Process and system for encoding and playback of stereoscopic video sequences
View Patent ↗A method for decoding a compressed image stream, the image stream having a plurality of frames, each frame consisting of a merged image including pixels from a left image and pixels from a right image. The method involves the steps of receiving each merged image; changing a clock domain from the original input signal to an internal domain; for each merged image, placing at least two adjacent pixels into an input buffer and interpolating an intermediate pixel, for forming a reconstructed left frame and a reconstructed right frame according to provenance of the adjacent pixels; and reconstructing a stereoscopic image stream from the left and right image frames. The invention also teaches a system for decoding a compressed image stream.
1. A method for playback of video sequences on a display device, the method comprising:
receiving a stream of merged images, the stream comprising at least a first merged image, the first merged image comprising a pair of images being time-synchronized with parallax for perception of depth when displayed in a three-dimensional (3D) viewing mode;
transferring at least some pixels representative of at least some of at least one image of the pair of images to memory location of a buffer;
processing at least some pixels representative of at least some of at least one image of the pair of images to generate a first rebuilt image; and
outputting at least a portion of said first rebuilt image in one of a plurality of output formats for display on the display device, said plurality of output formats including at least one stereoscopic 3D output mode and a conventional two-dimensional (2D) output mode.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stream of merged images further comprises a second merged image, the second merged image comprising a second pair of images being time-synchronized with parallax for perception of depth when displayed in the 3D viewing mode, the method further comprising:
processing at least some pixels representative of at least some of at least one image of the second pair of images to generate a second rebuilt image; and
outputting at least a portion of said second rebuilt image in one of a plurality of output formats for display on the display device, said plurality of output formats including at least one stereoscopic 3D output mode and a conventional 2D output mode.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises spatial interpolation.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing increases horizontal fidelity.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the display device is a television and wherein each of the receiving, the transferring, the processing and the outputting are performed at the television.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first rebuilt image comprises a left image and a right image.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first rebuilt image comprises a left image.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
spatially filtering the at least a portion of said first rebuilt image to reduce flicker when the at least a portion of said first rebuilt image is to be displayed in a stereoscopic 3D output mode.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
repeating the outputting of the at least a portion of said first rebuilt image.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises decimating pixels.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the decimating selects only pixels of even lines.
12. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
time interpolating at least one of (a) at least a portion of the first rebuilt image, or (b) at least a portion of the second rebuilt image, or (c) at least a portion of both the first rebuilt image and the second rebuilt image, to generate at least one third image; and
outputting at least a portion of said third image for display on the display device.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the time interpolation comprises temporal interpolation.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the time interpolation comprises repeating the first rebuilt image.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least a portion of said third image is output for display on the display device in a stereoscopic 3D mode.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least a portion of said third image is output for display on the display device in a conventional 2D mode.
17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
adjusting synchronization between the outputting and a shutter glass unit to reduce crosstalk.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the adjusting comprises changing left-right frame polarity of an output signal.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the adjusting comprises changing a polarity of a timing signal sent from a driver to the shutter glass unit.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the stream of merged images comprises 24 frames per second and wherein said time interpolating increases a display frame rate to an integer multiple of 24 frames per second.
21. The method of claim 12 , wherein the stream of merged images comprises 30 frames per second and wherein said time interpolating increases a display frame rate to an integer multiple of 30 frames per second.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein said time interpolating comprises repeating.
23. The method of claim 8 , wherein the spatially filtering comprises:
evaluating a green level value of at least some pixels representative of at least some of at least one image of the pair of images; and
decreasing corresponding pixel colours proportionally when the green level value is above a certain value.
24. A digital display system for playback of video sequences, comprising:
a receiver operable to receive a stream of merged side-by-side images, the stream comprising at least a first merged image and a second merged image;
a processor operable to process pixels of the first merged image to generate a first rebuilt image, and operable to process pixels of the second merged image to generate a second rebuilt image;
a time interpolator operable to time interpolate at least one of (a) at least a portion of the first rebuilt image, or (b) at least a portion of the second rebuilt image, or (c) at least a portion of both the first rebuilt image and the second rebuilt image, to generate at least one third image; and
an outputter operable to output at least a portion of the at least one third image in an output signal in one of a plurality of output formats for display, said plurality of output formats including at least one stereoscopic 3D output mode and a conventional 2D output mode.
25. The digital display system of claim 24 , wherein the time interpolating comprises repeating at least one of (a) at least a portion of the first rebuilt image, or (b) at least a portion of the second rebuilt image, or (c) at least a portion of both the first rebuilt image and the second rebuilt image.
26. The digital display system of claim 24 , wherein the digital display system is a television.
27. The digital display system of claim 24 , further comprising:
an anti-flicker filter operable to spatially filter at least a portion of said first rebuilt image to reduce flicker when the output signal is to be displayed in a stereoscopic 3D output mode.