Stereoscopic animation for 3D TV set

[maher]

Hello all,

I'm not a big fan of 3D TV sets and stereoscopic movies but I always wanted to do stereoscopic CG animations just for the fun of it. Stereoscopic CG scenes is just one step closer to a perfect simulation of a real, or a totally unreal universe if you are a sci-fi fan like me.

Since the prices are going down for 3D TV set, due to lack of public interest, or the lack of pertinent content for the matter, I'm considering the cheapest way to produce 3D blu-ray tests from my EIAS files. The cost of professional mastering 3D softwares was out of reach until recently for a hobbyist. But thing may change soon :

The company that produce those cheap HD action camera called GoPro made a kit where you put 2 of those tiny cam in a waterproof case and sync them together to produce parallax movies that you mux together with their free software called GoPro Cineform Studio (in fact, GoPro bought Cineform to make a minimal version of their pro app).

GoPro Cineform Studio is free, but the catch is that it only mux files from the GoPro Cam. After trying, with mixed results, to hack my EIAS rendering to make them work with the app, I decide to download the trial version of the professional version of Cineform (NeoMac).

The trial app work without limitations for 10 days and is a lot more complex than the GoPro Cineform Studio. The good news is that after contacting the support team at Cineform, I've learned that they're planning to release a version called GoPro CineForm Studio Premium that will work with any source files. I don't know yet the price tag of that piece of software, but it should logically be under the $300 mark of Neo, way under the $1K and more price of other solutions.

The technology they developed at Cineform is very wise. They multiplexed in a QuickTime file metadata so the left/right channels are hidden from the QT player or the NLE app. You don't need to import left/right files separately and be careful to keep the syncing and applying effects on both tracks. You just worked as if the import files are 2D. A plug-in add a permanent menu that let you choose the way the QT file must be displayed (anaglyph, side by side, interlaced fields, etc...).

Now, I have to explore how to burn on a Mac a 3D Blu-ray compatible disc that will correctly play on a 3D TV set.

Anyone already find such a solution?

[Tomas Egger]

Ola Maher,

Diego is doing a wonderful work with 3D and blue-rays.. lets wait him.

Thanks

Tom

[Diego]

Hello Maher,

I have done 50 minutes of stereo animation in a musical project: www.lichtmond.com

My workflow was to make the stereo render in EIAS with a Mac renderfarm, but I did 3D preview test in a PC with a small Nvidia card and the 3D vision shutter glasses from Nvidia.

At the level of mastering all I can say is that is done in 23.967 fps in a separate stereo pair, but the mastering was done in Munich and I do not know the process.

I currently do my BluRay testing disc with good quality in Toast 10 who can write BluRay format in standard DVD disc, you save the expensive BluRay recorders and BluRay Virgin discs. Im not shure but I think Toast will shortly also the option to record 3D Blu-ray format.

Et voilá this is my experience producing a 3D BluRay, I recommend everyone to try to see a good movie in 3D with shutter glasses system is much better than the polarized glasses used in theaters now.

Cheers

Diego

[maher]

Hello Diego,

why do you find the active shutter glasses better than the polarized one?

All those 3D TV sets with active glasses are staying on the shelves of the electronic stores because people doesn't want to bother with recharging units that rapidly decay and heavy expensive glasses. The 3D TV sets with passive glasses will probably supplant the first 3D TV generation. For now they have to cut in half the vertical resolution but if Samsung can really produce an hybrid solution (active 3D TV at full resolution and passive polarized glasses) at a decent price, I think it will be a winner.

[Diego]

Hi Maher,

At the moment the Shutter glasses system has twice the resolution than polarized lenses and is much more immersive experience.

I agree that the 3d TVs has just begun, and we still have far to go, but stereoscopy began two centuries ago and is not expected to change much as long as we have two eyes :)

We really enjoyed testing and moving the convergence point in EIAS is much impresive than the parallel infinite way. At the end when we were finishing "Lichtmond" did not need 3D glasses to see 3D effect just crossed eyes.

Cheers

Diego

[maher]

Hello Diego,

The active shutter glasses had an edge over polarized glasses in term of resolution only on actual 3D TV.

In theaters, the RealD system use circular polarized glasses and a unique projector (not 2 as in iMAX) with an electronic apparatus that alternate, for each full resolution frame, the circular polarization of the light going out of the projector.

Samsung is working with RealD to apply such a system to 3D TV set (active 3D TV at full resolution and passive polarized glasses).

Now translate such a system to a computer monitor that produce on the fly 3D CG scenes with head tracking to recalculate the virtual camera position and you get a real immersive system.

One of my graduation fellow worked as team manager on such a system at the Montreal flight simulation company CAE. They projected the CG data directly on the retina, tracking the fovea and computing a high resolution image of 1024 x 1024 just for that high details region. For the peripheral vision, they generate a «low-resolution» image of also 1024 x 1024. The first prototype produce the equivalent resolution of half what human vision can perceive and they get even with the 2nd generation. Alas, that incredible project was too expensive even for the military and they never gone into production...