David Wood, chair DVB-3DTV CM, reports on the CM-3DTV road map meeting which took place in Geneva on May 14.
“The new video compression technology, called MPEG-H/H.265/HEVC, will open many doors. They may include new 3DTV formats. No one would suggest that 3DTV has swept the world, but it can bring large audiences for particular events and movies, so it is still alive and needed. If television broadcasting, in general, moves to HEVC, so should 3DTV.
“CM-3DTV is charged with preparing DVB requirements for 3DTV, and has recently been examining the future of 3DTV – the ‘roadmap’ for DVB-3DTV over the next ten years. And there is more on offer than more efficient compression. Research is being made across the world to realise ‘glasses-free’ or ‘autostereoscopic’ 3DTV. The principle is that a large number of views are available on the screen by virtue of a view-filtering surface, so when the head moves it sees different left and right eye images, as happens in real life. At the same time, Ultra-HD TVs with four times the detail of today’s displays will be available soon.
“So how can we ‘exploit’ these to create more involving 3DTV? A first step may be to follow the broadcasting of a better 2D HDTV system considered by many in the HEVC age – the move to 1080p/50,60 rather than today’s HDTV formats (1080i/25,30 or 720p/50,60). We will need to offer a 3DTV broadcast format that will use the new 1080p/50, 60 frame. This would provide sharper ‘with glasses’ 3DTV images. The second step may be to exploit the availability of the new Ultra-HD displays for either or both ‘with’ and ‘without’ glasses 3DTV. This will need new formats.
“We know that the larger the screen on which it is shown, given adequate detail, the more involving 3DTV becomes. The world of Ultra-HD displays will be one of large screen sizes, of the order of 70″ or more. I can’t wait to have the spears and the axes thrown at me.” (Source: DVB Scene eNews)