If the brightness level of a display is too high, the black areas of the image will appear _____.

When the brightness level of a display is set too high, it can lead to a phenomenon known as "blown-out" black levels. In this state, the deep black areas of an image will not appear truly black but instead take on a grayish tone. This occurs because the excessive brightness causes the screen to struggle to display true black, which is essentially a lack of light emission. Instead of absorbing light and appearing completely black, the display reflects some level of brightness, leading to the perception of gray.

This issue is particularly noticeable in dark scenes or when viewing content with high contrast, where the intention is for the black areas to absorb all light and create a sense of depth and contrast. Therefore, the result of setting the brightness too high ultimately compromises the quality of the image, making those deep black areas appear gray instead.

In contrast, if the display maintains appropriate brightness levels, the black areas would appear convincingly black, enhancing the overall visual fidelity of the image without any washout effect.