections on your screen, but this test is helpful if you're trying to find a TV that works best in your well-lit viewing environment.
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