Perceptual quality assessment of HEVC main profile depth map compression for six degrees of freedom virtual reality video

The last years have shown significant advances in immersive media. Virtual reality video, in the form of spherical panoramic video, is already widely available. Such technologies will continually evolve towards the ultimate goal of a truly virtual reality experience. The first step in this direction is the support of limited translational head movement for restricted six degrees of freedom virtual reality video. This experience can be achieved by rendering virtual viewports from supplementary depth information. In this context, this paper investigates the effect of depth map compression on the perceptual quality of immersive media. The presented study is focused on near-future applications with readily available hardware. Objective quality assessments indicate possible bit rate savings of 17% through high-quality depth maps. However, these findings could not be confirmed subjectively. On the contrary, subjective evaluation shows a robustness to low-quality depth maps when viewed in a virtual reality scenario.