A Study of Factors Influencing the Legibility of Televised Characters

Thirty-six volunteer subjects, screened for normal visual acuity, viewed televised displays during a one-hour testing session. There were 232 displays; each consisted of four characters (letters and numbers) of a given size and contrast condition. The study design made it possible to compare visibility across: (1) six viewing distances, (2) three viewing angles, (3) three figure-background contrasts, (4) four character sizes and (5) three time-segments within the testing session. Results indicate that no visual fatigue occurred, that black-on-white and white-on-black contrasts produced about equal visibility, and that characters subtending 10 min of vertical visual angle could be perceived with almost complete accuracy.

Print ISSN

0361-4573

Published

1959-07

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J13807