-
Multiview Video Compression – 3D for Blu-Ray
I’m not one to jump on fads like 3D video, but we have a large client requesting 3D output.
We’ve explored several options and the simplest one for the purposes of this project seems to be primarily hardware based, using iZ3D’s technology. This scenario uses passive 3D glasses, a computer equipped with GFX card containing two DVI outputs, an iZ3D monitor and their proprietary player. The video file is output in stereoscopic, with the two images being stacked vertically.
The question of 3D Blu-Ray encoding comes into play because this hasn’t been ruled out as an option, for this project and I see it coming up again in the near future.
I wasn’t able to find much info on the official 3D Blu-Ray spec, but Wikipedia does have a stub about Multiview Video Compression. Encoding to this spec obviously requires the necessary hardware, but what about the encoding process? What encoders can handle this spec, is it just a standard H.264 encode but output to a different resolution? Are the images repeated vertically or horizontally?
It seems that this topic is so fresh that info is scarce. Any info from personal experience or other sources would be appreciated.
Thanks.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
10 Replies
-
The Blu-Ray 3D spec was only finalised in December last year. Don’t expect to find anything useful, freely available. Just like when DVD Videos fist came onto the market, finding out out to author one was nearly impossible.
[Andrew Saliga] “but we have a large client requesting 3D output”
How, where etc and what’s the clients source?
__________________________________________________________________
Sent from my iPad Nano. -
You should be in Vegas:
https://www.tdvision.com/TDV_NAB2010.htm
__________________________________________________________________
Sent from my iPad Nano. -
I know, I’m so disappointed I didn’t make NAB this year. I’ve been mentioning how someone from our company needed to be there for awhile, especially to help figure out 3D…but anyways. Next year.
We’re creating the source. It’s a 3D model of a shoe created in C4D and Maya and composited in AE. So all source is literally 3D. The end product will be displayed in stores, and the company will invest in whatever 3D tech we advise them to use. In addition to this they need a “mobile” version of of the project for use in small presentations.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
Keep your eye on the NAB news, they’ll be a bunch of stuff announced this week.
Don’t wait for next year, just make sure you are at IBC in Amsterdam, September. (It’s much better than NAB 😉 )
__________________________________________________________________
Sent from my iPad Nano. -
Haha. I’ll see what I can do to convince the higher ups I need to be there.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
Hi Daniel,
If you have any input I’d appreciate it. I’m still working out the best delivery system for the 3D content we are creating. I’ve been chatting a lot on some 3D specific forums. (mtbs3d.com)
You were definitely right about the inability to do 3D BR. We are looking for an efficient 3D solution for a large client of ours. This solution will likely be implemented in stores nationwide.
I’ve researched all options for delivery of this content, polarized and passive, HDTV and computer-based. Polarized would be nice, but current solutions use small monitors. Any TV-based polarized solution has just been released or will be released in a few months (too late). 3D Blu-ray systems are completed packages as far as a turnkey system goes, but I can’t really make content for them.
The guys on the 3D forum I’ve been visiting know hardware, but the don’t know about the needed video specs. They did have a suggestion that I liked though. Do you think it’d be possible to encode a standard 2D BR disc in a side-by-side or over-and-under stereoscopic format and manually set a 3D TV to read it as a 3D disc? I’m working with local stores on testing this, since if we find a solution would purchase instantly and the client would purchase several setups as well.
Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. At this point I’m open to any suggestion on the best way to deliver 3D content to a meeting of 20+ people and eventually in stores.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
[Andrew Saliga] “Do you think it’d be possible to encode a standard 2D BR disc in a side-by-side or over-and-under stereoscopic format and manually set a 3D TV to read it as a 3D disc?”
I very much doubt it. The studios are keeping all this stuff very close to their bank accounts. If it were even the slightest bit easy, the pirates would be all over it. I sincerely hope you find a way! Good luck.
__________________________________________________________________
Sent from my iPad Nano. -
Thanks Daniel. I’ll update this post in a few days with the solution, as I have to find one to get it approved.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
So unfortunately the Blu-ray option didn’t pan out. I was able to get so close to making it work, at least it seems that way, haha.
The solution we went with was a passive 3D solution (polarized glasses). I’m not a fan of Acer computers at all, but they partnered with TriDef to make a 3D ready laptop with an HDMI out, so we chose it for convenience. We purchased this laptop, ran Stereoscopic Player on it, and went to a larger Mitsubishi 3D HDTV via the HDMI. The TV allowed for a larger viewing angle and was able to accommodate the 100 people at the meeting.
I encoded two 720p files (left and right) and selected them as the input sources in the player. I encoded QT H.264s at 5Mbps and playback was seamless.
-Andrew Saliga
Steelehouse Productions
http://www.steelehouse.com (undergoing a much-needed redesign)
http://www.vimeo.com/steelehouse -
Really glad it worked out so well. Thanks very much for letting us all know!
__________________________________________________________________
Sent from my iPad Nano.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up