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The world of 3D television, photography, movies, scientific tools and prints is finally here. After primitive attempts at 3D for many, many years, top-quality three-dimensional imaging is now available for all. IS HERE AT LAST! by Kevin Poulter image: Dolby 3D 12  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au W hile 3D still has some shortcomings, the technology and financial incentives are now in place to achieve a brilliant outcome. Most new 3D systems use specialised cameras with two lenses plus two films or image sensors. Viewing is via special glasses, typically with LCD shutters. 3D has been coming for a long time, nearly 200 years in fact. The Stereoscope viewer was the first true 3D device, magically creating depth from two images glued onto a card, slightly out of register with each other. The images were drawings, prints or photographs. Stereopsis was first described by Charles Wheatstone in 1838. To display his 3D pictures separately to the two eyes, Wheatstone invented the Stereoscope. It works by having two images drawn or captured from slightly different perspectives, emulating the distance between the viewer’s eyes. By making closer objects relatively further apart than distant objects, it fools the brain into believing that the image being viewed is actually 3-dimensional. There are other cues which can enhance the illusion. For example, when the viewer’s eyes are focused on a foreground subject, background objects are out of focus and appear blurred. By purposely blurring the background, an image can re-create this effect. Another cue is occlusion of one object by another – the manner in which an object closer to the viewer masks (or occludes) an object further away. Other cues include the subtended visual angle of an object of known size close to Edison’s short-lived Vitascope, a re-badged system invented by others, but credited to him. Shortly after he produced his own version. others, horizontal and linear perspective (convergence of parallel edges), vertical position (objects higher in the scene generally tend to be perceived as further away), haze, desaturation, and a shift to bluishness – again usually in the distance – and the change in size of textured pattern detail. Finally, to dramatically reinforce the effects in 3D, objects are often filmed coming right at the viewer. Edison was quick to harness the value of movies via his single-viewer Kinetoscope films, locking up much of the technology in patents for many years. Knowing the lucrative market was in cinemas, Edison made and promoted the Vitascope 2D motion picture projector. It was invented by Thomas Armat and C. Francis Jenkins. Edison agreed to manufacture the machine and films for it but only if it was advertised as a new Edison invention, the Vitascope. The Vitascope’s first theatrical exhibition was on April 23, 1896, at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in New York City. With the advent of sound ‘talkies’, then colour, there was enough wow-factor in movies for decades. 3D was disPanasonic’s 3D setup for home viewing through Panasonic glasses shown below. Panasonic’s integrated twin-lens 3D camcorder for professional use – claimed to be the world’s first. 3D video is recorded to SDHC/SD memory cards – improved compression methods make this possible. siliconchip.com.au A April pril 2010  13 2010  13 played in various films like monster movies of the 1930s and beyond, in ‘terrifying 3D’, which relied on red and cyan cardboard glasses to create a painfully unconvincing effect. But despite some success, 3D never became mainstream. In 1952 Cinerama came close to 3D, by projecting images from three synchronised 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, with 146° of arc. In Australia from 1960, the Regent Plaza cinema in Melbourne was adapted for Cinerama and I saw ‘How the West was Won’. Filmed with an expansive panorama and every depth cue possible, it appeared nearly 3D at times. Cinerama sound was played back from a full-coated 35mm magnetic film with seven audio tracks. Five tracks were reproduced behind the screen, plus two on the side and back of the auditorium. A sound engineer manually adjusted the sound levels between the surround speakers according to a script! The projectors and sound system were synchronised using Selsyn motors. 3D still photography As cinema tried to push 3D or super-wide imaging, there were many attempts at effective 3D still cameras. Most used a lenticular sheet coating on the prints or the vintage stereo viewer system. Currently Fujifilm has a digital 3D still camera comprising two Fujinon lenses and two CCDs. Image data captured by the twin-lens CCD system is processed by the RP (Real Photo) James Cameron, director of “Avatar”, demonstrates one of the cameras used in filming the movie. Avatar is the first mainstream movie to make more income from 3D than 2D. Many theatres around Australia screen 3D, including iMax in Melbourne, the world’s largest 3D screen. Processor 3D – a newly developed processor that evaluates all photographic factors from focus and brightness to colour tonality, then merges the left and right images in a single 3D image. The monitor on the 3D digital cam- era uses a ‘Light Direction Control System’, and the 3D digital viewer adopts a ‘Parallax Barrier System’ to precisely direct light to the right and left eyes in a way that simulates parallax. With the FinePix REAL 3D Cinerama was an immense curved-screen format started in the 50s, with three projectors screening different images. With numerous depth cues, it was the nearest to 3D feel from a 2D format. (Turner Entertainment/Warner Bros.) 14  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au Sky TV in the UK conducted a 3D TV debut for the general public on January 31 2010, with a premier league football match shown on special 3D TVs in nine pubs across the UK. At left is some of the specialised equipment used in filming the match. system, you can review images in 3D on the camera’s LCD monitor and also on the large LCD monitor of Fujifilm’s 3D digital viewer. Not all reviewers have been impressed but hopefully the technology will become more user-friendly. Fujifilm 3D stills are printed as a precision sandwich of a high-resolution image, laminated with a lenticular sheet that creates the 3D effect. Unfortunately this process is too high-tech for a home printer, so images are sent to a Fujifilm 3D lab in the US for enlargement. In their plant, advanced technology encodes and aligns the captured 3D image according to the pitch of micro lenses arranged in parallel rows on the lenticular sheet. When viewed through the lenticular sheet (ie, a sheet with cylindrical parallel lenses), interlaced image data is separated into left and right images, so the left and right eyes see the respective images. The parallax disparity between the images is interpreted as a sense of depth. Anaglyph 3D The whole image in an anaglyph is made of two colour ‘layers’ - one picture ‘layer’ for one eye in reds and one for the other eye in cyan (blue) shades. These two colours are used because they’re opposites to each another. So, when the viewer looks at the resulting image through the red and cyan filters in the glasses, each eye sees a different layer. The separate pictures from each siliconchip.com.au eye are sent to the brain where the 3D stereo image is formed. This technique was used both for static images and films but it renders everything you view an annoying scape of either pure red or pure cyan. Philips lenticular 3D TV system As mentioned above, in 3D prints, a lenticular lens layer provides a different view for each eye, because of the refractions on the surface of the screen. Philips used this principle with its 3D LCD screens, incorporating a parallax barrier over the top of the screen. The barrier is made of slits that only allow the viewer to see selective vertical lines of pixels from certain angles at any one time and therefore ensure that the viewer is seeing the two distinct images. The main issues with this method is there are dead zones where the effect doesn’t work and it’s also more prone to giving headaches and eye strain. It’s been overwhelmed by Sony and Panasonic’s systems which represent the future of mainstream 3D in the home. In recent years, some computer companies like HP have produced a ‘reasonable’ 3D effect from 2D on a normal monitor screen, driven by a powerful computer. This was displayed at HP’s innovation centre, Cooltown, in Singapore. If you are ever in Singapore, it’s worth seeing. While HP’s system delivers less dramatic 3D than systems with glasses, there are two big advantages: no glasses are needed and 3D is created from ‘normal’ footage. Dolby 3D in cinemas Dolby’s 3D for cinemas, also known as wavelength multiplex visualisation, is considered very effective but the required glasses are expensive and the system is unsuitable for home use. Dolby’s 3D Infitec is one step up from anaglyphs and is in fact referred to as ‘super-anaglyph’. Instead of just splitting the two images into complementary colours, the points of view for each eye use narrow Fujifilm’s 3D digital still camera is available now, however prints can only be made in their lab in USA. April 2010  15 The world’s first mobile single-projector passive 3D solution. Designed to be set up for individual 3D presentations in minutes, or permanently mounted for long term use, the RealD LP allows the flexibility of switching between 2D and 3D on the fly. The RealD LP is externally mounted on a 3D-enabled DLP projector. When 3D content is fed to the projector, the RealD LP allows content to be seen in 3D by polarizing right- and left-eye images. Suitable for screens up to 17 feet wide, the RealD LP works with 3D-enabled projectors and requires a silver screen from MDI, Harkness or Stewart. but different bandwidths of blues, reds and greens. So the left and right eyes are actually seeing slightly different and distinct wavelengths of reds, blues and greens to each other but it’s not noticeable with human perception. The result is two entirely separate full colour images which can be decoded by sets of glasses with the appropriate filters. Infitec, used in the Dolby 3D system, works by putting special colour wheels in the projection light-beam, which select the wavelengths of light it lets through. The reasons why Dolby 3D is a strong contender for cinemas is that the projection screen doesn’t have to be a specialised silver 3D type and Dolby 3D also provides brighter, more vivid colours, a sharper image with more detail, better contrast and almost no ghosting A rotating filter wheel assembly is installed in the existing digital projector between the lamp and picture element for viewing 3D; it retracts for 2D presentations. Dolby’s Filter Controller (DFC100) automatically synchronises the filter wheel with 3D digital content as it’s projected. The most successful way to display 3D in cinemas was by polarising the two images. In the cinema, two projectors were used to produce synchronised images on the screen, providing right and left eye perspectives. The two projectors had opposite polarising filters over the lenses to ensure they only let through light travelling in one orientation. The audience wore glasses with the same polarised filters. Then the two distinct and different pictures were sent from the eyes into the visual cortex where the brain put them together in 3D. In the past, the easiest way to polarise the light was to send it linearly, either in the horizontal plane or the vertical one but that meant that if you tilted your head at an angle, the light from the two images would bleed into each other and the 3D effect would be lost. The way around this is to polarise light in a circular manner, with one filter for each direction, so it moves either in a Circular polarising 3D Polarised light was discovered in 1936 by Edwin H Land (of Polaroid fame) and is pivotal to the RealD Cinema system currently used in 80 percent of all 3D films, like Avatar. It is very effective and the glasses are inexpensive, however more complicated equipment is required for home use. 16  Silicon Chip RealD CE5 Active Shutter 3D glasses. Active Shutter eyewear is used for 3D viewing when synchronized to a compatible display. Fast-response opacity in each lens and liquid crystal quality determines 3D image clarity. clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Then it makes no difference which way you move your head. RealD’s 3D system In the fast-moving world of 3D, one name rarely mentioned to consumers, yet behind 80% of 3D in movies and television, is RealD. For 30 years, RealD has provided key stereoscopic technologies used in science, manufacturing, marketing and other industries. RealD’s technology is used by organisations such as NASA, Pfizer, BMW and Boeing. Now RealD’s 3D movie technology is claimed to be used for 80 percent of movies in cinemas today, making 3D films like Avatar possible. The main difference in RealD 3D is that it uses one projector to display the images for the right and left eyes, alternating at a speed of 144 times per second, so your eyes don’t notice any flicker. RealD is a digital standard, meaning movies are recorded in digital format and the projectors are also digital. The 3D polarised light method means glasses are relatively cheap but cinemas do require the projection of the image onto a quality silver screen to maintain the light’s polarised state, rather than a white screen which would degrade it. RealD 3D TV RealD has reached agreement with Sony, JVC, Samsung, Toshiba and Panasonic. Many of these companies siliconchip.com.au IMAX 3D It is hard to talk about 3D without mentioning this massive format. IMAX 3D uses large linear passive polarised plastic glasses for the viewers, with movies optimised for pop-out screen effect. Objects literally seem to leap out of the screen appearing as if you can touch them. Kids love this effect but it can be tiring in longer movies. The IMAX cinema in Sydney’s Darling Harbour has the world’s largest cinema screen at 29.42m high by 35.73m wide – covering an area of more than 1,015 square metres. Made of vinyl coated with a reflective silver paint, the 3D screen is stretched taut over a scaffold frame. Thousands of small perforations allow sound from speakers positioned behind the screen to play their key role in the surround sound system. IMAX ‘conventional’ films are shot and projected on 15 perforation/70mm film – the largest film format in existence. It’s only possible to project these onto the huge screen because of the remarkable high-definition and clarity of the film frames. The powerful projector uses two 15,000 watt bulbs (see photo). The average 35mm movie projector ‘only’ uses a bulb between 2,000 and 4,000 watts. The two lenses on the Close-up of a 15kW Xenon short-arc IMAX 3D camera see a slightly diflamp. Photo: Atlant/Wikipedia. will also work with RealD to develop premium active (shutter) glasses and passive glasses compatible with their 3D-enabled displays. For video projection, the RealD LP (Linear Polarising) projection system is designed for home or business 3D and 2D presentations, for education, commercial and industrial applications. Screens up to five metres wide are possible and RealD LP works with 3D-enabled projectors plus silver screens from a number of manufacturers. LCD glasses In the home, the main choice is likely to be the alternate image projecting system, utilising plasma or LCD TVs with a fast frame-rate and LCD shutter glasses, which incorporate a separate polarising filter for each eye. When a control voltage is applied to these glasses, the individual lenses alternate to black, thus obscuring each siliconchip.com.au IMAX 3D is filmed on cameras designed for each environment, like this camera for general use. When filming a feature on repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, only eight minutes of film could be loaded, using a custom-made IMAX camera as big as a submarine. ferent view, as they are photographed simultaneously onto two separate rolls of film. In the cinema, the two films are projected as alternate frames at 96 times per second. SILICON CHIP published a feature explaining the intricacies of IMAX in the April 2003 issue. eye’s view for a moment. The glasses are synchronised with the TV’s framerate and controlled by an IR signal from the screen. The market for 3D glasses (should we call them 3D specs?) will be hotly contested, with the top models made by XpanD and RealD. Technical uses for 3D Designed for engineers, scientists, cartographers and medical professionals for viewing complex 3D computer graphics models, Monitor ZScreen 2000 and 2000i use Stereo3D technology to provide the most realistic representation possible. The Monitor ZScreen 2000 series is ideal for GIS/ Mapping applications, molecular modelling and medical applications, particularly for dual display systems and small group visualisation. The ZScreen panel is easily attached to a standard CRT computer monitor to deliver Stereo3D visualisation capabil- ities. In conjunction with stereo-ready software, Monitor ZScreen separates the left and right eye images. Ultimately it may be the video gamers who get the most excited about 3D. Sony has announced a PS3 (PlayStation 3) 3D firmware update for stereoscopic games to come with their BRAVIA LCD TVs in 2010. RealD is also set to be used in the upcoming Avatar game. The RealD Format allows for a direct connection between the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system or PlayStation 3 computer and 3D-enabled TVs, for an unsurpassed 3D gaming experience. Pay TV 3D developments In Australia, Foxtel has successfully trialled 3D in its labs and offices. It plans test broadcasts in 2011 and may announce a full 3D roll out soon after. Global cable sports network ESPN plans to have trial 3D broadcasts from this year’s World Cup in South Africa. April 2010  17 Channel Ten broadcast a brief 3D segment in the quiz show “Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation” on February 7th. Ten gave away the disposable red and cyan 3D glasses in TV WEEK and Woman’s Day magazines. This appears to be a test of public reaction to 3D broadcast through existing equipment. (3D by 3Dimages.com.au) In the UK, Sky’s 3D TV debut for the general public took place on January 31 this year, with a premier league football match shown on special 3D TVs in nine pubs across the UK. Viewers reported: “It’s brilliant, the corner and back of the goal views are just amazing. It makes the game so much better.” “It was phenomenal – far better than I thought it would be. You feel so involved in the game, part of the action. This is the way football should be seen.” “It just looks incredible on screen – really amazing, I think everyone is going to want to watch football in 3D now.” There was just one negative: If you step to the side or sit down, it gets a bit blurry. Sky will be launching its 3D television channel this month (April 2010) by screening the Arsenal vs Manchester United match in nine pubs across the country. The game will be filmed by eight 3D camera rigs containing 16 3D cameras for stereoscopic shots from almost any angle. A 3D production team and purposebuilt 3D OB truck will allow mixing between cameras, replays, and 3D graphics. The 3D broadcast will have a dedicated commentary team. also monitoring the 3D’s impact, particularly on sport. But Seven’s general manager of group broadcast services, Andrew Anderson, said it could be years before there was a large number of 3D television sets in Australian lounge rooms. Some retailers agree, noting the initial high cost of 3D TVs and consumer reluctance to buy another, when they have recently acquired flat-screen TVs. The 2010 US International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the stage for many manufacturers’ 3D product releases and demonstrations. Samsung’s latest LED TV has a screen as thin as a pencil, just 7.6mm thick. The LED 9000 includes a 3D proces- sor, 240Hz refresh rate and a TV built into the remote control, for simultaneous viewing of live television in the remote! Samsung forecast it will sell 10 million LED TVs this year. LED backlights have replaced CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlights in many LCD TVs, as LEDs offer better colour saturation and power consumption than CCFL technology. My observation is that LED is more vivid than the best LCD screens, however occasionally, LED screens do exhibit less shadow detail than others. Will this deter buyers? Absolutely not. Most viewers love an exaggeratedly colourful and vivid screen. Free to Air Channel Ten broadcast a brief 3D segment in the quiz show “Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation” on February 7th. Ten gave away the disposable red and cyan 3D glasses in TV WEEK and Woman’s Day magazines. Channels Nine and Seven are 18  Silicon Chip This ‘Heroes of She’ video clip on YouTube is claimed to be the world’s first 3D music video. siliconchip.com.au Samsung’s range includes a 55-inch LED TV. For people who want to watch regular 2D television shows in 3D, Samsung has included a 3D chip that renders 2D content into 3D in real time. The company also sells active shutter 3D glasses. Chinese television manufacturer TCL took on the larger companies with the release of two 3D televisions – one that requires glasses and one that does not. The model which requires 3D glasses is a 240Hz LCD TV with an independent infrared device to communicate with the active shutter glasses. This 46-inch television features 1920 x 1080 resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio and HDMI input plus a 4 millisecond response rate. The television that does not need glasses, also known as auto-stereoscopic, uses a lenticular lens (not unlike Philips’) which acts as a filter over the 1920 x 1080 screen. TCL, which is marketed in North America as RCA, is represented in Australia. In Australia, Sony and Panasonic have both announced that 3D products will be available here within months. Earlier this year, Panasonic Australia announced their 3D camera for professional and serious amateurs, at around $20,000. Also on show at the CES was the Panasonic 50-inch 3D Full HD Viera Plasma. It measures around 70mm thick and it is expected that 3D will only be featured on screen sizes of 50 inches and above. 3D images must be viewed through Panasonic’s own battery-operated eyewear, which receives sync pulses via infrared from the TV. Those watching the demonstration noted the 3D effect was OK when watching the screen from different angles. In addition to the 3D TV, the 3D Blu-Ray player and the eyeware, consumers must also purchase an HDMI 1.4 cable. This effectively makes the consumer transition to 3D a fourproduct commitment. Panasonic prices have not been announced but you can expect to pay between $5,000 and $8,000 for the whole package. Sony’s range will be released in July and will introduce free IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). Videos will be streamed directly from the internet to Sony TVs, with 15 channels available through its service, including made for internet content. There will also be the ability to add pay-per-view movies or content in the future. Some models will include onscreen Internet Widgets to access realtime updates from applications such as Yahoo Weather, Yahoo News, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Toshiba and Samsung have also announced 2D to 3D conversion systems with their sets. Plasma or LCD – another battle looms Panasonic Australia recently declared, “Plasma is the ideal technology platform for 3D. Not only does it offer better image response, but deeper blacks provide superior contrast and a wider viewing angle ensures the 3D image is uncompromised.” As expected, Sony, who only produces LCD sets, has responded, with technology communications manager Paul Colley ‘going to bat’ for LCD. Because both Panasonic’s and Sony’s 3D technology is based on separate images produced for the left and right eyes, with a shutter in the eyeware al- ternatively opening and blocking each of the lenses, Colley said the speed of LCD gives it an advantage. ‘When a different left and a right frame is transmitted, you’re halving the amount of time the image is on the screen for, so that means TVs will need to be able to perform to a shorter refresh time,’ explained Colley. “The benefit of LCD is that we already have the 200Hz technology, so we can manage that short frame time and we can use that time also to eliminate the cross between left and right fields.” Colley also discussed polarisation. In LCD, this occurs at the TV end of the content delivery, whereas with plasma it occurs at the eyeware. Colley said the eyeware method causes flickering, with the line of sight around the television appearing blurred. Panasonic counter-claimed that 3D on LCD cannot be viewed from low angles, such as when lying on the couch. Only time and technology will resolve which system is superior. We can look forward to an escalating battle between brands on hardware, systems, software, release dates and prices. The only certainties are, most home entertainment will have too many features, their 50+ page operating manuals will be near-impossible to follow and within a few months of purchasing equipment it will be superseded by models with more ‘wow’ factor! SC Sony’s prototype single lens 3D camera with a frame-rate at 240fps (frames per second). A single lens captures the left and right images simultaneously. siliconchip.com.au April 2010  19