VESA has introduced DisplayHDR True Black 1400, a new flagship certification tier for OLED displays designed to validate higher levels of HDR performance for professional content creation and premium viewing applications.

The new specification requires certified displays to achieve at least 1,400 cd/m² peak luminance, 700 cd/m² full-screen brightness and black levels as low as 0.0005 cd/m². According to VESA, the certification recognizes advances in OLED technology while maintaining the deep black levels, high contrast and image fidelity associated with the DisplayHDR True Black program.

The specification is intended for professional HDR workflows such as content grading and review while also improving HDR viewing performance in brighter ambient lighting conditions.

DisplayHDR True Black 1400 builds on the DisplayHDR CTS 1.2 testing framework, which expanded certification requirements to include more rigorous validation of color accuracy, contrast, black-level performance and other image-quality metrics.

“OLED display technology continues to advance rapidly, and VESA’s certification programs must evolve alongside it to address meaningful improvements in display performance,” said Roland Wooster, chairman of the VESA task group responsible for DisplayHDR True Black and VESA’s representative from Intel Corp. for front-of-screen display technology. “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.”

VESA said recent innovations, including tandem OLED architectures, have enabled OLED displays to achieve higher luminance levels while preserving the black-level performance and contrast expected from emissive display technologies.

Samsung Display plans to showcase products featuring panels qualified for the new certification alongside additional OLED and QD-OLED displays supporting other DisplayHDR True Black tiers later this year.

“As expectations for high-quality content continue to rise in the AI era, the importance of verifying display performance has become increasingly critical. Samsung Display’s Tandem OLED technology, which simultaneously delivers perfect blacks and high brightness, can now objectively demonstrate its excellence through the newly announced ‘DisplayHDR True Black 1400’ certification,” said Brad Jung, vice president and head of the Large Display Sales, Marketing & Product Planning Team at Samsung Display.

Lenovo also announced the Yoga Pro 16 as the first notebook PC certified to the DisplayHDR True Black 1400 specification. The company said the system is designed for professional content creation, HDR video playback and gaming.

“Lenovo prioritizes continuous innovation in display technology,” said Ma Zhaochun, vice president of Lenovo Group and general manager of the Consumer & SMB Notebook Development Center. “Partnering closely with VESA, Lenovo officially launched the Yoga Pro 16, the world’s first notebook PC certified to the DisplayHDR True Black 1400 standard.”

The first DisplayHDR True Black 1400-certified products will be demonstrated at Bilibili World 2026, scheduled for July 10-12 in Shanghai.