IBC to deliver transatlantic HD stereoscopic 3-D broadcast at DVinfo.net

Chris Hurd · August 7th, 2008, 01:02 PM

The following is a press release:
------------------------------

More than 1000 delegates will witness a historic transatlantic interview conducted in HD stereoscopic 3-D during IBC2008.

Elizabeth Daley, professor and dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, will speak with DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Sunday, Sept. 14. Los Angeles-based 3Ality Digital will be shoot the interview with multicamera stereoscopic equipment and package it for delivery by satellite service company Arqiva to Amsterdam.

Three-dimensional movies have grown in popularity at cinemas, multiplying box office revenues in 3-D-equipped theaters, but live transmission has remained a challenge.

According to 3Ality CEO Steven Schklair, a particularly difficult requirement of transmitting a live event in stereoscopic 3-D is keeping the parallel signals needed to create the 3-D illusion in perfect synchronization. “That’s a special challenge over satellite links where atmospheric conditions can be problematic,” he said.

To overcome the challenges, 3Ality has developed a solution in which the 3-D signals are multiplexed into a single 2-D signal for transmission, he explained. At the receiving end, the 2-D signal is unwrapped into a 3-D picture. According to Schklair, his company has used this technique in the past, but never over a long, international link.

The interview will be shot with two 3Ality-developed 3-D stereoscopic camera rigs. 3Ality has chosen to shoot the interview with two camera rigs to demonstrate that 3-D images can be cut and mixed live, he said.

Inside the RAI Auditorium where the 3-D interview will be screened, the 3Ality decoder will pass the left and right eye signals to Christie Digital Cinema projectors.

Those attending the presentation will be asked to wear a pair of specially polarized over-glasses from Real D to view the stereoscopic image. Real D manages the separate images with a special adapter that fits on the projector, which then transmits the left and right eye images through the glasses to the viewer, said Joshua Greer, company president.

For more information, visit http://www.ibc.org.

Tim Dashwood · August 7th, 2008, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

...According to 3Ality CEO Steven Schklair, a particularly difficult requirement of transmitting a live event in stereoscopic 3-D is keeping the parallel signals needed to create the 3-D illusion in perfect synchronization. “That’s a special challenge over satellite links where atmospheric conditions can be problematic,” he said.

To overcome the challenges, 3Ality has developed a solution in which the 3-D signals are multiplexed into a single 2-D signal for transmission, he explained. At the receiving end, the 2-D signal is unwrapped into a 3-D picture.

I think this is the key to the viability of Stereoscopic delivery on Blu-Ray or via cable/satellite. Sensio was displaying its technology for doing the same thing at NAB 2007 but they never really explained how.

I would imagine that for the purposes of the 3Ality presentation they are simply using time displacement to either stack left/right 720p30 into 720p60 or 1080i60/1080p30 into 1080p60. The real question is what encoding or transmission method are they using for the uplink?

I've often thought about how to do this for broadcastable compressed codecs and if it would actually work. If mpeg2 was used you might be able to "pack" a series of left frames together into one GOP and then do the same for the next GOP and so on. If the GOP were 6 frames it would look like L1L2L3L4L5L6R1R2R3R4R5R6 and then repeat. This would be done with frame buffers. I don't think a LRLRLRLR pattern would encode well into mpeg2 or H264.

Of course there are currently many methods to multiplex left/right video into a single file via software but I'm trying to think of a method that doesn't require Stereoscopic player and could be broadcast using standard methods and demuxed in hardware.

It will be interesting to see if a battle is to be waged over this type of multiplexing. Sensio vs 3Ality

Serge Victorovich · August 11th, 2008, 05:38 AM

Sensio method is "side by side" squized half resolution of L/R views.
Mitsubishi demonstrated DLP (SmoothPicture - wobulation of mirrors) 3D Ready RPTV
connected to BD player.

L and R on disc
------------------------

L 960x1080 | R 960x1080

------------------------

on display you can see L and R view as chekerboard pattern at 120 Hz
Need to have shutter LC glasses.

Same (side-by-side) for broadcast.
Need only Sensio decoder (chip in TV)

August 7th, 2008, 01:02 PM	#1
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	IBC to deliver transatlantic HD stereoscopic 3-D broadcast The following is a press release: ------------------------------ More than 1000 delegates will witness a historic transatlantic interview conducted in HD stereoscopic 3-D during IBC2008. Elizabeth Daley, professor and dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, will speak with DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Sunday, Sept. 14. Los Angeles-based 3Ality Digital will be shoot the interview with multicamera stereoscopic equipment and package it for delivery by satellite service company Arqiva to Amsterdam. Three-dimensional movies have grown in popularity at cinemas, multiplying box office revenues in 3-D-equipped theaters, but live transmission has remained a challenge. According to 3Ality CEO Steven Schklair, a particularly difficult requirement of transmitting a live event in stereoscopic 3-D is keeping the parallel signals needed to create the 3-D illusion in perfect synchronization. “That’s a special challenge over satellite links where atmospheric conditions can be problematic,” he said. To overcome the challenges, 3Ality has developed a solution in which the 3-D signals are multiplexed into a single 2-D signal for transmission, he explained. At the receiving end, the 2-D signal is unwrapped into a 3-D picture. According to Schklair, his company has used this technique in the past, but never over a long, international link. The interview will be shot with two 3Ality-developed 3-D stereoscopic camera rigs. 3Ality has chosen to shoot the interview with two camera rigs to demonstrate that 3-D images can be cut and mixed live, he said. Inside the RAI Auditorium where the 3-D interview will be screened, the 3Ality decoder will pass the left and right eye signals to Christie Digital Cinema projectors. Those attending the presentation will be asked to wear a pair of specially polarized over-glasses from Real D to view the stereoscopic image. Real D manages the separate images with a special adapter that fits on the projector, which then transmits the left and right eye images through the glasses to the viewer, said Joshua Greer, company president. For more information, visit http://www.ibc.org. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

August 11th, 2008, 05:38 AM	#3
Serge Victorovich Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 376	Sensio method is "side by side" squized half resolution of L/R views. Mitsubishi demonstrated DLP (SmoothPicture - wobulation of mirrors) 3D Ready RPTV connected to BD player. L and R on disc ------------------------ L 960x1080 \| R 960x1080 ------------------------ on display you can see L and R view as chekerboard pattern at 120 Hz Need to have shutter LC glasses. Same (side-by-side) for broadcast. Need only Sensio decoder (chip in TV)