When you prepare to buy a TV, you always need to think about many details of the TV that you want first. For example, you need to think about what size or what’s the resolution of the TV before purchasing. The same with the mirror with the TV.
There are several parameters of the TV that you often encounter, such as size, resolution, interface, and so on. Whether you buy a television from an online shop or your local dealer, the seller will also ask you similar questions.
However, there is a parameter that is often ignored by the customers. It’s the brightness. This is caused by the use environment of most televisions is indoors. So the requirement for the brightness is similar and the manufacturers will not specify this parameter.
For the mirror with TV, we think the situation is different. This is caused by the cost of this product being high and it looks like a work of art. Some mirror TVs are used indoors and some are used outdoors. In order to get the right product, besides the commonly used parameters, it’s very necessary to pay more attention to the brightness.
1. What’s the brightness of the TV
The brightness refers to the light output capability of the TV screen. The higher the brightness, the brighter the television, but it’s not that the higher the brightness, the better. It depends on the use environment. If it’s too dark, then you can not see the pictures from the screen very clearly. And, it would hurt your eyes if it’s too bright.
The brightness is quantified in nits. More nits mean more light can be output by the TV. The nit refers to one candela per square meter (cd/m2 ). The cd/m2 is the standardized measurement of luminous intensity. That means:
1 nit = 1 cd/m2
Compared with cd/m2, the nit is easier to remember. So we always use the nit when we talk about brightness.
The default brightness of the HDR television is about 200 nits – 250 nits. For OLED television, the default brightness is about 400 nits. Usually, there is no brightness information in the instructions on the television. If you need it, you can contact the manufacturer, and if you want to buy a special TV, such as outdoor TV, then you should tell your requirement supplier first. The following is an example.
We wanted to check the brightness information several months ago. So we checked the instructions for of plenty Samsung TVs. However, we could not get the information. So we contacted Samsung online and we got the answers. From the pictures, we can see that the brightness of a commonly used Samsung HDR TV is about 247.8 nits.
2. What’s the brightness of the mirror with the TV
The brightness of the mirror with a TV refers to the brightness of the two-way mirror. The light from the television screen needs to pass through the two-way mirror to reach our eyes. In this progress, part of the light gets reflected back and the rest goes through the mirror. We usually use transmittance and reflectivity to describe such features.
From CHAPTER 2: PART #1: TV MIRROR of this page, we know that there are three kinds of commonly used two-way mirrors and the best is the mirror with 30% transmittance and 70% reflectivity.
- 30% transmittance means 30% of the light from the television can go through the two-way mirror
- 70% reflectivity means 70% of the light from the television is reflected back
The requirement for the brightness to watch videos normally is around 200 – 250 nits. If the transmittance is 30%. That means the brightness of the television screen needs to be around 250 / 30% = 750 nits.
However, the brightness of the commonly used TVs is about 250 nits. So if you want to DIY a mirror TV, then you can not use a common TV. You need to buy a TV with high brightness first.
3. Very important: please don’t buy the wrong mirror with a TV
There are many types of commonly used TVs, such as indoor TV, bathroom TV, outdoor TV, and so on. The same with the mirror TV. Different use environment has different requirements. The cost of mirror with TV is high, no one wants to spend much money but gets a product with a low effect.
Besides the size, frame, and other parameters, what you need to pay attention to is the brightness. For example, you want to install a mirror TV in your garden, but if you buy an indoor type, then you would find it’s too dark to use.
According to the requirement for brightness, the mirror with TVs can be divided into 3 types:
- Indoor: This type is the most common and the requirement for the brightness is about 200 – 250 nits.
- Rooms that are full of sunshine during the daytime or outdoor full shade: The requirement for brightness is about 500 nits.
- Outdoor full sunshine: The requirement for brightness is over 700 nits.
4. Conclusion
It’s very useful to understand this article, whether you want to DIY a mirror with a TV by yourself or buy one directly. Read this article carefully, then you will make fewer mistakes and spend less money to get the perfect product that you need. If you have any questions, please feel free to use the following button to contact us.