3D Data Representation, Conveyance, and Use

• US 20100309287A1
• Filed: 03/18/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Application Number:
  US12/727,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20100309287A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/467 characterised by the embedded information being invisible, e.g. watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/52 by predictive encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/597 specially adapted for multi-view video sequence encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding

Abstract

3D video can be transmitted in a legacy 2D video format by conveying 3^rd dimension parameters within a steganographic channel of the perceptual video signal, e.g., DCT coefficients, video samples (luminance, chrominance values), etc. The 3^rd dimension parameters can be coded as depth values, disparity, displacement, difference, or parallax values, including depth that is converted into X-Y shifts for adjustment to motion vectors in coded video sequence. To limit the amount of information for the steganographic channel, the 3^rd dimension information can be quantized relative to the depth from viewer and other prioritization parameters that limit the need for 3^rd dimension information to only aspects of the scene that are deemed important to create a desired 3D effect.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a receiving device coupled to a source of video data;

a display system for presenting rendered video data to a viewer;

a decoder for extracting steganographically encoded 3rd dimension parameters from the video data; and

a control for varying application of extracted 3rd dimension parameters to rendering of the video data by the display system;

wherein the system is able to render the same video data to yield different degrees of 3D effect, based on said control.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the control is viewer-settable, the control enabling the viewer to vary the apparent depth of the 3D experience in accordance with a viewer preference.

3. A method comprising;

providing video data;

generating 3rd dimension parameter data associated with the video data;

using a steganographic encoding apparatus to steganographically encode the 3rd parameter data in the video data; and

transmitting the video data, with the 3rd parameter data steganographically encoded therein, to first and second viewing systems;

wherein the 3rd parameter data does not define any one particular rendering experience, but rather enables the first viewing system to render the video with a first 3D effect, and enables the second viewing system to render the video with a second, different, 3D effect.

4. A method comprising the acts:

providing image data corresponding to a view of a scene from a first location—

such as from a left eye perspective;

using a steganographic encoding apparatus to steganographically encode second data into the image data; and

transmitting the image data, with the second data steganographically encoded therein, to a viewer premises for rendering of 3D imagery using a display device;

wherein a region of imagery represented by the image data has second data corresponding thereto, said corresponding second data comprising difference information—

rather than depth information.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the difference information represents vertical and horizontal spatial displacement data by which a view of the scene from a second location—

such as from a right eye perspective—

can be generated from said image data

6. The method of claim 4 in which said region comprises a square grouping of adjoining pixels.

7. The method of claim 4 in which said region comprises a video object, said video object not having a square shape.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein the difference information comprises delta value information by which luminance and/or color values of pixels in said image data can be adjusted to yield pixels with values corresponding to view of the scene from a second location—

such as from a right eye perspective.

9. A method comprising the acts:

coding 3rd dimension parameters into a format; and

using a steganographic encoding apparatus to steganographically encode the 3rd dimension parameters into corresponding 2D image signals.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the 3rd dimension parameters are separated into levels along a depth axis, and coded at levels of detail that vary according to depth.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the 3rd dimension parameters comprise quantized values, where the quantization is scaled non-linearly.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the 3rd dimension parameters comprise quantized values, where the quantization is scaled non-linearly along a depth axis.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the 3rd dimension parameters are coded for video objects according to priority of video objects, with a video object of higher priority having a greater number of bits associated therewith to represent 3rd dimension parameters than a video object of lesser priority.

14. The method of claim 9 in which the image signals represent a frame of pixels comprised of plural non-overlapping tiled square regions, wherein a first of said regions is steganographically encoded to convey N bits of 3rd dimension parameter data, and a second of said regions, having the same size as the first, is steganographically encoded to convey M bits of 3rd dimension parameter data, where M>

N.

15. The method of claim 9 in which the image signals represent a scene using an object-based representation in which each of plural non-square objects is separately coded, wherein a first object is steganographically encoded to convey N bits of 3rd dimension parameter data, and a second object is steganographically encoded to convey M bits of 3rd dimension parameter data, where M>

N.

16. The method of claim 9 in which the image signals represent a frame of pixels including plural adjoining square 2×

2 portions, wherein each such portion—

comprising four pixels—

is associated with less than four of said 3rd dimension parameters.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein each such portion is associated with only a single 3rd dimension parameter.

18. The method of claim 9 in which the image signals represent motion vectors associated with portions of imagery, wherein at least certain of the motion vectors are steganographically encoded to convey left- and/or right-eye displacement data.

19. The method of claim 9 that includes assessing visual importance of different portions of imagery, and allocating different bandwidths for conveying 3rd dimension parameters corresponding to said different portions accordingly.

20. The method of claim 19 in which the assessing comprises detecting a region of color to which the eye is relatively more sensitive, and assigning such region a higher visual importance.

21. The method of claim 19 in which the assessing comprises detecting a visually conspicuous edge region in the imagery, and assigning such region a higher visual importance.

22. The method of claim 9 in which the image signals represent several portions of spatial imagery, wherein a first portion has 3rd dimension parameters corresponding thereto, and a second portion has no 3rd dimension parameters corresponding thereto.

23. A physical medium conveying software instructions that configure a programmable computer to perform the acts of claim 9.