Extrafoveal Video Extension for an Immersive Viewing Experience.

Area of Science:

• Computer Vision
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Media Technology

Background:

• Immersion in entertainment is increasingly important, with Head-mounted Displays (HMDs) and cave systems offering enhanced experiences.
• Extending surrounding projection to conventional screens aims to fill the viewer's field of vision for greater presence.
• Existing large field of view (FoV) content capture is limited, and legacy content has a restricted FoV (36-90 degrees).

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the limited field of view (FoV) of legacy video content for enhanced immersion.
• To propose computer vision techniques that extend content to peripheral vision without compromising creative intent.
• To introduce a methodology for evaluating the quality of experience (QoE) and increased immersion.

Main Methods:

• Development of a computer vision algorithm to spatially extend video content based on human visual characteristics.
• Comparison of the algorithm's subjective results against state-of-the-art techniques.
• Implementation of a user testing protocol to evaluate the quality of experience (QoE).

Main Results:

• The proposed algorithm successfully extends legacy video content to peripheral vision.
• Subjective user tests indicate an increased sense of immersion compared to existing methods.
• The developed methodology provides a reliable framework for evaluating immersive experiences.

Conclusions:

• Computer vision techniques can effectively enhance the FoV of legacy content, boosting immersion.
• The proposed method preserves the original creative intent while improving the viewer's experience.
• User testing validates the algorithm's effectiveness in increasing immersion and provides a robust QoE evaluation protocol.