Session 8: 3D Consumer Experience in the Home: The Interoperability Challenges
Brian Markwalter, VP Technology and Standards, CEA
Panel
Ami Dror, Chief Strategy officer, XpanD
Steve Venuti, Pres HDMI
Mark Stockfisch, VP and CTO, Quantum Data
Brad Hunt, Pres., Digital Media Directions, LLC
Ami Dror, xPanD
People are buying 3D TVs now, and glasses now. We need standards for the emitters and the glasses. We/xPanD are working on universal-format glasses. Vote with your wallet.
Steve Venuti, HDMI
When we started the HDMI standards effort we knew that we’d need to ensure that devices work when consumers connected them. We needed to identify the minimum requirements. Our focus was movies and games because we understood them. We didn’t understand broadcast. HDMI v1.4 was released last year with the idea that we’d spend the next year gaining an understanding of broadcast. Now we have four formats. The display must be able to handle all four, and the source must be able to handle at least one of them.
Mark Stockfisch, Quantum Data
HDMI is not alone. There are many other standards; DVI, Diiva, whdi, wifi, dlna, moca, homePNA, Ethernet,… There are HDMI handshake issues (ex. when you place a legacy device between two HDMI v1.4 compliant devices, you can have problems.)
Issues:
– Will the quality of the in-home experience match theatrical 3D?
– eyewear (weight, cost, compatibility, other)
– compression artifacts and liquid crystal artifacts
Brad Hunt, Digital Media Directions
Is the consumer going to face interoperability issues in the home from a) Blu-ray and b) broadcast system?
a) The Blu-ray Alliance decided on a standard that requires an upgrade (PS3) or a new player. Today, stay with one manufacturer for the display, blu-ray player, and the glasses to avoid interoperability problems. ‘The bundled packages are your friends.’ Also, make sure you hook up the devices to your home network, because they need to be able to receive firmware updates.
b) For broadcast, hook up your STB directly to the 3D display, rather than thru an intermediate device. That way, you’ll get the benefits of the firmware updates and avoid the problems currently associated with the audio signal.
Q&A
Comment on the evolution of HDMI? (Brad) While the Blu-ray spec was being developed and HDMI v1.4 formulated, the broadcasters were already implementing their frame compatible format solutions. Top/bottom, which many see as preferable over side-by-side, was not in the original HDMI spec. (Steve) We have an ideal world with HDMI v1.4a. We addressed broadcast’s needs rapidly by quickly modifying v1.4 to v1.4a, which does include top/bottom. (Ami) 3D TV is developing contemporaneously with IPTV. At least HDMI did respond rapidly. One of the biggest problems is the STBs, which are evolving very slowly. (Mark) There is a trend of not having a STB at all, and streaming directly to the set. There is a lot of convenience to it when moving content around the home. (Brian) The nice thing about HDMI is the compatibility between sources and displays in the home. CEA has formed another group to discuss the business side of 3D interoperability to address things like glossaries and terms for the consumer. For example, what does ‘3D ready’ mean?
What are your thoughts on the timing of standards? Would we get universal interoperability without them? (Mark) CEA 861-2 may be where standard metadata and interface will be addressed. Eyewear standards for IR glasses may come out in June. (Brad) How do you allow a legacy 3D source device to do format signaling so the display knows what format to display? Updating the legacy STBs via firmware updates is a major issue, and we need a commitment from HDMI that there will be a way to handle this signaling. (Ami) Beyond IR, we at xPanD are already developing Bluetooth active shutter glasses. I’m pretty sure there will be a standard, if not in June than in August. By the time it arises we will already be working on the Bluetooth standard. Also, a huge problem is consumer and salesforce EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION.
What are your thoughts on closed captioning and graphics standards? (Brad) This is critically important and being worked on in CEA. The question is how do you send metadata so the captions/graphics display properly. There are many proposals currently being discussed related to how much data, processing power, functionality options, etc. are needed. There must be cooperation between SMPTE and CEA. (Ami) Subtitling must be standardized in 3D TV. There are many other parameters that have not been discussed yet, like how do you use your remote when the glasses are on. We are just in the first pass of discussions.
HDMI decided not to put version numbers on products. Discuss the issue of interoperability, consumer info, and labeling? (Steve) Starting with v1.0, each version increased the options. The version refers to the document. Because some many things above the basic spec are optional, the version number did not correspond to full interoperability and therefore using it on a product could mislead the consumer. So HDMI banned the use of version numbers on products unless you specify the exact features that the device supports. Over time the version number will be completely banned on products, and manufacturers will simply list supported features.
(Pat Griffis question) The USC ETC 720p24 and 1080p24 demo was great. Top/bottom didn’t look so good. We’re saying side-by-side for interlace, top/bottom for progressive, which means we aren’t going toward a single standard. The mandatory formats do not include side-by-side! Respond? (Steve) Four months ago no one knew that. The topic is being discussed by the technical and management team at HDMI. (Pat) I applaud the work. We’re still iterating. Perhaps you jumped the gun and may need to go back and re-examine base issues.