Recently virtual reality (VR) applications are shifting from professional use cases to more entertainment-centered approaches. Therefore aesthetic aspects in virtual environments gain in relevance. This paper examines the influence of different color determining parameters on user perception habits between head mounted displays (HMD) and computer screens. We conducted an empirical study with 50 persons that were asked to adjust the color temperature, saturation and contrast according to their personal preferences using a HMD as well as a computer screen, respectively. For cross validation we tested a second user group of 36 persons that were asked to adjust the color temperature exclusively. By using a set of five different panorama images-each of them representing an exemplary scenario-we have found that color perception differs significantly. This depends on the used output device as well as gender: i.e. females preferred a significantly colder color scheme in VR compared to their preferences on the computer screen. Furthermore they also chose a significant colder color scheme on the HMD compared to their male counterparts. Our findings demonstrate that content created for conventional screens can not simply be transferred to immersive virtual environments but for optimal results needs reevaluation of its visual aesthetics.

1. Matthias Wölfel & Joey Schubert
ColorPreference
DifferencesBetween
HMDandPC
Andreas Siess, Matthias Wölfel & Nico Häffner

2. Motivation
Working Desk/Screen
 the place where VR is designed
 the place what consumers are
used to (TV, PC, handheld, …)
vs.
Head Mounted Display
 the place where VR is consumed
 the place consumers have no
experience

3. Field of View

4. Field of View
Samsung Gear
Google Cardboard (100°)
Oculus Rift
HTC Vive (110°)
Binoculars (6)°
PC Screen (20)°
TV (40)°

5. HTC Vive & Oculus Rift (110°)
Samsung Gear
Google Cardboard
(100°)
TV (40°)
PC Screen (20°)

6. Titelmasterfor
mat durch
Klicken
bearbeiten
Warning
We have a different
field of views for
different colors.
Color perception varies
with the angle the light
hits the eye.

7. Color Perception
What is the influence
of the output medium
to visual perception?
Typical HMD Field of View

8. Color Perception
monochrome
monochrome
+ blue
monochrome
+ blue
+ yellow
monochrome
+ blue
+ yellow
+ red
monochrome
+ blue
+ yellow
+ red
+ green
monochrome

9. Test scenes
Built with Unity 3D
Sphere with inner texture
Normals inverted
spectator

10. Hierarchy of Genres
 Introduced through André Félibien in 1669
 Since then used as a general categorization for genres in art (painting)
genre portrait history landscape still life

11. Hierarchy of Genres: 360° Photography
genre portrait history landscape still life

12. Image Capturing
 hi-res, color-consistent, HDR
shooting
 Camera: Nikon D800E, Nikkor 14-
24mm f/2.8
 tools: Kolor Autopano Giga,
Roundabout-NP, Spyder CUBE
 5 locations in Germany

13. Genre
captured with 8K resolution as 32bit HDR

14. History
captured with 8K resolution as 32bit HDR

15. Landscape
captured with 8K resolution as 32bit HDR

16. Portrait
captured with 8K resolution as 32bit HDR

17. Still Life
captured with 8K resolution as 32bit HDR

18. Test Setup
Screen
standardized working desk (DIN)
input method: mouse & keyboard
mouse: rotate camera
keyboard: adjust parameters

19. Test Setup
HeadMountedDisplay
HTC VIVE, „standing only setup“
input method: Xbox Controller & HMD
HMD: rotate camera
controller: adjust parameters

20. Setup (Test 1)
 randomized starting parameters
 randomized order (start with HMD or PC)
 three free parameters to adjust
 temperature in steps of 100K from 1.000K up to 10.000K
 contrast as root mean square
 saturation in granular steps of 0,001 from 0 to 1

21. Setup (Test 1)
temperature
contrast
saturation
lowest extrema neutral highest extrema

22. Color Calibration
Because headset is not suitable for standard calibration tools we use
a DSLR with macro lens as calibration tool to ensure
 uniform brightness
 consistent color rendition
by using a “middle gray” and the used five test images
22

23. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
1. Quartal 2. Quartal
22 28
Participants (Test 1)
61% VR experienced
mean age: 24
73% VR experienced
mean age: 23

24. 0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
Genre
History
LandscapePortrait
Still life Female Monitor
Female HMD
Male Monitor
Male HMD
Saturation (Test 1)

25. 0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Genre
History
LandscapePortrait
Still life Female Monitor
Female HMD
Male Monitor
Male HMD
Contrast (Test 1)

26. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Genre
History
LandscapePortrait
Still life Female Monitor
Female HMD
Male Monitor
Male HMD
Color Temperature (Test 1)

27. 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Genre
History
Landscape
Portrait
Still life
Male
Female
Color Temperature (Test 1)
Cohan‘s d for Monitor vs HMD
Cohan‘s
d
irrelevant relevant

28. Results (Test 1)
There are significant differences in color preferences between HMD
and PC screen in respect to gender:
 contrast shows limited effect
 saturation shows medium effect
 color temperature shows the most pronounced differences
2nd Test: Verify results by adjusting only the temperature.

29. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
1. Quartal 2. Quartal
20 16
Participants (Test 2)
54% VR experienced
mean age: 36
60% VR experienced
mean age: 36

30. Setup (Test 2)
temperature
lowest extrema neutral highest extrema
 randomized starting parameters
 randomized order (start with HMD or PC)
 one free parameters to adjust
 temperature in steps of 100K from 1.000K up to 10.000K

31. Color Temperature (Test 2)
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
11000
Genre
History
LandscapePortrait
Still Life
Female Monitor
Female VR
Male Monitor
Male VR

32. Cohan‘s
d
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Genre
History
Landscape
Portrait
Still life
male
female
Color Temperature (Test 2)
Cohan‘s d for Monitor vs HMD
irrelevant relevant

33. Test 2: Comparison
scenario: portrait
original
photography

34. Test 2: Comparison
scenario: landscape
original
photography

35. Test 2: Comparison
scenario: genre
original
photography

36. Test 2: Comparison
scenario: history
original
photography

37. Test 2: Comparison
scenario: still life
original
photography

38. Conclusions
 content produced on standard hardware (i.e. desktop PC) needs tweaking
if it wants to tap the full potential of VR
 color correction needs to be aware of the desired target group
 females prefer colder color schemes for HMDs compared to PC screens
 males tend to prefer the opposite: slightly warmer colors compared to
their preference for PC screens

39. Thank you!
Questions?