Subjective assessment of super-resolution 4K video using paired comparison

4K television (TV) sets are available in the retail market and some are advertised as featuring a super-resolution (SR) function. In particular, most rely on super-resolution image reconstruction (SRR) to provide high-resolution images. Recently, another SR technology that uses nonlinear signal processing (NLSP) and can work in real time has been proposed. A visual performance of the technology needs to be demonstrated subjectively because the performance of the video equipment is determined subjectively by the end user. The subjective performance of these two SR functions has not been verified. Here, subjective assessments comparing SRR and NLSP and a simple extension by the Lanczos filter (without SR) were conducted. 4K video equipment and 4K experimental videos were used. The assessments combined Scheffe´s paired comparison test and BT.500, the International Telecommunication Union-Radiocommunication Sector´s methodology for the subjective assessment of the quality of TV pictures. The assessment results were statistically analyzed, and the results indicated that NLSP demonstrated superior resolution.