3DVG Report

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to a very fast and well organized response from Ken Dunkley, I now
have tried and observed the 3DVG effect he described recently.

I give the presentation an A+++!  The effect itself is something else.

I agree there is an effect. In some circumstances it is stereoscopic in
nature. However it relies strongly on one's imagination to fill out the
effect. It is not the same thing as a stereo image. (He never said it was)

The primary effect seems to be a bulge effect which makes the center of the
resolved area appear to bulge out towards the viewer. This resulted in a
very nice stereo view of the planet Earth from a magazine with a full page
picture of the Earth. However, when I move the viewer to the side of the
image, the side is now bulging towards me and the Earth is no longer 3D. So
the effect seems to be quite localized.

In another image which is a slick advertisement for VREAM's WIRL software,
they picture a computer monitor with supposedly 3D (2.5D) objects floating
out of the surface. The whole thing is set on a black/dark grey background.
There is a red spiral broken line starting at the bottom and expanding
around the monitor and up to the top of the page.

Most of the effect is very small for this image, however, I observed some
unique color oriented effects. The light colored monitor did appear in front
of the dark background when the edges are the center of attention. The
broken red line appears at the depth of the background when it is surrounded
by the background. This changed dramatically and stereoscopically where the
red line went over the monitor. It didn't jump in front of the monitor, like
is intended in the artwork, but it definitely appears in front of the
adjacent parts of the red line surrounded by the background. In other words,
it became discontinuous stereoscopically. I would say this red-line effect
was the most pronounced stereo effect I've seen with it so far. (1/2 hour of
experimentation) 

On the downside, while the small apertures tend to sharpen parts of the
view, they also significantly restrict and narrow the field of view.

His patent information describes the total lack of optical elements, but I
have to characterize the pinholes as an optical element in the true sense of
the word.

He poses three questions by which you determine if you've been successful in
seeing the effect. I think these questions could be revised a bit as they
are quite subjective and therefore not really determinative.

1. *.... clearest and sharpest picture you have ever seen bar none?* 

Not really... some things are sharper, others are less so due to effects
created by the small aperture. This is very subjective.

2. *Can you look all the way into a good scenic picture - like out to infinity?*

This actively calls for engagement of the imagination. Yes it works, but is
also very suggestive of what a person in doubt might want to program their
perception to see. Imagining the distance to infinity helps to give the
smaller stereo cues more credibility. It's part of why ordinary magazine
viewing after learning this effect seems to be much more 3D than it used to
be... I have a similar reaction to all 2D images after half an hour watching
the TV with pulfrich glasses.

3. *Does the picture truly appear to be stereoscopic?*

Here is the *acid test*. In his information he points out to look for small
details that tend to provide appearance of depth. I have to answer yes to
this question for many small details, especially where shading or dark/light
arrangement help the process. However, even when a picture has a number of
true stereo details, it didn't automatically make the  whole picture
stereoscopic. The suggestion of stereo in these small details is the basis
for building one's improved 3D perception from the effect. The red-line
effect was the strongest detail of this type and it stood up to close
scrutiny as genuine though localized stereopsis.

This is a fun viewing process to try out. I recommend people give this a
try. I plan to give 3DVG some more time and practice, then return the
initiation model of the viewer as requested. (very nicely made!!!)

Thanks Ken!  :-)

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


------------------------------