Stereoscopic displays and visual comfort: a review

Abstract

Introduction If three-dimensional television (3D-TV) and its desktop counterpart for 3D gaming are to be successful, visual comfort must at least be comparable to conventional display standards. Technical choices and compromises made throughout the entire chain of stereoscopic image generation, transmission, rendering, and display can affect the overall visual comfort experienced by the viewer. In fact, visual discomfort associated with stereoscopic displays is often cited as one of the main barriers to rapid diffusion and customer acceptance of this technology in the marketplace. Numerous human factors studies have looked at elements of the stereoscopic imaging chain to assess and quantify their impact on visual comfort. Introduction of new stereoscopic data formats (e.g., RGB + depth), as well as increased commercialization of stereoscopic displays in both home and professional markets, motivated this in-depth review of empirical studies focused on visual comfort. Our aim is to assess the current state of the art, formulate criteria and scope conditions for visual comfort, and identify potential areas that could benefit from further study. Although visual discomfort is often regarded as a serious health concern associated with displays, it appears to be a somewhat ambiguous concept, with numerous and widespread causes, symptoms, and associated indicators. Moreover, it is often used interchangeably with the notion of visual fatigue. We define visual fatigue as a decrease in performance of the visual system, measured through, for example, the speed of accommodation of the eyes’ lenses. As such, it is an objectivelymeasurable criterion that is of particular value for ascertaining long-term adaptive processes of the visual system. However, to distinguish clinically significant visual fatigue from unproblematic, functional adaptations of the visual system, we need to incorporate a Figure 1. Limits of depth of focus (DOF) and binocular disparity for different viewing distances .