Overview of the MVC + D 3D video coding standard

•MVC + D supports depth-image-based rendering for advanced 3D video use cases.•MVC + D decoder can reuse H.264/AVC or MVC hardware decoder implementation modules.•MVC + D supports package level bandwidth and device decoding capability adaptation.•MVC + D allows asymmetric depth to have different spatial resolution as texture.•MVC + D requires typically about twice the bitrate of 2D video coded by H.264/AVC.

3D video services are emerging in various application domains including cinema, TV broadcasting, Blu-ray discs, streaming and smartphones. A majority of the 3D video content in market is still based on stereo video, which is typically coded with the multiview video coding (MVC) extension of the Advanced Video Coding (H.264/AVC) standard or as frame-compatible stereoscopic video. However, the 3D video technologies face challenges as well as opportunities to support more demanding application scenarios, such as immersive 3D telepresence with numerous views and 3D perception adaptation for heterogeneous 3D devices and/or user preferences. The Multiview Video plus Depth (MVD) format enables depth-image-based rendering (DIBR) of additional viewpoints in the decoding side and hence helps in such advanced application scenarios. This paper reviews the MVC + D standard, which specifies an MVC-compatible MVD coding format.