STEPPED-DECAY VIDEO MORPHING FOR LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS

An LCD display has disparate turn-on/turn-off characteristics whereby a rapid decrease in signal intensity at pixel positions can cause a flash effect. Such effect is avoided or reduced for a video signal including a large intensity decrease between successive images. By incrementally decreasing the signal intensity over three frames, rather than from one frame to the next, intermediate intensity steps reduce the frame-to-frame magnitude of intensity decrease. A key feature is selection of the size of the intermediate intensity step changes on a closed loop basis, by an operator viewing the image effects resulting from the operator's adjustments. Flash effects in particular applications may be affected by image content, incident light and other local conditions as well as by subjective viewer characteristics and preferences. By operator adjustment, while viewing the resulting display, the best presentation can be provided. The operator can also select the number of steps over which an intensity decrease is incrementally introduced.