Unlocking Higher Fidelity in Virtual Reality: The Power of Display Stream Compression

Summary

Virtual reality (VR) technology has come a long way since its inception, with each iteration building on past successes and lessons. One of the key challenges in achieving higher fidelity in VR experiences is the increasing bandwidth requirement as resolutions rise. Display Stream Compression (DSC) is an industry-wide standard that offers a solution to this problem by providing visually lossless compression with minimal latency. This article explores how DSC enables higher resolution VR experiences and its significance in the VR industry.

The Challenge of Higher Resolutions in VR

The ultimate goal of VR technology is to achieve human eye visual acuity, which requires higher resolutions. However, with each increase in resolution, the bandwidth requirement also increases. For instance, a future-generation head-mounted display (HMD) with 4000 x 4000 resolution per eye, 90Hz refresh rate, and 24 bits per pixel of color would generate 69Gbps of bandwidth. This is well beyond the maximum 25.9Gbps supported in DisplayPort (DP) 1.4a.

What is Display Stream Compression?

DSC is an industry-wide standard for video interfaces that features extremely low latency and visually lossless compression. It has been integrated into standards used for embedded display interfaces within mobile systems and display protocols for TV and monitors. Since its initial introduction in April 2014, the DSC standard has achieved broad adoption in smartphones and tablets and will be used in future notebook PCs.

How DSC Enables Higher Fidelity in VR

The NVIDIA VRWorks DSC SDK provides the needed bandwidth reduction for higher resolution VR experiences, with only minimal latency and no visual impact on image quality. NVIDIA’s implementation of DSC supports compression ratios up to 3:1 (including fractional values), and uses a compression protocol that is visually lossless. Applying NVIDIA DSC to the above example reduces the display bandwidth from 69Gbps to 23Gbps.

The Role of DSC in VR

DSC is valuable to VR because it enables higher resolution experiences without the need for increased bandwidth. This is particularly important for HMD vendors who are pushing the boundaries of VR technology. With DSC, HMD vendors can create ultra-high-resolution HMDs that deliver premium-grade VR experiences.

How HMD Vendors Can Utilize DSC

NVIDIA’s Turing architecture was the first to support DSC, and it is available to application developers now in VRWorks Graphics SDK v3.4. To enable DSC support in the HMD, the VRWorks DirectMode API is available to approved HMD vendors. This means that HMD vendors can integrate DSC into their products, enabling higher resolution VR experiences.

The Future of VR

The future of VR is exciting, with advancements in haptic feedback, sensory integration, and untethered and wireless VR providing greater freedom of movement. DSC plays a crucial role in this future, enabling higher resolution VR experiences that are more immersive and engaging.

How DSC Works

DSC works by compressing the display stream, reducing the bandwidth requirement for higher resolution VR experiences. This compression is visually lossless, meaning that it does not affect the image quality. The compression ratio can be up to 3:1, including fractional values, which provides a significant reduction in bandwidth.

Benefits of DSC

The benefits of DSC are numerous, including:

  • Higher resolution VR experiences: DSC enables higher resolution VR experiences without the need for increased bandwidth.
  • Visually lossless compression: DSC’s compression protocol is visually lossless, meaning that it does not affect the image quality.
  • Minimal latency: DSC’s compression protocol has minimal latency, ensuring that the VR experience is not affected.

Applications of DSC

DSC has a wide range of applications in the VR industry, including:

  • HMDs: DSC can be integrated into HMDs, enabling higher resolution VR experiences.
  • VR applications: DSC can be used in VR applications, reducing the bandwidth requirement for higher resolution VR experiences.
  • Gaming: DSC can be used in gaming, enabling higher resolution VR experiences with minimal latency.

The Role of NVIDIA in DSC

NVIDIA has been at the forefront of powering high-fidelity VR experiences and optimizing for new technologies like DSC. The NVIDIA VRWorks DSC SDK provides the needed bandwidth reduction for higher resolution VR experiences, with only minimal latency and no visual impact on image quality. NVIDIA’s implementation of DSC supports compression ratios up to 3:1 (including fractional values), and uses a compression protocol that is visually lossless.

The Future of DSC

The future of DSC is exciting, with its potential to enable even higher resolution VR experiences. As VR technology continues to evolve, DSC will play a crucial role in delivering premium-grade VR experiences that are more immersive and engaging. With its visually lossless compression and minimal latency, DSC is the perfect solution for HMD vendors who are pushing the boundaries of VR technology.

Conclusion

Display Stream Compression is a game-changer for the VR industry, enabling higher resolution experiences without the need for increased bandwidth. With its visually lossless compression and minimal latency, DSC is the perfect solution for HMD vendors who are pushing the boundaries of VR technology. As VR continues to evolve, DSC will play a crucial role in delivering premium-grade VR experiences that are more immersive and engaging.