How to Make IPS Display Look Like AMOLED: Insider Tips Revealed

Are you tired of your IPS display‘s lackluster blacks and vibrant colours? Do you yearn for the deep, inky blacks and stunning contrast of AMOLED displays? You’re not alone! Many users crave the visual magic of AMOLED technology, but the cost and availability of AMOLED panels can be prohibitive.
This comprehensive guide explores the techniques and tricks to make your IPS display look like AMOLED, bringing you closer to the visual experience you desire.

Understanding the Differences: IPS vs. AMOLED

Before diving into the techniques, let’s understand the fundamental differences between IPS and AMOLED displays.

• IPS (In-Plane Switching): IPS panels use liquid crystals sandwiched between polarizing filters, illuminated by a backlight. They offer wide viewing angles and good colour accuracy. However, they struggle to achieve true blacks due to the backlight always being on.

• AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode): AMOLED panels use organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that emit light individually. This allows for perfect blacks when pixels are turned off, resulting in exceptional contrast and deeper blacks.

The Pursuit of Blacker Blacks: Key Techniques

While you can’t magically transform an IPS display into an AMOLED, several techniques can dramatically enhance its appearance, making it closer to the AMOLED experience.

1. Calibrate Your Display

Calibrating your IPS display is the first step towards achieving a more accurate and visually pleasing image. Calibration ensures that colours are displayed correctly and that whites are truly white. Many free and paid calibration tools are available online and can be used to fine-tune your display’s settings.

2. Adjust Brightness and Contrast

Lowering the brightness and increasing the contrast can significantly improve the perceived black levels on your IPS display. By reducing the backlight intensity, you minimize the amount of light bleeding through, making blacks appear deeper. Increasing the contrast enhances the difference between light and dark areas, further enhancing the visual impact.

3. Explore Display Settings

Many IPS displays offer specific settings that can help improve black levels. Look for options like “Black Level” or “Dynamic Contrast” in your display settings. These settings can often be adjusted to enhance the perceived black levels.

4. Utilize Dark Mode

Embracing dark mode in your operating system and applications is a powerful tool for enhancing the visual experience on an IPS display. Dark mode reduces the amount of white and light colours on the screen, minimizing the impact of backlight bleed and creating a more immersive experience.

5. Use Black Level Correction Software

Specialized software applications can further enhance black levels on your IPS display. These applications work by analyzing the image and dynamically adjusting the black levels to create a more consistent and immersive experience. Some popular options include:

• Black Level Correction: This software offers advanced black level correction algorithms that can significantly improve the perceived black levels on your IPS display.
• DisplayCAL: This software allows for advanced display calibration, including black level correction, ensuring accurate and visually pleasing colours.

Beyond Black Levels: Optimizing the Visual Experience

While black levels are crucial for the AMOLED-like experience, other aspects of your display’s visual performance can also be enhanced.

1. Enhance Colour Gamut

Even with improved black levels, your IPS display may still lack the vibrancy and colour accuracy of an AMOLED panel. Consider adjusting your display’s colour settings to match the colour space of your content. For example, if you primarily consume HDR content, enabling HDR mode on your display can enhance the colour vibrancy and dynamic range.

2. Embrace HDR Content

High Dynamic Range (HDR) content is specifically designed to take advantage of the wider colour gamut and higher contrast offered by AMOLED displays. While you won’t achieve the same level of detail and colour accuracy on an IPS display, watching HDR content can still enhance the visual experience and make your display appear more vibrant.

3. Optimize Image Settings

Adjusting image settings like sharpness and colour temperature can also subtly improve the overall visual experience. Experiment with different settings to find the combination that best suits your preferences and content types.

The Limitations of IPS Displays

While the techniques mentioned above can significantly enhance the visual experience on an IPS display, it’s important to acknowledge the inherent limitations of this technology.

• Backlight Bleed: Even with careful calibration and software enhancements, some backlight bleed will always be present on an IPS display, preventing true black levels.
• Response Time: IPS displays generally have slower response times compared to AMOLED displays, which can lead to motion blur in fast-paced content.
• Burn-in: While not a concern for IPS displays, AMOLED displays are susceptible to burn-in, where static images can leave permanent marks on the screen.

Final Thoughts: Embrace the IPS Advantages

While an IPS display may never perfectly replicate the visual experience of an AMOLED panel, it offers its own advantages. IPS displays are generally cheaper, more readily available, and less susceptible to burn-in. By embracing the techniques described in this guide, you can significantly enhance the visual experience on your IPS display, making it a worthy contender for your multimedia needs.

Questions You May Have

1. Can I make my IPS display look exactly like AMOLED?
No, you cannot perfectly replicate the visual experience of an AMOLED display on an IPS panel. The fundamental difference in technology, particularly the backlight in IPS displays, will always result in some degree of difference in black levels and contrast.
2. Which software is best for black level correction on IPS displays?
There are several software options available for black level correction, each with its own strengths. Some popular choices include Black Level Correction, DisplayCAL, and other display calibration tools. Experiment with different options to find the one that best suits your needs and preferences.
3. Are there any hardware modifications to improve black levels on an IPS display?
While software solutions can significantly enhance black levels, there are no hardware modifications that can fundamentally change the backlight technology of an IPS display. The limitations of IPS technology are inherent to its design.
4. What are the other advantages of IPS displays compared to AMOLED?
Besides being generally cheaper and more readily available, IPS displays offer advantages like wider viewing angles, faster refresh rates, and lower susceptibility to burn-in. They are also less susceptible to image retention, a phenomenon where images can linger on the screen for a short period after being displayed.
5. Should I always use dark mode on my IPS display?
While dark mode can significantly enhance the perceived black levels and reduce eye strain, it’s not a universal solution. Some users may find dark mode aesthetically unappealing or prefer the visual experience of light mode. Ultimately, the choice depends on personal preference and content consumption habits.