Glossy or Non-Glossy Display

thedk · Feb 11, 2019, 8:51 PM

I will try my best to write in understandable english :)

Hey guys.
Saw the project, ordered some parts and now i have a Mirropane 4mm and notebook display non-glossy in use.
I’m not satisfied with the result. I can see the Display shining throw the glas.

So i’ve read a little bit about displays. Some are sayin that glossy Displays are better, cause of the better contrast and other say that non-glossy Displays are better. But why?
Coult somebody explain it to me what ist the better choice?

robiv8 · Feb 11, 2019, 9:12 PM

I mean a non glossy was the better solution.

j.e.f.f · Feb 12, 2019, 5:56 PM

@thedk I’m not sure that glossy vs non-glossy makes the biggest difference. In fact, I would expect the glossy display to introduce some ghosting due to the second reflective surface behind the mirror. My guess is that glossy displays tend to be on higher end machines and therefore tend to be brighter and more contrasty as a result to go along with the premium nature of the machine. But I’m sure you could find very high quality displays in a non-glossy finish as well. Brightness would be the biggest factor here, since the two-way glass steals some brightness in order to still offer a reflection.

I used to work with a professional Eizo monitor for graphic design work that was capable of getting extremely bright, but it also had a non-reflective surface to eliminate any glare. I would expect that monitor would have performed excellently behind a two-way mirror.

@thedk said in Glossy or Non-Glossy Display:

I can see the Display shining throw the glas.

I take this to mean that you can see the rectangle of the entire display through the glass? I have the same problem with mine in certain conditions, and I think you’ll find this to be a common issue as we try to keep the price down for this project. Common screens are backlit in such a way that the whole screen is a source of light, even when displaying black. I imagine an OLED display would not have this problem at all because it is not backlit in the same way as an LCD display, but the price of the display would likely be beyond what anyone is willing to pay to build their mirror.

You can also try using a mirror that offers less light transmittance, but this also has the tradeoff of the display looking dimmer as a result.

thedk · Feb 12, 2019, 8:29 PM

Thanks for your answer.
Yes, the brightness is the issue. As i could see the non-glossy Displays are brighter. Maybe with the glossy Displays i would have less ghosting, but then the mirror would be darker.
After everything i read, i decided to try an other glas, the Mirastar with just 3% transmission. So i wont change the Display now.
I will post photos when its here.

bhepler · Feb 13, 2019, 4:16 AM

Before you get too wrapped up in switching displays or glass, be sure to lower the brightness on your display and up the contrast. That should lower the amount of background illumination but make the content pop out a bit.

thedk · Feb 13, 2019, 6:37 AM

I allready did.
I have only 40x30 Mirror. So the glas isnt that expensive and the first display was a gift. Till now, the Mirror wasnt that expensive ^^

lavolp3 · Feb 13, 2019, 7:59 AM

@thedk It’s also very important to have no light coming to the glass from behind. However your setup is, make sure that it is as dark as possible behind the glass.