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Brightness

Brightness, also known as luminance or photometric brightness, is the luminance intensity of any surface in a given direction. It is measured per unit of projected area of the surface as viewed from a single direction. This is an important feature to look at when considering a new TV, however it is over looked most of the time. On TV specifications it will usually say, for example, Brightness: 1000 cd/m². Brightness plays very closely with contrast ratio, in providing high quality pictures on your TV display. A good "rule of thumb" is to make sure the brightness of a flat-panel TV is at least 600 cd/m² or higher.

If you’re interested in the technical explanation, the notation “cd/m²” stands for candela per square meter. Candela, abbreviated “cd”, is the International System of Units standard unit of measurement for luminous intensity. The candela is equal to the luminous intensity in a given direction of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of a frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per unit solid angle.