The Resolution Revolution: How Many Bits Do We Really Need?

As technology develops, the resolution of audiovisual reproduction is rising rapidly in every dimension in the quest for increasing quality and fidelity. Technical standards previously considered sufficient to reproduce sounds and images in the digital domain may no longer be adequate. Image resolut...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSMPTE 2016 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition pp. 1 - 14
Main Authors Cooper, William, Farrell, Sue
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published SMPTE 01.10.2016
Subjects
bit depth
fidelity
perception
quality
resolution
sampling
video
visual
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Summary:As technology develops, the resolution of audiovisual reproduction is rising rapidly in every dimension in the quest for increasing quality and fidelity. Technical standards previously considered sufficient to reproduce sounds and images in the digital domain may no longer be adequate. Image resolution is increasing but even 4K frames are only 8 megapixels, which is relatively low in photographic terms. Higher resolutions and bit depths may be required. Video frame rates have been sufficient to provide the illusion of continuous movement, but higher frame rates may be beneficial. This paper challenges conventional wisdom on the resolutions required to reproduce convincing audiovisual representations. It proposes that digital compression may be used to allow increased sampling resolution and precision while maintaining practical data rates.
ISBN:9781614829577
1614829578
DOI:10.5594/M001728