frame interpolation It is an image post-processing technique in televisions that aims to:make the movement “smooth” in action scenes, especially in 24fps cinematic content, although the result obtained is not always as good as we would like.

Therefore, Hollywood has been declaring war on this system for some time, with campaigns that began appearing on social networks in 2017, with some directors and actors joining forces to shut down interpolation on our televisions and projectors.

And one of the most popular was the actor Tom Cruise Having recorded a video in 2018, on the occasion of the release of “Mission Impossible: Fallout” in native formats, in which he advised us not to use this option, this advice is still valid today.

The idea was to make the user and Smart TV manufacturers aware of the artificial smoothness of movements. This is not the creator’s intention and best of all, that this kind of post-processing sometimes Disadvantages rather than advantages cause image quality to decrease.

Interpolation of movements: advantages and disadvantages

HE motion smoothing What most modern televisions contain and their theoretical mission Improve perceived quality in action sequences with objects or scenes moving on screen.

So why close it? Because it uses an image post-processing technique known as frame interpolation to accomplish its task. “invent” new frameworks It is among the few already available that, in addition to adding a certain “soap opera” touch, can have negative consequences on image quality.

It is true that the function adds more smoothness in slow object movements Particularly striking on the screen moving landscapes in the background characters are at the forefront, slow side and vertical pans.

You can also contribute greater sharpness and definition The presence of text and isolated objects slowly moving on the screen is always something appreciated.

However, as we see here, not everything is positive, because it will most likely give us the feeling that the image was recorded with a recording device. a low quality mobile phone with a low quality camera or shot many times as if we were watching in fast motion.

Besides, they also create digital works It is very annoying which deteriorates the image quality. For example, they look like this: “pixel clouds” around objects that move quickly from one part of the screen to another.

It is especially noticeable in scenes that change very quickly. rotation of objects and movements from one point to another It’s also in motion in the background.

The intensity with which these adverse effects are perceived will depend on each user. In my case they are very annoying and that’s why I can turn this function off completely whenever I want or in the case of watching the most sports or documentaries, I leave this to a minimum.

Cover image | Glenn Carstens-Peters

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