VESA has announced a new certification for OLED displays called DisplayHDR True Black 1400, raising the bar for HDR performance on premium monitors, laptops, and professional content creation displays. The new certification targets the latest generation of OLED panels that can deliver significantly higher brightness levels while preserving the deep blacks and high contrast ratios OLED technology is known for.
To qualify for the new standard, displays must reach at least 1400 nits of peak HDR brightness while maintaining black levels as low as 0.0005 nits. VESA is also increasing sustained full-screen brightness requirements to 700 nits, a noticeable jump over previous DisplayHDR True Black certifications.
The move comes as newer OLED technologies, including tandem OLED designs, continue pushing brightness levels higher without sacrificing image quality. Higher sustained brightness is particularly important for HDR video editing, color grading, and content creation workloads, while also improving HDR viewing in brighter rooms and office environments.
VESA says the new certification builds on its updated DisplayHDR CTS 1.2 testing methodology, which adds stricter requirements for color accuracy, contrast, and black level performance.
“OLED display technology continues to advance rapidly, and VESA’s certification programs must evolve alongside it to address meaningful improvements in display performance. DisplayHDR True Black 1400 establishes a new premium tier that recognizes the latest advances in OLED HDR performance while giving creators and consumers confidence that certified displays can deliver exceptional image quality. This new tier represents an important step forward for HDR content creation and premium viewing experiences,” said Roland Wooster, chairman of the VESA task group responsible for DisplayHDR True Black and the association’s representative from Intel Corp. for front of screen display technology.
The full DisplayHDR specification summary table can be found over at VESA’s website.
Samsung Display is among the first companies supporting the new standard and plans to introduce OLED and QD-OLED products carrying the certification later this year.
Lenovo has already announced the first DisplayHDR True Black 1400-certified device, the new Yoga Pro 16 laptop. According to Lenovo, the panel reaches 1400 nits peak brightness while maintaining OLED’s near-perfect black levels, making it suitable for professional creators, HDR video work, and high-end gaming.
The first DisplayHDR True Black 1400 products will be shown publicly during Bilibili World 2026 in Shanghai this week.
