Modeling Observer Variability and Metamerism Failure in Electronic Color Displays

Abstract

The electronic display industry has begun a migration towards higher color gamut devices driven by LED, OLED, quantum dot and laser technologies capable of generating near monochromatic color stimuli in the traditional red, green, blue three-channel paradigm. The use of highly selective spectral stimuli, however, poses a risk to the consistency of visual experience amongst a group of disparate, but otherwise normal, color observers. Several models of spectral color vision have surfaced in recent research and are helping investigators to better understand the implications for color experience variability. The present research serves to summarize various color difference indices that may be useful in predicting the magnitude of observer response inconsistencies and applies them to simulations of current electronic displays as examples of potential concerns these new high-gamut technologies might raise. In particular, various laser-based displays are shown to perform with significantly increased observer variability versus traditional ITU-R Rec. 709 and SMPTE 431 RGB-primary displays utilized in the cinema industry. Further, observer metamerism can be reduced significantly with proper optimization of a multichannel projection system comprising seven explicitly designed primary spectra. © 2014 Society for Imaging Science and Technology. [DOI:10.2352/J.ImagingSci.Technol.2014.58.3.030402]