Perfieldofview

Perfieldofview is a metric used in display technology and vision science to quantify the density of perceptual information presented within a given field of view. It combines angular field of view with information content or sampling rate, providing a common basis to compare displays, rendering pipelines, or visual stimuli.

Etymology: The term is a compound of per, field of view. It is sometimes abbreviated PFOV or simply PFOV as a concept.

Definition and calculation: PFOV can be defined in two common forms:

- Information-based PFOV: PFOV (bits/degree) = total information content per frame (bits) / horizontal FOV (degrees). If a scene conveys 2048 bits per frame over a 128-degree FOV, PFOV ≈ 16 bits/degree.

- Pixel-based PFOV: PFOV (pixels/degree) = number of samples or pixels representing the scene divided by the FOV in degrees; useful for comparing display sampling relative to viewing geometry.

Applications: PFOV is discussed in VR/AR and display research to optimize rendering quality and performance. In foveated rendering, PFOV helps determine how many resources to allocate per region of the field of view to maintain perceived image quality while reducing workload in peripheral areas. It can aid cross-device comparisons by normalizing resolution against FOV.

Limitations: Perception is not determined solely by pixel counts or bits; content complexity, luminance, viewing distance, and viewer eye movements affect perceived quality. PFOV should be used alongside perceptual metrics.

See also: Field of view, Resolution, Pixel density, Foveated rendering, Perception-based metrics.