Title: Stereo 3DTV Graphics - Investigating the Issues in Depth
Location: E102
Time: 11:30 - 13:00

Chair(s):
— Ralf
Schäfer,
head of department,
Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute,

Session Participants:
— Adam
Powers,
vice president, technology,
Rovi Corporation,
UNITED STATES
— Simon
Hailes,
cto,
Screen Subtitling Systems,
UNITED KINGDOM
— Alain
Verdier,
researcher,
Technicolor,
France
Producer(s):
— David
Crawford,
professor,
University of Essex,
UNITED KINGDOM
— Nicolas
Lodge,
media technology consultant,
Freelance,
UNITED KINGDOM

With the growth of 3DTV services to the home, new challenges are arising as to how and where to position graphics, subtitles and on-screen programme guide information. As well as artistic considerations, there are a number of practical and psycho-visual issues that must be taken into consideration for viewer comfort.

This session provides insight into the very latest techniques that have been developed to overcome problems such as border effects, depth conflicts and window violations. The international speakers will highlight their solutions to the uncomfortable situations that 3D viewers sometimes have to endure.

Speakers in this session will deliver the following papers:

— Adam Powers: Video Content Navigation Design And Techniques For Stereoscopic 3D Television Displays

— Simon Hailes: Safe Graphic Insertion for Stereographic Media

— Alain Verdier: Smart Stereo Graphics Inserter for Consumer Devices

Title: Making the Business Case for 3DTV
Location: E102
Time: 14:00 - 15:30

Chair(s):
— Vincent
Teulade,
director,
PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory,
FRANCE

Session Participants:
— Ghislaine
Le Rhun,
head of 3D tv program,
orange,
— Brian
Lenz,
director of product development,
BSkyB,
UNITED KINGDOM
Producer(s):
— Vincent
Teulade,
director,
PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory,
FRANCE

Numerous broadcasters have trialled stereo 3D production while 50 broadcasters have now gone to air with dedicated 3D channels worldwide. 3D TVs are progressively being introduced into the market and there is a considerable marketing push from leading consumer electronic manufacturers to encourage consumers to buy hardware and broadcasters to commission 3D content. However while the costs of production remain high and the number of 3D capable receivers limited, broadcasters are right to remain cautious about plunging headlong into the new medium. This session puts forward the case for launching and operating a 3D TV service. What is the right mix of genre, live or VOD and volume of content that will attract audiences? Are content owners holding distributors to ransom? Does 3DTV currently only work in a paid model or can the economics of production be justified by commercial and free to air broadcasters?

Title: Stereo 3DTV Production - Preparing for the Next Generation
Location: E102
Time: 16:00 - 17:30

Chair(s):
— Dietrich
Westerkamp,
director standards coordination,
Technicolor,

Session Participants:
— Sebastian
Knorr,
managing director,
imcube labs GmbH,
Germany
— Mike
Knee,
consultant engineer,
Snell,
United Kingdom
— Jorge
Rodriguez Lopez,
innovation projects manager,
HISPASAT,
SPAIN
Producer(s):
— David
Crawford,
professor,
University of Essex,
UNITED KINGDOM
— Nicolas
Lodge,
media technology consultant,
Freelance,
UNITED KINGDOM

Stereoscopic 3DTV is establishing itself as one of the biggest trends in cinema, broadcast and the internet and the emphasis has been on creating ’good 3D’ to avoid viewer discomfort. A year on from the launch of the first 3DTV channels are there rules that the wider industry can draw upon to provide good 3D perception and if so what are they? The first phase of 3DTV broadcast systems are ’frame compatible’ - which is good news for delivery system bandwidth and the capabilities of the current crop of set top boxes - but this does reduce the resolution of the picture to each eye by as much as half. Are we ready, or even able, to roll out full-resolution 3DTV systems? This session will look at the production ’grammar’ required for effective depth perception, ’solid’ geometric perspective and full resolution. Different broadcast technologies for 3DTV delivery will be discussed, and future developments for 3DTV production and display will be glimpsed.

Speakers in this session will deliver the following papers:

— Sebastian Knorr: Basic Rules For Good 3D And The Avoidance Of Visual Discomfort In Stereoscopic Vision

— Mike Knee: Getting Machines To Watch 3D For You

— Jorge Rodriguez Lopez: Second Generation Of 3DTV. Are We Ready?

Supporting paper to this session (available online):

— Daniele Siragusano: Stereoscopic Volume Perception

Title: Getting to Grips with Stereo 3D
Location: Auditorium
Date: 11 September 2011
Time: 10:30 - 12:00

Chair(s):
— David
Monk,
ceo,
EDCF,
Session Participants:
— Alaric
Hamacher,
director of stereography, stereographer,
Virtual Experience,
Germany
— Simon
Watt,
lecturer,
Bangor University,
United Kingdom
Producer(s):
— Peter
Owen,
chairman,
IBC Council,
United Kingdom

The opening session of the 3D stream explains how we perceive 3D, what are the visual cues and how do we ensure that cues don’t confuse the viewer. What do we have to do to generate comfortable and credible illusion of 3D? The session will be a fast track tutorial on the essential elements of 3D which must be understood by those creating and reproducing the illusion of 3D via the stereoscopic 3D process. The session will also discuss health issues, is there evidence, is there more work to be carried out, are they real, and if so are they long or short term?

Following the tutorial a stereographer will present real examples of productions demonstrating techniques used which follow the rules of stereoscopy.

Finally, and an important part of this session is the discussion between panellists and the audience.

Title: 3DTV Broadcast Standards - The Complete Picture
Location: E102
Date: 11 September 2011
Time: 14:00 - 15:30

Chair(s):
— David
Wood,
deputy director,
EBU,
SWITZERLAND

Session Participants:
— Dietrich
Westerkamp,
director standards coordination,
Technicolor,
— David
Daniels,
senior technologist,
BSkyB,
UNITED KINGDOM
— Sassan
Pejhan,
principal engineer, broadcast systems,
DirecTV,
UNITED STATES
Producer(s):
— David
Crawford,
professor,
University of Essex,
UNITED KINGDOM

Last February, the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project Board approved the consortium’s specification for broadcasting 3DTV. This specification has also been sent to the European Telecomms Standards Institute (ETSI) for formal standardisation and published as a ’Blue Book’. Nonetheless there is still some confusion over the progress being made among standards bodies, and in the wider marketplace. This session will clarify the issues by showing how the European process correlates with other 3D consumer standards being developed for example for Blu-ray disk players, for cables (HDMI), for glasses (CEA), and standards by other bodies like MPEG and SMPTE. It will also discuss developments being made for audio systems to accompany 3DTV. Delegates will find a technical and business overview of the principles behind and the progress towards 3DTV standards - vital for any strategising of broadcast markets and for understanding how broadcasters can respond to consumer demands.

Title: EDCF/SMPTE: Dealing with the Mastering and Distribution Challenges of 3D Movies
Location: E102
Date: 11 September 2011
Time: 16:00 - 17:30

Chair(s):
— Peter
Lude,
senior vp, engineering,
Sony Electronics, Inc,
United States

Session Participants:
— Richard
Welsh,
director, digital cinema services,
Dolby Laboratories,
UNITED KINGDOM
— Laurence
Claydon,
technical director,
Deluxe Digital,
UNITED KINGDOM
— James
Mercs,
managing director,
Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory (PHL),
UNITED STATES
Producer(s):
— John
Graham,
general secretary,
EDCF,
United Kingdom

As more stereo 3D movies and 3DTV programming is produced both in Europe and the US, a growing number of post production houses are discovering the complexities of mastering and distribution for multiple screens and multiple formats.

Specially organized by the European Digital Cinema Forum in co-operation with SMPTE this session will keep delegates abreast of those challenges and will include progress reports on attempts to standardize 3D subtitling, colour correction for 3D distribution and the implications for downstream re-purposing of stereo content intended for portable devices. Don’t miss this chance to learn from the experts in this rapidly changing field.