Reducing sparkle artifacts with low brightness filtering

A circuit for reducing sparkle artifacts in a liquid crystal imager, comprising:

• means for dividing a video signal for a picture into a higher brightness level signal and a lower brightness level signal;
• means for low pass filtering said lower brightness level signal;
• means for delaying said higher brightness level signal to match a processing delay incurred by said low pass filtering;
• and,
• means for combining said low pass filtered lower brightness level signal and said delay matched higher brightness level signal to generate a modified video signal yielding reduced sparkle artifacts in said imager.

A circuit for reducing sparkle artifacts in a liquid crystal images, comprising:

• a decomposer for dividing a video signal for a picture into a higher brightness level signal and a lower brightness level signal;
• a low pass filter for processing said lower brightness level signal, said low pass filtered lower brightness level signal being delayed;
• a delay circuit for said higher brightness level signal matched to said processing delay in said low pass filter;
• and,
• an algebraic circuit for combining said low pass filtered lower brightness level signal and said delay matched higher brightness level signal, and generating a modified video signal yielding reduced sparkle artifacts in said images.