I wish | How many frames per second does the human eye actually see?

Daniel Boddy

12/04/2023 – Although in the 90s and 2000s we would still be happy if the game started at all, nowadays players are already fighting in stream chat, in the comments section of videos, or among the comments under the news, as the 30 , the 60 or is 120 frames per second the most logical in the game?!

Amidst the debate, many people argue that the eye can't see the difference above 24 frames per second anyway, or that movies are displayed at 24 frames per second, while others swear that there's a big gap between 60 and 120 frames per second as well. But where is the truth? How many frames per second can the eye actually see?

How many frames per second can our eyes actually see?

This cannot be determined by a quick search, because the scientific world's opinion is quite divided on the subject. There is still no precise answer as to how many frames the human eye can process per second, but there is a great deal of agreement that whatever the answer is, it must be separated from video game concepts and perception.

There are several reasons for this, but the most important is that our eyes work a little differently than a TV or monitor. But only a little:

1. When we open our eyes, light enters the lens through the cornea.
2. This lens actually acts like a mirror, directing light to the retina at the back of the eye.
3. Here, photoreceptor cells change light into electrical signals – similar to a computer, which converts the data to be displayed into 1s and 0s.
4. The signals then reach the optic nerve to the brain, which decodes them and then displays them on our “screen”.

We see it simply and succinctly. Therefore, our eyes send information to the brain through light, and an image is generated from the combination of the two. However, most of the work is done by the brain, which is why, for example, what has already been confirmed in numerous studies is possible.

It is not only important how many frames/seconds the eye sees, but also what information the brain processes.

As I said before, there is no precise agreement on how many frames per second our eyes perceive, but most people agree that the average human eye (or retina) can perceive approximately 30 to 60 frames. This value is usually given in Hz for televisions and monitors, as well as for light bulbs, which shows how many times the screen updates the displayed image in one second.

Almost a person. Around/above 50-90Hz, it no longer detects flicker, which we see as uniform light.

But this also determines the number of frames per second: 30Hz is capable of a maximum of 30fps, and 60 is by definition 60fps, while 120Hz monitors are actually capable of 120fps. This means that our eyes are “recording”/”exposing” at least 30 fps maximum on average – but somewhat lossily, as a lot of frames are lost in the process (this is called Critical Flicker Fusion).

On the other hand, on-screen scenes become virtually continuous after 24 frames per second, below which the moving image becomes fragmented. As we know, the higher this number, the more continuous the movement.

On the other hand, the question might be legitimate, what is the purpose of 60-120 FPS in games, if the eye can't see it anyway?

Well, we have to look for the answer above, because our eyes are not the only organ that plays a role in vision. Although it is already more than 60 image updates per second, it is difficult for us to perceive much with our eyes, regardless, the information has passed through it and may have been processed.

At least several studies have proven that despite the amount of frames that are “imperceptible” and “invisible” to us, our brain actually perceives everything. Of course, we will not know anything about this, because this flashed image cannot be displayed for a very short time, but information about it “secretly” reached the brain.

In 2014, an ophthalmologist, for example He did some experimentsDuring which he demonstrated through high-speed cinematic recordings that a person can decode an image that flashes for up to 13 milliseconds. This equates to about 72 frames per second – according to science, this is the upper limit of our vision and visual perception that can still be filtered.

In fact, it's very difficult for a person to differentiate above 60 FPS, and there's not a lot of evidence or studies or any kind of valid research that suggests that 120 FPS in online gaming really improves performance significantly. . On the other hand, the information we see has entered, even if we cannot perceive it, so it is not at all impossible that the reactions of e-athletes will also be miraculous for this very reason.

via – Forbes, Healthline, Case keeper, PCGamer

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