special report 3D broadcasting
Steve Schklair, CEO and founder of 3ality Digital, predicts what we can expect to see coming soon from the 3D industry.
to compliment its 2D feature. In most cases, 3D outperforms 2D at the box office - for instance, not many people would have thought that the biggest grossing film of all time would be in 3D (Avatar). It is also making inroads into the television market with some sporting events being broadcast in 3D to pubs and, albeit in a limited number, homes with 3D equipment. But that is where we are at the moment. In the months to come we are going to see further developments of 3D technology. Below is a sample of what I think we can expect in 2011.
Passive viewing 3D TVs will become widely available
HD 3D televisions were projected to fly off the shelves in 2010, so the slow and steady sales were deemed to be a sign that perhaps the medium was not really going to take off. From my point of view, the projections were radically inflated to enable business cases to work, but they were not realistic. I don’t know why the analysts and pundits expect the transition to 3D television to be something that takes place practically overnight - just look at the history of past transitions, such as SD to HD, for a more realistic look at how this will move into the market. The SD to HD transition started a few years back and is still going on, with viewers upgrading equipment and migrating to HD channels.
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A 3D vision O
ver the last couple of years 3D has progressed in leaps and bounds. A majority of mainstream films are now released with at least a 3D version
Steve Schklair, CEO and founder of 3ality Digital: “So, you have your 3D TV, but what to watch on it? This year I think we are likely to see producers
experimenting with the idea of shooting episodic TV series in 3D. In episodic TV, the schedule is king, with studios on average churning out an episode every two weeks. At this point it has been proven
through the various feature films that have shot in 3D that shooting can be done on a 2D schedule. So, if the cost differential is the only other barrier and this is not too high, then it makes sense to film in 3D.”
However, while SD to HD required a complete infrastructure revamp, the HD to 3D HD transition does not, so although the move to 3D will take time it will be faster.
There are a few things needed if the transition is to move more quickly. The number one item on that list is content. No one buys a 3D set because they think the electronics are cool, they will buy them because they enable a viewer to watch their favourite programming in 3D. Without a lot of content available, the transition will move slowly forward as it is doing now. Another piece of the puzzle that will help the transition move more quickly is the deployment of passive view 3D monitors. While there was an economic reason for the first wave of 3D monitors to be active viewing, new technologies now make passive viewing possible without a major increase to the cost of the monitor.
Passive sets can be viewed using inexpensive polarised glasses similar to the ones used in movie theatres. As such, if you have friends come over to watch a game or film in 3D, they can bring their own glasses. This technology is being used for 3D in pubs and clubs at the moment, but towards the middle of this year we will see sets for the home market being released.
At CES in Las Vegas in January, many of the manufacturers showed passive viewing monitors which are likely to hit the market this year. It now just boils down to the price at which they will enter the market. Also at CES there were a number of autostereoscopic 3D TVs on display.
These allow 3D to be viewed without the need for glasses. However, I believe it is going to be years before these are going to be in the home. The resolution is fairly low on these, although the angle at which you have to view them, which was a limitation in the past, seems to have been solved. There is a great potential market for these in digital signage - advertising in public places where people do not have the opportunity to wear glasses.
Episodic television series will begin shooting in 3D
So, you have your 3D TV, but what to watch on it? This year I think we are likely to see producers experimenting with the idea of shooting episodic TV series in 3D. In episodic TV, the schedule is king, with studios on average churning out an episode every two weeks. At this point it has been proven through the various feature films that have shot in 3D that shooting can be done on a 2D schedule. So, if the cost differential is the only other barrier and this is not too high, then it makes sense to film in 3D. These costs pay for themselves, because even if a series is aired in 2D, the 3D version can be subsequently released on Blu-Ray - giving regular viewers a further reason to buy a disc. Traditionally, fans of a show may not want to buy a disc as they have probably seen all the episodes, but if they can get the show in 3D then there is that incentive for them to go out and buy it. Disc sales, without any difficulty at all, will outweigh the costs of shooting in 3D.
Continued on Page 64.
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