Stereoscopic displays: Conclusion and outlook
2023-02-20
Conclusion
In summary, it can be said that all of the stereoscopic processes presented bring with them both significant advantages and, in some cases, considerable disadvantages, and that it is therefore always necessary to make a precise assessment depending on the specific application.
The anaglyph process, for example, is particularly simple and thus inexpensive to implement with today's color displays, but it can also only provide good-quality black-and-white representations 5 / 21 / 31 and can hence be described as obsolete apart from demonstration purposes. With the shutter process, on the other hand, color reproduction is possible without loss of image quality, which makes it the best process in terms of quality, but it is based on a complex and thus error-prone synchronization of the glasses with the display system 5 / 21 as well as high operating costs due to the active and thus comparatively expensive glasses, which make it unprofitable in the long term for commercial use despite lower acquisition costs 5 .
This disadvantage of the expensive consumable material is bypassed by the equally color-capable and qualitatively good polarization filter process through the use of passive glasses based only on optical conditions 5 . However, the acquisition costs are higher due to the necessity of two projectors and a special metal screen 5 / 21 / 31 or, in the case of screens, the halving of the effective resolution of an axis must be accepted 5 / 31 . On the positive side, the last described methods of autostereoscopy completely avoid the use of glasses, but due to the necessary trade-off between low comfort and poor display quality 5 / 21 / 31 they provide only an insufficient result for the consumer market.
This means that stereoscopic displays have only been able to establish themselves in a narrow area. The main area is commercial use in cinemas, where the polarization filter process has established itself due to the low-cost glasses, whose costs as consumables influence the profit margin with every ticket 5 .
Finally, it should be noted that this paper is only a small glimpse into the incredibly broad world of stereoscopic processes and that equally essential aspects such as the sensible design of content or the concepts behind occurring perception problems such as the frequently criticized confusion or headaches have not been dealt with in any detail in favor of the depth of the topics discussed.
Outlook
In the last 10 to 15 years, therefore, the commercially profitable and thus dominant processes have crystallized out, which has led to research into new methods almost completely falling silent. This means that it is currently more likely that existing technologies will be improved iteratively than that drastic revolutions will take place in this area.
In addition, much content does not come close to exhausting the possibilities of existing 3D technology, which is due to the complexity of good mastering and thus high production costs, and explains the low interest of the public due to low added value for consumers of the content 6 / 24 . However, following the inverse principle, a flood of very good quality content could make the known processes more attractive again and thus revive the topic.
Also with regard to the development and establishment of virtual or augmented realities (VR or AR), there is per se a gigantic potential of stereoscopic content. In these applications, however, rather corresponding headsets, which directly address the eyes with separate displays and thus circumvent many of the presented problems, are used5, which is why a renewed golden age of the described technologies is unlikely here as well. However, stereoscopy itself is anything but dead and is likely to experience a (renewed) renaissance as VR/AR matures.