The most interesting point made in the article (for me) is that the presence of noise/grain - which effectively reduces real detail in an individual image - can actually
improve the perceived detail across time with high frame rates.
At first, I thought this extra "detail" could be explained as an illusion (since noise/grain can mask a lack of resolution), but then I read the abstract quoted near the end of the article:
"...visual cortical cell responses to moving stimuli with very small amplitudes can be enhanced by adding a small amount of noise to the motion pattern of the stimulus. This situation mimics the micro-movements of the eye during fixation and shows that these movements could enhance the performance of the cells"[1]
So if I understand right, since the biological systems are tuned to extract extra detail via supersampling across time, and a small amount of noise/grain can enhance that ability (mimicking natural movement of the eye), it actually helps our visual system extract more real detail.
It seems counterintuitive to add noise for more detail, but the explanation is fascinating.
[1] Stochastic resonance in visual cortical neurons: does the eye-tremor actually improve visual acuity? – Hennig, Kerscher, Funke, Wörgötter; Neurocomputing Vol 44-46, June 2002, p.115-120
At first, I thought this extra "detail" could be explained as an illusion (since noise/grain can mask a lack of resolution), but then I read the abstract quoted near the end of the article:
"...visual cortical cell responses to moving stimuli with very small amplitudes can be enhanced by adding a small amount of noise to the motion pattern of the stimulus. This situation mimics the micro-movements of the eye during fixation and shows that these movements could enhance the performance of the cells"[1]
So if I understand right, since the biological systems are tuned to extract extra detail via supersampling across time, and a small amount of noise/grain can enhance that ability (mimicking natural movement of the eye), it actually helps our visual system extract more real detail.
It seems counterintuitive to add noise for more detail, but the explanation is fascinating.
[1] Stochastic resonance in visual cortical neurons: does the eye-tremor actually improve visual acuity? – Hennig, Kerscher, Funke, Wörgötter; Neurocomputing Vol 44-46, June 2002, p.115-120