P3D "Too much depth"

[John W Roberts <roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would like to recommend a change in the terminology used in describing
the amount of depth in a stereo image, with respect to the ways in which
various 3D enthusiasts have been using it on this list:

The phrase "too much depth" inherently implies a judgement call. To try
to set it by specific objective criteria leads to contradictions. For
some people, "too much depth" means "anything with more depth than ortho" -
to use the analogy of a home sound system, the volume should be set to
make a human speaker sound exactly as loud as they would be in person, and
any greater volume is excessive. For other people, the depth should be set
to the maximum that the eyes can fuse, and the only indication of "too much
depth" is an inability to fuse the image - for the home sound system analogy,
the volume knob should be turned all the way up, and "too high a volume
setting" is indicated by the knob breaking off in the user's hand.

I believe that many 3D enthusiasts feel that not every stereo image has
to be ortho, and also that not every stereo image has to have the maximum
amount of depth that the human eyes can stand. This large group of 3D
enthusiasts may feel that different images warrant different amounts of
depth, so that "too much depth" or "not enough depth" would indeed be
individual judgement calls, so I would recommend that these terms be
reserved for these purposes. "Ortho" already has a term to describe it.
I would recommend that we use a distinct term to identify the maximum
recommended depth for an image based on the disparity of the infinity
points of the two images (and therefore the ability to fuse). 

As John B. would point out on T3D, there are also issues with the
setting of the stereo window, and with setting the near point of the
two images.

John R