Stereoscopic image quality in virtual environments

The number of products capable of displaying stereoscopic (also known as 3D) images has been growing in recent years. The use of this technology has outgrown the silver screen and is now available in televisions, computers, tablets, and even cell phones. Due to its nature, content created for stereoscopic media requires attention in relation to some characteristics not present in the context of monoscopic media. With a focus on image creation, the objective of this research was to assess how different stereoscopic image generation methods can affect human perception. To achieve this a virtual environment was created and from it different videos were generated using various methods including converging cameras, parallel cameras, and depth image-based rendering (DIBR). These videos were shown to participants who assessed the picture quality, depth quality, and visual comfort of the media. It was found that there was very little difference between the perception of images generated by parallel and convergent cameras, while there was a substantial difference in terms of perception between these two types of image and DIBR images. Such results can significantly affect the choice of technology for stereoscopic image generation, influencing the production costs, the methods involved, and human and machine time consumption.