Give the pixel five years, researchers say, and it'll be dead--cast aside for a vector format.
Posted 12.12.2012 at 1:00 pm
13 Comments
Pixels
Wikimedia Commons
The pixel isn't perfect. For most everything, lining up tiny blocks and displaying them on a screen works well enough. But those blocks have limitations. Now a team of researchers is saying there's a better way to present onscreen images--one that'll replace the pixel in five years.
The team developed something called a vector-based video codec that attempts to overcome the challenges of a typical vector display. A typical vector display features drawn lines and contoured colors on a screen (rather than the simple, geometrical map of pixels we're all accustomed to). But it has problems--notably, areas between colors can't be filled in well enough for a high-quality image to be displayed, the researchers say.
A codec takes digital video and can both encode and decode it into a new format (in this case, a vector format). The team isn't releasing many details, but says it has developed a codec that gets around the in-between color problem. With the codec, they say, they'll have a "resolution-independent" system that delivers pixel quality without, well, the pixels.
Vector-Style Image: University of Bath
13 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Technology
140 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
April 2013: How It Works
For our annual How It Works issue, we break down everything from the massive Falcon Heavy rocket to a tiny DNA sequencer that connects to a USB port. We also take a look at an ambitious plan for faster-than-light travel and dive into the billion-dollar science of dog food.
Plus the latest Legos, Cadillac's plug-in hybrid, a tractor built for the apocalypse, and more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Technology
- Warp Factor
- Bill Gates Will Pay You $100,000 If You Can Make A Better Condom
- FBI Wants To Spy On Your Online Chats As They Happen
- Blueprint: Engineers Invent A Healthier Toilet
- Faster-Than-Light Drive
- Who Are The Casualties Of America's Drone Strikes? [Infographic]
- Why Legal Experts Say It's Okay To Kill A Civilian Hacker In Cyber Warfare
- In The Future We Will All Live In Photosynthetic French Sea Pods
- China Makes 50% Of Your Stuff. How Many Chinese Brands Can You Actually Name?
- The 6 Most Absurd Military Hoaxes By North Korea And Iran
Most Emailed
Technology
- Brain Wave Sensor Shields You From Phone Calls When Your Mind Is Too Busy
- Border Patrol's Newest Tool? VADER On A Drone
- In The Future We Will All Live In Photosynthetic French Sea Pods
- BigPic: The James Webb Space Telescope, Ready To Be Frozen
- The Newest Defense Against Biological Warfare? This Cube
- The Navy Sees A Bright Military Future In 3-D Printing
- 9 Revolutionary Elevators From The Otis Elevator Company
- 9 Revolutionary Elevators From The Otis Elevator Company
- Fund A House That Shapeshifts With The Seasons
- Space Station's Giant Antimatter Magnet Finds Abundance Of Mysterious Particles
Most Viewed
Technology
- Brain Wave Sensor Shields You From Phone Calls When Your Mind Is Too Busy
- Border Patrol's Newest Tool? VADER On A Drone
- In The Future We Will All Live In Photosynthetic French Sea Pods
- BigPic: The James Webb Space Telescope, Ready To Be Frozen
- The Newest Defense Against Biological Warfare? This Cube
- The Navy Sees A Bright Military Future In 3-D Printing
- 9 Revolutionary Elevators From The Otis Elevator Company
- 9 Revolutionary Elevators From The Otis Elevator Company
- Fund A House That Shapeshifts With The Seasons
- Space Station's Giant Antimatter Magnet Finds Abundance Of Mysterious Particles
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor:Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
This has nothing to do with vector monitors replacing pixel monitors. The project is only changing the way pictures are stored. To be displayed, the vector image has to be decompressed from the vector format and converted to a pixel format to be displayed on a standard monitor with pixels.
The headline "R.I.P. Pixels?" is just peacocking.
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Yes Democedes I agree, unless the monitor is pixeless! Woo I can't wait for the day, imagine how "Hi res" images will be by then. Retina displays will look down right 8bit by comparison.
Imagine the resolution when you get your brain\computer interface!!!
Hello Matrix. ;)
To: Robot
Beyond that; You have to remember that we see what we see because of the limitations of our eyes(or optical sensors in your case). A brain/computer interface may even give us the ability to percieve light at the UV/IR spectrum at a sharpness/resolution beyond our wildest imaginations.
to democedes - Did you not read the how the article explains that a codec encodes and decodes to other formats? 352x240, 720x480, and 2920x1080 are formats, and with this technology the video quality would be just as good on all of them, something modern codecs cannot do.
I think that the concept is that the codec can drive a vector display in a way that somehow overcomes the historical shading issues.
Finding vector graphic displays could be an issue. Wiki says that they've been pretty much defunct for a while.
I like pixels.
When pixels procreate, we get pixie dust, lol.
@recksnfx
Yes, it is potentially a better codec. But it is not the end of the pixel. For that, we need a vector display that outperforms a pixel display.
The article should have mentioned that VECTORS are the engine behind TrueType fonts from Microsoft. Vectors are how the same font definition is good at any size font.
The article should have mentioned that VECTORS
صدى سوفت للبرامج المجانية
www.sadasoft.net
www.sadasoft.net
Robot are you like the owner of popsci.com because when i try to open your page it says i don't have access :/
Also I hope that that becomes the new kind of screen in everything soon. It sounds really cooooooooool