BDA Creates Task Force to Integrate 3-D into Blu-ray

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has formed a 3-D task force made up of members from the motion picture, consumer electronics and IT sectors, to ease “the integration of 3-D technology into the Blu-ray Disc format,” according to a statement from the group. A meeting timetable for the task force has not been specified. The large capacity of Blu-ray makes it an ideal medium to store advanced 3-D content. However, there are currently no standards for displaying 3-D at home with theater-like quality, and thus current home video presentations use the inferior anaglyph system (based on two-color glasses). More and more studios see 3-D as a boon for Blu-ray. For example, Disney's 'Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience' will only be available in 3-D on Blu-ray, whereas the DVD will only feature the 2-D version. “Blu-ray Disc is the ideal platform for bringing 3D technology to mainstream home entertainment,” said the BDA in a statement. “The format has been widely embraced by consumers, and the 1080p picture quality and overall experience have become the standards against which all other high-definition delivery platforms are measured. Blu-ray Disc's capacity, flexibility and incomparable picture quality coupled with the activities of the BDA's 3D task force sets the stage for a 3D home entertainment specification that establishes another industry standard and enables an in-home 3D consumer experience unmatched by any other delivery mechanism,” said the BDA in the statement. Last year, Panasonic had submitted a proposal for a 3-D standard, which required the use of special glasses to convert two separate 1080i60 video streams into one 1080p24 3-D image.
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RIKANA  » May 19, 2009
Sounds great! RI

tilallr1  » May 19, 2009
3-D is nice and all. But unless they can bring the technology home WITHOUT glasses, it will always be a gimmick. One day maybe, but the technology isn't quite there yet. Theaters will have it long before home theaters will too. Maybe in another 25 years.

BaronVH  » May 19, 2009
It will never be done without glasses. You have to filter out each opposite feed for each eye or it will not work. What I would like to know is specifically what type of equipment would be required? TVs that can receive the double images, Blu-ray players that can output them, and a new type of disc? If all new equipment would be required, and I think that is likely, I doubt I would invest in it.

BD4Life  » May 19, 2009
It is already done without glasses. See Philips 3D LCD TV which is on display and in use at The Bridge Cinema De Lux in Los Angeles, CA. Its about $12,000 USD for a 40inch and it works without glasses. Not the best experiance since you have to sit directly in front of the set, but it still works and without glasses. http://www.dimensionalstudios.com/philips_42_3d_wowvx_display.html

Hale-Bopp  » May 19, 2009
If they can bring it to homes and have it look as good as Real D, I will be the happiest guy in the world! Glasses or not, I'm in!

DAMNSAM77  » May 19, 2009

same here, glasses or not, I am in....Shutter Glasses and REALD Polarized glasses do not cause eye strain, so saying that you will only get into 3D if they make it available without glasses is an over statement....half of the people in the world world glasses, whether they are near sighted , far sighted, bi focals, or just plain sun glasses....so saying that wearing eyestrain-free 3D glasses is a gimmick, is a gimmick itself.

CptGreedle  » May 19, 2009

About time. I don't want this to turn into the DVD 3D standard, which took 10 years to come out and still sucks! I am confident that they will be able to standardize the technology for all companies to use, keeping in mind all the new formats available out there. Glasses are not ideal, but work very well. I know that some auto-stereoscopic screens have started to come out, and being such a young format, requires a lot of work before it is ready for the main stream. The new glasses are much easier on the eye and (and head) and do not distort the color, but as long as the standards for 3D on Blu-ay allow for expansion into the headset-less 3D, then we will see the best expansion possible. I can't wait to see movies like Beowulf and Bolt in 3D again. It will be years before I can afford to use this, but by that time, more titles will have come out.

Xombito  » May 19, 2009
As long as I'm able to have the option to watch the movie in 2-D this would be awsome.

ShaggyDude  » May 19, 2009
I'm only adopting 3d when I can get setup like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/3484819402/

TheRealBob  » May 19, 2009

tilallr1, 3D without glasses will probably hit home before it hits the theaters. The systems in development have a constrained viewing angle or require a lot of cameras (eight or more) so you can have different two-eye images available at different angles. On top of that, they require special LCD technology, so they'd have to replace the silver screen -- which are actually screens -- with electronics, which would cost an unbelievable amount of money. And after all that cost and bother, you're going to end up with an experience that is worse in every way except you don't need to wear glasses. In the end, people will take the glasses as the lesser of two evils, at least for the foreseeable future. I think a lot of the complaints about glasses came from the color distortion and eye strain in the old systems. Neither of those applies to the RealD system. Unless the glasses cause actual physical discomfort, they're really not a big deal anymore.

ckenisell  » May 20, 2009
Well said TheRealBob. I agree with you. And if stereoscopy becomes the norm, you'll be able to get the glasses in all shapes and sizes or even get filters that you can just attach to your current prescription glasses.

Got2LoveGadgets  » May 20, 2009
I for one can not wait for proper 3D in my home cinema and I have no problem with having to wear glasses. Im sure the PS3 will be one of the first players able to play 3D by a free software update all we will probaly need is a 120Hz display

SkillzthatKillz  » May 20, 2009
kick ass! (in Cartman voice)

Hale-Bopp  » May 20, 2009
Got2LoveGadgets, I sooooo hope you're right, because I already have both a PS3 and a 120Hz LCD. I imagine a lot of people are pretty much set up with new HDTVs these days, so a lot of us would be left out in the cold if the newer 3-D isn't compatible with current tech.

andyman1970  » May 20, 2009
Well, personally I found the recent My Bloody Valentine 3D to look great on my TV even if I did have to wear glasses. The 3D effects came across much better then I expected and the picture, although there was some "ghosting" and a very light pinkish hue in SOME scenes, not all, it looked great. So, if all studios did their home releases as well as Lionsgate did this then why would it be needed?

gekke henkie  » May 21, 2009
I've never heard anybody saying: "I hate sunglasses, I want to walk around without them". What I mean is, why is it such a big deal to wear these glasses (assuming they produce more comfortable ones in the near future when this trend picks up) when watching a movie for two hours?

Hale-Bopp  » May 21, 2009
It certainly wasn't a big deal the last 5 times or so that I wore 3-D glasses on top of my prescription glasses. So, no, I don't think it's a problem. I think some people just like to complain.

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