Abstract:

The primary usage scenario for 3D video (3DV) formats is to support depth perception of a visual scene as provided by a 3D display system. There are many types of 3D display systems including classic stereoscopic systems that require special-purpose glasses to more sophisticated multiview autostereoscopic displays that do not require glasses (Konrad and Halle, 2007). While stereoscopic systems only require two views, the multiview displays have much higher data throughput requirements since 3D is achieved by essentially emitting multiple videos in order to form view-dependent pictures. Such displays can be implemented, for example, using conventional high-resolution displays and parallax barriers; other technologies include lenticular overlay sheets and holographic screens. Each viewdependent video sample can be thought of as emitting a small number of light rays in a set of discrete viewing directions--typically between eight and a few dozen for an auto-stereoscopic display. Often these directions are distributed in a horizontal plane, such that parallax effects are limited to the horizontal motion of the observer. A more comprehensive review of 3D display technologies is given in Chapter 15, as well as by Benzie et al (2007). An overview can also be found in Ozaktas and Onural (2007).