Projects
elaTCSF: A Temporal Contrast Sensitivity Function for Flicker Detection and Modeling Variable Refresh Rate Flicker
Presented at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024, Technical Papers
Yancheng Cai(1), Ali Bozorgian(2), Maliha Ashraf(1), Robert Wanat(3), and Rafał K. Mantiuk(1).
(1) University of Cambridge (2) Norwegian University of Science and Technology (3) LG Electronics North America
Contact Email: yc613 [AT] cam.ac.uk
Contact WeChat: cyc13700232963
elaTCSF is an advanced temporal contrast sensitivity function (TCSF) that incorporates
eccentricity, luminance, and area. It serves as a comprehensive flicker detection model, extending and
updating the industry-standard
TCSFIDMS (Information Display Measurements
Standard). This work also introduces a novel Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) flicker detection dataset, demonstrating
the effectiveness of elaTCSF in modeling VRR flicker visibility.
In addition, this work addresses two critical questions:
1. Are peripheral regions of vision more sensitive to flicker? (A 120-year-long debate)
2. How can the visibility of flicker across extremely large visual fields be effectively modeled?
For more details, please refer to the paper and Github.
Abstract
The perception of flicker has been a prominent concern in illumination and electronic display fields for over a century. Traditional approaches often rely on Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF), primarily suited for high-contrast (full-on, full-off) flicker. To tackle varying contrast flicker, the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM) introduced a Temporal Contrast Sensitivity Function TCSFIDMS within the Information Display Measurements Standard (IDMS). Nevertheless, this standard overlooks crucial parameters: luminance, eccentricity, and area. Existing models incorporating these parameters are inadequate for flicker detection, especially at low spatial frequencies. To address these limitations, we extend the TCSFIDMS and combine it with a new spatial probability summation model to incorporate the effects of luminance, eccentricity, and area (elaTCSF). We train the elaTCSF on various flicker detection datasets and establish the first variable refresh rate flicker detection dataset for further verification. Additionally, we contribute to resolving a longstanding debate on whether the flicker is more visible in peripheral vision. We demonstrate how elaTCSF can be used to predict flicker due to low-persistence in VR headsets, identify flicker-free VRR operational ranges, and determine flicker sensitivity in lighting design.
Interactive simplified elaTCSF
To simplify flicker detection on displays, we present a streamlined elaTCSF model via an interactive viewer. It
predicts the visible flicker contrast at given luminance levels.
Blue and Red Lines: lines show the contrast at which an average observer has a 50% chance of detecting flicker,
based
on a
two-alternative forced choice experiment. This assumes an Ultra HD display (3840x2160) viewed from 1.6 times the
display height (ITU BT.2100). Blue lines indicate minimum visible contrast for various temporal frequencies; red lines
for a specific frequency.
Green and Orange Lines: Simplified elaTCSF. The green line represents lCSF, which models the relationship
between flicker sensitivity and luminance, corresponding to the blue line generated by elaTCSF. The orange line
represents lTCSF, which models the relationship between flicker sensitivity, luminance, and temporal frequency,
corresponding to the red line generated by elaTCSF.
Materials
- Paper:
elaTCSF: A Temporal Contrast Sensitivity Function for Flicker Detection and Modeling Variable Refresh Rate Flicker.
Yancheng Cai, Ali Bozorgian, Maliha Ashraf, Robert Wanat, Rafał K. Mantiuk.
In SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 Technical Papers, Article XX
[DOI (coming soon)] [paper PDF] - Code [Github]
- VRR Flicker Detection datasets (Other public flicker detection datasets included)