When Will Artificial Realities Match Human Perception? Analyzing Audio and Video Quality
Ever wondered if video and audio quality can surpass human senses to the point where we can no longer distinguish artificial from real? The answer might surprise you. With advancements and innovations, we are carving closer to this reality. Let's delve into how far we've come and what challenges still lie ahead.
Video Quality: How Close are We?
The question of whether artificial audio and video can outperform human senses is already partially answered in the form of modern entertainment experiences like the Rise of the Resistance attraction in Disneyland. This experience blows your mind by pushing the boundaries of what we can perceive with our eyes and ears.
Advancements in video quality have long surpassed the resolving power of human eyes. The sharpness of images has long exceeded our ability to distinguish individual pixels. The main issues now lie with dynamic range – the range between the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights – and stereoscopic vision.
Dynamic Range and Stereoscopic Vision
The dynamic range is a challenge because our human eyes can perceive a much wider range of light and dark than any screen currently can. Even in Urgent displays, the range is still far from matching what we can naturally see in the real world.
Stereoscopic vision is the biggest hurdle. When we watch a 3D film, our two eyes perceive slightly different images, and our brain fuses these together to give us a sense of depth. However, current technology struggles to create an experience that mimics this process truly. Watching a 3D film with a flat screen breaks this illusion, making depth perception appear and disappear as we move our head. To truly replicate the natural experience, one eye would need a fixed position, stuck in a vise.
Audio Quality: Already Surpassing Human Senses
Unlike video, the audio quality has already advanced far beyond what our ears can naturally perceive. We can now reproduce sound that is identical to natural sound. Unlike video, which still faces challenges with dynamic range and perception, audio has already achieved a level of fidelity that outpaces our biological senses.
The Ear vs. Test Equipment
While the ear is much more sensitive than any testing equipment, speakers remain unique. Even with two televisions showing almost the same picture, their audio systems will sound different due to the complexity and sophistication of the ear/brain interface. The human auditory system is incredibly detailed and nuanced, and we have yet to create a speaker system that can perfectly replicate that experience.
Conclusion and Future Prospects
The gap between what we can achieve and human perception is narrowing in both video and audio. Advances in technology bring us closer to everyday experiences that are indistinguishable from real life. However, the stereoscopic vision challenge remains formidable. For video quality, the key lies in bridging the gap in dynamic range, while for audio quality, perfection is within our grasp.
Will we ever reach a point where we can no longer tell the difference between artificial and real? While we are making significant progress, the journey towards that goal is still far from over.