Microsoft is working on a new patent that aims to bring unprecedented levels of control to displays. The new technology, called Pixel Luminesce for Digital Display, lets you micromanage every pixel on your display, adjusting brightness as needed. If and when this gets out of development, it could end up being huge for all kinds of use cases and could bring major improvements to some of the best gaming monitors out there.

The patent application describing the technologyfirst shared by Windows Reference, describes the new technology as something that would allow for selective dimming. With Microsoft’s new technology, you could decide that one part of the screen remains brighter while the rest remains unaffected, and this will happen dynamically.

Microsoft aims to achieve this by using something called an EM gate driver, which controls the brightness of each pixel via signals. The EM gate driver would receive input from a brightness controller, instructing it to send pulse width modulated signals to each row of pixels. This appears to be a simple “on” and “off” switch, which makes parts of the screen darker or brighter on demand.

According to information, these signals can occur simultaneously or separately, and their length determines the brightness strength of each pixel. Their timing, on the other hand, is said to affect the color of each pixel, potentially improving color accuracy. The Windows report also names power consumption as an advantage of this technology, because using pulse-width modulation can help the display save power.

It’s hard to say when this technology might hit the mainstream market, as it’s still early days. However, if Microsoft’s Pixel Luminesce becomes mainstream one day, it could be a huge improvement over the current state of things. Dynamic dimming should provide a more immersive gaming and movie experience.

Imagine a scenario like emerging from a cave in a 3D game, with the screen slowly coming to life in turn. Being able to run at a lower brightness could also definitely be helpful for power consumption, and possibly even the longevity of a screen. For now, we’ll just have to wait and hope that Microsoft moves forward with this patent.

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