Motion blur is an all-too-common phenomenon that’s found in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Also known as HDTV blue and LCD blur, it’s characterized by the streaking of moving objects in an otherwise still, static image; thus, mimicking the appearance of animation. So, what exactly causes motion blur and how do you fix it?
There are several different possible causes of motion blur. While the phenomenon has been around for decades, however, it has become more commonplace due to the rise of HDTV and similar digital video display devices. Among the most common causes of motion blur is a slow pixel response time. It there’s a delay between when the display tells the pixel to change and when it actually changes, it could result in the phenomenon known as motion blur. Video cameras operating at low shutter speeds may also produce motion blur. In fact, movie producers actually use this technique to produce blurred footage.
Other possible causes of motion blue may include resolution resampling, deinterlacing and compression artificats. It’s important to note that LCDs are particularly prone to motion blur becuase of their inherit sample-and-hold nature. Whether the pixel response time is short or long, the pixels will remain lit; thus, increasing the risk of motion blur. This is in stark contrast to CRT displays, in which the pixels flash just briefly. This doesn’t necessarily mean that motion blur only affects LCDs, rather the phenomenon is more common on LCDs as opposed to other display technologies.
So, how do you prevent motion blur from occurring? One option is to choose a different display technology instead of LCD. As stated above, LCDs are prone to motion blur because their pixels remain lit. Therefore, choosing a LED display will reduce the risk of motion blur.
Of course, many companies have also implemented their own safeguards to help protection against motion blur. Philips, for instance, has implemented a feature called Aptura to reduce sample time while subsequently reducing the risk of motion blur. Sharp features a scanning backlight that flashes the backlight in a sequence during every frame. And Samsung uses a stroped backlight in its Clear Motion Rate technology. While there’s no definitive solution for motion blur, these technologies have certainly helped.
