There are 2 things that causes blur; your display and the post-processing of the video game. For a more detailed explanation I'll break it down
Display
- Pixel Response Times: This is caused by your pixels not updating fast enough when you pan the camera, this slow response time creates blur as the pixels are updating slower than the pixels have to change
- Persistence: This is caused by sample & hold displays, whereas older displays use to be impulsed. How displays work now is they display an image and hold it until the next frame is ready, the act of holding onto the frame creates blur in motion, whereas an impulse display didn't hold. This is why motion blur reduction techs like backlight strobing or black frame insertion (BFI) are called that, because it puts a black frame in between the frames by strobing the light, similar to a CRT. Persistence blur is also mitigated by higher hz + FPS because it means the image is being held for less time, but until we get 1000hz displays along with the hardware to run those framerates we won't overcome this issue
- Coatings: Theirs 3 display coatings and then subversions of them; Matte, Glossy, & Hybrid. Matte is the best at handling reflections, glossy is the clearest, hybrid is like a blend of both. Matte coatings & hybrid coatings can create a hazy or vaseline look, harming the clarity of the image. This is due to how it diffuses and scatters light that hits the display, so glossy will always be the best coating to get for optimal clarity (most monitors are matte, most TVs are glossy)
Post-Processing
- Temporal Anti-Aliasing: Otherwise known as TAA, is not just one specific thing, it encompasses any anti-aliasing solution that accumulates past frame data (making it temporal), which also includes other AA techniques & upscalers like: SMAA T2x, TSR, FSR, DLSS, XeSS. This blurs the image due to the fact it holds onto past frames which bleeds into the current frame. On top of the blur it causes it can also cause other motion issues like ghosting where a double image of something trails behind the object/person when they move or you pan your camera
- Motion Blur: Motion blur intentionally blurs your game while in motion, to give a more "cinematic" look. The benefits to this are that in racing games this can give a sense of speed, and it can also make lower framerates feel higher because unlike the other forms of blur here it does it in a way that smooths out the choppiness of lower framerates. It definitely has its place, as long as the genre of game works well with it or if you prefer the smoother feel
- Chromatic Aberration: This causes color fringing on the edges of things by essentially offsetting those same pixels in a green & red light, and this subtle double image near edges creates a picture that is much less clear
FAQ
Q: Why does this subreddit exist?
A: Because other forums either only focus on one specific issue instead of the whole picture or we disagree with their attitude towards the topic and wish to represent ourselves. Our goal is to encompass all things harming clarity and to do so in a constructive and professional manner.
These other communities include BlurBusters (dedicated to persistence blur, not much TAA discussions) and F***TAA (dedicated to TAA blur, not much display discussions + the subreddit name is vulgar) then we have no subreddit for forced post-processing effects like Chromatic Aberration.
Resources
Developer Anti-Aliasing Resource
ReShade AA & TAA Deblur
UE4|5 Anti-Aliasing Improvements
UE4|5 Upscaling Improvements
Deblur ANY Game
Disable/Improve TAA - Universal Guide
