Semi-automatic 2D-to-3D video conversion based on depth propagation from key-frames

In this paper, we propose a new two-pass bi-directional keyframe depth propagation algorithm for semi-automatic 2D-to-3D video conversion. First, key-frames are selected from each video shot based on color compensation errors. Depths for key-frames are then manually assigned or rendered by using popular computer tools, which are then propagated to non-key-frames bounded by a pair of front and rear key-frames. Our two-pass bidirectional procedure is advantageous in solving the background occlusion/dis-occlusion problems that degrade traditional depth propagation Experiments show that our algorithm is capable of achieving better results in both subjective and objective evaluations.