2D to SBS 3D converter: see any photo in your VR headset
Your headset can show real stereoscopic photos — it just needs the right format. StereoGen converts any flat 2D image into a side-by-side (SBS) 3D pair that Quest, Pico and PC VR media players understand, with a cross-eye variant for viewing on a plain screen.
Try it free — no signup Free watermarked 768px preview. Full-resolution stereo pair for $2.99.
What side-by-side 3D actually is
An SBS image packs both eye views into a single frame: the left half is the scene as your left eye should see it, the right half as your right eye should. A VR media player or 3D TV splits the frame and routes each half to the correct eye. The small differences between the two views — the binocular parallax — are what your visual system turns into solid, touchable depth.
How StereoGen synthesizes the second eye
1Depth estimation
A depth-estimation neural network analyzes your photo and predicts the distance of every pixel, recovering the scene's structure from a single flat image.
2Second-view synthesis
The scene is re-rendered from a viewpoint offset roughly like the spacing between human eyes. Near objects shift more between the views than far ones — exactly the disparity stereo vision expects.
3SBS and cross-eye layout
Both views are composed side by side for headsets and 3D displays, or swapped into the cross-eye arrangement for free-viewing on any normal monitor.
Viewing your stereo pair
- VR headset: open the image in your headset's media viewer and pick the SBS or 3D side-by-side mode.
- 3D TV or projector: select the side-by-side input format in the display settings.
- No hardware: use the cross-eye version — cross your eyes gently until the two halves merge into a third, fully 3D image.
Free preview first, sharp pixels when it counts
Conversion is free to try: you get a watermarked 768px stereo pair and all of StereoGen's interactive views, including the Live 3D mode that runs in your browser through WebGL — handy for checking the depth on your monitor before you ever put the headset on. Because a headset magnifies every pixel across a wide field of view, the $2.99 unlock matters more here than anywhere else: it exports the pair at full resolution, drops the watermark and includes a commercial license. The same upload also produces anaglyphs, wiggle GIFs, parallax animations and a depth map.
Frequently asked questions
What does SBS (side-by-side) mean?
Both eye views are stored in one image: the left half is meant for your left eye, the right half for your right eye. VR media players and 3D TVs split the picture and route each half to the matching eye, which creates genuine stereoscopic depth.
Which headsets and screens can display it?
Anything with a media viewer that supports side-by-side stereo: Meta Quest, Pico and PC VR media players, plus most 3D TVs and 3D projectors. Look for an SBS or 3D side-by-side option in your player's photo settings.
What is the cross-eye version for?
Cross-eye swaps the two views so the right-eye image sits on the left. By crossing your eyes slightly until the halves overlap, you can see the 3D effect on any ordinary screen — no headset, no glasses, no hardware at all.
Can a flat photo really become true stereo 3D?
The second eye view is synthesized: a neural network estimates depth, then the scene is re-rendered from a shifted viewpoint. It is a reconstruction rather than a capture, but the binocular parallax is real, and most photos look convincingly solid inside a headset.
Why does resolution matter so much in VR?
A headset stretches each half of the image across a wide field of view, magnifying pixels far more than a phone screen does. The $2.99 unlock removes the watermark and exports at full resolution, which keeps fine detail crisp in the headset.
Your photo library, in stereo
Convert a favorite shot to SBS 3D, load it in your headset, and stand inside a moment you only ever saw flat.
Convert my photo to SBS 3D