Pixel shifting refers to various technical methods, either to diminish damage to displays by preventing "burn in" of static images or to enhance resolution of displays, projectors, and digital imaging devices. The term is often used synonymously with the more specific term pixel shift.

Purposes

Avoid burn-in

See Pixel shifting avoids burn-in explained in detail for both analogue and digital screens.

Enhance character display resolution on terminals

Computer terminals such as the HP 2645A used a half-shift algorithm to move pixel positions by half a screen pixel in order to support the generation of multiple complex character sets.

Increase projection resolution

Pixel shifting has been implemented in video projectors to expand the native

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

resolution to produce an effectively 4K image on the screen. An exemplary implementation by the electronics corporation

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company was best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for developin ...

is referred to as "e-shift".

Increase capture and/or tonal resolution

Pixel shifting by movement of one or more sensors is a technique to increase resolution and/or colour rendering of image capturing devices. : The image at right displays the visible gain both in detail and in colour resolution produced by the

Sony α7R IV The Sony α7R IV (model ILCE-7RM4) is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera manufactured by Sony. It was announced on 16 July 2019 as the successor to the Sony α7R III launched two years prior. Image gallery File:Sony Alpha 7R I ...

16-shot pixel shift mode, which results in a 240 Mpixel image, as compared to a single shot with the standard sensor resolution of 61 Mpixel. The crops taken from each image display the coat of arms at exactly the same size, albeit with different pixel counts.

One or more separate color channel sensors

Some

camcorders A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-sw ...

and digital microscopes employ separate color channel sensors (usually RGB = red, green, blue) sensors. * Pixel shifting may be implemented for one or more of these sensors by moving such a sensor by a fraction of a pixel (or even a whole pixel value) in both x- and y-direction. * For example, early high-definition camcorders used a

3CCD A three-CCD (3CCD) camera is a camera whose imaging system uses three separate charge-coupled devices (CCDs), each one receiving filtered red, green, or blue color ranges. Light coming in from the lens is split by a beam-splitter prism into ...

sensor block of 960 × 540 pixels each. Shifting the red and blue sensors (but not the green sensor) by 0.5 pixel in both vertical and horizontal directions permitted the recovery of a 1920 × 1080

luminance Luminance is a photometric measure of the luminous intensity per unit area of light travelling in a given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through, is emitted from, or is reflected from a particular area, and falls wit ...

signal.

One multi colour channel sensor

Currently most consumer imaging devices (cameras, camcorders, smartphones) employ a single multi colour channel sensor, on which the RGB (red, green, blue) pixels are usually arranged in a Bayer pattern. Thus any mode of pixel shifting movement either by fractional or by whole pixel values, whether to obtain a more detailed image or to improve tonal resolution, must necessarily engage the whole sensor. * More detailed information is to be obtained on page Pixel shift.

Other implementations

* *

Related features

* The first stabilization mechanism for a still-camera sensor was implemented by

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, lenses, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated ...

in 2003 as a new feature of the DiMAGE A1. The purpose of this implementation was only to counteract camera shake. The first consumer still-camera that utilized sensor movement to enhance detail and/or tonal resolution was the K-3 II, released by

Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...

in 2015. * Also see Image stabilization, section 'Sensor-shift'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pixel Shifting Display technology Television technology Imaging