News Stories

[SID] Sony Announces New Autostereo 3D Display Method

5.22.2011

“Sony aims to commercialize it within a few years.”

[by Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics]

Sony Corp developed 24- and 10-inch 3D LCD displays that can be viewed with the naked eye and announced their details.

The announcement was made at the 49th SID International Symposium, Seminar & Exhibition (SID 2011), the world’s largest academic conference on display technologies, which is taking place from May 15 to 20, 2011, in Los Angeles, the US (lecture number: 34.5L).

Though Sony exhibited naked-eye 3D LCD displays at International CES 2011 (See related article), the latest prototypes use a new 3D display method, which is different from the method used for previous prototypes, the company said.

The new 3D LCD displays have a structure where backlight for 3D images is added between an LCD panel and backlight for normal 2D images. It is possible to switch between 2D and 3D modes by lighting either of the two backlights.

The only components that were added for the backlight for 3D images are LEDs placed on the light guide plate and its edges. On the light guide plate, scatter patterns are formed at even intervals in the horizontal direction to direct light to the outside.

Because lights that come from the LED light sources must be reflected on the scatter patterns to go to the back side of the panel, it is as if lights are partially controlled by using “parallax barriers.” As a result, it becomes possible to show different images to the right and left eyes, realizing 3D display. But Sony declined to comment on how it formed the scatter patterns on the light guide plate.

The 24-inch 3D LCD display was developed based on a display having a brightness of 300cd/m2. It has six viewpoints, and its 3D images are best viewed from a distance of 80 to 160cm. In 3D mode, its pixel count is 960 x 360, and its brightness is 86.1cd/m2. The brightness of a prototype of Sony’s normal 24-inch naked-eye 3D display is 44.4cd/m2, and the company said, “The new method can prevent brightness from lowering by about 50%.”

In 2D mode, the pixel count and brightness of the display become 1,920 x 1,080 and 192cd/m2, respectively. Even though the backlight for 3D images was added, view-angle properties, etc do not deteriorate in 2D mode, Sony said. Also, it showed the 10-inch model in the author’s interview that followed the announcement

The new method can be applied to displays whose size is between about 4 to 30 inches. And Sony aims to commercialize it within a few years.

See the original post here: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20110519/191916/

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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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