Predicting visible flicker in temporally changing images

Abstract

Novel display algorithms such as low-persistence displays, black frame insertion, and temporal resolution multiplexing introduce temporal change into images at 40-180 Hz, on the boundary of the temporal integration of the visual system. This can lead to flicker, a highly-objectionable artifact known to induce viewer discomfort. The critical flicker frequency (CFF) alone does not model this phenomenon well, as flicker sensitivity varies with contrast, and spatial frequency; a content-aware model is required. In this paper, we introduce a visual model for predicting flicker visibility in temporally changing images. The model performs a multi-scale analysis on the difference between consecutive frames, normalizing values with the spatio-temporal contrast sensitivity function as approximated by the pyramid of visibility. The output of the model is a 2D detection probability map. We ran a subjective flicker marking experiment to fit the model parameters, then analyze the difference between two display algorithms, black frame insertion and temporal resolution multiplexing, to demonstrate the application of our model.