This paper proposes a new processor-based backlight dimming algorithm and hardware architecture. The processor-based design of the backlight dimming system requires low computation for real-time processing. The proposed algorithm calculates an average gray level of RGB signals and combines the histogram gray-level bins to reduce computation. Additionally, it uses scene change detection and adaptive binary search to decrease iterations of the clipped error control algorithm. In the simulation results, the proposed algorithm reduced computation time by up to 94.2%, compared to a conventional algorithm. Further, the proposed processor-based backlight dimming system drove a 32-inch LCD panel successfully.Index Terms-Backlight dimming, liquid crystal display (LCD), processor-based design.