Soap Opera Effect

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Comparison between a scene with 24 frames per second (upper half of the image) and the same scene, the frame rate of which has been algorithmically increased to 60 images per second (intermediate image calculation, lower half of the image).

The soap opera effect, also known as the soap opera effect or soap effect for short , is created by calculating intermediate frames during film playback and describes a clear contrast between moving actors and objects from the background.

The term soap opera effect is derived from the English term for soap opera ( English soap opera ) from. In contrast to cinema films, such series are often recorded with very simple backdrops, which can often be clearly recognized as "flat". In addition, the less expensive video format is often used instead of film . At the time of analog television , this format was not recorded at 24p (24 frames per second) like movies , but with 60 ( NTSC ) fields per second in North America and 50 ( PAL ) fields per second in Europe . If the 24 frames per second of a movie are extrapolated using intermediate frame calculation, the end result can look unusually like a soap opera.

The higher frame rate leads to smoother motion sequences than in the cinema. Especially with fast moving people and objects like in soccer or ice hockey, an intermediate image calculation leads to better sharpness of movement .

However, due to the soap opera effect, a. the transitions between the moving objects and the stationary background appear smooth. That is why the actors appear, together with the depth of field of the recording, as if “glued” in front of the background. Also, depending on the number of input and output images and the quality of the device performing the inter-image calculation, the image may be degraded rather than improved.

The advantages of interframe calculation in playback devices are controversial, but they can usually be switched off.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Biggs: Help Key: Why 120Hz looks "weird" . TechCrunch, August 12, 2009, accessed January 26, 2010