206 replies to this topic

[Cyril Washbrook]

More movement on this in the UK:

The British subscription broadcaster BSkyB has announced that it will launch a three-dimensional television channel in April, broadcasting at least six English Premier League football games in 3D by the end of this season.

http://www.mediaspy....-for-3d-launch/

[Cyril Washbrook]

3D sets coming to Australia from next week.

Samsung 3D televisions will be available in Australian stores from next week, following the launch of its new line of television sets yesterday.

http://www.mediaspy....from-next-week/

[ADstv]

Don't think there would be much benefit for 3D on a 40-inch model. Almost $5000 for a 55-inch only to watch Monsters Vs Aliens 3D can get a 52" for $2500 currently. Hope really this 3D hype goes away for another 20 years and gets released when you dont have to wear glasses.

[Cyril Washbrook]

The development of 3D television is a reality, I think. But one senses that the calculation on the part of the producers of televisions is more about getting some sort of first-mover advantage, rather than an actual attempt to snare market share in the near future. As this thread demonstrates, viewer response is likely to be apathetic and mildly curious rather than enthusiastic. In the meantime, far more relevant to viewers will be the internet-enabled features that allow them to stay connected and access more content.

[honesty]

Pity Avatar isn't being released in 3D for another 6 months.

[Cyril Washbrook]

Samsung has issued a warning about the health risks of watching 3D television.

The world’s largest electronics firm has highlighted potential dangers the technology poses to pregnant women, the elderly, children and people with serious medical conditions.

The Korean manufacturer, whose 3D sets will hit British stores in the coming days, warned of an array of side effects viewers could suffer.

The devices could trigger epileptic fits or cause ailments ranging from altered vision and dizziness to nausea, cramps, convulsions and involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching, it said.

http://www.telegraph...television.html

[darthfyer]

http://www.telegraph...television.html

I knew there was an advantage to not paying extra for that 3D crap. I haven't watched anything in 3D and never will, or at least for as long as i can. You wouldn't ask anyone to wear horribly out of focus glasses for 2-3 hours for a movie, or even 10 minutes for that matter. IMO, it's the same concept with 3D.

Just likes cigarettes, people will continue to pay for it (3D TVs and go to 3D movies) knowing that it's ruining their health (eyes). Oh how ignorant and gullible the world is.

Edited by darthfyer, 18 April 2010 - 02:32 PM.

[Reuder7]

So with all the 3D sets coming out, do they all use the same format? How will 3D signals be transmitted, do they fit into the current DVB standards for terrestrial television?

[C92]

I like the idea of this, saw an ad during the logies. Looks quite interesting but i don't know if it will be as good as it seems. 3d never seems to work well with me haha unless its a disney film!

[Moe]

So with all the 3D sets coming out, do they all use the same format? How will 3D signals be transmitted, do they fit into the current DVB standards for terrestrial television?

Short answer for both: No.

Long answer:

The sets mostly differ in how exactly they present the images on the screen, but they all support the two main types of this new gen 3D, that is 2D+depth, where information on where depth is added is tacked onto a 2D picture, and MVC, where there are two side by side frames, one for each eye, with the shutters/flickering, used to send these to each eye. The main point of difference will be that it is possible to make a TV that doesn't require glasses, and uses angles and other things at the TV side of things to create the 3D illusion. This will be a while off, but the underlying formats will be similar.

These are extentions to the existing MPEG-4 standard, and existing boxes would just show all the stuff for one of the eyes (which should be the case on most boxes, and deliver something watchable) or all the stuff for both eyes, or in the case of 2D+depth, you'd get a perfectly normal 2D picture on an MPEG-4 capable box. It is still DVB though, but as most existing boxes are MPEG-2, you won't be able to get a picture at all.

The 2D plus depth is probably the best long term idea, and is how the fake 3D transformation works inside these sets, it tries to use light levels and other cues to detect objects closer and further away and tries to examine them to create depth. shows this process somewhat.

But the majority of 3D will come via 3D Blu-rays for the foreseeable future until home based pay-TV 3D starts. This over the air trial by Nine is likely to just merely be a publicity stunt and not a long term plan, as I consider 3D itself to be.

(tip: I only understand some of this, so don't take my words as fact).

Edited by Moe, 04 May 2010 - 05:15 PM.

[Cyril Washbrook]

ACMA has approved the issuance of 3D TV licences to Nine and SBS for a two-month trial period. These mean that Nine's previous decision to broadcast the State of Origin in 3D will now extend across the eastern states. An expected announcement regarding SBS's coverage of the World Cup could be coming this Sunday.

More at: http://www.mediaspy....3d-tv-licences/

[Moe]

Good to see that common sense has prevailed over sharing it with SBS, the World Cup in 3D is a much bigger draw. I do wonder however what this all means for the NRL in Perth and Adelaide, as they seem deliberately omitted from the Nine list, but on ACMA's. It can't be a WIN thing with Woolongong running it. SBS' involvement should see them get the World Cup at least.

Regardless, I'm still sceptical as to the point of it beyond a gimmick, especially while the glasses requirement remains. Hopefully it will be in a form that will allow me to read the transport stream and make some caps of it, assuming the transmitters are even strong enough for that (these testing ones often aren't), but there is a Harvey Norman near me so they will try their hardest I'd guess.

[bacco007]

Details about the 3D trial in Newcastle

NBN Television and SBS Corporation wishes to advise that they will be commencing a test transmission of 3D TV (stereoscopic video format) on or after midnight, Wednesday 19th May 2010. The transmission is of a trial nature only, and is scheduled to operate for a period of 9 weeks. This transmission will originate from two inner city translator sites only, located at Cooks Hill and Charlestown on Channel 35 (578.375Mhz). The digital service channel number will be Channel 40. The transmission will carry 3D video content in H.264 (MPEG-4) format and will not necessarily be able to be received on current HDTV receivers. Only specific 3DTV receivers will be capable of decoding the signal and displaying the video content in stereoscopic format.

[Reuder7]

Only specific 3DTV receivers will be capable of decoding the signal and displaying the video content in stereoscopic format.

Oh that's nice. Can't we have a set top box that's able to receive 3D TV connected to our normal TVs?
Also, how much new physical infrastructure are the networks requiring to run 3D TV? Is it simplying just piping out the 3D signal through existing machines, or are there additional processes etc that the signal will need to go through?

Edited by Reuder7, 14 May 2010 - 06:39 PM.

[bacco007]

Regardless, I'm still sceptical as to the point of it beyond a gimmick, especially while the glasses requirement remains.

It was a gimmick in the 80s - it will be one again. I didnt think you could do 3D without the glasses, because they are designed to fool the eye into stereoscopic vision

[Moe]

stereoscopic video format

I hope that doesn't mean they aren't actually doing real-3D (ie side by side or 2D+depth) and it is just how they are describing 3D. If the broadcasts end up being Red/Blue then it's the biggest con in the world.

This transmission will originate from two inner city translator sites only, located at Cooks Hill and Charlestown on Channel 35 (578.375Mhz).

Co-Channeling with the Sydney service on 35 made this inevitable, they couldn't keep power low enough to do a service from Mt Sugarloaf, and Newcastle is probably too far for a SFN.

[bacco007]

Oh that's nice. Can't we have a set top box that's able to receive 3D TV connected to our normal TVs?

Doesnt the TV need to process the 3D image to output it properly?

[Moe]

It was a gimmick in the 80s - it will be one again. I didnt think you could do 3D without the glasses, because they are designed to fool the eye into stereoscopic vision

http://en.wikipedia....Autostereoscopy / http://en.wikipedia....utostereoscopic

An evolutionary development of stereoscopy, autostereoscopic display technologies use optical trickery at the display, rather than worn by the user, to ensure that each eye sees the appropriate image. They generally allow the user to move their head a certain amount without destroying the illusion of depth. Automultiscopic displays include view-dependent pixels with different intensities and colors based on the viewing angle; this means that a number of different views of the same scene can be seen by moving horizontally around the display. In most automultiscopic displays the change of view is accompanied by the breakdown of the illusion of depth, but some displays exist which can maintain the illusion as the view changes. Many companies and consumers are beginning to use the abbreviated term, Auto 3D, when reffering to 3D displays that do not require the use of glasses to view the 3D effect.

Oh that's nice. Can't we have a set top box that's able to receive 3D TV connected to our normal TVs?

Nope, while a Freeview branded/MPEG-4 capable STB should* allow you to watch a 2D picture of this trial, I doubt you will see a device that turns a true 3D signal into a stereoscopic image (the only real way to do 3D on a 2D screen). The current generation of 3D screens use fast alternation of frames, which isn't possible with a standard 50/60Hz screen, and you wouldn't be able to get glasses to sync the shutters properly to a 200Hz screen, though they are essentially what these 3D TVs are, just with a newer HDMI port and some chips to handle that.

Also, how much new physical infrastructure are the networks requiring to run 3D TV? Is it simplying just piping out the 3D signal through existing machines, or are there additional processes etc that the signal will need to go through?

The actual broadcast is essentially the same, the real major work will go on in the 3D capable OB Vans.


* Re: 'Should' - Provided it is a DVB-T not DVB-T2 signal, you may get a watchable picture, otherwise you'll get either two side by side frames squashed, or nothing at all.

[Reuder7]

Thanks Moe for the explanation!

Edited by Reuder7, 14 May 2010 - 06:54 PM.

[Media Munger]

...It can't be a WIN thing with Woolongong running it...

Wollongong. Sorry, I can't stand it when people don't correctly spell our town's name correctly.