Entertainment Technology Center @ USC

[by Walter Schoenknecht, TV TECHNOLOGY]

For many, references to “the cloud” are all too apt — an amorphous, poorly-defined fog that looks different to everyone who sees it.

But a cross-industry consortium has wrestled the cloud into submission to paint a vivid picture of the ways in which cloud storage will soon benefit content providers and consumers.

Monday’s NAB Show Super Session “Power to the Consumer! Here Comes UltraViolet!” assembled a cross-disciplinary team of interested parties to discuss Ultra- Violet, an initiative of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE).

The system, set to debut later this year, provides common paths, methods and tools for distribution of visual media across a range of devices, media and platforms.

Moderated by David Wertheimer, CEO of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, the session attempted to define and describe the UltraViolet project, a collaboration among more than 60 players from different industries.

One of the first goals of UltraViolet, Wertheimer said, was to deliver content in the ways consumers are most comfortable with. Richard Berger, senior vice president of Global Digital Strategy at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, outlined UltraViolet’s cross-media underpinnings: physical products such as DVD and Blu-ray Disc and digitally-delivered streams and downloads. “The good thing about UltraViolet is that we have something for everybody,” he said.

Wertheimer said consumers still have great affection for physical media, whether to assuage fears of format compatibility or simply to maintain their movie collections. As a result, he said, “digital sell-through” was a difficult task for distributors.

Mark Teitell, general manager and executive director of DECE, UltraViolet’s parent consortium, said consumers also resisted being channeled to a single purchase outlet, preferring to select their retailer of choice. Many were worried that a digital purchase in one specific format might leave them “marooned” if the device or platform faded from public use.

Christopher Allen, Best Buy general manager, described the challenges UltraViolet faces. “There’s still a passion for the entertainment experience; there’s still a passion for collecting,” he said. “But how do you bring the best of that ownership model that people like, and blend that with the best that the Internet and technology can bring?”

Scott Fierstein, senior director for Interoperability Standards at Microsoft, described the “pillars” the consortium chose as the foundation for UltraViolet: interoperability between services and devices; a consistent, predictable usage model across platforms; and a strong visual identity — a logo — that implicitly guarantees compatibility for both devices and content.

Fierstein also said that creating an effective, platform-agnostic digital rights management (DRM) scheme was key. “I think this is the most innovative thing that came out of UltraViolet,” he said. “From the consumer’s perspective, the technology is truly transparent.”

Tim Dodd, media vice president and general manager at Neustar Media, described consumers’ perception of “the right” to move their physical media purchases into the cloud for portable viewing. “I think that, for a while, we’ll be in a hybrid physical/digital environment,” he said. Bill Wheaton, vice president for digital media at Akamai Technologies, said that unauthorized download of content was a concern, but that the benefits of UltraViolet were, in themselves, a deterrent.

See the original post here: http://nabshowdaily.com/2011/WednesdayEdition/119188

Two of the world’s leading experts on3D, David Wertheimer and Phil Lelyveld, of theEntertainment Technology Center @ USC(ETC@USC) are available to provide analysis and commentary for the press at the NAB Show in Las Vegas on 3D, specifically 3D related to the home.

Wertheimer is the CEO and executive director of ETC@USC and Lelyveld is the program manager of ETC@USC’s 3D project. Both Wertheimer and Lelyveld have extensive backgrounds in the convergence of entertainment and technology, and have recently completed research on consumer adoption of 3DTV.

–

Link to coverage
Link to PDF

Sunday’s unveiling met with strong interest from the more than 500 attendees at the summit, which was co-produced by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Entertainment Technology Center @ USC, the European Broadcast Union and NAB.

–

Link to coverage
Link to PDF

Bringing together executives and thought leaders from major film studios, broadcast networks, and technology providers focused on the creation and delivery of cutting-edge digital motion imagery, the summit is co-produced by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at the University of Southern California, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

–

Link to coverage
PDF Link

The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits showed its easyDCP software, which runs on a standard PC or Mac and is designed as a simple system for the creation of Digital Cinema Packages. easyDCP and easyDCP+ (which includes stereoscopic 3D support) is now available. A version with hardware acceleration will be available in the fall.

Fraunhofer also showed its new DCPplayer, a JPEG2000 decoding software that enables real-time playback of 2K DCPs and JPEG2000 image sequences on a standard PC with Nvidia graphic card.

– TD Vision  showed integration of its technology with Magnum Semiconductor encoding chip sets. TD Vision reported it would enable Full HD 3D in real time at a bit rate that fits into a broadcast channel. It supports 1080P/60fps per bit.

–DVS is previewing version 3.0 of its Clipster post system. Scheduled new features include: The ability to create a 3D DCP, 3D timeline editing, and real-time full quality 4K decoding and debayering of Red material.

Japan-based research organization NICT may have been one of the most talked about stands at NAB. The research on display included: 

–A multi-sensory interaction system—for some NAB goers, this was their top demo. The user wears 3D glasses to see a virtual object. In space, one can “touch” the object and hear the object. Suggested future applications include museums and education.

–A floating touch display allowed one to virtually “play a piano.” Suggested apps include smart phone control, without requiring actual touch.

–A glasses free HD 3D display

–Interactive panoramic video technology.

–4K content capture

–A hologram (see separate post)

Panasonic is beginning development of a professional 3D HD production system, including a twin-lens P2 camera and a 3D-compatible HD plasma display. Concept models are at Panasonic’s central hall booth at NAB.

The P2 system is compact and has a non-mechanical solid-state construction.

Panasonic reported that the 3D system will be able to record two channels of full HD images on the P2 card.

The P2’s construction and compactness will also be incorporated into the company’s 3D image recording and editing equipment.

Pansonic hopes this production system will help to accelerate 3D content creation for the theater and home.

Exhibitors in the 3D Pavillion in the south hall included:

–The 3D@Home Consortium

–3Ality Digital, which is going to being selling its 3D camera rigs, as well as offer filmmakers a 3D production training and certification program

–3DTV Corp., offering 3D production services.

–ETRI, which demoed glasses free 3D on mobile devices.

–Qube Cinema, which highlighted its QubeMaster Pro software for the creation of 3D DCPs.

–American Paper Optics, which makes a variety of 3D paper and plastic 3D glasses, including anaglyphic, polarized, and ColorCode 3D.

NHK—hidden in the back of the north hall in booth 637–is continuing to demo its developing Super Hi-Vision 8k system, with 22.2 multichannel sound. Images in a theater setting include sunflowers, a river and the arctic. A broadcast demo features a look at the Las Vegas strip.

NHK received a special award at IBC08 for its developing Super Hi-Vision system.

At NAB, Japan’s national public broadcasting organization is also showing a prototype of what it calls “Integral TV,” a 3DTV system that does not require special glasses and can be observed as the viewer moves around.

Not to be missed is the NHK 1920×1080 3D imagery of the surface of the moon and earth, lensed from a lunar orbiter. The screening lasts roughly five minutes.

AJA introduced its first product aimed at production: The Ki Pro portable DDR.

The technology records files to the Apple ProRes codec directly from camera, and it was designed to allow filmmakers to skip the process of re-rendering to an editing codec.

Arri, Canon and Red have echoed support for the technology.

Said Arri’s Adrian Widera in a released statement: ”We are really excited about the potential of Ki Pro to streamline decision making on-set and in postproduction.”