StereoImaging Corporation General FAQ
What is stereo?
These days most people think of 3-D as the effect they see when a video game has
a perspective view in it or a computer moves a "3-D" generated
object. This is not real-world stereoscopic vision, but just a
"flat" projection without true depth.
As in nature, the only way to achieve real three-dimensional
representations is through stereoscopy. A stereo image is made up of
two separate images, one for the left eye and one for the right eye. A
true stereo camera must have some horizontal separation between the left
and right images. That separation amount must be carefully chosen
so that the resulting stereo image appears natural to people. Note that
with microscope imaging, this offset is not the same as the
spacing between your eyes because of the optics involved.
Our goal is to calibrate our systems so that the stereo image is natural
and not extreme, like some 3-D movies, which have "in your
lap" type of scenes. Extreme 3-D is okay for a quick shot in
a movie, but would be tiring for regular use.
How does your video work?
Our DentiMag3D™ uses high resolution video output. The system
generates 800x600 progressive scan video at 30 frames per second for
each eye. While people may be used to high megapixel counts for
digital still cameras, that is not the case for video. Standard US
television resolution is equivalent to about 320x240. Much video
is also done in VGA mode (640x480). While we start out with the
800x600 video, because of the separate left and right images, the
horizontal resolution appears to be doubled. Also, the
psychological effect of stereo enhances the image even more.
You've got to see it to believe it!
What stereo format do you use?
Our system outputs frame sequential progressive scan video.
This means that a full left frame is output and then a full right frame
is output. The frames are not interlaced like standard US
television, but the whole frame is displayed at once. On a CRT
display, the frame rate is doubled to avoid flicker. On head
mounted displays or specialized LCD stereo displays, the doubling is not
necessary.
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