Why do we need dithering?
18 days ago
- #retro-computing
- #digital-imaging
- #dithering
- Dithering was used to trick eyes into seeing more colors than were actually available due to limited computing memory.
- Quantization reduces the number of colors in an image but creates hard steps in gradients, which dithering helps to smooth out.
- Spatial averaging allows dithering to trick the eye into perceiving smooth transitions between colors.
- Ordered dithering uses a Bayer matrix to compare pixel values and decide whether to turn them black or white, creating limited shades of grey.
- Error diffusion dithering, like the Floyd–Steinberg algorithm, diffuses the error from thresholding to neighboring pixels for a smoother result.
- Modern high bit-depth colors have made dithering largely unnecessary, turning it into a retro aesthetic.