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Apple Detection of Flashing Lights
- DavideNL 4y agoI wonder if this applies to all videos / video players on macOS, or just when using the Apple "TV" app, Safari, etc.
- mrpippy 4y agoPresumably this is the algorithm powering a new feature in tvOS 16.4: > This update adds Dim Flashing Lights, an accessibility option to automatically dim the display of video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected, and includes performance and stability improvements.
- cryptonector 4y agoNext up: sound leveling?
- madeofpalk 4y agoSettings > Audio and Video > Reduce Loud Sounds https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/tv/atvba773c3c9/tvos https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/tv/atvba773c3c9/tvos
- lotsofpulp 4y agoI wish it worked even better to reduce sounds and increase the volume of dialogue. Background sounds and special effects sounds are still so much louder than barely audible dialogue.
- varenc 4y agoI totally agree. I use ffmpeg's dynaudnorm[0] filter in mpv/IINA when watching media to better normalize sound volume. It's the best audio normalizer I’ve used. No loss of dynamic range within the target window duration. (~15 seconds by default, but I tweak it to around ~8 seconds) [0] https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#dynaudnorm https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#dynaudnorm
- t0mas88 4y agoIf you increase volume on the center channel while reducing overall volume the dialogue usually gets much clearer.
- c0wb0yc0d3r 4y agoIs there a tool that lets me analyze video and make this change, or does it generally require an audio interface? I find I have this problem with Chromecast and YouTube. I think I would be pretty happy if I could set up yt-dlp to grab video, assist the audio of needed and then play the video.
- pjscott 4y agoBless you. I appreciate this, and my mother who has some neurological issues related to auditory processing definitely appreciates it.
- kimburgess 4y agoR 128 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBU_R_128 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBU_R_128) already exists for that.
- jojobas 4y agoImmediate thought: knowing the algorithm, make a flashing light video that it wouldn't detect. Also reminds me of an epilepsy support forum that got hacked and defaced with flashing animated gifs back in 00s.
- smoldesu 4y agoWith implementations in... Swift, Mathematica and MATLAB. I would almost be inclined to complain if I didn't live in an age where I could paste the abstract into ChatGPT and get a version in my conlang of choice.
- Jtsummers 4y agoAnd without ChatGPT, what would you be complaining about? Just whining to whine when they provided 3 implementations and not 4?
- smoldesu 4y agoYou're right, I should be thankful they didn't use COBOL for all three.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Jtsummers 4y agoAgain, I'll ask, what's the complaint (in a ChatGPT-free world to go with your first comment) if someone provides implementations in only a handful of languages? What is your actual complaint or do you just enjoy making non-serious whining posts?
- smoldesu 4y agoNothing, I guess. I was only "almost" inclined to complain anyways, so I don't get why you see the reason to persecute me. The minor quirk that made me mad is that a FAANG company wrote something in 3 times but didn't once manage to choose a language people use. It's like if Microsoft open sourced their new autocorrect library for Visual Basic, C# and Excel - it's readily apparent why those languages would be chosen. So, nothing is wrong with it. I'm pissing and moaning about getting trolled by the big company again, because in this instance I think it's more intellectually stimulating than giving $FAANG_CO a consolation prize.
- dagmx 4y agoThis corresponds to new functionality in the OS updates today around dimming flashing lights https://9to5mac.com/2023/03/27/apple-releases-tvos-16-4-with-new-dim-flashing-lights-feature/ https://9to5mac.com/2023/03/27/apple-releases-tvos-16-4-with... https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mediaaccessibility/flashing_lights/responding_to_changes_in_the_flashing_lights_setting https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mediaaccessibility... For epileptics like myself, this is a huge deal. It helps me deal with a lot of media that otherwise might cause me to suffer a seizure.
- ar_turnbull 4y agoI was so happy and pleasantly surprised to see this feature come out today! I just spent the last week telling a client they can’t put their flashy new brand video on their website and still meet AA guidelines. I told them to do a Harding Test and get the company who made it to do the edits because WCAG doesn’t leave any wiggle room when it comes to potential seizures (rightfully so). Glad to see Apple leading in this front. These features aren’t sexy but they make a real difference in people’s lives!
- 3r3rni9 4y agoAre there any comparable tools or filters you find useful now? I have an old epileptic cat on my couch, and I’m always worried subjecting her to my horrible old anime. I was just yesterday thinking a filter like this was probably out there, and if not, might be easy to make. Looking for VLC plugins, though, I don’t see anything
- Kye 4y agoThis might be helpful: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/are-there-flashing-lights-or-images?yesNo=yes&type=23 https://www.doesthedogdie.com/are-there-flashing-lights-or-i...
- ar_turnbull 4y agoThere’s this chrome plugin for YouTube videos. It stops the video before trigger scenes so you might find it a bit interruptive depending on your (or your cat’s) sensitivity. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seizafe-epilepsy-alert-fo/goageegpmdbgenkgkhfhnnjmgmgboegi https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seizafe-epilepsy-a...
- gumby 4y agoI don't need this but I think it is awesome if it helps people!
- manaskarekar 4y agoThis is nice. It would be nice if apple also addressed PWM and Temporal dithering on the displays of their newer devices.
- bob1029 4y agoI see some pretty weird stuff on my M1 MacBook when toggling between extreme contrast ranges. Some days I wish I lived on the other side of whatever bell curve they use to determine how obnoxious time-domain techniques are permitted to be for humans.
- cryptonector 4y agoMe too, and by "weird stuff" I mean "nasty nasty headaches".
- QuibbleQuota 4y agoYes! I downgraded to an iPhone 11 when I finally identified Apple’s use of PWM on their OLED iPhones as the cause of my eye strain. No issues since.
- manaskarekar 4y agoThe only iphone that is currently sold that is not OLED is the SE (I think). I don't know what the upgrade path is beyond these.
- harry8 4y ago"not apple" seems like a pretty solid upgrade path if apple are actually (accidentally?) hurting you? How the hell that company has apologists given how incredibly cynical and miserable they are and have always been I will never know. "Wow, you can get away with that? How?!?" --Microsoft on seeing apple behavior.
- manaskarekar 4y ago
- neilv 4y agoNice! I've wanted this for years. Most recently, this last weekend, while watching a '90s broadcast TV episode. I'm not epileptic, but I don't like to take chances with things like that. And, maybe a few times a year, I'm concerned because I see someone doing rapid flashing lights, and it seems irresponsible.
- MBCook 4y agoIn the last two years or so there have been a number of thing I’ve watched (sorry don’t remember specifics) where I actively looked away because the flashing was just uncomfortable to watch. I explicitly remember thinking “I guess this proves I don’t have photosensitive epilepsy.” There’s a good chance I will turn this on just for comfort.
- another2another 4y agoThe 70's movie Dark Star even comes with a warning about flashing lights at the beginning, so it would be a great test case for this feature. And a great fun movie, so it's all gravy.
- 0_____0 4y agoGreat example of how investing in accessibility for specific groups has off-target benefits for lots of other people!
- aqfamnzc 4y agoThe curb-cut effect! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_cut_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_cut_effect
- voidfunc 4y agoYea I have the same problem with lots of flashing.. it just tires my eyes so much. I even struggle sometimes with walking past emergency vehicle flashing lights at night and need to look away because jeez my eyes. So far so good on the epilepsy front tho. Thankfully.
- 4y ago
- bob1029 4y agoIf anyone is curious how this actually works, I found the included Mathematica PDF to be the most helpful: https://github.com/apple/VideoFlashingReduction/blob/main/VideoFlashingReduction_Mathematica/VideoFlashingReduction.pdf https://github.com/apple/VideoFlashingReduction/blob/main/Vi...
- telotortium 4y agoAlso a higher-level overview: https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/downloads/Video-Flashing-Reduction-12.pdf https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/downloads/Video-Fl...
- tiffanyh 4y agoI’m not sure what’s more impressive, the research or simply that Apple has public documentation on something.
- steveBK123 4y agoMaybe Tesla could make use of this..
- dylan604 4y agoI don't think it works on stopping the blue and red flashing lights that come up behind you from using launch control
- steveBK123 4y agoI meant the crashing into fire trucks and other emergency vehicles thing
- dylan604 4y agoMine sounds more useful /s
- LeoPanthera 4y agoNot entirely relevant, but just as a point of interest, broadcast television in the UK has required this at least since the 80s. Most TV produced in the UK avoids it happening in the first place, but they have a filter in the broadcast chain that cranks down the contrast whenever bright flashing is detected. It's particularly noticeable when they show American movies - gunfire flashes are muted to an odd grey colour.
- ajb 4y agoHmm everything is based on the average normalised luminance of each frame. So if half the frame is flickering in inverse phase, it says there is no risk? That seems unlikely to me. Nevertheless a useful piece of code - glad to see it.
- dylan604 4y agoThis has been a thing for a while in the broadcast world. There was a piece of gear that could be used to create a report that could be generated to show that the content did not have the strobing that cold cause issues. It's been a long time since I've been involved to know the current specs, but I know platforms like iTunes, Netflix, et al wanted this as well. Disney was a stickler for it since it was a lot of animation and kid oriented, but I might be confusing my time with their broadcast tapes vs streaming masters. As far as I'm aware, if the content did not pass this test, it was sent back for editing vs just adjust some settings on playback. so this is interesting that it's a realtime levels adjustment
- ar_turnbull 4y agoThere’s an online test called the Harding Test that’s the standard now. It’s required for broadcast media in the UK.
- dc443 4y agoThere should be an option to control and limit the severity of flashing that is brought about with the flash light for notifications accessibility setting. I like to use it because I don't want to make my phone obnoxiously loud, because i can't hear its vibration, and I still want to get a chance to perceive the notifications, but usually the light is too damn bright and I do worry it could trigger epilepsy in innocent passersby. Having an alternative flashing behavior like a smooth pulsation would be excellent.
- amelius 4y agoThey should introduce this in their e-paper tablets. Page turns often cause a lot of flashes.
- inejge 4y agoApple has e-ink tablets? If you're thinking of e-readers like Kindle, a) most devices released in the past ten years have muted page turns with little or no flashing, b) even on very old devices, a page turn is a single gray-black-gray transition occupying a small part of the visual field, which is very unlikely to trigger a photosensitive seizure.