News Stories

Simultaneous 2D and polarized 3D Viewing – Toshiba prototype

At the recent Integrated Systems Europe 2011 exhibition, Toshiba debuted a new LED wall technology. The prototype display was designed for use in either indoor or outdoor, stadium like venues. The unique aspect of the new display is that it presents an image that can be simultaneously viewed in either conventional 2D or passive, glasses-based 3D.

In a telephone interview with Charley Bocklet, Toshiba’s National Sales Manager for LED Display Systems, I was told that the technology underlying the new display is a result of a development program undertaken in conjunction with Chroma3D Systems Inc. (Cannon Falls, MN). To learn more, I spoke with Monte Ramstad of Chroma3D Systems, the inventor of the 3D technology.

In the new display, each pixel is composed of Red, Green, Blue and Yellow subpixels. A conventional 2D image is presented utilizing the RGB pixels. The depth information is presented utilizing the Y pixels.

When the display is viewed naturally, without special glasses, the 2D image appears almost completely normal. A slight, not overly distracting, yellow halo may be visible associated with portions of some objects.

When the user wears passive glasses, the image is perceived in stereoscopic 3D. One lens in the glasses transmits restricted portions of the red, green and blue spectrum and the other lens transmits only yellow.

In a display based on the new technology, the resolution of the 2D and 3D images is the same and the brightness of the images are similar.

At the ISE show, it was reported that, when viewed from a distance of greater than about 20-feet, the display looked perfectly fine in 2D. (The distance is a reflection of the LED resolution rather than the 3D technology.) In fact, Ramstad mentioned that at ISE, most people did not notice that there was anything different or special about the 2D image until they were told so. When the viewer put on the passive glasses, the 3D was described as having “a decent pop to it.”

This is not a new concept for Ramstad either. A number of years ago he was promoting a similar solution that used a projection system and an RGB and yellow 3D encoding scheme. That did not take off, but this implementation in an LED wall has more potential, we think.

The new Toshiba LED wall is not the first display technology with a claim to providing simultaneous 2D and 3D viewing. Such is the capability reported byColorCode 3-D (Lyngby, Denmark). There are, however, significant differences between the Toshiba and ColorCode 3-D technologies.

The ColorCode 3-D technology is based on a display having conventional RGB subpixels. The viewer wears passive glasses in which one lens transmits blue and the other amber.

Ramstad stated that the Chroma3D Systems approach produces an image with a wider color gamut and a “more comfortable 3D viewing” experience.

Toshiba has not yet revealed plans for deployment of display systems utilizing the new technology. –Arthur Berman

See the original story here: http://displaydaily.com/2011/02/18/simultaneous-2d-and-3d-viewing-cool/

New 3D Backward-compatible Broadcast DTV System Launched

3D Tile Format

A broadcast and technology consortium in Italy is demonstrating an over-the-air digital 3DTV system that is backward-compatible with 2D TV sets, according to one of its members. The group held a news conference last week in Turin announcing the implementation of the system in the northern Italian region of Piemonte.

Participants included Sisvel Profile, CSP Innovazione nelle ICT and Quartarete TV, which is now carrying the service that ostensibly allows “those with HD TV sets to watch 2D HDTV, even when the transmissions use 3D techniques.”

Sisvel said the backward-compatibility was possible “due to an innovative technique for formatting stereoscopic images, known as 3D Tile Format, which makes it possible to integrate two 720p frames within a single 1080p frame. The reconstructed right and left images maintain their original resolution, preventing an unbalancing of the vertical or horizontal resolution.”

The 3D Tile Format is said to improve the quality of the transmission of 3D hi-def content, compared to current solutions, i.e., side-by-side or top-and-bottom. The compatibility for regular 2D sets, allows broadcasters to transmit to both 2D and 3D users without having to double the amount of bandwidth required for transmissions.

“3D Tile Format technology introduces considerable benefits for the entire market,” said Sisvel Founder Roberto Dini. “The standardization bodies themselves are assessing the adoption of our system. It is worth emphasizing that this is a project which offers a positive image of the country, as the entire value chain of the technology, including the set-top-boxes for receiving the signal, has been developed and produced in Italy.”

Full story here: http://www.televisionbroadcast.com/article/110304


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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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