3D TV migrating to ‘next generation television,’ computers

Television sets as we know them may become obsolete as the popularity of 3D television converges with the Internet, according to Christian Laforte, CEO of 3D security software developer Feeling Software in Montreal. “In five to 10 years, we probably won’t be watching 3D content on television—it’ll probably come from computers. People will take it for granted that televisions will be able to load content from YouTube and stream content from cellphones and other sources,” he said. Canadian broadcasters, electronics manufacturers and other players are making significant investments in 3D TV for next-generation television. The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (ECU) in Vancouver recently received a $530,000 grant from the federal government to set up a centre of excellence that will research the many perceptual, technical and commercial challenges posed by 3D media production. The ECU is also researching some commercial issues, such as retargeting 3D movies created for wide-screen theatre production for home viewing. “You would think media companies could do a release to DVD, so consumers can watch movies on their 3D televisions, but it doesn’t work that way,” Maria Lantin, director of Intersections Digital Studios at the ECU, told The Wire Report. “3D is created for a particular screen size, and there are perceptual issues if you want to retarget the content.” Although major companies are pouring money into 3D content development, Lantin said she believes government and academia also need to be involved. “Industry is very focused on the bottom line, and once it finds something that works, it keeps doing the same thing. A centre like ours provides a stimulus for innovation that can jar industry out of this tendency, as independent producers can learn and experiment in a less budget-intensive environment.” Many experimental 3D productions developed by universities and independent producers are already available for public viewing on the Internet, she added. “YouTube 3D was launched a few months ago as a repository for this. There’s tons of content, but the site is relatively unknown today.” While many experimental productions may not be suitable for mainstream television, there are areas where 3D could heighten the visual and emotional intensity of storytelling. “Industry’s focus is on 3D for animations and sports, but maybe we’ll see a few dramas and even romantic comedies in 3D once people stop seeing it as a gimmick,” Lantin said. Maurice Patel, a product manager at 3D software developer Autodesk in Montreal, said 3D could either become ubiquitous or continue to be reserved for sports and premium content. Patel said the service needs to arrive at a standard format. He said 3D won’t be adopted until a standard is determined because it is too expensive for broadcasters to produce content for various formats. “Broadcasters need to look at what display manufacturers are doing, and see if it has an impact on what they transmit and distribute. They need to understand the conversion devices different television sets will have, and what these expect to have fed into them,” he said. Laforte said the formats developed by RealD, a global licensor of stereoscopic 3D technologies, have become the de facto standard in the film industry. “All of Hollywood uses its formats, but it’s still up in the air for television,” he said. But Lantin said television could play a key role in promoting the evolution of 3D technology. “Television prevented 3D from taking off because the industry’s focus was on cheap productions. But the industry is looking for something new, now that interest in HDTV is waning. In addition, many people are looking to retarget 3D films for home viewing to redirect the industry, as it’s hard to pirate them,” she said. There remain significant challenges before 3D TV can become commonplace, Patel said. “3D will likely be a more thorny transition than HD and digital TV,” he said. “The technology is more complex and the upheaval will be even bigger, and broadcasters are already struggling with IPTV and web distribution.” One obstacle is that stereoscopic 3D requires viewers to wear eyewear. If there are any imperfections in the superimposed images created, the brain becomes disoriented, potentially leading to an array of perceptual and physiological side effects such as headaches, nausea and even seizures, Patel said. “You must ensure there’s no interference, or ‘crosstalk,’ between the images meant for the right and left eyes, which means you need a good filtering system. Unfortunately, there’s always some overlap, so one big technological challenge is to minimize its impact,” Patel said. Another issue lies in the eyewear itself, Laforte said. Movie theatres use “passive glasses,” which integrate images transmitted by two projectors. But most home 3D TV systems use “active glasses” that shutter the images for the left and right eyes in a strobe effect. “The risk of seizures is low with passive glasses, but a lot of 3D TV coming to consumers uses active ones,” Lantin said. “We want to find out what makes 3D uncomfortable, especially if we push the boundaries.” The ECU is exploring a wide range of experimental 3D media productions, such as combinations of 3D with 2D and animations, virtual 3D animation, and abstract 3D, she said. news@thewirereport.ca

3D TV migrating to ‘next generation television,’ computers

Broadcast | June 4, 2010

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