3D-TV using depth-image-based rendering (DIBR)

This paper will present details of a system that allows for an evolutionary introduction of depth perception into the existing 2D digital TV framework [16]. In contrast to former proposals, which often relied on the basic concept of an end-to-end stereoscopic video chain, this new idea is based on a more flexible joint transmission of monoscopic color video and associated per-pixel depth information. From this 3D data representation format, one or more "virtual" views of a 3D scene can then be synthesized in real-time at the receiver side by means of so-called depth-image-based rendering (DIBR) techniques [11, 12]. This paper (a) high-lights the advantages of this new approach on 3D-TV; (b) describes a method for the synthesis of stereoscopic images using the concept of a "virtual" stereo camera; (c) investigates the efficient compression of 3D imagery by means of state-of-the-art MPEG coding standards and (d) derives an optimal algorithm for the quantization of 3D scene depth.