- Method enables precise quantitative analysis of moving picture resolution -

Las Vegas - The Advanced PDP Development Center Corporation or APDC, jointly established by Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic) and Pioneer Corporation, to promote the development of advanced engineering and manufacturing technologies for Plasma displays, today announced that it has developed a Moving Picture Resolution Measurement System. The system is based on the APDC Method announced on October 18, 2006. The system makes it possible to precisely measure moving picture resolution, In fact, currently, the claim of 1080p resolution in many HDTVs is based on the number of picture elements, or pixels, visible when a still picture is displayed on the screen, which is not the same as the HDTV’s moving picture resolution.

The new system to measure moving picture resolution includes a digital camera, signal generator, a controller PC and image data processing software. In the process, (1) a specified test image is scrolled on the display to simulate a moving picture, (2) the movement of the camera is adjusted to the movement of the image so that it can be captured and (3) the image is then captured by the digital camera, analyzed and expressed mathematically to indicate the precise moving picture resolution.

Since the APDC measurement method simulates the way the human eye works, reconstructing the image reflected on the retina, the result of the quantitative analysis is very close to the way people see images.

With the increasing penetration of digital cameras and PCs, consumers are getting much more interested in the resolution of their televisions. Until now, the resolution of HDTV displays has been commonly expressed by the number of pixels in a still picture shown on the display. There were no clear criteria to measure the moving picture resolution of an HDTV. Since the major application for television is to show moving pictures, the newly developed measurement system will help consumers better understand the issue of resolution and what they can expect from their flat-panel or other HDTVs.

The new measuring system is applicable to any display including Plasma and LCD TVs. APDC plans to propose the use of this measurement system to all display and TV manufacturers as it will enable the improvement of performance of flat-panel TV displays through the objective and quantitative measurement of their moving picture resolution.

APDC plans to collaborate with measuring equipment manufacturers to launch the newly developed system in the market. Also, it plans to demonstrate the system in the APDC Suite (Otho Room, Palace Tower Emperors Level-4th floor, Caesars Palace Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA) from January 8 to 10, 2007.