3D TV - It’s Closer Than You Think
Technology makes 3D television a reality today.
When some people think of 3D, they are immediately reminded of those inauthentic horror movies of 30 years ago – the ones that required the uncomfortable blue and red cardboard glasses and gave people headaches.
But 3D technology has evolved dramatically over the years, so much so that it is revolutionizing the movie industry. This year has been declared the year of 3D movies with breakthrough movies such as Monsters vs. Aliens, Coraline and Ice Age 3. And more than just a handful of 3D movies are in production.
The viewing experience is compelling, and movie theaters everywhere are finding that movie goers are willing to pay more for three-dimensional films than their comparatively boring two-dimensional counterparts. The trend is expected to carry over into the television world too.
Recent research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Entertainment and Technology Center at the University of Southern California, suggests that the popularity of 3D movies will spill into the television world. It found that as U.S. consumers continue to interact with 3D movies, the more accepting they are of 3D outside of the movie realm, mainly in their own television sets.
As with many successful technologies, such as HDTV, interest in 3D increases as consumers experience it first-hand. Of the nearly 41 million U.S. adults who had reported viewing a 3D movie in theaters, 41 percent indicated they would prefer to watch a movie in 3D than that same movie in 2D.
The study also found that 16 percent of consumers are interested in watching 3D movies or television shows in their home, while 14 percent are interested in playing 3D video games. All told, more than 26 million households are interested in having a 3D content experience in their home. What’s more encouraging to the television and broadcast community is the fact that consumers indicated they were willing to pay more for a 3D experience. About 50 percent of respondents were willing to spend more for 3D capable TVs with 15 percent willing to spend 25 percent or more.
Despite the willingness on behalf of consumers, 3D technology to the home is at the nascent stage. Analysts note that some elements to make the technology widespread are lacking at this point, most notably a lack of standards for both display technology and 3D content.
“Consumers are starting to experience the new wave of 3D technologies at the cinema and through Digital Out of Home advertising, and it won’t be long before there’s a groundswell of demand for 3D within the home,” Sarah Carroll, director of continuous services, Futuresource Consulting concluded in a recent research report. “With over 200 million new TVs sold across the globe every year, the potential is huge, but the industry needs to overcome some serious obstacles in order to kick start and fully realize the revenue streams.”
Ajay Luthra, senior director of advanced technology with Motorola, said every piece of technology to allow distribution of 3D programming into the home is available today. The piece that isn’t ready is a common understanding and agreement among television manufacturers regarding what display format to support. More than a couple million 3D-ready televisions are on the market, and more will be deployed this year but no one single 3D format will be supported on all displays, Luthra said.
Recently Sony made a bold move in the 3D television space by announcing plans to build in 3D technology into a range of devices, including its Bravia LCD TVs, Blu-ray Disc products, the Sony VAIO PC line and the PlayStation 3 by 2010. The company reasons that it can begin to capitalize on the growing number of 3D-capable movie screens. Sony has indicated it will use active shutter glasses technology.
Whether Sony’s move serves to coalesce the electronics industry around one 3D technology remains to be seen, but new set-top box technology can enable service providers to begin to capitalize on the 3D programming craze now, without having to wait for that convergence. This new technology will allow them to cope with the diversity in the display formats among the televisions, Luthra said.
Set-top box technology is evolving to support 3D programming today, Luthra said. The next-generation of set-top boxes will be sporting more processing power, more memory and MPEG-4 support. Once those pieces are in place, a significantly higher quality 3D television experience can be delivered without a large increase in the bandwidth, explained Luthra.
“You can start with very small or close to no extra processing power, depending on the quantity of programming, and migrate to providing higher quality content and viewing experience with increase in processing power in encoders and set top boxes,” Luthra said.
Video delivery on 1080p high-definition televisions at 60 frames per second, which doubles the current 30 frames per second rate on the highest quality of 1080p HD delivered today, will become feasible in the near future, Luthra said. Interestingly, 1080p at 60 frames per second was always looked at as a way to improve HD programming, but is also ideal for 3D TV.
The next question is how do content providers produce 3D programming and create interest? Movies have become a no-brainer for 3D capability, and the envelope is being pushed in terms of creating 3D movies that aren’t just computer generated. For instance, James Cameron’s new science-thriller movie Avatar is being filmed with a digital 3D camera system.
Jim Bottoms, managing director of corporate development with Futuresource Consulting, said in the company’s report that 3D content will move through two distinct phases.
“Currently, we’re easing into the preparatory phase, which will stretch out to 2011. Here we’ll see 3D movies primarily being made for theatrical release and the continued rollout of 3D digital cinema. TV manufacturers will start to roll out multi-format ‘3D-Ready’ sets and glasses from 2010, VoD delivery systems will begin to include limited 3D movie, concert and sport content, and the market for 3D PC games will continue to develop.”
Bottoms also believes that from 2011, the industry will begin to embark on a number of initiatives. “Our probability modeling shows the permeation phase will kick in from 2011, where – among other initiatives – we’ll see new 3D movie releases on Blu-ray, remasters of classic blockbusters like Star Wars, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, a wider range of 3D TV content for sports, wildlife documentaries and concerts, and studios introducing selective production of 3D TV shows and series.”
Sports broadcasts could be a main driver for 3D programming because it has the need for what Luthra calls “super-real images,” and they generate the interest and revenue to support investments in 3D.
Some content providers are already beginning to think about adding 3D support to their camera galleries and broadcast vehicles, Luthra said. “The challenge there is understanding how to map all of that camera action into 3D,” he said. “It has to be done well or people will reject it.”
And one thing that will stick around for some time, however, will be the use of specialized glasses to view 3D programming. Most of the 3D television sets support active glasses – which work with the television’s display screen to alternately turn on and off left and right sides in sync with the left or right eye view displayed. Some newer 3D televisions are beginning to support passive polarized glasses. Autostereoscopic displays for 3D television sets, ones that don’t require glasses, are years away. While that may be a downside to some, Luthra said viewers are accustomed to their use in the theater.
“If it is very cool programming, people will watch it with glasses,” he said. “There won’t be 24-7 viewing of 3D programming.”
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