ETC

News Stories

Hockey Night in Canada offers games in 3D

11.19.2010

CBC, Panasonic Canada team to bring enhanced viewing experience

Listen up, hockey fans and electronics aficionados: Hockey Night in Canada is going 3D.

And the best news is, you have time to search the market for a 3D television that will suit your needs.

The CBC and Panasonic Canada announced Wednesday they will bring the first 3D broadcast of HNIC to Canadian homes on Dec. 11 when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens.

The second 3D broadcast available during the 2010-11 NHL season is scheduled for Feb. 20 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary when the Flames host the Canadiens in the Heritage Classic.

“We are very pleased to partner with Panasonic on this unique and ground-breaking initiative,” Scott Moore, executive director for CBC Sports, said in a statement. “Together, we will be bringing an experience to Canadian hockey fans that has never been done before.

“This is a Canadian first and a very exciting time for television and hockey in Canada.”

1st slate of games coming

Hockey fans will require a special 3D TV and glasses to view the games, which will be aired on a still-to-be-determined separate channel from regular HD broadcasts.

Starting in October, Panasonic will be the official 3D and HD TV sponsor of HNIC.

Having worked closely with Hollywood to develop full HD 3D technology, Panasonic will help bring a new dimension to the HNIC broadcast.

“Panasonic is at the forefront of 3D innovation, leading the charge on developing technology for both industry professionals and everyday Canadians,” said Ian Kilvert, general manager, corporate brand management for Panasonic Canada Inc.

“With our expertise and cutting-edge products, it makes sense to partner with the CBC to help bring the first-ever 3D hockey viewing experience into Canadian living rooms.”

The first HNIC broadcast of the regular season is Oct. 7, featuring Montreal at Toronto at 7 p.m. ET and Calgary at Edmonton at 10 p.m. ET.

ESPN teams with university for research lab

11.19.2010

U.S. cable network ESPN and Full Sail University, an Orlando area school that specializes in entertainment, media & the arts, are collaborating on a research and development lab.

The Full Sail University Sports Lab Powered by ESPN, unveiled Thursday, will be used for R&D of new studio and remote technologies.

The lab will also work in conjunction with the Innovation Lab at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World, which was heavily involved in the development of ESPN 3D.

“ESPN has long been an industry leader in utilizing cutting-edge technology to bring fans the best content,” said Anthony Bailey, vp emerging technology at ESPN.

“The energy and creativity that the students and staff at Full Sail University will bring to this facility make this a natural location for this lab and will help us develop new tools to provide fans the best on-air coverage of sports,” he continued.

The mission will be to not only develop new technology enhancements such as virtual applications but to provide students at Full Sail the opportunity to work alongside ESPN’s emerging technology team to gain real-world experience.

By Carolyn Giardina

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AI09920101119

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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Hockey Night in Canada offers games in 3D

1st slate of games coming

ESPN teams with university for research lab

Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released