Low bandwidth stereoscopic image encoding and transmission

Encoding 3D information using depth maps is quickly becoming the dominant technique for rendering high quality stereoscopic images. This paper describes how depth maps can be highly compressed and transmitted alongside 2D images with minimal additional bandwidth. The authors have previously described a rapid 2D to 3D conversion system for generating depth maps. This system, which relies on Machine Learning algorithms, effectively encodes the relationships between a 2D source image and the associated depths of objects within the image. These relationships, which are expressed in terms of the colour and position of objects, may be exploited to provide an effective compression mechanism. This paper describes the practical implementation of this technology in an integrated 2D to 3D conversion system. We demonstrate the advantages of the encoding scheme relative to other industry standard compression techniques,: examining issues relating to bandwidth, decoding performance and the effect of compression artifacts on stereoscopic image quality.