<p>The output of an LCD or other display is continuous by virtue of its being a physical device, with pixels that have some size and shape, and emit some physical spectrum of light.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/E8hHG.jpg" alt="close up of an iPhone 4 display"><br/>from <a href="http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina-display/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Apple Retina Display by Bryan Jones</a> </p>

<p>My guess as to what's meant by the comment that "the sampled representation is converted into a continuous one by the video hardware" is just that the input to the hardware is a sampled digital signal that drives the physical pixels, while the output is a continuous light field such as the above. So the "reconstruction filter", so to speak, is the physical pattern of light emitted when the display is turned on.</p>

<p>(Also note that displays often do additional digital processing of the input image before displaying it, e.g. to adjust brightness, contrast, color temperature, sharpness, and so forth. But those things wouldn't be called a reconstruction filter.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-20T05:03:17.427Z
2016-06-20T05:03:17.427Z
Nathan Reed
<p>I'm very confused about sampling and reconstruction of images.
I read that in the framebuffer there is a sampled representation of an image, for visualization the sampled representation is converted into a continuous one by the video hardware.
Which filter is used by an LCD display ?</p>

<p>But isn't an LCD display already digital ?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-20T01:27:20.107Z
What was the original wording of what you read?
trichoplax is on Codidact now
<sampling>
Reconstruction filter of LCD monitor
Valerio
# Reconstruction filter of LCD monitor

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-19)

I'm very confused about sampling and reconstruction of images.
I read that in the framebuffer there is a sampled representation of an image, for visualization the sampled representation is converted into a continuous one by the video hardware.
Which filter is used by an LCD display ?

But isn't an LCD display already digital ?

**Tags:** sampling

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What was the original wording of what you read?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-06-20. Score: 2

The output of an LCD or other display is continuous by virtue of its being a physical device, with pixels that have some size and shape, and emit some physical spectrum of light.

![close up of an iPhone 4 display](https://i.sstatic.net/E8hHG.jpg)  
from [Apple Retina Display by Bryan Jones](http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina-display/)

My guess as to what's meant by the comment that "the sampled representation is converted into a continuous one by the video hardware" is just that the input to the hardware is a sampled digital signal that drives the physical pixels, while the output is a continuous light field such as the above. So the "reconstruction filter", so to speak, is the physical pattern of light emitted when the display is turned on.

(Also note that displays often do additional digital processing of the input image before displaying it, e.g. to adjust brightness, contrast, color temperature, sharpness, and so forth. But those things wouldn't be called a reconstruction filter.)


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