3D Video Coding and Transmission

The capture, transmission, and display of 3D content has gained a lot of attention in the last few years. 3D multimedia content is no longer confined to cinema theatres but is being transmitted using stereoscopic video over satellite, shared on Blu-Raydisks, or sent over Internet technologies. Stereoscopic displays are needed at the receiving end and the viewer needs to wear special glasses to present the two versions of the video to the human vision system that then generates the 3D illusion. To be more effective and improve the immersive experience, more views are acquired from a larger number of cameras and presented on different displays, such as autostereoscopic and light field displays. These multiple views, combined with depth data, also allow enhanced user experiences and new forms of interaction with the 3D content from virtual viewpoints. This type of audiovisual information is represented by a huge amount of data that needs to be compressed and transmitted over bandwidth-limited channels. Part of the COST Action IC1105 “3D Content Creation, Coding and Transmission over Future Media Networks” (3DConTourNet) focuses on this research challenge.