2D-to-3D conversion based hybrid frame discard method for 3D IPTV systems.

One of the main limitations for 3D streaming services on IPTV is network bandwidth mismatch due to the large size of 3D video traffic. It causes fatal decoding errors and mosaic-like damage. This paper presents a hybrid frame discard method to address the problem. The main idea of the proposed method is combining the selective frame discard methodology with 2D-to-3D conversion technique, which enables efficient utilization of the network bandwidth. In the proposed method, the frames to be discarded are selected after consideration of the support of 2D-to-3D conversion, the network bandwidth, and the inter-frame dependency relationship within a group of pictures (GOPs). The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method enhances the media quality of 3D video streaming even in bad network conditions. The proposed method is expected to be practically utilized in 3D IPTV system.