Experiments on acquisition and processing of video for free-viewpoint television

The paper describes an experimental multi-view video production, processing and delivery chain developed at Poznan University of Technology for research on free-viewpoint television. The multiview-video acquisition system consists of HD camera units with wireless synchronization, wireless control, video storage and power supply units. Therefore no cabling is needed in the system that is very important for shooting real-world events. The system is mostly used for nearly circular setup of cameras but the locations of cameras are arbitrary, and the procedures for system calibration and multiview video correction are considered. The paper deals also with adoption for circular camera arrangement of the techniques implemented in Depth Estimation Reference Software and View Synthesis Reference Software.