The effective resolution of a display device can be quantified by measuring the display system Modulation Transfer Function, or MTF.
The MTF of a display system is a measure of the display's spatial frequency response. It quantifies the display contrast at a given spatial frequency relative to the display contrast at DC (i.e. a flat field). MTF is typically measured in the form of line pairs per unit distance, a line pair consisting of a bright line coupled with a dark line. High spatial frequencies correspond to fine image detail. The more fine image detail that can be displayed, the sharper the image.
During the development of SmoothPicture Technology, Texas Instruments evaluated the MTF performance of the SmoothPicture based display systems with respect to other display technologies used in 1080p rear projection television displays. Figure 5 shows the MTF of a SmoothPicture based 1080p DLP display relative to the MTF of two leading, commercially available LCOS based 1080p rear projection TVs. Note that the DLP display curve rolls off at a higher spatial frequency, indicating that it more effectively translates the 1920 x 1080 addressed image resolution into effective resolution at the eyeball.
