Razer Blade 16 Mini-LED local dimming

For the love of god, how hard is it to implement single zone backlight control? THE SCREEN IS LITERALLY UNUSABLE. 

Hi! Yes, i have contacted support, and this is the answer i recieved:

Pertaining to the local dimming concern that has been brought to our specialist's attention earlier on, I have received the response explaining why small objects or text appears to be seems grayish in correlation with the different level of brightness.
 
For your information, actually there is a minor limitation when it comes to the implementation of local dimming. 
 
Due to the relatively large size of the backlight zones on most monitors, it's almost impossible to perfectly dim the backlight around a bright object on a black background.
 
1. Light blooming around bright objects.

Blooming effects may occur because in the case of the Blade 16 UHD display one mini-LED zone covers the area of roughly 8 LCD pixels. The pixels are adjusted to account for this effect but there some residual brightness may be visible in high contrast edges. For example, the mouse gets dim when on all black background.
 
2. A loss of detail in dark areas.
 
Similar to the issue with blooming, sometimes the opposite can occur. By dimming a dark scene too much, some small dim details can be lost. This issue is commonly known as black crush. Maybe use the example of the mouse on black vs bright background.

And answer about my proposal to add the option in Razer Synapse to switch between Multi Zone to One Zone backlight:

we do not have the feature available in Synapse, but I do believe that it is possible to implement. I will take this as feedback and have it forwarded to our specialist team for further review and consideration purposes.

So, i really hope that this feature will be implemented, becouse without it this laptop screen doesnt intended for any visual content creation, like its advertised :(

Razer please tell me this is a defective display or its how Mini LED technology implemented in this laptop and it's considered "normal".

White objects on black that are smaller than 2cm turns grey. I recorded a video showing this problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPL3ZBoIBrM

It needs a thorough investigation. Have you contacted our Support Teach through here? Otherwise, please send me a PM including the following so I can start a support ticket on your behalf:
 

1. Photo of the BIOS main tab

2. Screenshot of the Nvidia and Intel Driver versions. Press Windows+R on your keyboard. Type in DXDIAG into the run command text box and hit OK. Then click on YES. Click on the Display 1 and 2 tabs and look for the graphics driver version on the right side.
3.  Synapse 3.0 logs

Save the files via Google Drive or any online drive account, then paste the shareable link in your message. Ensure to set the link's settings that allow access to its content. Thanks for your cooperation.

Hi! Yes, i have contacted support, and this is the answer i recieved:

 

Pertaining to the local dimming concern that has been brought to our specialist's attention earlier on, I have received the response explaining why small objects or text appears to be seems grayish in correlation with the different level of brightness.
 
For your information, actually there is a minor limitation when it comes to the implementation of local dimming. 
 
Due to the relatively large size of the backlight zones on most monitors, it's almost impossible to perfectly dim the backlight around a bright object on a black background.
 
1. Light blooming around bright objects.

Blooming effects may occur because in the case of the Blade 16 UHD display one mini-LED zone covers the area of roughly 8 LCD pixels. The pixels are adjusted to account for this effect but there some residual brightness may be visible in high contrast edges. For example, the mouse gets dim when on all black background.
 
2. A loss of detail in dark areas.
 
Similar to the issue with blooming, sometimes the opposite can occur. By dimming a dark scene too much, some small dim details can be lost. This issue is commonly known as black crush. Maybe use the example of the mouse on black vs bright background.

 

And answer about my proposal to add the option in Razer Synapse to switch between Multi Zone to One Zone backlight:

we do not have the feature available in Synapse, but I do believe that it is possible to implement. I will take this as feedback and have it forwarded to our specialist team for further review and consideration purposes.

 

So, i really hope that this feature will be implemented, becouse without it this laptop screen doesnt intended for any visual content creation, like its advertised :(

 

I appreciate sharing this in the thread so everyone can also use this as a reference. Can you send me the case number so I can also review its history via PM? Thanks for your cooperation.

Just found out that this is a common issue with mini led, and not specific to Razer. However Asus laptops have the option to switch to single zone lighting. Razer should also do this.

The poster is correct.  Without a single zone display option AND a native sRGB profile you can not do content creation work on this laptop.  It needs to updated ASAP.   My .02 cents.

I actually noticed an issue where the blooming happens with or without HDR. toggling HDR EITHER off or on seems to re-implement the ‘better’ dimming algorithm but it’s still not a fix for the large/small object and incorrect color representation issues.

This really sucks, because I snagged the 4080 version from Microcenter for $2650, then returned it for this 4090 version for $2765. Both were open box, and now none are available unless it’s new in box.

I’m starting to feel that I was happier with the 4080 version. For performance, thermals and the display. I may return this and wait. I have a ROG 2022 M16 I’m currently selling that I could hang onto.

Or, I wait to see if local dimming toggle is implemented. That would be the fix-all for a laptop designed for “work and play”

I love everything else about this laptop, but the Mini-LED features when used in Desktop mode just aren’t ideal.

My  Razer Blade 16 Mercury Screen (BOE) had some wild local dimming artifacts, similar to the following video:

The following workaround made my screen more acceptable (but still no solution for content creation):

• Press Win key, type and open "Color Management"
• Select "Advanced" Tab on the top row
• Click "Calibrate Display" Click "Next" and accept the warning.
• Click "Next" until you arrive at the color balance with the 3 color sliders.
• Move all color sliders completely to the left.
• Now use the back button on top to get to the start of the calibration.
• Adjust gamma and brightness now to your liking (and maybe also colors if required).
• Finish calibration.

Colors look less overblown and more accurate now and local dimming artifacts seem down to a minimum on my screen. But they can still be seen.
I did not test this yet, but it might also have a positive impact on battery life.

The Bad:

• The max brightness of the screen in non-HDR is quite limited now, but more than bright enough for me (HDR is still very very bright).
• The factory calibration, that is seemingly hard wired or baked into firmware in the screen is still way off (maybe some sign error?).
• Still no screen for content creation as long as local dimming cannot be deactivated, because the brightness levels on screen do not match the brightness levels in the created files (e.g. images or videos).

Lenovo’s Legion 9i Mini-LED also has a single dimming zone option.  

I am mystified by Razer’s lack of implementation for this.  

Any update Razer?  Razer advertised the 16 with mini-led as for creators so….?

We NEED SINGLE ZONE DIMMING, this is absurd. I’m tired of exporting to my phone every 5 minutes just to check that colors are not completely horrible. We now have to bring a second monitor with us during travel just to get accurate colors on important projects. Please. 

Hi, I’m really intersted in this display but local dimming is a real deal breaker as I intend to use it for professionnal photo editing (when not playing games).

Any updates on this issue or the implementation of the option  to let us switch local dimming off ? @Razer.Speedcr0ss 

thanks a lot

 Razer - any updates?  I am about to return two units if this can’t be fixed…  (I don’t WANT to return - just don’t have a choice unless Razer confirms that a solution is pending).  Thanks!

Razer changed its marketing metrials for the Blade16 laptop, removed almost all content related to content creation, and only talked about gaming. This is a clear sign that they are incapable of dealing with this issue, unwilling to face it. Content creator should think twice when buy another Razer laptop, they are irresponsible, and dishonest.