Pixel shifting
Encyclopedia
Pixel shifting is a method implemented by plasma TV
Manufacturers that prevents static images (e.g., station bugs, videogames) from causing image retention and burn-ins. The entire video frame is moved periodically (vertically and / or horizontally) so there are effectively no static images. One definition reads: "the image rotates in a circle in a way imperceptible to the viewer with a defined rhythm and pixel interval."
The firmware
on some high end Samsung
plasma TVs moves the video horizontally and vertically so many pixels every minutes. Some TVs even allow the user define the number of pixels moved and their interval.
Pixel shifting is sometimes used with other burn in prevention methods like screen saver
or power management
functions.
Pixel shifting is also a technique which increases the true resolution of devices such as camcorder sensors and digital microscope
s by moving one or more of the separate red, green or blue sensors by fractions of a pixel in the x- and y-directions. For example early high definition camcorders used a 3CCD
sensor block of 960x540 pixels each. Shifting the red and blue sensors half a pixel in both the vertical and horizontal direction permits the recovery of a 1920x1080 luminance signal.
Plasma display
A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...
Manufacturers that prevents static images (e.g., station bugs, videogames) from causing image retention and burn-ins. The entire video frame is moved periodically (vertically and / or horizontally) so there are effectively no static images. One definition reads: "the image rotates in a circle in a way imperceptible to the viewer with a defined rhythm and pixel interval."
The firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
on some high end Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
plasma TVs moves the video horizontally and vertically so many pixels every minutes. Some TVs even allow the user define the number of pixels moved and their interval.
Pixel shifting is sometimes used with other burn in prevention methods like screen saver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
or power management
Power management
Power management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive. In computing this is known as PC power management and is built...
functions.
Pixel shifting is also a technique which increases the true resolution of devices such as camcorder sensors and digital microscope
Digital microscope
A digital microscope is a variation of a traditional optical microscope that uses optics and a charge-coupled device camera to output a digital image to a monitor, sometimes by means of software running on a computer. A digital microscope differs from an optical microscope in that there is no...
s by moving one or more of the separate red, green or blue sensors by fractions of a pixel in the x- and y-directions. For example early high definition camcorders used a 3CCD
3CCD
A three-CCD camera is a camera whose imaging system uses three separate charge-coupled devices , each one taking a separate measurement of the primary colors, red, green, or blue light. Light coming into the lens is split by a trichroic prism assembly, which directs the appropriate wavelength...
sensor block of 960x540 pixels each. Shifting the red and blue sensors half a pixel in both the vertical and horizontal direction permits the recovery of a 1920x1080 luminance signal.