This page is devoted almost entirely to viewing stereo images on computer screens. If you need to view slides or stereoview cards, the link will take you to a page you can use.
Each stereo image in my galleries can be displayed in up to three ways
via "buttons" shown on the gallery montage. The stereo display modes depends on
which symbol you click. These display options are described below.
The Simple Anaglyph Option
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. 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! If all
you want to view are anaglyph images, this option will be faster and your views will be
slightly better than would be the case with either DepthCharge or Stereoscope.
These programs produce grayscale anaglyphs that are, in my opinion, somewhat too dark. The
stand-alone anaglyphs have been subjected to modest image processing to make them
brighter. The major limitation of this approach is that you can only display grayscale
anaglyphs (red/blue) in a single size. The remaining two options provide much greater
flexibility.
* See the 3-D Viewing page for more detailed information about the best options for glasses.
Stereoscope Java Applet
There is obviously no single solution to viewing 3D images on the Web! That presents a real problem for web-site developers who want to present stereo images on their sites. It might seem that you would have to post half-a-dozen versions of each image so that everyone could find one in the image format they prefer. Well, there are easier ways! One of the most innovative is a Java stereo applet, Stereoscope, written by Andreas Petersik in Germany. The applet uses the power of the Java scripting language to give you a wide range of choices for how you want to view stereo images on the Internet! As long as your browser is Java-enabled (most are), there is nothing for you to download or install.
What You Will See
How stereoscope functions varies slightly, depending upon choices made by the webmaster of the sites you visit. In the case of my galleries, here is what will happen when you click on the stereoscope icon to load one of my pictures:
- The screen will clear and a full-sized, full-color preview image will be loaded. How long this will take is a function of your Internet connection and the size of the preview image..
- If you are not interested in viewing the 3-D version of the image, this is as far as you need to go, for at this point you will be seeing the non-stereo version of the original image.
- If you want to view the 3-D version of the image, simply click anywhere within the preview image area.
- A new Java applet window will open as the stereo image is loaded.
- When loading is complete, again dependent on the speed of your Internet connection, the image will be displayed a a red/cyan grayscale anaglyph. This image can be viewed with red/blue, red/green, or red/cyan glasses.
- Once the loading and initial stereo display is complete, the tool bar above the image can be used to select a different stereo method, resize the image, or perform lots of other useful tasks (see below).
Learning More About Stereoscope
A complete tutorial on Stereoscope is available on Andreas Petersik's Stereoscope
web-site. In the unlikely event that your browser is not Java 1.1-enabled, the
site has directions and links to fix the problem.
DepthCharge Plug-in
The other major option for achieving multi-mode stereo image display is the DepthCharge plug-in from VRex, Inc. A plug-in is a piece of software you download and install on your computer. If you use the VRex link, you can download the DepthCharge package which includes the DepthCharge plug-in and a Viewer program. Once installed, whenever you go to view an image on a site that supports DepthCharge, the plug-in kicks in and let's you display the image with a wide range of stereo options. The Viewer lets you display images off-line and permits you to preset your viewing preferences when using the plug-in. DepthCharge is a slick and effective piece of software but the latest release has some problems and, in my experience, technical support is virtually non-existant beyond the information that is available in the documentation and on the VRex site.
When you click on the DepthCharge icon (assuming the
plug-in has been installed), here is what will happen:
To change the stereo viewing method, display resolution, or image size,
right-click on the stereo image and make you selection from the pop-up menus.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
In my opinion, the DepthCharge plug-in has become more
unstable and less reliable with every new release of Windows. DepthCharge
was my primary option for stereo image display when my site went on-line. Unfortunately,
VRex supplies essentially no technical support and I haven't the time to try to figure out
the many problems and work-arounds needed to keep things functional. Therefore, as I
gradually upgrade my galleries to higher-resolution images, I will no longer include DepthCharge
as a display option. Between Stereoscope and the basic anaglyph display, you
should have all the options you need and you can be confident that they will work on your
system.
Ralph E. Taggart (Gyrobee@aol.com)