Characterization of auto-stereoscopic and polarization based 3D displays: a common approach

Abstract Even if auto-stereoscopic and polarization based 3D displays are not working with the same principles, their common aim is to provide two different images in the eyes of the observer. In this paper we show that Fourier optics instrument for viewing angle measurements can be applied to both types of displays. Luminance measurements are made at different locations and what will be seen by an observer in front of the display is predicted. Precise 3D characteristics can be derived and direct comparison becomes possible. 1. Introduction All 3D displays have the same intrinsic method to provide depth perception: the main idea is always to dispatch two different images in the left and right eye of the observer to provide the depth information. Even if many methods have been proposed to achieve this task, the two most common solutions already available on the market are auto-stereoscopic 3D displays and polarization based 3D displays. Stereoscopic displays require that users wear glasses to ensure left and right views are seen by the correct eye. For polarized based one’s the glasses include combinations of polarizers and retarders and a dedicated device is embedded inside the display to polarize differently the two views. On the contrary, auto-stereoscopic 3D displays do not require anything for the observer since different light rays are emitted in different directions to dispatch directly different images in the observer eyes. Optical characterization of 3D displays is mandatory to optimize their performances and to make efficient comparison between them. Recently we have proposed a characterization method for auto-stereoscopic 3D displays which is based on ultrahigh angular resolution Fourier optics viewing angle measurements and computation in the observer space [1-3]. This method is particularly efficient and provides quantitative parameters for easy comparison of auto-stereoscopic 3D displays with their Qualified Monocular Viewing Space (QMVS) and Qualified Binocular Viewing Space (QBVS), 3D contrast, standard contrast and color shifts, for a complete picture of such display features. The purpose of this paper is to show that the same type of characterization is possible for polarization based stereoscopic 3D displays using Fourier optics viewing angle instrument and dedicated polarization filters. Same type of parameters can be deduced and direct comparison of the performances of the two kinds of displays becomes possible.