Influence of Viewing Distances on 8K HDR Video Quality Perception

The benefits of high resolutions in displays, such as 8K (UHD-2), have been the subject of ongoing research in the field of display technology and human perception in recent years. Out of several factors influencing users' perception of video quality, viewing distance is one of the key aspects. Hence, this study uses a subjective test to investigate the perceptual advantages of 8K over 4K (UHD-1) resolution for HDR videos at 7 different viewing distances, ranging from 0.5 H to 2 H. The results indicate that, on average, for HDR content the 8K resolution can improve the video quality at all tested distances. Our study shows that although the 8K resolution is slightly better than 4K at close distances, the extent of these benefits is highly dependent on factors such as the pixel-related complexity of the content and the visual acuity of the viewers.