Detail enhancement, also called sharpening, is a necessary component of all digital imaging, both standard definition and high definition. Unfortunately, due to the historically poor implementations of sharpening algorithms, this process has received a reputation as something to avoid.

All digital video goes through a lowpass anti-aliasing filter to prevent false color and moiré effects that can occur during the digitization process. The filter improves overall image quality, but it necessarily blurs some of the detail. The data-compression stage can also remove some detail. Fortunately, much of the lost detail can be mathematically recovered.

Because the human visual system perceives sharpness in terms of apparent contrast, exaggerating the differences between light and dark can produce what appears to be a sharper image. Unfortunately, due to rudimentary implementations of sharpening in the past, this process has been associated with artifacts known as “ringing” or “halos” in which objects are surrounded by a bright white edge. The resulting image appears harsh and does not reflect what was originally captured. The halos can sometimes be more distracting than the softness from the uncorrected image. For that reason, it is often recommended that users turn down the sharpening on video devices.

HQV Detail Enhancement technology is different. By using a more conservative algorithm and selectively identifying the area of blur before processing, HQV Detail Enhancement avoids halo or ringing artifacts at even the highest setting. Of course, it is also possible to disable HQV Detail Enhancement if the source has already applied sharpening. A key benefit of HQV Detail Enhancement is that, when used in conjunction with our 1024-tap scaler, standard-definition TV can be delivered at near high-definition quality.