Methods and apparatus are provided for compensating a
liquid crystal display for changes in brightness level. The apparatus comprises a variable brightness back-light optically coupled to a display panel whose properties depend upon back-light brightness. An electrical circuit measures back-light brightness and / or display
flicker and sends this information to a controller. The controller automatically determines a display panel compensation
signal based on back-light brightness and / or display
flicker, and sends this compensation
signal to the display panel to optimize the display panel properties for the commanded or observed back-light brightness level or
flicker level so as to, for example, minimize display panel flicker and / or ghost image retention. Such automatic compensation is especially useful for head-up displays that must accommodate large variations in display brightness, e.g., from
starlight to full sun, and / or for large, bright projection displays adapted to operate in different ambient light conditions where back-light brightness variation is desirable.