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AdamL288
Up and Coming
February 16, 2014

Viewing stereoscopic images with Oculus Rift

Hi all,

Quick question I have been having trouble with for some time. I have created a scene using 3DS Max and set up an object with two cameras attached to it, corresponding to the left and right eye. If I set the cameras properties to have a FoV of 110 degrees and render the image from each eye separately, how can I then apply post-barrel distortion or what software can I use to view 3D stereoscopic images on the rift? Is there one for videos too?

Thanks,
Adam

    4 replies

    mouja
    Participant
    February 16, 2014
    There are many solutions for seeing them.
    My favorite is Stereoscopic Player.
    http://www.3dtv.at/products/player/index_en.aspx
    It's not free, but you can still look at pictures or look at 3D videos during a limited time with the demo version. The performance and compatibility with different formats are the best one for my taste. I'm just waiting for an head tracking or zoom in/out feature.
    jherico
    Inspiring
    February 16, 2014
    There are a bunch of different approaches to rendering stereoscopic images. I've created an example of one approach, rendering SBS 3D images (screenshots culled from VLC) with each half of the image being rendered to a different eye:

    https://github.com/jherico/OculusRiftInAction/blob/master/source/Example_4_4_Display2dStereoscopic.cpp

    If you have a pre-existing framework in which you're rendering 3D content that includes distortion, it's pretty easy to apply this by using a similar mechanism to render each half of the 2D images on to a surface in the 3D environment. Note the example doesn't apply distortion because that's not covered until chapter 5 in the book, but those examples are there as well.

    I'm also experimenting with using LibVLC to render 3D videos in a similar fashion, though for the moment I'm doing that in a java framework.
    Brad Davis - Developer for High Fidelity Co-author of Oculus Rift in Action
    cheerioboy
    Up and Coming
    February 18, 2014
    VR Player! http://vrplayer.codeplex.com/

    combine the two images into either an over/under -or- left/right single image file - and load it up, choose the right display settings and tada!
    zenman53186
    Participant
    September 24, 2017
    Just a comment on VR Player. Unfortunately, Norton AntiVirus flags this tool as a Threat and automatically removes it due to it falling under a "WS.Reputation.1" category (which means that while it doesn't show a specific threat, there have been complaints from the Norton community about the file). This means that I haven't used the tool (since I run Norton Antivirus).

    There are two other ways to view stereoscopic images on the Oculus. Neither is perfect and both required some minor effort, but both get the job done.

    First Method: The advantage of this method is that the tool interfacing with the Oculus is the Virtual Desktop tool, and does all the work. The stereo image display tool doesn't need to be aware of the Oculus. This method also includes head-tracking so you can look up, down, side to side on your image. Virtual Desktop allows you to increase or decrease the size of your virtual screen, and thus the size of the stereo image.
    Tools: Virtual Desktop (steampowered.com), StereoPhotoMaker64 (http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/index.html)
    1. The Virtual Desktop from Steam allows you to view stereo images in Oculus as long as the image is displayed full screen. The tool has commands to allow you to see a variety of stereo formats: Full SBS, Half SBS, Over Under, SBS direct, etc (these commands are in the "3D Options" menu on the "Settings" tab). The common JPEG stereoscopic image format (.jps extension) is a Half SBS format. You can view any side-by-side stereo image by displaying it full screen, then hitting the F6 key (Half SBS) to see it in stereo in Oculus.
    2. StereoPhotoMaker64 is a great stereo photo manipulation tool, and displays stereo images in full screen. This is only one of many image display tools that does this; any image display tool that displays the image full screen can then be seen in Oculus using Virtual Desktop. However, StereoPhotoMaker64 has functions that allow you to manipulate the stereo image for easier viewing depending on your needs (modify stereo separation, swap left-to-right, etc) which makes it convenient when viewing stereo images.
    3. So the approach to use is:
    - Bring up Virtual Desktop, and put on your Oculus.
    - Bring up StereoPhotoMaker64 (or any other image display tool). Display the image full screen.
    - Select the Virtual Deskop tool, and press the appropriate key for the image format (i.e. F6 for Half-SBS).

    Second Method: This method uses a dedicated stereo viewing tool that works with the Oculus, and so it is a little easier to use. However, it does not include headtracking (as far as I could determine), so the image shows directly in front of you and moves when you move  your head.
    Tools: Steam VR Oculus interface (www.steampowered.com), sView Stereo Image Viewer (http://www.sview.ru)
    1. Steam has a VR interface that works with Oculus. Many of the Steam VR applications will automatically bring up this interface when you run the app. You'll need to download and install the SteamVR app to get this interface. It supports the "Open VR" standard.
    2. sView is a tool that has been around for a while. It currently has support for the "Open VR" standard which means that it works with the SteamVR Oculus interface.
    3. So the approach to use is:
    - Bring up sView. Using the "File" command to choose your image. Hit the FullScreen button to display it in full screen (you won't see it in Oculus unless it is in FullScreen). Put on your Oculus and view the image.


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