Anaglyph images represent the one of the easiest ways to view stereo images on the internet, since all you need is a pair of inexpensive red/blue glasses. For this reason, all my galleries include a basic anaglyph viewing option. Anaglyphs load fairly quickly, but it is essential that you disable graphics compression on your browser to get the best possible quality. If you don't, you are wasting your time! While anaglyphs are simple to use and require nothing more than a pair of cardboard glasses, there are lots of other options for displaying stereo images on your computer....

The JPS and PNS image formats contain both the left and right images for a stereo pair, properly aligned, in one file. This has several advantages:

• Internet browsers do not recognize the DepthCharge pictures as images and hence they don't compress them - a major problem with stereo images in "standard" image formats.
• Once the image pair has been transferred to your computer, you can dislay it in any standard stereo format - any type of anaglyph, pairs in almost any configuration, or a variety of formats for LCD shutter-glasses. The web-site only has to support one image format - DepthCharge - but you can view it as many different ways as you choose.
• Since the stereo image is reconstructed on your computer, there are no color distortions or other problems that can degrade its quality.

DepthCharge is a very slick and professional way to handle stereo images with the maximum possible flexibility. Even if you are not particularly interested in stereo viewing, it is a useful piece of software. On most stereo sites, if you aren't using a stereo viewing method, all you get to see are thumbnail images. With DepthCharge sites, the "preview" image is full-size and in full color!

You will be taken to the DepthCharge download page on the VRex site. Just follow the instructions for downloading and installing the plug-in. You can also test the plug-in using the VRex graphics pages.

When installation is complete, you will have two new pieces of software on your system:

• The DepthCharge plug-in, that activates automatically with either Netscape^TM or Internet Explorer^TM whenever you click on a link to a DepthCharge image while surfing the Net.
• A DepthCharge Viewer that will let you display DepthCharge images that you may have downloaded to your computer.

Once the plug-in has been downloaded, look for sites (including my Stereo Galleries) that display of one of these three logos:

Any of these logos signify that the site supports the DepthCharge standard for stereo image display. When you click on the link to an image on a DepthCharge site:

• A non-stereo version of the image will write down over the black area with the logo

• When image loading is complete, you will see a small icon of 3D glasses when the cursor is inside the image area.

• Click using the LEFT mouse button and the image will be displayed, full-screen or at maximum resolution, in a supported stereo format.

The first time you use the plug-in, it probably won't be the format you want, but that is no problem:

• Click on the stereo image with the RIGHT mouse button

• Use the LEFT button to click on the Change Stereo Method option.

You will now see a list of over twenty stereo display options! Given the display options we previously discussed, you should select one of the following:

• VR Surfer Web (SSDI) if you have the VR Web Surfer LCS glasses
• Color Anaglyph (Red/Blue) if you have the standard red/blue color glasses and want color analglyph display
• Grey Anaglyph (Red/Blue) for grayscale anaglyph display, or
• Pure Anaglyph (Red/Blue) for pure anaglyph display

When DepthCharge is first installed, the default stereo display is a side-by-side format. You can change the default viewing mode as follows:

• Click on START
• Click on PROGRAMS
• Double-click to open the DepthCharge folder
• Double-click on the DepthCharge Viewer
• Click on Preferences
• Click on Stereo Method
• Click on the desired format
• Close DepthCharge

Now each time you view an image, the default viewing mode should be the one you selected. If you are just getting started and are using red/blue glasses, I would suggest that you select Grey Anaglyph (red/blue) for your default stereo method. You can easily experiment with other methods while the picture is displayed, but coming up with greyscale anaglyphs as your default will give the best results.

If you are even slightly interested in stereo viewing on the Internet, you should get a set of LCD shutter glasses. This used to be a fairly expensive option, but VRex has solved that problem with their $30 VR Visualizer glasses!

The package, which will end up costing about $35 with shipping and handling, includes the glasses (A), a hand-controller unit (B), a pass-through video connector (C), and a complete CD-ROM containing the DepthCharge software and installation programs for the the latest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer. Installation couldn't be easier:

• Uplug the video connector for your monitor (D) from the PC
• Plug the passs-through connector (C) into the PC video connector
• Plug the monitor video connector (D) into the pass-through connector (C)
• Install two long-life coin batteries (supplied with the package) into the hand controller (B).

Once DepthCharge has been installed (if you have already installed the plug-in, you don't need to do it again), the glasses are ready to use. They are very light and comfortable to wear and the fit over eyeglasses without any problem. There are sample web pages on the CD-ROM to get you started and the instructions are very clear

If you have an up-to-date video card and monitor, DepthCharge will attempt to optimize the display for the best possible resolution, given the resolution of the image you are viewing. If your system is a bit older, it may have trouble with some of the display modes that DepthCharge will try to implemenet. I would suggest that, for optimum results on my site, you use the PREFERENCES option on the DepthCharge Task Bar to set the following defaults:

    (1) Under View - select Interleaved (Left first)

    (2) Under More Preferences - check all three options

    (3) Under Customize Display:

• Display - select Don't Care
• Advanced Display Options - select Always use... and scroll the box to 1024x768x24 (unless you have a older system, in which case you need to select 640x480x24 and accept a lower display resolution)

If you system can display in the 1024 x 768 x 24 mode, the result will be that the plug-in will maximize the picture display size and you should get all the resolution available in the image. Installing the glassses does not change  any other aspect of your system.

So, can a set of $30 LCD glasses deliver a real Virtual Reality experience? You bet they do! This is the biggest bargain you are likely to encounter and I have ordered several spares plus a set for the office! These glasses are highly affordable and using them is the next-best-thing to actually being there when a photo was taken! Pictures like the ones in my galleries, or the hundreds of other stereo galleries on the Internet represent just the tip of the iceberg, for these glasses also work with a variety of stereo video formats that can provide full color, full-motion stereo viewing via your computer. Believe me, it is a small investment that can take you Internet viewing experience to the next level.

Ralph E. Taggart (Gyrobee@aol.com)