A system and method for controlling display characteristics is disclosed. The system and method can receive a control signal from a user interface and a video input signal. The system and method can filter the video input signal in accordance with a spatial frequency threshold related to the control signal to provide a filtered video output signal. The system and method can provide the filtered video output signal for display of an image on the translucent display and non-translucent display. The translucent display can be a head up display (HUD) and the non-translucent display can be a head down display. The user interface can be a brightness, contrast or combination brightness and contrast control.