Pixel independence: measuring spatial interactions on a CRT display

Abstract

The standard working assumption of careful CRT imaging is that each pixel is imaged independently, through a point nonlinearity (the monitor's gamma function, relating screen luminance to input voltage), and then blurred by the point-spread function of the beam spot on the phosphor. Unfortunately most monitors have inadequate video bandwidth, DC restoration, and high-voltage regulation to live up to this ideal model. Two tests are recommended for assessing a CRT's deviation from the pixel-independence model.