A video-based rendering acceleration algorithm for interactive walkthroughs

We present a new approach for faster rendering of large synthetic environments using video-based representations. We decompose the large environment into cells and pre-compute video based impostors using MPEG compression to represent sets of objects that are far from each cell. At runtime, we decode the MPEG streams and use rendering algorithms that provide nearly constant-time random access to any frame. The resulting system has been implemented and used for an interactive walkthrough of a model of a house with 260,000 polygons and realistic lighting and textures. It is able to render this model at 16 frames per second (an eightfold improvement over simpler algorithms) on average on a Pentium II PC with an off-the-shelf graphics card. Keywords Massive models, architectural walkthrough, MPEG video compression, virtual cells, video-based impostors

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2000
• Where: MM
• Authors: Andrew Wilson, Ming C. Lin, Boon-Lock Yeo, Minerva M. Yeung, Dinesh Manocha
• Keywords: Large Synthetic Environments, MM 2000, MPEG, Multimedia, Video Based Impostors