4K Intelligent Frame Creation

Please give us some of the background of Panasonic's 4K TV development.

Mori: The strength and potential of the 4K images were clear, so we as Panasonic engineers started considering our approach to 4K at a fairly early stage. However, in terms of standards and technology, it does not catch up with the level that includes the ability to transmit 4K60p signals over a single HDMI cable. As a result, comparing the situation with Full-HD, in which we had achieved 1080/60p transmission over a single HDMI cable, the ease of use for customers would actually be taking a step backward. With this in mind, we absolutely had to realize the transmission of 4K60p signals over a single HDMI cable in order to offer customers a product that they would be able to reliably use far into the future. That was the minimal condition for 4K TV development.

Within 4K technology, please tell us the importance of the "moving image smoothness" that your team has worked for. And how enthusiastic were you all in tackling this project?

Nio: Well, as far as TV evolution goes, since we're looking toward an age of 4K definition and large-screen viewing, we all wanted to create smoother images. I often watch animation together with my child, and I find myself wishing that the large-screen images were less jerky. I started thinking that way when the mainstream TV size became 37 to 40 inches.

Mori: The maximum class for CRT models was 36 inches. Images that appeared fairly smooth back then started looking jerky when the screen size grew.

Nio: Today, people are accustomed to 40-inch large-screen TVs for daily use. And when you watch a large screen from closer up with 4K picture quality, the smooth flow of the motion is much more important. And especially for children, we want to provide smooth, easy-to-watch images that are gentle to their eyes. This is what made me want to work as hard as possible to achieve them.

Mori: We're engineers but at the same time we're also consumers, so we recognize the importance of aiming for smooth-flowing 4K motion. So we set our target high and started down the list of things we needed to accomplish.

Not being able to detect motion vectors must make it difficult to create the frames for smooth-flowing motion.

Nio: That's right. Put simply, frame creation is a process where you compare two input image frames and detect the object's motion, then you use those motion vectors to create a new frame in between those two frames that will smoothly express the object's motion. For example, consider an image of a person walking in front of a wall. You can detect the motion vector by comparing the positions of the person displayed in the two frames. In other words, in this case you can predict how the person moved between the two frames. However, there's a particularly difficult point here. The point is, showing the area of a wall that is hidden by a person in either frame. The wall in front of the person is going to be gradually hidden by the person's shadow. On the other hand, the wall behind the person is going to gradually appear. When comparing the two frames for these parts, each one has only one part showing, so it's very difficult to detect the motion vector, and this is the kind of place where the halo effect is likely to occur. Even though a part of the wall area looks like it is being hidden by the person, the wall is stationary so it's easy for human beings to distinguish (meaning that it's easy for us to detect a motion vector of zero). Actually, it's difficult for a TV engine to do this. It just goes to show how incredible the human eye's capabilities truly are.
Our team made it possible to further analyze the detected motion vectors, and accurately find the places where images are hidden and appear. And this made it possible to resolve the halo effect.

Mori: The fact that we had been accumulating examples of problem scenes for several years really paid off this time. That's our heritage as a TV maker. We've been dedicated in TV development for years, and each year we've been working hard to improve our products in order to deliver the best possible picture quality to our customers. This has become one of our main strengths.

Kiuchi: During development, the simple fact that everyone had experienced 4K images motivated us so much. We've had the chance to watch "4K-equivalent" images, by using four 32-inch screens, professional monitors, or other configurations. However, when we looked at the images on a 4K panel that was actually produced as a prototype, we were all amazed at the excellent contrast and the level of definition. Since it was enough to surprise us engineers, who've been involved in producing TVs for years, we believed the customer would be even more excited. Our desire to surprise more and more viewers became even stronger.

What other strengths did you achieve in addition to reducing the halo effect?

Mori: We handled the LSI design entirely in-house. This allowed us to utilize the knowhow that we've accumulated over the years, and made it easier to add new technology and mechanisms (architecture), do the tuning, and attain optimization. Being able to do all of this freely is one of our major strengths. At the same time, developing LSI in-house is very a tough task. Once you've produced an LSI, it can't be repaired. It would take too long and be hugely expensive to produce it again, so we were as careful as possible to produce it by making detailed future preparations.