Friday, December 18, 2009

Blu-Ray 3D finalized

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) yesterday announced the finalization and release of the “Blu-ray 3DTM specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers’ living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

The Blu-ray 3D specification calls for encoding 3D video using the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec, an extension to the ITU-T H.264 / MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec currently supported by all Blu-ray Disc players. MVC compresses both left and right eye views with a typical 50% overhead compared to equivalent 2D content, and can provide full 1080p resolution backward compatibility with current 2D Blu-ray Disc players. The specification also incorporates enhanced graphic features for 3D. These features provide a new experience for users, enabling navigation using 3D graphic menus and displaying 3D subtitles positioned in 3D video.

Source: Business Wire.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

3D subtitles placement

Subtitling has presented unique challenges for 3D because of concerns that eye-popping imagery could block out the words on screen. Yet Technicolor (a Thomson division) believes it has worked out a placement solution so 3D technology won’t interfere with subtitle use.

“On the replication side, it has been a pretty straight-forward process,” said Ahmad Ouri, chief marketing officer of Thomson/Technicolor. “We are using the same machines, and there are no major changes. We are developing new encoding, authoring and subtitling tools. We are building something new, and we want to be the first to deliver on all of these components. I have no doubt that in the first half of next year, our technology will be ready.”

The company’s 3D launch is dependent on the Blu-ray Disc Association finalizing its specification for the 3D Blu-ray format. The BDA is expected to announce this accomplishment in the next couple of weeks.

Source: Video Business.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

NVIDIA demonstrates 3D Blu-ray playback

NVIDIA has been demonstrating a complete 3D movie solution to movie studios, press, and customers, consisting of a PC equipped with a GeForce® GPU and NVIDIA® 3D Vision(TM) active-shutter 3D glasses, as well as new 1080p, 3D LCD displays from Acer to showcase how consumers will experience this new 3D Blu-ray content once it is commercially available.

Over the last few weeks, NVIDIA has successfully demonstrated playback of 3D content encoded with the AVC Multi-View Codec (or AVC-MVC), the codec that is expected to become the foundation for how 3D content is encoded onto Blu-ray discs. 3D Blu-ray content encoded in AVC-MVC can be decoded in real time on select NVIDIA GPUs -- resulting in a home 3D experience that is equal to or better to what is offered in movie theaters today.

NVIDIA GPUs that can decode 3D Blu-ray content include the GeForce GT 240 ($99 U.S. MSRP), as well as upcoming next-generation GF100 GPUs based on the NVIDIA "Fermi" architecture. This will allow consumers to build desktop PCs powered by GeForce GPUs and NVIDIA 3D Vision active shutter glasses for under $1000 in total, making them the ideal platform for watching 3D Blu-ray movies, viewing 3D photographs, browsing 3D Web sites, or playing more than 400 PC game titles in 3D.

For more information about NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, please visit: www.nvidia.com/3DVision.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

First Worldwide Live Community Screening

Experience the first-ever worldwide Live Community Screening (LCS) exclusive to owners of the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Blu-ray Disc and hear star Daniel Radcliffe and director David Yates answer your questions during this live LCS on December 12th, 2009. Also be the first to see footage from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", featured on the Blu-ray and 2-Disc Special Editions of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", available on December 8th, 2009.

LCS initiatives using Blu-ray's Profile 2.0 internet connectivity have been tried by studios before, but this is the first to be available globally and with live audio. Previous linked screenings have been conducted via onscreen text messages.

Warner Bros. BD-Live community members who have registered and signed up will receive an emailed invitation to participate in the event. The first 100,000 members will secure a spot for the screening.

WB BD-Live registered users from the participating territories who own the Blu-ray Disc and have signed up for the BD-Live LCS event will be able to insert the disc, connect to WB BD-Live and logon to the LCS at this designated time to participate in this event.