Since 1894 (128 years ago and counting), UL (Underwriters Laboratories) has been testing devices for safety, initially for electrical safety. That’s why so many electrical devices sold (at least in the US) have a UL certification sticker, either on the back or on the electrical cable. Now UL has offices in 46 countries. More recently, UL began certifying video monitors and TV sets for anti-glare (matte) health. For many years, I have been reviewing high-quality standalone matte displays (including a growing series of the prestigious HP DreamColor monitors) and those matte screens built into some portable computers (including CTX, HP and ThinkPads). I was among many who criticized Apple when it dropped the matte option in its displays many years ago —and among the first to applaud Apple when it gradually began to bring them back, albeit at a very costly upcharge (US$1000 extra in one recent case and US$300 extra in another) while CTX, HP and ThinkPads include the high-quality matte health benefit at no extra charge. Ahead I’ll describe the specific international standard UL is now using to certify the anti-glare (matte) health and tease an upcoming matte monitor review I am planning.
UGR
The measurement that UL is using is called the UGR (Unified Glare Rating). According to this Wikipedia article:
Upcoming review of a new video monitor
I am planning to review a new video monitor to be considered by video editors and possibly even graders. This new monitor is among the few yet on the market to receive this UL certification for anti-glare (matte) health, in addition to being among the very few monitors/TV sets that has a different type certification from a different organization, which guarantees that the framerate/cadence will match the source work, among other attributes I’ll be covering in an upcoming article. This will include a comparison chart against this new monitor, the latest DreamColor I reviewed and the Apple Studio Display (see my recent Apple Studio Display: limited to a single framerate?). Be sure to be on one of my lists as indicated below to be aware all upcoming articles and reviews.
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FTC disclosure
There is currently no commercial relationship between UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and Allan Tépper, other than the fact that Allan Tépper has purchased devices which contain the UL label. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Some of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units, including HP. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.