Jagged edges

Abstract

Depiction of oblique edges by discrete pixels usually results in visible stair steps, often called jaggies . A variety of filtering approaches exists to minimize this visual artifact, but none has been applied selectively only to those edges that would otherwise appear jagged. A recent series of experiments has led to a model of the visibility of jagged edges. Here, we demonstrate how these data can be used efficiently to determine when filtering of edges is needed to eliminate the jaggies and when it is unnecessary. This work also provides a template for how the results of psychophysical experiments can be applied in computer graphics to address image-quality questions.