Abstract
A study was conducted with sixteen observers evaluating four different three-dimensional (3D) displays for usability,
quality, and physical comfort. One volumetric display and three different stereoscopic displays were tested. The
observers completed several different types of questionnaires before, during and after each test session. All observers
were tested for distance acuity, color vision, and stereoscopic acuity. One observer in particular appeared to have either
degraded or absent binocular vision on the stereo acuity test. During the subjective portions of the data collection, this
observer showed no obvious signs of depth perception problems and finished the study with no issues reported. Upon
further post-hoc stereovision testing of this observer, we discovered that he essentially failed all tests requiring depth
judgments of fine disparity and had at best only gross levels of stereoscopic vision (failed all administered stereoacuity
threshold tests, testing up to about 800 arc sec of disparity). When questioned about this, the stereo-deficiency was
unknown to the observer, who reported having seen several stereoscopic 3D movies (and enjoyed the 3D experiences).
Interestingly, we had collected subjective reports about the quality of three-dimensional imagery across multiple
stereoscopic displays from a person with deficient stereo-vision. We discuss the participant’s unique pattern of results
and compare and contrast these results with the other stereo-normal participants. The implications for subjective
measurements on stereoscopic three-dimensional displays and for subjective display measurement in general are
considered.
