[dbttdft]

> I'm sure half the folks here are viewing his example images on a 2012-era HD 1920x1080 LCD, which is definitely part of the problem.

I just looked at the first two images of the post.

First on two mid end LCDs: one ASUS IPS from this year and one BenQ TN from 2012, both 24" 1920x1080 (~91 DPI). The difference between the images is clear on both.

And before posting, to make sure, I pulled out a 15" 1024x768 (~85 DPI: basically the same) NEC TN LCD from 2002. And a NEC CRT roughly 15" viewable 1024x768 from 1998. Both on VGA connectors (so there is the typical noise from that, which still doesn't cover up the posterization). The difference between the images is clear on both.

All monitors viewed from 3' away.

People are simply accommodated to poor image quality, including posterization. AAA FPS video games display it on static art backgrounds in the loading menu, and I can never tell if they are intended. Show them a 240Hz monitor with 30ms input lag and 5 frames of overshoot artifacts and viewing angles worse than 1998, and they'll be wowed.