Quality of Experience in a Stereoscopic Multiview Environment

In this paper, we investigate how visualization factors, such as disparity, mobility, angular resolution, and viewpoint interpolation, influence the quality of experience (QoE) in a stereoscopic multiview environment. In order to do so, we set up a dedicated testing room and conducted subjective experiments. We also developed a framework that emulates a supermultiview environment. This framework can be used to investigate and assess the effects of angular resolution and viewpoint interpolation on the QoE produced by multiview systems, and provide relevant cues as to how the baselines of cameras and interpolation strategies in such systems affect user experience. Aspects such as visual comfort, model fluidity, sense of immersion, and the three-dimensional (3D) experience as a whole have been assessed for several test cases. Obtained results suggest that user experience in an motion parallax environment is not as critically influenced by configuration parameters such as disparity as initially thought. In addition, extensive subjective tests have indicated that while users are very sensitive to angular resolution in multiview 3D systems, this sensitivity tends not to be as critical when a user is performing a task that involves a great amount of interaction with the multiview content. These tests have also indicated that interpolating intermediate viewpoints can be effective in reducing the required view density without degrading the perceived QoE.