Dimensional Television Just a Fashion That Comes and Goes Like A

AFP Broadcasting 4 ITU News  2 |2010  March 2010 Has 3DTVcomeofage? collection? Orwillitbe coverage, heightening dimensional television Games inLondon will include 3Dtelevision the public’sappetite for thisnewviewing comes andgoeslike Africa andthe2012 World Cup inSouth different thistime? just afashionthat to know:isthree- a springclothing Summer Olympic Everyone wants The 2010FIFA experience. Has 3D TV come of age? Broadcasting ITU/V. Martin ITU/V. D. Wood

Christoph Dosch David Wood

Chairman of ITU–R Chairman of ITU–R Study Group 6 Working Party 6C

Has 3D TV come of age?

Everyone wants to know: is three-dimensional tel- There are indications that, if ever 3D TV was go- evision (3D TV) just a fashion that comes and goes ing to succeed, now is the time. A conﬂ uence of fac- like a spring clothing collection? That is rather how it tors means that the quality of 3D TV is going to be has been regarded before — more than once. About higher than was ever possible before. But with a his- every 25 years, since the beginning of the twentieth tory of “boom and bust”, and arguably with some century, 3D catches the public (and business) imagi- eye fatigue issues still unresolved, is this the time for nation. Each time its star fades. But each time its se- the viewer or industry to invest in 3D TV? The answer crets are kept alive by enthusiasts. is that no one knows for sure, but success or failure Will it be different this time? Will the technology in agreeing common technical standards will play a be able to permanently win audiences for television, part. spurred on by successful 3D movies, and starting from ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R) has 3D pay-television in the coming months? Plans have a track record of agreeing standards (“Recommen- been announced for broadcast 3D television services dations”) for television formats. These have made in several parts of the world. Major sporting events, possible digital television and high-deﬁ nition televi- such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and sion (HDTV). Everyone has won because of the com- the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, will mon standards, and it would be great if we could do include 3D television coverage, heightening the pub- the same for 3D TV. Whether it becomes ubiquitous lic’s appetite for this new viewing experience. or just used for special events, 3D TV will succeed if it

ITU News  2 | 2010  March 2010 5 D. Wood Broadcasting 6 posals fordraft RecommendationstoITU–R’s Study national administrations andindustry tomakepro- ership showninITU–R,butmainlyonthewillof Whether wesucceedwilldependpartlyonthelead- some broadcast 3Dserviceswillstartlaterthisyear. time issomethingwemaynothavewith3DTV, as Recommendations cantaketimetobeagreed. But wants acommonstandard —aslong asitistheirs. of 3DTVislarge. Andofcourse,as usual, everyone selves. Thenumberofalternativeimplementations common standards donotjusthappenbythem- duce wonderfulresults butcanmakeusforget that source initiatives(thoughnotfor3DTV)whichpro- tives from thoseofpublicbodies.There are open commercial industrythatcanhavedifferent objec- research anddevelopmentismore oftendoneby fi marketplace isfragmented. is basedoncommonstandards —butwillloseifthe cult toagree oncommonstandards todaybecause Finally, we must remember thatsomeITU The jobmaynotbesimple.Itisincreasingly dif- ITU News  2 |2010 The fi  rst 3DTVprogrammes were madeinGermany1982bythebroadcaster NDR. The picture showsa3Dproduction beingmadeatazoointheNetherlands March 2010 Has 3DTVcomeofage? potential “accommodation-convergence” con eye’s focus.Thisleadstosomethingscientistscalla is thephaseinformationwhichnormallyguides by a3Dcamera, justtheamplitudeofwave.It from theobjectbeingphotographed isnotrecorded sion isthatthephaseoflightwaveoriginating but there are someadditionalcomplications. depth inthepicture (through interocular parallax), generation approaches to3DTV, theviewerdoessee ural humanvision—butnottotally. Intoday’s the correct picture. Itissimilartotheprocess ofnat- wearing specialglasses)makessure eacheyesees and amechanism(thatusuallyinvolvestheviewer one forright)are superimposedonthesamescreen, always been.Two pictures (oneforthelefteyeand The basicsof3DTV to compromise ifneeded,atupcomingmeetings. Group 6(whichexaminesbroadcasting services),and The physicsbehindthedifference from natural vi- The basicprincipleof3DTVisthesameasithas fi fl rst- ict, Has 3D TV come of age? Broadcasting AFP

Children in the Republic of Korea wearing special glasses to watch a 3D image

which can strain your eyes. Thus the “missing” part and right pictures as a pair. There will be a whole of the light wave can be the cause of eye fatigue, new market for such processing equipment. unless you are very careful with the way you shoot There is no single standardized format for con- and watch the pictures. The need to take so much tributing, distributing or archiving material in a 3D care is why the recently released 3D movie “Avatar” television studio. This is also the situation for HDTV took so many years, and cost hundreds of millions of — there are about forty different ways to make an dollars, to make. HDTV programme today, when you take into account all the combinations available. Should ITU–R play a Production challenges role in generating Recommendations for 3D televi- Applying that care in television will have a ma- sion production formats? Manufacturers and admin- jor impact on the success or failure of 3D TV. There istrations will decide, by way of their contributions to are rules which amount to a “grammar” for making ITU–R Study Group 6 and its Working Party 6C. 3D TV programmes, but they are outside the do- main of technical standards. Special new 3D cameras 3D displays and processing equipment are needed to make 3D Over the last year, many of the world’s display programmes. manufacturers announced that they will make 3D A number of recent trial 3D TV productions have TV displays. This move has been seen as an effort provided useful lessons. And more knowledge will to boost sales now that proﬁ ts from ﬂ at screens and be gained through ongoing trial productions. Many HDTV sets could be levelling off. aspects of production will need a rethink, including Will the 3D television sets cost a lot more than training. For example, 3D cameras have to be placed usual ones? In reality, the extra cost to the manufac- close to what they are shooting. Another new ele- turer of making a 3D version of an existing display ment is that an additional post-production stage will should be modest. They might, for example, simply be needed to register, align, and manipulate the left need to add a way to switch to the right and left

ITU News  2 | 2010  March 2010 7 Broadcasting Has 3D TV come of age?

lenses of special glasses with each frame of the pic- Broadcasting 3D TV ture (in the active shutter system). Or it might mean For some time, there has been a free-for-all of ide- adding a coating over the screen to make left and as about ways to exchange programmes and broad- right pictures give out light with alternate polariza- cast 3D TV. Now the smoke is clearing, and a pattern tions (in the polarization plane system). Most of the for ways of broadcasting 3D TV is emerging. This is 3D sets seen recently at trade fairs and exhibitions one of the key elements of the ITU–R Report agreed have featured plasma displays with shutter glasses. by Study Group 6 in November 2009. The new report While there may be only moderate additional provides a map for future 3D TV. costs, most manufacturers plan to start with “high end” 3D TV displays. This minimizes their risk, be- First-generation 3D TV cause they do not have to invest too much. But this, Broadcasting is, arguably, the area where stand- by the way, maximizes the broadcaster’s risk because ardization is most valuable. It directly affects the larg- the initial audiences are bound to be small. However, est cost and most inﬂ uential element of any broad- one manufacturer looks like being the exception and casting system — the price and quality of the home is going for high volume from the start. This is be- receiver. cause their many millions of games machines can be The ways of broadcasting 3D TV are likely to upgraded to 3D TV, and to harvest this market, they evolve over time, as described in the report. Today, need to have corresponding millions of 3D displays in what we have are the elements of “ﬁ rst-generation” the customers’ hands. 3D TV technology: the Plano-stereoscopic systems.

8 ITU News  2 | 2010  March 2010 Has 3D TV come of age? Broadcasting AFP

A prototype model of a 3D TV plasma display panel expected on the market in 2010

With these systems, wearing special glasses simi- With this kind of system, it is difﬁ cult to achieve lar to those used to watch 3D cinema, viewers will be entirely correct colours or to prevent “cross talk” be- able to see depth in the picture, and as in the cinema, tween the pictures. It has been used for broadcasts the view will remain the same when they move their in the United States and Europe (such as Channel 4 in heads (in real life, our view changes when we move the United Kingdom). In any event, we do not need our heads), and accommodation-convergence may to standardize this level because existing television arise with its potential for eye strain. signals and sets are used unchanged. The extent to which the viewer will need to buy A “Level 2” system needs a new display but no new home equipment to watch programmes in 3D new set-top box. It is known as a “frame compatible” can be divided into four levels. system. It allows a 3D picture to pass through an existing set-top box like a normal HDTV picture. New Compatibility levels electronics in the display then unravel the frame com- With a “Level 1” system, the viewer does not patible signal and create the left and right pictures need to buy new equipment, and will enjoy limited for showing on the screen. The additional cost to a 3D experience using today’s standard HDTV set. The 3D display to do this is likely to be modest. However, system converts the left and right signals into two in creating the combined broadcast signal, some res- pictures, each with a different colour cast. These are olution may be lost from the individual left and right mixed and broadcast together. Standard HDTV sets signals. receive these “anaglyph” pictures, and viewers use There are several different ways of creating a frame glasses with different colour lenses corresponding to compatible signal, each with different strengths, and the colour casts to provide each eye with the correct some with licences and others without. It is believed picture. that those pioneering 3D TV services, starting this

ITU News  2 | 2010  March 2010 9 AFP Broadcasting 10 ture whichcanbeseenonanormalset,plusanextra new display. The broadcast signal includesa2Dpic- quality. two leftandrightpictures upto2Dhigh-de tional “top-up”signal,tobringtheresolution ofthe which is16–18Mbit/s. will beabouttheir“normalsportsbit-rate” forHDTV, patible signalrequire? Oneoftheuserssuggestsit posals. Whatbit-rate willtheside-by-sideframe com- 2 format—SbSorsomethingelse?We awaitpro- SbS. CouldITU–Rdelegatesagree onasingleLevel year, plantouseaformatcalled“side-by-side”or “Level 4”needsbothanewset-topboxand “Level 3”wouldbeaLevel2signalwithanaddi- ITU News  2 |2010  March 2010 Has 3DTVcomeofage? ﬁ nition (MPEG) establishedbytheInternationalOrganization (ITU–T) andtheMovingPicture Experts Group of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector Team (JVT)formedfrom expertsinStudy Group 16 coding (MVC) thatwasdevelopedbytheJointVideo itself. “something” signalwouldbethesecondfullpicture open andsomeproprietary. Thesimplestformofthe can becreated inanumberofdifferent ways,some a “2Dservicecompatible”system.The“something” new set-topbox.Thisisa“2Dplussomething”or the 2Dsignaltocreate theleftandrightpairin signal inthemultiplexthatcanbecombinedwith Another wayistouseasystemcalledmulti-view Has 3D TV come of age? Broadcasting

for Standardization (ISO). MVC What will come in future? can be used for a left and right Two or three future genera-

system, or it can be used for Martin ITU/V. tions of 3D TV can be imagined future systems where there — though they are not certain. are multiple pairs of signals The ﬁ rst would follow the ar- available. rival of a multiview auto-ster- The Blu-ray Disc Association eoscopic display and would al- has chosen this MVC format low viewing in 3D without the for 3D Blu-ray discs, and it will need to wear special glasses. It succeed the anaglyph formats would also provide the viewer in Blu-rays later in 2010. How with multiple 3D pairs of views much bit-rate will it need? — but how many views would The Blu-Ray Disc Association be needed? What resolution are understood to be think- “ The new ITU report on 3D TV would the display need? How ing of a total advanced video establishes a clear framework for would multiview programmes coding (AVC) bit-rate of up the development of new types be produced? These are all un- to about 30–36 Mbit/s, with of systems that will change the knowns today. 16–20 Mbit/s for the base way we experience broadcast and A generation beyond this 2D signal and an additional multimedia content. ” may see systems with large 60–80 per cent of that for numbers of vertical and hori- the “plus something” MVC Valery Timofeev, Director of ITU’s zontal views. This is approxi- channel. Radiocommunication Bureau mately how insects see with A “Level 4” system could their compound eyes, and is also be a choice for free-to-air sometimes called “holoscopic” 3D TV broadcasters, because there are no service- (mixing the words holographic and stereoscopic) or linked set-top boxes to cater for. Viewers would still ”integral” television. be able to watch a picture on normal television sets. However, if a frame compatible system is used for The job to be done today terrestrial broadcasting, it might not be easy to ﬁ nd These possibilities will be topics of discussion the additional channels for simulcasting 3D TV chan- for future generations of delegates at ITU meet- nels in 2D. ings. Today, our main preoccupation must be to Whatever system is used, we should ask now convince industry to submit draft Recommendations whether we are “locking out” 3D TV from the ter- for a common broadcast format for both the frame restrial bands unless we ask for more spectrum for compatible case and the service compatible case. broadcasting today. Administrations must encourage industry to do so. This could be the “make or break” element for 3D TV.

ITU News  2 | 2010  March 2010 11