Problem with Black Level Contrasts

[Fridmund]

Just got my Surface Pro 3! Was watching a couple of mkv videos and realised that I could not make out most of the dark scenes, moreover the black bars at the top and bottom looks oddly tinted as with black parts of the video file. Is there something I can do about it? Is that what others experienced?

I tried the FAQ and Guides section but found nothing on it.

 

[GoodBytes]

Video quality depends on the video file, format, player and codec used.
You'll need to first rule those out.

Create a lack picture, and open it with the Picture app in Windows 8. Does it appear black?
Create an image with a gradient between white to black of the screen size of the Surface Pro 3, and view it full screen. Is the gradient smooth?

 

[Fridmund]

I am pretty positive it is not file specific since I googled about and found this test site http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php#blacktest.png, my surface pro 3 could only see 15 onwards!

I did a white to black gradient using photoshop and it seems smooth to me - why would I be testing for this?

 

[Demonaire]

I am pretty positive it is not file specific since I googled about and found this test site http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php#blacktest.png, my surface pro 3 could only see 15 onwards!

I did a white to black gradient using photoshop and it seems smooth to me - why would I be testing for this?

Which Display Driver version do you have? I had the March 3495 something, and has the same problems as you described.

So you could update the driver to the latest (3977 I believe) manually, then you can tweak the colours setting with Intel Display Control Panel. Now I can clearly see 2 onwards.

 

[GoodBytes]

I am pretty positive it is not file specific since I googled about and found this test site http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php#blacktest.png, my surface pro 3 could only see 15 onwards!

Interesting. Sorry, I don't have a SP3, I have a SP2.
In my case 4 and above (4 is absolute near black, I need to pay close attention to see it, and set my screen at max brightness, in a dark'ish room). This performance, for a mobile device, and the type of panel used, is expected.If you really can't see bellow 15, then this is not good.

I did a white to black gradient using photoshop and it seems smooth to me - why would I be testing for this?

The purpose of this test is to look to see if the Intel drivers alters the colors. When it does, it is done software level, and to process this quickly, it does a quick job, which results in reduction of colors.

Do you have access to the Intel control panel?
If so, can you go

 

[wmgreenjr]

...I could not make out most of the dark scenes...

You can do a couple things to fix this. The issue is with the Dynamic Contrast, aka Display Power Setting Technology.

1. Click on the link in Goodbytes signature listed above and install his Surface Tweak tool. Then turn off the setting next to 'Dynamically adjust contrast'...
2. Install Intel's latest driver then go into the settings and turn off 'Display Power Setting Technology' or whatever they are calling it now. Turn off windows auto-updates if you go this route otherwise it will override your newly downloaded display drivers.

I did the first option a while back and I can see squares 1 and up on that black level test - but note that I also calibrated my screen so that may have made a difference. A while back I could only see from square 4 and above - not sure if something changed with the firmware or if it is just because I calibrated the screen.

A link on this issue: http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/sp3-display-poor-black-levels-and-possible-fix.10909/
A thread on how to load the Intel drivers: http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/graphics-control-panel-colour-management.9947/