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I read some monitor specifications, and a brightness value of e.g. 250 cd/m² is often mentioned there. But the monitor can have different brightness settings, and RGB channels can be adjusted to change the final brightness (e.g. RGB all max is one brightness, all min is another).

So, when I read in a specification that a monitor's brightness is 250 cd/m² — what monitor configuration does this refer to? Maximum possible brightness? 50% in all settings? Factory defaults? Or does this spec item simply say that the monitor is able to output this brightness, in an unspecified configuration mode?

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What monitor configuration does this refer to?

This pretty much impossible to answer (unless the monitor spec specifies how it was measured).

Here is why (Source How is brightness calculated? | Planar):

This makes the question “how bright is this display” a bit of a trick question. It depends on the measurements, of course, but also what kind of display technology you are evaluating and what content is being shown on the screen when the measurement is taken.

(emphasis mine)

Further Reading

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Monitor Brightness or Luminance is a measurement of the amount of light the LCD monitor is calibrated to produce. It is given in nits or one candela per square meter (cd/m2). (And yes, candela does relate to candle light!)

This is a setting that you may normally be able to adjust in the monitor's on-screen configuration menu (for monitors that show it).

For the sake of a clear picture and reducing eye-strain, you should match the brightness of your screen to to your surroundings.

If the monitor is set brighter than the room, your eyes get tired and the picture may look weird (excessive contrast/clipping, color temperature shift). If the monitor is too dark in a bright room, the picture gets washed out and you can't see what's on the screen.

The maximum brightness of a monitor is one of the attributes that you may wish to consider when buying a monitor, in view of the anticipated light in the environment and your main usage. For example, for displaying movies, a brighter luminance rating is desirable.

While the monitor can be calibrated to a given brightness, the effective brightness of the monitor may be further affected by parameters of the operating system.

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  • This doesn't answer my question: what the value given in specification actually refers to.
    – Ruslan
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 20:18
  • As written above, it refers to the number of candelas that the screen is calibrated to produce. This last link contains the mathematical formula used to calculate this value. The monitor's luminosity is measured in the Candela per square metre, and this is what this value refers to.
    – harrymc
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 20:30
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    Well, I do know what candela is, and what luminance is. The question is what actual property of the monitor the spec gives: luminance at maximum brightness setting, luminance at factory defaults, luminance at some unspecified settings etc..
    – Ruslan
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 20:41
  • The spec relates to the amount of power that is furnished to the pixels, which determines their brightness. The technology varies by screen type, but basically a pixel achieves more brightness by staying on for longer stretches and using more power. Normally the pixels blink faster than the human eye can catch and the percentage of time on determines the brightness. I can't find a good reference but maybe this might help.
    – harrymc
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 20:59

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