The human eye has a limit: an 8K television can offer more pixels than we are able to see

A joint study of the Cambridge University y Meta Reality Labs confirms something that many already suspected: the human eye has a resolution limit. Beyond a certain point, adding pixels to a display doesn't improve the viewing experience, because our eyes simply can't distinguish beyond 8K resolution.

The researchers measured participants' ability to detect details in color and black-and-white images, viewed both from the front and with peripheral vision, and at different distances. Their goal: determine how many pixels per degree (PPD) the human eye can actually perceive, a more useful measurement than traditional 4K or 8K.

The results of the study reveal that, under normal conditions in a living room with about 2.5 meters between the sofa and the television, a 44-inch 4K or 8K television offers no perceptible advantages over a QHD television of the same size. In other words, many current home screens would already exceed the visual capacity of most people.

The main author of the study, Maliha Ashraf, highlights that "our results set the course for the design of more intelligent, efficient screens adapted to the true capabilities of the human eye." For his part, professor and co-author of the work, Rafał Mantiuk, reveals that “if the screen has more pixels, it is less efficient, costs more and requires more processing power.”

The study also shows that the human eye distinguishes details better in black and white (up to 94 PPD) than in color, where the effective resolution drops to 89 PPD in red and green tones, and only 53 PPD in yellows and violets. And, according to Mantiuk, "our eyes are not perfect sensors; it is the brain that interprets the data and creates the final image that we think we see."

The study, published in Nature Communications, could influence the development of screens for television, mobile phones, augmented and virtual reality, or automotive.