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via newscientist.com
Want to enjoy the benefits of a super-sharp high-definition screen without buying a new TV? Simply tell yourself that you are watching HD and put up a few posters to transform your experience.
That’s one implication of a Dutch study into how people’s expectations affect their television viewing experience.
Sixty people in turn were shown the same video clip on the same television. Half were told to expect clearer, sharper pictures thanks to HD technology: an impression backed up by posters, flyers and the presence of an extra-thick cable connected to the screen. The other half were told to expect a normal DVD image.
Questionnaires revealed that the people who had been led to expect HD reported seeing higher-quality images. “Participants were unable to discriminate properly between digital and high-definition signals,” says Lidwien van de Wijngaert at the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands, who carried out the study with colleagues from Utrecht University.
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