A scanning display device functions by creating “virtual pixels,” each of which is a function of the position of a biaxial mirror (or the positions of two uniaxial mirrors) and the magnitude of the signals that drive one or more light emitting elements (e.g., laser diodes) of a light source that produces a light beam that is reflected by the mirror(s). The light emitting element(s) of the light source can be pulsed rapidly to create each pixel in a high resolution display. A substantial portion of display power is consumed in supporting the data bandwidth to process and drive each pixel.
Conventionally, the pixel density of an image produced by a scanning display device is substantially the same throughout the entire raster scanned image. Thus, when there has been a desire to increase a pixel density of an image, conventionally the pixel density of the entire image has been increased, which can increase both processing costs and power consumption costs.