The geometry-image representation tradeoff for rendering

It is generally recognized that 3-D models are compact representations for rendering. While pure image-based rendering techniques are capable of producing highly photorealistic outputs, the size of the input "model" is usually very large. The important issues in trading off geometry versus images include compactness of representation, photorealism of reconstructed views, and speed of rendering. We describe our past work in modeling and rendering, and articulate lessons learnt. We then delineate our vision of an ideal rendering system.