About Stereo View

Stereopsis, or stereo view, generates a 3-D effect by displaying two scene images taken from slightly different angles. Stereo view can be achieved with a 2-D display by computing and channeling separate images to the left and right eye. A popular mechanism for implementing stereo view is multiplexing left and right images. In this system, left and right images display alternately in rapid succession. To create the proper effect, one eye's view is restricted while the other eye's view is displayed.

To take advantage of stereo view functionality, you must have an application that supports stereo view and uses an application programming interface (API) that can send stereo data to the hardware. In the case of DirectDraw, two surfaces are created and tracked as a single stereo pair of images. In addition, the graphics chip or card manufacturer must supply capable hardware and a stereo-aware driver. Finally, a stereo display manufacturer must provide the stereo display device.

There are a wide variety of stereo display devices available, including simple red and blue cardboard glasses, liquid crystal display (LCD) shutter glasses, and complex auto-stereographic displays. Each device requires a different combination of hardware and software components, so it is difficult to support a single stereo view solution. As a result, you must implement DirectDraw stereo view with graphics display drivers that are display-device dependent.

Each stereo display device should be coupled with a graphics card. The graphics card's driver must handle device-specific memory layouts and scan requirements. Scan requirements might include synchronizing to the display. For example, shutter glasses present the left image when the left shutter is open and the right image when the right shutter is open.