 Archive for the ‘Acquisition’ CategoryIf 3-D makes you happy Sony’s new MVS-8000X production switcher handled the 2-D/3-D production in single-mode 3Gb/s. An intimate live show by Sheryl Crow was captured in New York City on Wednesday by All Mobile Video’s new 53ft Epic 3-D production truck, in both 2-D and 3-D, for a future edition on the PBS series “Soundstage.” The production is one of the first 2-D/3-D events captured with a single truck and represents a model of how to produce events more economically than using two separate trucks. SMPTE 3-D conference provides roadmap for 3-D landscape At a conference hosted by the SMPTE, Panasonic gave a presentation on its new 3D-A1 camcorder, revealing that it made some compromises inside the camera to make 3-D production easily accessible to a wider production community. At the recent engineering conference hosted by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) in New York City, a number of camera technologies for acquiring stereoscopic 3-D images, both established and future-forward, were presented to a highly attentive audience. For the engineers in attendance, eager to get a handle on the tidal wave of information now becoming available and to see innovation in its prototype phase, it provided a good look at the merging worldwide 3-D landscape and how science is helping to bring “comfortable” content to movie and TV screens around the world. The international strength of the SMPTE membership was in full view; the conference brought presenters from Russia, France, Spain and the United States to weigh in on the first day of the two-day meeting. Read the rest of this entry » Dolby 3-D spec ready for review Dolby's proposed specification for how to transmit 3-D content to the home favors the side-by-side technique for leveraging an existing 2-D infrastructure. At the 2010 NAB Show, Dolby Laboratories announced a new open specification for broadcast 3-D delivery that details how 3-D images can be encoded and carried using frame-compatible techniques through a conventional 2-D broadcast infrastructure. The company said that the specification, now available for review, is fully compatible with currently used side-by-side and over/under approaches, although it favors side-by-side transmissions to maintain the highest-quality HD resolution, especially with interlaced signals. The spec also includes accommodations to enable the transmission of full-resolution 3-D (1080p/60 HD) in the future. Read the rest of this entry » Delivering 3-D content to the home: frame sequential vs. side by side A side-by-side transmission uses less bandwidth than the frame-sequential method. There are currently two key methods for delivering 3-D content to the home. Most 3-D sets being sold today rely on the method called “frame-sequential display.” Part of the main 3-D Blu-ray specification, this delivery method consists of a sequence of alternating frames meant for each eye. Frame sequential lends itself to the active-shutter-based technology used for today’s 3-D TVs. The active-shutter glasses used for viewing must sync with the 3-D TV set to allow the correct eye to view the correct image at the precise time. The active-shutter glasses turn opaque and switch the eyepiece so the viewer can process the correct image at the moment it is intended. Read the rest of this entry » 3-D TV standards still unresolved Today, side-by-side stereoscopy is the most widely accepted method for delivering 3-D video. When one considers 3-D imaging, there is a lot of history and a striking array of methods and technologies to consider. The first 3-D imaging dates back to 1844, when the Scottish inventor and writer David Brewster introduced the stereoscope, a device that could take photographic pictures in 3-D. Through fits and starts, 3-D has had a long and convoluted history that is still far from unresolved. In the 1950s, when TV became popular in the United States, many 3-D movies were produced. The first was “Bwana Devil” from United Artists, which could be seen all across the United States in 1952. Subsequently, TV stations began airing 3-D serials based on the same technology as 3-D movies. Read the rest of this entry » Addressing the issue of 3-D camera positions The prototype PACE Shadow-D rig is mounted on top of a box-style lens and allows a single operator to shoot both 2-D and 3-D simultaneously. As more live productions begin to be shot in 3-D, the issue of where to place the cameras around a venue so as not to interfere with the existing 2-D positions — and not block any fan seating — is being looked at from several angles. Several live sports and entertainment productions to date have provided invaluable experience in how to make 3-D look its best (e.g., 3-D cameras should be positioned as close to the field as possible to immerse the viewer in the action). At the 2010 NAB Show, there were “beam splitter” rigs, with one camera shooting horizontally from the back of a dual-lens configuration and the other shooting vertically from the top or bottom. Some refer to it as the “half-mirror, 90-degree approach.” The latter, displayed in the Ikegami Electronics booth, is designed to maintain the lowest profile for the camera position (and save some sight lines). Read the rest of this entry » ‘All 3-D not created equal’ Aside from movies, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg thinks sports and gaming will be the most popular drivers of 3-D content in the home. As CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg is afraid that his fellow Hollywood motion picture executives are going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. The proverbial goose is 3-D technology, and Katzenberg says Hollywood is now at a “genuine crossroads” as to the future of the new medium. He was critical of Warner Brothers’ 2-D to 3-D conversion of “Clash of the Titans,” which he termed “cheese ball.” The critics almost universally agreed with him, although audiences are coming in large numbers to see the film, which is currently in movie theaters. Read the rest of this entry » 3-D + OLED = beautiful TVLogic TDM-150W I saw the future yesterday, and it is spectacular. TVLogic had the world’s first 3-D organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen on display, and with a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 and brilliant colors, it looked downright delicious. Sure, it was only a 15in screen, but from little acorns mighty 3-D oaks grow. Even Sony had an OLED monitor, its PVM 740, in a darkened niche next to critical evaluation CRT and LCD designs at its exhibit, but it was only 7.4in. Apparently the manufacturing technology for making larger OLED screens is still being worked out, but many think these glorious gems of a display will be the future for not only the most demanding production work, but also as lightweight portable displays for the consumer market. Read the rest of this entry » The 3-D Skeptic at NAB 2010 HDI plans to show its laser-driven 100in 3-D TV at NAB 2010. Arriving in Las Vegas, I was somewhat disappointed not to see the halls of the Convention Center floating above the desert skyline like the Hallelujah Mountains in Avatar. The preshow hype of “This is the year of 3-D” has become a mantra for NAB 2010 with the hope of revitalizing equipment providers’ bottom lines with a rush into home-delivered 3-D as powerful as the HDTV onslaught. Maybe, maybe not. Read the rest of this entry »
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