screen door effect (SDE)

The Screen Door Effect (SDE) is an effect that occurs on displays and during projection. As the name suggests, on closer inspection the viewer sees the image as if through a fly screen.

With the SDE effect, the viewer sees an image artifact of small square areas, which is due to the pixel structure. Such an artifact affects the image quality and viewing pleasure.

The aforementioned image artifacts occur more frequently on displays with low resolutions. If the artifacts are disturbing, only a display with higher resolution can provide a remedy. In the case of projectors, the fly screen effect mainly occurs with D-ILA projectors and LCD projectors.