Image by Soumith Soman via Pexels
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Meta Reality Labs have found that there is a limit to how much detail the human eye can detect on a display, suggesting that higher screen resolutions do not always produce a noticeable improvement in image quality.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, come as manufacturers continue to introduce higher-resolution displays for televisions, smartphones, computers, cars, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices. AR overlays digital content onto the real world, while VR creates a fully digital environment. The researchers said knowing the point at which extra pixels stop making a visible difference could help companies build displays that are more efficient and avoid unnecessary processing power and costs.
The study examined what is often called "retinal resolution," which is the highest resolution at which an image appears completely sharp without any noticeable blur. Although the term refers to the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye, the researchers noted that the limit may not be caused by the retina alone. Instead, it depends on how the entire visual system, including the brain, processes what we see.
