Patent ID: 7573457

Claim:
A method of enhancing the dynamic range of an image displayed on an illuminated backlit display, said method comprising: (a) spatially varying relative to each other, without manual input and in response to the automated quantification of spatial variance of luminance data in respective ones of received frame data of an input image to be displayed to a user on said backlit display, the luminance of a plurality of light source elements in a light source illuminating an image upon a plurality of displayed pixels, so as to attenuate luminance levels in localized areas of said display relative to other areas of said display; (b) varying the transmittance of a light valve of said display in a non-binary manner over a first dynamic range; (c) said spatially varying being based upon a nonlinear relationship, of the luminance of the respective said light source elements, measured over a frame of said image, to a statistical measure of the luminance of a plurality of pixels of said input image to be displayed on said display, that reduces aliasing in said image from said light source; and (d) wherein, as a result of said spatially varying, the dynamic range of light displayed from said light valve is greater than said first dynamic range.