Consumer-oriented head mounted displays : analysis and evaluation of stereoscopic characteristics and user preferences

The increasing availability of advanced but affordable technologies is providing interesting opportunities for the development of ICT applications for the social good. In particolar, the upcoming diffusion of advanced Head Mounted Displays dedicated to the consumer market has lead to a great interest in the design and production of dedicated media, like e.g. immersive movies and Virtual Reality applications. These devices use stereoscopic visualization to enhance the sense of realism and immersivity in a virtual scene. However, a correct stereoscopic visualization requires an accurate consideration of different parameters related to the production and display stages. In this paper, we analyze the stereoscopic setup of a Head Mounted Display, in order to highlight its main visualization characteristics in relation with the known issues and requirements for a correct stereoscopic visualization, and to establish some preliminary guidelines for an optimal creation of stereoscopic contents.