Blu-ray Disc Association Provides Updates on 3D Technology

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced its plans for incorporating 3D into the widely successful Blu-ray Disc format. The rapid and enthusiastic consumer adoption of Blu-ray Disc, coupled with the format's technical capabilities and capacity make it the ideal format for bringing a vibrant 3D experience to consumers.

"The BDA intends to take full advantage of the format's high bandwidth and capacity to achieve the very highest possible quality 3D experience," said Victor Matsuda, Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee Chair. "Just as Blu-ray Disc has paved the way for next generation, high definition home entertainment, it will also set the standard for 3D home viewing in the future."

The BDA, comprised of major motion picture studio, IT and consumer electronics companies, is working on a uniform specification to ensure consistent delivery of 3D content across the Blu-ray Disc Platform. The Association is examining a number of criteria and at a minimum, the specification will require delivery of 1080p resolution to each eye and backward compatibility for both discs and players, meaning that 3D discs will also include a 2D version of the film that can be viewed on existing 2D players and 3D players will enable consumers to playback their existing libraries of 2D content.

"Consumer adoption of Blu-ray continues to grow at a very steady pace," said Bob Chapek, President, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. "The 3D theatrical market has been very successful this year. We are just now seeing all of the true capabilities of 3D and with Blu-ray Disc's superior technical characteristics, as well as the broad industry support of the format, it makes it the ideal packaged media platform for 3D home entertainment."

The current BDA efforts provide individual companies with the technical information and guidelines necessary to develop and announce products pursuant to their own internal planning cycles and timetables.

By Maija Palmer, Reuters

Sony to Throw its Weight behind 3D TV

3D technology looks set to hit the home consumer market next year, with Sony on Wednesday announcing plans to sell 3D televisions globally by the end of 2010. Sony’s decision to throw its weight behind the technology will be an important boost for the 3D industry, which has so far focused mainly on cinemas. British Sky Broadcasting has said it would introduce a 3D satellite channel in the UK next year, but it had been unclear whether there would be equipment available to view it on.

Speaking at the IFA technology trade show in Berlin, Sir Howard Stringer, Sony chief executive, will announce plans not only to sell 3D Bravia television sets, but to make Sony’s Vaio laptop computers, PlayStation3 games consoles and Blu-ray disc players compatible with the technology.

Mr Stringer is expected to tell the audience: “Today, 3D is clearly on its way to the mass market through technology, distribution and content. As with high definition a few years back, there are a variety of issues yet to be addressed. But the 3D train is on the track, and we at Sony are ready to drive it home.”

The consumer electronics industry has yet to agree on a single 3D standard, posing the risk of a format war akin to that between VHS and Betamax or Blu-ray and HD-DVD. There are several types of 3D technology. Sony has opted for “active shutter” technology, using electronic glasses containing tiny shutters that open and close rapidly in synch with the television image to create a 3D impression. Cinema 3D uses “polarisation” technology with simpler glasses. However, this only works when viewers are at a certain angle to the screen, making it less suited to home viewing.

The electronics industry is looking for the next technology to boost sales, as high-definition television sales move past their peak. Hyundai is producing early 3D sets for the Japanese market and Panasonic has flagged up plans for products.

Sony’s commitment, however, improves 3D’s chances of becoming mainstream. It has given no indication of prices, but analysts expect early 3D TVs to cost several thousand dollars. Hyundai’s 3D TVs cost more than €3,400.

In cinemas, uptake of 3D has grown ninefold over three years, with 7,000 digital 3D screens expected to be in use worldwide by the end of 2009.

By Maija Palmer, The Financial Times

Taiwan’s Role in the 3D Industry

I am here in Taiwan attending the first 3D Forum and visiting with a number of companies. This afternoon, I moderated a 3D Forum panel discussion that focused on gaining an understanding of the Taiwanese industry’s position on 3D and figuring out how best to participate in its future. I asked a series of tough questions and received some good answers. But, many questions were difficult to answer.

For example, when asked if they thought the 3D consumer market was just another passing fad or a real change in the industry, there was agreement that 3D is here to stay. But, panelists warned, the transition will take time, probably 5 to 10 years.

We discussed if the transition was like the one from SD to HD, and they agreed that there are many aspects that are similar, but this transition will be more difficult. There will be a similar focus on resolution and other performance factors, but what is different is the way the image is viewed. With stereo 3D, human factors now come into play in the evaluation and impact of the display — a totally new factor that will be hard to evaluate. Interestingly, one panelist likened the transition to the establishment of a consumer PC industry.

I asked which of the following four categories was the most important one to work on: 3D content creation; 3D content distribution; 3D displays and products; or the business model. The unanimous answer was the business model.

An audience participant questioned this, saying that business models existed for premium content, like charging more in the cinemas for 3D. There was more discussion about this, but my take away was that business models do exist at the consumer level, but not necessarily throughout the full value chain. That is, everyone involved in the roll out of 3D to the consumer needs to find a way to make money, and the answers remain elusive in many parts of this chain.

For example, a pay per view model for a 3D event works for consumers, but how about the cable operator or the event producer? Will there be enough paying subscribers to make money? Will advertisers support it?

Panelists also said they need to have a better idea of what the consumer wants, what they consider valuable and what they will pay for in 3D. Remember, most Taiwanese companies are OEM/ODM manufacturers, so they don’t have the same level of access to the end users that their customers, the brands, often have. But in the case of 3D, it is so new that the brands don’t have this either.

As a result, some urged that products be developed that were not overly ambitious, but offered some value that could be tested in the market to gauge reaction. On the other hand, they also advised that having a roadmap for where they thought the 3D industry was headed would help to guide near- and mid-term development efforts.

I asked where Taiwan thought it had strengths in the 3D industry and heard the following: LCDs, projectors, LEDs, optics, computers and IT — all with high volume manufacturing. Taiwan seems to have a number of key elements, but no plan to address the 3D opportunity as a whole.

One interesting opportunity was identified — work more with the Chinese movie industry to develop content and products to bolster the creation and display of more Chinese 3D movies. But for Taiwan’s fledgling digital content creation community to grow, it needs more distribution channels. And it must find ways to cost effectively create derivative 3D products without having to re-master for different screen sizes and platforms — a need shared by the entire industry. And what is in short supply? Experienced stereographers.

Taiwan would like to bring new and innovative 3D technology to its OEM/ODM customers, but it needs to protect these ideas with good patents. Understanding the patent situation was identified as a need, but it was also noted that this will be a difficult task to accomplish.

Overall, my take away was that the panel was cautiously optimistic about the future of 3D in the home. But it also had an OEM/ODM mentality toward 3D — we will produce it when our customers want it. But if Taiwan wants to be a leader and not a follower, it will have to have a different attitude. But without strong consumer brands, is this even possible? Only time will tell.

By Chris Chinnock, Display Daily

Cameramakers See 3-D Boom

Two U.S. camera-rig makers have already become well known in the burgeoning stereoscopic 3-D market: Pace Technologies (Avatar) and 3ality Digital (U2 3D). But the space is about to get more crowded, as manufacturers -- several of them in Europe -- aim to democratize digital 3-D filmmaking with new systems.

"The market for 3-D is growing," says Andreas Dasser, managing director for Munich-based P+S Technik. "Manufacturers are working to democratize digital 3D filmmaking. Many of the (early) rigs were self-made, but the growing market shows that there are more rigs now needed. Now, if you want to shoot 3D, you can buy a rig that offers the standard quality for a proper shoot."

Dassner says P+S has sold nearly 30 rigs worldwide, including at least 10 in Europe. The U.K.'s 3-D production company Principal Large Format and Italy's Xilostudios are P+S Technik 3-D rig users. P+S Technik already offers a mirror, or beam-splitter, 3-D rig. Mirror rigs split the light coming into the camera in two, with half going straight on to a camera pointed at the action and the other half reflected into a camera pointed at the mirror.

A mirror rig lets the left and right cameras line up very closely -- so close their lenses would bump into each other if they were side by side. It is especially useful for close-ups or for shots where the director wants the 3-D to be subtle. Technik is now working on two more 3-D rigs: a side-by-side rig for wide-angle shooting and a lightweight mirror rig for Steadicam and handheld shots.

France's Binocle also offers a range of 3-D mirror and side-by-side rigs of various sizes for different applications, with more models on the way. Binocle rigs were recently used to shoot the French Open tennis tournament. CEO Yves Pupulin reported that three movies are slated to go into production this month that will use the company's rigs, although he declines to name the projects.

The growing availability of 3-D rigs "comes with pluses and minuses," says Phil Streather, CEO of Principal Large Format. "There are probably only 10 or 15 experienced stereographers. It is going to be very important that training emerges."

By Carolyn Giardina, Variety

Advanced Labs Forge 3-D Future

Today's nifty gadgets or software toys were born years ago in a lab somewhere, and for many of them, that somewhere is Europe. Two of the labs doing advanced research on tomorrow's must-have tech belong to the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Germany and France's media giant Thomson -- the parent of Hollywood stalwart Technicolor. They're among the companies pushing d-cinema, 3-D and content management to levels that would have seemed like science fiction just a few years ago.

"We're developing tools for 3-D content distribution in the home, which will create a wider distribution opportunity for both major studios and independent filmmakers," says Ahmad Ouri, Technicolor's head of strategy, technology and marketing. "We are focusing on providing tools that would help clients create the content quickly in a 3-D format on Blu-Ray Disc."

Further out on the development horizon are automated tools for 3-D subtitling that would work for both d-cinema and Blu-Ray.

"The challenge of subtitling is magnified in 3-D because of the dimensionality," Ouri explained. "The challenges are mainly depth and in some cases placement as well."

TCR's tools would automate this process, analyzing the movie on a scene-by-scene basis and "recommend" where the subtitles would be placed and at what depth, Ouri explained.

The Fraunhofer Institute is also working on d-cinema and stereo 3-D. Fraunhofer's digital cinema group, headed by Dr. Siegfried Foessel, is working on 3-D camera and recording systems, as well as new algorithms for pre-processing and coding to make working with data more efficient. Some of the results could hit the market in mid-2010.

The organization is also a member of Prime -- a consortium of related businesses including postproduction equipment manufacturer DVS and projector-maker Kinoton -- which are developing technologies and workflows for the capture, processing and compression of 3-D content for distribution in theaters and homes.

Fraunhofer recently completed and made available easyDCP, which is a tool used to create a Digital Cinema Package (a.k.a. a "digital print") for theatrical distribution. EasyDCP runs on a standard PC or Mac and with a new upgrade, can create 3-D DCPs.

The Institute also developed what it calls easyDCPplayer, a JPEG 2000 decoding system that lets companies view a finished DCP on a desktop computer. "In the past, it was only possible to display a DCP in the theater. Now it will be possible on a PC," said Foessel. This is a boon for quality-control checkers who sometimes spent many hours watching a movie over and over in a theater to check DCPs before they were sent out.

By Carolyn Giardina, Variety

The Practicalities of Stereographic TV Production

While broadcasters continue to experiment with 3DTV and urge greater involvement of the production community it’s worth considering how an independent producer might get to grips with this new media. The good news is that as daunting as stereography might appear, the workflow, technology and creative decision-making is not far removed from that of conventional shoots. The concern though, voiced by the field’s few practitioners, is that 3D stereo can’t be learned overnight and requires an understanding of what works and what doesn’t that can only be gained through experience.

“The process of self-shooting and editing 2D with off-the-shelf equipment is second nature for producers but each step in the 3D production chain needs re-thinking,” says Andy Millns, director, Inition. “Suddenly capture, monitoring, and editing seem more technologically intensive. The pitfalls are trying to shoot too quickly and not sorting out those problems that are easily resolvable at the camera end.”

With fellow 3D specialists Can Communicate, Inition has taken on most UK 3D trials regularly combining resources on the larger projects.

“There have been several occasions where people have asked us to shoot for them and they want their director to work on it but unless that person has a deep understanding of 3D that won’t work,” says Duncan Humphreys, Partner, Can Communicate. “You have to understand what to shoot and how to shoot it. 3D requires a more regimented approach to filming. Nothing is more crucial than balancing the lenses at the start.”

Both companies have opted to work with existing broadcast infrastructure largely because the cost of specialised rigs from Pace and 3ality (which need shipping from LA) are prohibitive outside of feature film budgets or a few day shoots. A wide array of standard broadcast cameras can be attached to P+S Technik rigs (exclusively supplied by Inition) or the ‘Calcutta’ rigs devised by Can, including SI-2K minicams, Hitachi DK-32, Toshiba IK-HD1 and Sony T-block cameras HDC-900 and 950s.

“There are a dozen different ways you can screw up a 3D image and you need to recognise, isolate and diagnose them,” says Millns. “Physical errors include lens misalignment; sync issues; rolling shutters in 3D, and even subtle anamorphic squeezes created by some lenses. Currently available broadcast lenses and mounts aren't designed to work at the high tolerances required for 3D, especially for live broadcast where there is no margin for error. Mirror rigs in particular can introduce colour distortion onto each channel and have issues when polarised reflected light off some surfaces.”

Monitoring can be conducted locally at the camera or in the truck using devices which take two HDSDI images such as Transvideo’s CineMonitorHD 3DView. This includes an option to preview the image in anaglyph. Inition has devised video processing unit StereoBrain (SB-1) which does a similar job by allowing live viewing of a stereoscopic camera pair or other genlocked 3D video source on any of the current breed of 3D TVs (from Hyundai, Samsung, JVC). The SB-1 outputs the images via a DVI/HDMI signal in interlaced or side-by-side mode. It can also output anaglyph and be overlayed left/right on a standard 2D HD-SDI monitor.

In using everyday broadcast equipment the zoom function is sacrificed for live transmission. Since no two lenses track identically when zooming, even a fractional misalignment will lead to uncomfortable 3D viewing. Pace and 3ality technologies overcome this with unique software which account for the particular calibration of each lens and focal length then makes automatic adjustments by way of a series of motors.

Inition is developing the StereoBrain SB-1 unit to address this but in the interim, and until major manufacturers solve the issue with readily available 3D rigs, it is the positioning of cameras which is critical.

“You don’t need high end rigs since you can compensate with cranes, boom and peds but if your camera placements are limited then you need more advanced equipment,” notes Brian Lenz, Sky's head of product design and innovation.

“If you structure the camera positions well enough I’m not convinced that zooming is totally necessary,” adds Humphreys. “Much like a top wide-view camera on a 2D football match you want to be able to breathe the zoom, to edge it in a little bit, but you don’t need to zoom from wide angle to very tight angle.”

A top wide angle shot for a football match however will only give you the spectator’s 2D view of the field of play so 3D needs to be introduced either in the form of spectator’s heads (as you’d experience at any stadia) or from close-ups and it is those positions which are currently at a premium. The issue is compounded by the absence of a Steadicam rig which needs to be light enough to hold two cameras and to transport dual RF streams in-sync back to the truck.

“If you have a position a long way from the pitch the 3D will naturally look fairly flat,” explains Humphreys. “You can exaggerate it by widening the distance between the lenses but that leads to miniaturisation where the depth of the image doesn’t match a viewer’s expectation of the size of the players.” This is one issue that the BBC’s main 3D TV project, 3D4YOU, aims to solve.

“You can bring in rigs for zoom but for the same price you have five different camera positions at different focal lengths,” says Millns. “The fact is that your best shots in a football or rugby match in 3D are achieved from closer positions pitch-side or low down in the crowd for that depth perspective, but you also need storytelling cameras.”

In a live environment recording will typically be made to HDCAM SR which can take dual stream 422 on a single deck. Provided the timecode is interlocked and the cameras genlocked there should be no issue. Mixing can occur as standard since the signal pairs will be received in the truck as one camera position.

In Sky’s model the left and right images are squeezed side-by-side into a single HD frame and transmitted by satellite (at up to 18MBps) via current generation Sky+HD boxes to 3D Ready TVs where the images are re-interlaced. “In theory half of the pixels are thrown away for each eye but in practice the resolution loss is negligible since the viewer’s brain is merging the two different perspectives, using depth cues, to create the 3D picture,” says Lenz. “The viewing plane is surprisingly wide in the living room; 20 degrees vertically and 45 degrees left and right.”

Another essential recommendation is to cut, whether live or recorded, more slowly than normal. “To me the biggest issue is how your camera operator frames, pans and tracks and how a director chooses to edit,” advises Lenz. “We need to go back to some basics and linger longer on shots, less rapid jump cuts, slower pans. All of those things can highlight discontinuity in depth but if you let the depth happen with good framing you will get a rich experience. The real value of 3D is to cause you to forget you are watching a video and that comes down to slower, longer looks.”

Without the ability to view 3D in offline making editorial decisions is tricky. “There are workarounds such as giving a client an anaglyph version (encoded from the rushes) or using a 3D TV. If you don't have 3D viewing in offline, then you loose the ability for the 3D elements of a shot to influence and inform you editorial decisions.” says Millns.

Inition will perform a pre-grade using Iridas SpeedGrade in order to balance the right and left eye colourmetry introduced by mirror rigs, before the creative grade. Can Comunicate prefer Quantel Pablo as the finishing tool. “You need to optimise the 3D in the online, taking a look at every shot and asking whether it works,” says Millns. “Is there pixel misalignment or keystoning (perspective distortion), are their any lens mis-match issues. Special attention must be placed on every cut point. Keyframing can be used to fade the transitions and prevent viewer discomfort as we shift perspectives.”

Another consideration is where and how to place on-screen graphics. “A strong 3D image with graphics or subtitles placed over the top of it can get confusing because it interferes with your perception of the main 3D object,” says Humphreys. “One route is to show match stats much like we see a golf leader board with the graphic brought up over a single image.”

It’s extremely difficult right now to produce 3DTV on a budget. At the very least you need an extra crew member (stereographer) to advise the DP and DI process on every shot. Lenz puts the cost at an additional 40-50% but wisely notes that this profile fits that of HD’s early days. Naturally as more 3D is produced, prices will drop.

“I would say Keane from Abbey Rd in 3D was more than experimentation, it was a proof of concept,” says Vicki Betihavas of Nineteen Fifteen who co-produced the event for Sky. “In order for content to be immersive and well made you need to apply the basic standards: good creative overview; budget; content that lends itself to the process; talented technicians and production team.

“These are no different for 2D, but in 3D you need to understand, as a producer why are you doing it. It’s all about good 3D. If we just produce any 3D then we won't move the case for 3DS very far.”

By Adrian Pennington, TVB Europe

Better Compression than H.264/AVC?

In order to provide forthcoming services such as mobile HD at an affordable video rate, an efficient video coding technology is needed. The latest video technology standardised was Scalable Video Coding (SVC) in 2007, the successful standardisation effort of ITU-T VCEG and MPEG providing scalability on top of H.264/AVC coding efficiency. However, SVC is more of an additional feature than a more efficient coding technology.

In order to provide a standardised solution in the coming years, the MPEG committee created the High-Performance Video Coding Ad-hoc group (HVC - AHG) to investigate the next generation coding technology. Its main requirements are the following:
- Performance improvements in terms of coding efficiency at higher resolution.
- 50% better coding efficiency than the actual state of the art codec (H.264/AVC).
- A compromise between better coding performance and complexity.
- Applicability to entertainment quality services such as mobile HD, home cinema and Ultra High Definition TV.

Evidence of such technology has already been proven in the HVC - AHG by various proponents according to the call for evidence issued in April 2009. Based on these results, a call for proposals will be published in the coming months. The targeted image formats are only progressive scanned and they span different image resolutions classified in the following categories: Class A - 4K, 2K; Class B - 1080p/50-60-24; Class C - WVGA; Class D - WQVGA; Class E - 720p/50-60.

A similar investigation is also ongoing in the ITU-T VCEG group. The possibility of another joint MPEG ITU-T effort is not excluded but is not yet clearly defined.

Talking about codecs, JPEG2000 carriage over MPEG-2 TS standardisation work has been initiated to define all necessary identifiers and field descriptors in a future amendment of the MPEG-2 TS standard. The later work follows the JPEG2000 broadcast profiles defined in the JPEG2000 standards.

Another effort of MPEG to be carefully scrutinised by the industry is the initiative to define a new MPEG transport stream called the Modern Media Transport - MMT. The MMT mechanism should provide a unified solution for efficient carriage of MPEG coded content in heterogeneous networks.

A preliminary set of uses cases (transport over Fixed and Mobile networks, Adaptive progressive download, context aware streaming, open IPTV, etc.) and requirements was drafted and is subject to input from relevant standardisation bodies (DVB, etc.).

By Adi Kuoadio, EBU Tech-i

3D HD: The Next Big Entertainer, Money Maker

As high-definition (HD) content takes a foothold around the globe, already broadcasters are looking for the next generation of HD-related entertainment. An early technology and revenue leader looks to be 3-D programming. The concept of 3-D HD broadcasts has been around for more than a decade, but developments in the sector have ramped up within the past few years.

In March, Eutelsat Communications provided capacity on its Eurobird 3 satellite to broadcast a live music performance that was filmed, transmitted and projected in stereo 3-D HD on a cinema screen and on prototype models of stereo 3-D HDTVs. OpenSky managed the encoding, decoding and projection of the event, while dBw managed the shooting and production.

In June, GlobeCast, in collaboration with Orange Labs, delivered a live 3-D HD feed of a performance of Don Giovanni from the Rennes Opera house in Brittany, France, via satellite to cinemas in France. The multi-camera operation, organized by Orange Labs and filmed by AMP, involved combining two video signals into a single feed using a Sensio 3-D Cinema encoder. A GlobeCast satellite newsgathering vehicle outside the opera house delivered the feed to a pair of cinemas in Paris, as well as theaters in Avignon and Brest.

With these demonstrations becoming more common, 3-D HD entertainment, especially broadcasts of live events in movie theaters, looks poised to become that next great entertainment medium and revenue producer for the broadcasting sector.

Technology Development
While the roots of 3-D HD can be traced to the 20th century, the pace of development has ramped up since 2007, when International Datacasting Corp. and Sensio Technologies Inc. signed a letter of intent to develop a satellite solution to broadcast 3-D digital and e-cinema. The Superflex Pro Cinema, is IDC’s family of modular products that can be configured to deliver file-based movies and live events over a broadband satellite network, includes the 3-D Live encoder and decoder, with Sensio 3-D technology. The unit supports 2D and 3-D live and pre-recorded events.

"You do not need Sensio technology to display a 3-D movie," says IDC CEO Ron Clifton. "That comes from Hollywood. The files already are divided into left and right eye, and when you play it out on a projector/server combo, it has technology as well. This works with any scheme — RealD, Dolby, XpanD, Master Image. All of these guys are fighting for market share. All have pluses and minuses. In the United States, RealD is the leader. In Europe, Dolby has done most of our 3-D. XpanD is coming into Europe, and Master Image started in South Korea but now is strong in the United States. With that kind of variety, all you have to be is interoperable."

The Sensio technology comes into play with live entertainment, which many are targeting as a new revenue stream for broadcasters and theaters. The traditional way of delivering live content is to broadcast separate streams and combine them at the receive site. However, this takes up twice as much bandwidth and opening up a host of potential problems throughout the delivery chain. Some of those problems could be alleviated by combining the two HD images prior to transmission, but that generally worked with "infinite bandwidth and lots of money," says Clifton.

Sensio patented a technology to compress the left and right eye HD images into a single transmission at the source site. "This is done before encoding into MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 right after the camera," says Clifton. "It’s done in a way that if you look at the left and right images, there is a lot of redundancy that is shifted a little. If you don’t compress it vertically, you can get 1080p-type HD resolution. If you only compress it left and right and not up and down, it’s virtually lossless. The idea is if you compress it to the same bandwidth as 2D, you can use all the same infrastructure for video grabbing and transmission. This allows for the transmission of 3-D stereoscopic images over existing HD infrastructure."

Harmonic also is looking at 3-D offerings, though its approach may be considered a bit more cautious than the one others have taken, says Ian Trow, the company’s director of broadcast solutions. "One of the things that attracted us to HD was the basic requirement to sync to the existing channel. Our 8000 series of encoders have the ability to take anything and synchronize whatever 2-channel implementation people want to use. The encoder can sync two views of the piece of content. We really started to explore it by talking to broadcasters just to see what their interest is and offering the ability to use 3-D distribution encoders. We’ve been speculatively looking at it and have had a number of big broadcasters approach us. We think a lot of people looking at 3-D are concentrating on the production aspect — what looks good, and most are concerned with cinematic release. We want to see the demand and then see if the market wants us to develop this functionality. I have no doubt broadcasters will find a model that will work, because judging by people’s reaction to films, there is a very clear market there. What clouds the issue at the moment is that most of the engaging 3-D content takes significant post-production work."

There is no real standard for 3-D HD technology, but the industry is moving forward, says Clifton. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is setting up some standard, focused mainly on direct-to-home networks, but IDC’s work in the cinema sector will help the company there as well. "People are buying 3-D-enabled TVs now. The question is, ‘Can you get ahead of the competition?’ The industry is working on this."

Adoption
The initial revenue streams from 3-D HD content are expected to come from cinemas, but with many broadcasters still trying to find their return on investment from their upgrade to HD, providing 3-D HD content over an existing infrastructure is key to helping the market develop, says Trow. "The speculation is that 3-D will be a low-key launch. Broadcasters will try it in the same way they tried HD. They will see what works and see what kind of revenue model they could try before upgrading to it. A lot of it is trying to test user reaction to it without making a huge user investment or ripping up existing infrastructure.

IDC and Sensio forged the partnership to target the market for broadcasting live 3-D sporting and cultural events, as well as movie files, to the international digital and e-cinema market. In 2008, IDC began working with Cinedigm, creating a product dubbed CineLive that combined IDC and Sensio components to convert live 2D and 3-D feeds delivered via satellite into on-screen entertainment. Today, the technology is part of the largest 3-D satellite-delivered network around the globe, says IDC CEO Ron Clifton. CineLive has been installed in 100 markets in the United States, and a network in Europe has between 40 and 50 sites. "We have done a lot of 2D live events, mostly the Royal Opera out of London and the Met out of New York. We broadcast 1:30 p.m. matinees in New York, which begin at 7:30 p.m. in Europe. It’s a perfect time. We were one of the early adopters of the technology, and we have proven that digital cinema is important."

Hollywood has predicted that they will be around 24 3-D movies produced per year, and theaters will have to make some investment in infrastructure to handle that. But to help recoup that investment, as well as make up for lost revenue due to attendance declines, the live event market will offer a new revenue stream for theater operators. The showing of live events from around the globe, whether concerts, operas or sports events, provides the theater owners a chance to charge a premium price for a special event. The other good news for the satellite communications sector is that the delivery of live events will require satellite bandwidth, says Clifton. "Once they have made the investment, they will be looking for more revenue — religious events, sports events, etc. You can charge a little bit more for that, and that’s what is driving the market."

Bryan McGuirk, senior vice president of media services for SES Americom-New Skies, believes 3-D HD, which will involve two cameras filming at 1080p60, will be the next big move for the sector. SES Americom-New Skies was involved with the broadcasting of 3-D episode of the TV show Chuck that was broadcast after the Super Bowl, and there have been 3-D events such as the broadcasts of the U.S. college football championship game and performances of the Met broadcasts to theaters around the country. "I see it as part of a continuum — just as HD seemed far away a few years ago. I was on planning team for launching HD at NBC in 1999. A few years later, we have huge bundles of HD being sold across the industry. We have gone from HD as a novelty to HD as must-have building block of technology. We see the same thing happening with advanced HD. We’re dreaming about it today. When is 3-D going to come? We see the building blocks for the same type of evolution, and it begins with things like movies."

McGuirk has no doubt that the broadcasting of live 3-D HD events will be the way to fill underutilized theaters, and the growth of 3-D movies will be a catalyst. "3-D movies doing well at the box office. To date, there are 11 HD films in CGI animation releases. Some are more live action like Harry Potter, and there are movies like Up, Toy Story coming, Ice Age 3, and Monsters Vs. Aliens. Those 11 features have created, in essence, an industry in the theatrical business around HD. From what I’ve been told, they are getting nice premiums per seat for this type of release, which is what drives expansion of the genre. Theaters are getting more dollars per seat. You create some really good opportunities for the theaters, which can be 10 to 12 screen sites that are challenged by downtime."

The key to expansion of more forms of 3-D HD entertainment will be creating a pipeline for the content, says McGuirk. "The nice thing is that 3-D equipment is being rolled out. Texas Instruments has a product coming to market around their DLP technology. It requires special active shutter glasses and creates a really high-quality experience. From where we sit in the distribution chain for satellite, this will be a very good for business that creates opportunities for content partners as it uses more satellite bandwidth. Also, distribution chain technology will advance in ways that will reduce the amount of bandwidth required to deliver the content, inevitably it’s going to be double or more the bandwidth for delivery, so it’s good for satellite," he says.

In the Asia-Pacific region, HD content is in the early stages of growth, but already companies like SingTel are looking at 3-D content, spurred on in part by government interest, says Titus Yong, SingTel’s vice president of satellite. "We’ve seen the transition from [standard definition] to HD, and we believe that the next evolution would be 3-D. In Asia, there are many cinemas equipped with 3-D screens. We are also looking into 3-D digital cinema distribution using SingTel’s hybrid delivery solutions via satellite and MPLS services," he says.

Beyond the Theater
While the theater opportunity is at the forefront of most of the 3-D HD revenue-producing efforts to date, the broadcasting sector also has visions for 3-D HD in other areas, both entertainment and scientific. "From a market perspective, we believe the two major opportunities for satellite-delivered 3-D are digital cinema with live events and direct-to-home," Clifton says. "2D direct-to-home networks are eager to go to 3-D. What is driving this is Hollywood is making a commitment to produce 3-D events. There is some frustration because theaters are not moving fast enough to take advantage of all this. Pretty soon, the home market guys will be wondering how to do it. The technology is there."

Trow believes that it will take some time before 3-D becomes accepted in the home. "The cinema and home viewing environments are very, very different. Delivery to the cinema is far easier than delivery to the home, especially when you take into account the infrastructure put into place for HD. This is a big challenge technologically and standards-wise to get the same kind of experience people appreciate in the cinema to the home. BSkyB and ESPN are experimenting with it, and for good reason, because if you can make it work, it’s a good draw, particularly for live event coverage. I think they probably will do it as an overlay to their existing infrastructure rather than proposing a new set-top box and new transmission systems," he says.

In late July, Sky announced that it plans to launch the United Kingdom’s first 3-D channel in 2010. The decision to launch the service was based off record growth of its Sky+HD service, and the 3-D content will consist of movies, sports and other entertainment broadcast using Sky’s existing HD infrastructure and be available via the current generation of Sky+HD. To watch 3-D, customers will need a 3-D-ready TV, which are expected to be on sale in the United Kingdom beginning in 2010. "3-D is a genuinely ‘seeing is believing’ experience, making TV come to life as never before. Just like the launch of digital, Sky+ and HD, this is latest step in our commitment to innovating for customers," Brian Sullivan, managing director of Sky’s Customer Group, says.

McGuirk expects gaming to drive 3-D technology into the home. "Everyone who got the [Sony] Playstation 3 got a 1080p player. Then TV showed up to allow the experience to be played out. I think 3-D games will be the be obvious next step because of the ease of conversion of CGI graphics into 3-D. It will feel like you are fully immersed in the game, and I think people will pay for that."

SingTel also is a believer in video games as part of the 3-D HD future, and Yong sees the delivery of consumer 3-D content coming through fiber-to-the-home. "This will enable consumer to enjoy real 3-D games and movies without glasses. With glassless 3-D technology, we could also bring future education to the next level. Just imagine, if we can bring real 3-D simulation into the classroom for complex modules such as biology, engineering and architectural technology, we’ll be able to nurture more doctors and engineers in the near future. Apart for this, there are many direct applications we are exploring. For example hotels, banks, shopping malls, airports, advertising billboards, just to name a few."

IDC also is involved in non-entertainment possibilities for the technology. In June, IDC unveiled that its Superflex 3-D Live Encoders and Decoders with Sensio technology were used in a live 3-D demonstration of a robotic surgical system held at the 9th Annual Conference of Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Group in South Korea. The surgery was performed using the da Vinci S HD Surgical System, which was developed by Intuitive Surgical and integrates HD 3-D endoscopy with robotic technology, and broadcast in live 3-D using technology developed for digital cinema, took place at the Korean National Cancer Institute and was transmitted through the Hyper Research Network, a terrestrial IP network, to the conference site at the Korean National Information Society Agency, where doctors and medical students were participating in a session on surgical techniques. IDC’s Korean partner, Digipeg Corp., provided the technology used for the capture and broadcast of the demonstration. "The use of off-the-shelf 3-D live broadcast technology as a real-time diagnostic tool for the medical profession as well as a teaching tool for doctor training has now been successfully demonstrated," says Clifton. "The same benefits of bandwidth compression and HD video quality inherent in the Sensio 3-D technology for digital cinema applies equally well for this application. We are happy to see the market potential for our 3-D products expanding and that our technology can have this kind of positive impact on the health care profession."

By Jason Bates, Satellite Today

ESPN Tries Live 3-D Coverage of College Football Telecast

ESPN will present a 3-D telecast of a college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, between the No. 4 ranked University of Southern California (USC) at No. 6 ranked Ohio State to specially equipped theaters across the country. The production will employ Sony HDC-1500G HD cameras specially modified for stereoscopic production and transmission of the game as well as 3-D image processing software developed by Vince Pace (with director James Cameron) and his company Fusion 3D. The game will also be televised in SD and HD on ESPN and ESPN HD, respectively, for viewers at home.

Anthony Bailey, VP of emerging technologies at ESPN, said the game is serving as a full-scale trial and will allow the network to determine what it takes to produce, transmit and enable a compelling 3-D experience (eventually at home).

The production will be ESPN’s first 3-D telecast after more than two years of testing the technology in live game applications. It also will provide ESPN with the ability to evaluate workflow operations, 3-D camera positioning and transmission changes and gauge fan reaction to a 3-D telecast.

ESPN will use separate production trucks, supplied by NEP Supershooters, technical crews and on-air commentators for the 3-D and SD/HD productions. One of the main NEP trucks will feature a Sony MVS 8000 switcher that will be used to handle two uncompressed HD signals at about 3Gb/s. Various display types and transport mechanisms for 3-D viewing, including cinema projection, large-scale arena viewing and consumer-sized LCD monitors, will be employed across the different venues.

The telecast is the third 3-D test screening of a football game in the United State. Last fall, the NFL tested the technology in theaters for a playoff game. Then in January, thousands of people in 30 cities nationwide paid about $20 to watch a 3-D airing of the 2009 BCS championship game. That game was shot using Sony HD cameras and image-capture technology from 3ality Digital and transmitted live via Cinedigm’s CineLive satellite distribution network from Dolphin Stadium in Miami to an event sponsored by Sony in the Paris Hotel and Casino’s RealD-equipped Theatre des Arts in Las Vegas to coincide with the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

Pace also worked with the NBA on a special All-Star Game presentation of the 56th annual NBA All-Star Game at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas in 2007.

By Michael Grotticelli, BroadcastEngineering

FreeD Vision: Hand-held 3D Without Glasses

The Swiss brand nvp3D presented the FreeD Multi-Media Player, the first portable autonomous 3D monitor for viewing without glasses. Innovative in its format, its autonomy (no need of a computer connection to view) and its enhanced picture quality, it is also priced accessibly for the public at large.

“We have been using larger autostereoscopic screens for more than two years,” says Philippe Nicolet, director of nvp3D. “But their price remains high and it wasn’t easy for people to acquire content.”

The FreeD Player is offered on their site freedvision.com, already loaded with several short 3D films, for 450 Swiss francs.

nvp3D FreeD Multi-Media Player

To develop an optimum solution for providing easy access to quality 3D content for viewing on the best screens, the Swiss company, based in La Croix-sur-Lutry near Lausanne, has worked jointly with Pavonine (Korea), Vestel (Turkey) and Inlife (China). This international collaboration acknowledges nvp3d’s experience and achievement over the past years in the domain of 3D documentaries. They piloted the new player in the final development phases for Inlife, inventor of the product. Initially designed by Inlife as a Photo Frame, the player has evolved in the direction of a high performance 3D video reader.

“As a small Swiss business, we are please to have been involved in the development of this product, which marks a turning point in the history of 3D,” says Nicolet.

www.freedvision.com, the first site dedicated to the world of 3D without glasses, offers free downloads of content in the appropriate format, to be transferred to the SD card of the autostereoscopic monitor.

“At first, we will provide videos produced by nvp3d so that FreeD Player users will have a regular stream of new 3D material to view. But we hope very quickly to expand the offer to other source of both videos and photos from amateurs and professionals alike, explains Nicolet. The site will also post general info on the world of 3d without glasses and communicate new developments in products, films, etc.

Swiss Watch TV, owner of the nvp3D brand, is currently seeking investors to finance a project to create live 3D television in Switzerland.

Source: Free Press Release

3D Screen Installs Gaining Critical Mass

Recently, I have been hearing all kinds of conflicting numbers as to how many 3D screens there are out there for theatrical exhibition. So I decided to try to find a better answer myself by contacting a number of key players involved in rolling out 3D cinema screens worldwide. I was surprised at the larger-then-expected number of 3D screens out there for first run movies (about 6,500). Here’s a rundown of what I learned.

XpanD, which uses an active shutter glasses approach and a conventional screen, reports about 1,100 3D screens installed today. About 90% of all of the 3D screens in Asia use the XpanD system, says Ami Dror. In this region, XpanD has a distribution agreement with Singapore-based server manufacturer GDC Technology to incorporate their 3D systems into the growing base of digital systems in Mainland China.

For Europe, Dror estimates their market share is probably about 50% (~600 screens). Real D has about 250, Dolby about 200 and MasterImage perhaps 50, said Dror. By October, Dror estimates perhaps 1,500 total XpanD 3D screens. The roll out is currently limited by production of active glasses to equip these theaters.

MasterImage uses a rotating polarizer wheel that it places in front of the DLP cinema projector along with a polarization-preserving screen and passive polarized glasses. Spokesman Paul Panabaker told us the company is "well over the 300 3D screen mark, with perhaps 40% of those installs in North America.

Dolby modifies the Digital Cinema projector to install a rotating color wheel that has a special narrowband RGB filter set. Each filter set is slightly offset to allow separation of the left and right eye images, which are visible by a user wearing matched filter glasses. This approach allows the use of a conventional screen. As of July 2009, Dolby had over 1000 Dolby 3D screens installed globally with over 350 installed in North America. However, the company has also shipped an additional 500 systems that are in the process of being installed now. Dolby’s strategy is to focus on small- and mid-sized exhibitor organizations, independent cinemas and specialty screening rooms.

Real D dominates the 3D screen market with over 3,200 installs as of the end of July. Real D uses an electro-optic polarization rotator placed in front of the projection lens of the DLP projector, a polarization-preserving screen and passive polarized glasses. According to Rick Heineman, Real D accounts for over 90% of the 3D screens in North America. It has a total of 8,700 3D screens under contract, so expect the installed base to grow significantly. Europe has been a particularly active market for Real D, with sales reportedly up 400% since the opening of their London office in February 2009.

Sony’s approach to 3D is based on their 4K projection system. To achieve 3D, a complex optical assembly is placed in front of the standard projection lens of the 4K projector. Two images representing left and right eye images are formatted in an above/below configuration on the 4K imagers. These are then optically combined and overlaid, with orthogonal circular polarization states. This 3D approach requires a polarization-preserving screen and passive polarized glasses.

Sony reports that they currently have over 500 4K screens worldwide, and expect this to reach about 1,000 by year’s end. Prior agreements with AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group to install Sony 4K systems across their entire circuits over the next three years means Sony has a backlog of at least 11,000 screens.

How many of these 4K screens will be 3D capable, too? Probably 50% is a good number to use for now, so let’s say 500 by the end of the year. Sony didn’t say how this is distributed geographically, but it seems likely the vast majority will be in North America. But there is some action in Europe. In Germany, for example, Sony just reported that the best-known multiplex cinema operator, CinemaxX Group, plans to equip 56 of its cinemas with new 3D versions of its CineAlta 4K digital cinema projector by this November.

IMAX’ approach to 3D is a dual projection system. These two projectors are aligned to overlay each other, with orthogonal polarizers placed over the projection lens of each projector. This also requires a polarization-preserving screen and passive polarized glasses to separate the two images at the eyes. Classic or original IMAX screens are the largest format and many still use film-based projectors — even for 3D. The newer screens are located in multiplexes and still offer a larger format screen and improved sound system, but the screens are not as large as the classic theaters. These new venues are all digital, too, featuring twin DLP projectors.

According to IMAX spokesperson, Jessica Boyer, as of June 30, 2009, there were 284 3D IMAX theaters worldwide, with 102 of these being digital versions. Of the 284, 189 are located in North America, 36 in Europe and 31 in Asia, with another 28 spread around other regions. An additional 100 IMAX sites exist worldwide, but these do not support 3D. The backlog for IMAX is 170 screens and these are going in at the rate of about one screen per week.

These installation numbers are changing daily. The table below is a rough summary of what should be available as of the end of August 2009 using the various systems. Not included are data from some of the newer and emerging markets like Latin America, Australia, Russia and Eastern Europe, where almost 100% of all digital installations are 3D. These numbers are small now, but growing rapidly.

By Chris Chinnock, Display Daily

'Full 3D' vs 'Half-3D': Is it all a Headache?

This year’s IBC technology fest (and IFA in Berlin) are just days away. The two shows, one focused on industry professionals, the other on consumer electronics, will both feature 3D technology in all its glory.

It is already known that BSkyB will introduce a 3D service in 2010. There's no information on an introduction date but a mid-Summer soft launch ahead of the 2010-11 Premiership soccer season would seem to make sense. Such a date also allows the manufacturing sector to get suitable displays into the retail sector, and also permits the HDMI 1.4 technology to settle down and for consumer linking cables to start appearing.

However, BSkyB's system, while extremely appealing for a number of reasons, is not 'Full 3D'. Some flat-panel manufacturers, notably Panasonic, are urging caution in this regard. Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic's CTO is one such advocate. While happily admitting: "all 3D on TV is good for 3D" he also argues that consumers risk buying into an interim technology if they adopt 'half 3D' too speedily. There are also advantages for the satellite industry if ‘Full 3D’ ends up being the 'standard' used for transmission, while 'half 3D' has few demands on extra capacity.

He might be right. There are plenty of consumers (like your editor) who have bought into 720p, 1080i and now 1080p displays and while ensuring the trickle down effect of redundant displays makes the rest of the extended family very happy, does little for his bank balance or the planet's well-being!

3D on TV, in our view, is going to happen. Hollywood's studios are not simply fully backing 3D but looking to convert back-catalogue films to 3D, such is the financial appeal of cinema revenues and the all-important Blu-ray market. And by the way, it isn't easy to video a 3D movie from a cheap camcorder at the back of the theatre, and so another piracy option is curbed. Hollywood is also enjoying something of a creative renaissance as far as 3D is concerned. Output is no longer focused (if that's the word) on 'in your face' stunts and extravagant special effects, but in enhanced reality that emphasises the natural story line.

But the oldest advice in the entertainment industry is to 'follow the money', and Hollywood knows it has a winner in 3D. Dreamworks' Monsters vs Aliens did well at the box office. Internationally just 18% of the screens delivered 44% of the revenue. They were all 3D. In North America 28% of the screens (all 3D) turned in 58% of the movie's overall revenue. Much the same figures and ratios apply to almost all the past year's releases. There are also a rapidly growing number of suitable screens for theatrical release. When Chicken Little was released in 2006 it was shown on 3D on just 40 North American screens. Beowulf was exhibited on 400 screens in 2007. Bolt from Disney was exhibited on 1600 screens in mid-summer 2008, while Avatar last winter achieved 2200 3D screens. By 2013 Screen Digest forecasts that North America will have 8400 3D screens. Europe will top 7400, and the suggestion is that French, German and Italian local film studios will by then be wholly getting the 3D message. In other words it isn't just Hollywood that will influence our 3D entertainment.

Packaged console games are also embracing 3D. There have been extensive trials of 3D coverage of sports, and this coming winter's Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will see extensive 3D coverage (Beijing's coverage, while spectacular, was limited). London's 2012 Games is expected to have an even greater element of 3D programming.

Standards, however, are a problem. While few now expect any further progress on the old-fashioned Anaglyph (cardboard) glasses with their Red and Cyan lenses, most now predict all activity to be on Passive glasses. But here there are very real industry arguments as to which way the industry should go. Polarising systems (either left-right or top-bottom) need a new TV and a switching method (and will be used by BSkyB). Existing HDTV systems then deliver line-by-line left and right eye information, but result in 'half 3D' given that half the resolution is delivered to each eye with each eye taking 50% of the available transmission signal. Some argue that a similar system, but employing a checkerboard transmission pattern is a better visual alternate. But it is still only 'half 3D'. The 'Full 3D' proponents argue that only full-frame alternate images delver true high-definition 3D, and they might be right. This frame sequential technology will need active shutter glasses that are more expensive to produce, and needing batteries to be charged.

There was also the Philips-backed multi-camera 3D system, that needed no glasses and might still have a role in public spaces, shopping centres, point-of-sale, digital signage, etc, but few see a theatrical role for such technology.

Meanwhile, the pay-TV broadcasters are looking for another revenue stream, and as a method to win - and hold onto - their male-skewing viewers, those keen on sports, films and games. There's now a huge audience who own flat-panel displays, mostly LCD but also Plasma. And the argument goes that viewers are ready for 3D.

At present, 3D content producers have to hand-build their own 3D production systems by physically connecting multiple 2D production devices. Panasonic, for example, is currently developing a professional Full HD 3D production system, which consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D compatible High Definition Plasma display. The twin-lens P2 camera recorder enables the capturing of natural and high-quality live 3D images. One can expect the items to be on show, perhaps only in advanced prototype form, at IBC.

Technologies and expertise obtained from their use in post-production has enabled Panasonic to further develop high-quality 3D viewing performance in its Plasma technologies. As a result of this process, Panasonic say their 3D Plasma display system will help 3D content producers to quickly and easily evaluate the image quality of 3D content.

But which 'standard' might win? HDMI's 1.4 version recognises 3D and - when connected with the correct equipment - can provide the switching tags that can take the TV set into and out of 3D. Retail ready products will appear in 2010. The Blu-ray Disc Association is also working on its 3D standard although has yet to set a finishing timetable. Membership of the BDA's 3D Taskforce comprises all the usual suspects, not least Panasonic, Disney, Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Samsung, Pioneer, LG, Mitsubishi, Intel, Dell, HP, Apple - and others. Everyone accepts that BD's 3D protocols and 'standard' are needed, and soon. The protocols are need for the pressing and authoring plants as well as the consumer goods end of the value chain.

Panasonic is pushing hard for 'Full HD', not simply because of the end-result quality issue, which is important, but also because its suits their Plasma display range. With refresh rates climbing beyond 120 Hz, and ever-larger screen sizes, and the speed of pixel response that Plasma achieves, they think these elements are also key and place Panasonic into a winning position.

Time will tell. Certainly Panasonic is making a few major statements at IFA in Berlin on Sept 3 and at IBC a few days later, and most observers expect them to be making a major push on 3D (helped by an exhibition of their fabulous 103" Plasma display).

Satellite operators are somewhat passive. They give their broadcasting clients whatever the client wants. But in our view they should also be pushing (sorry, educating) those clients as hard as possible to deliver the full 'Wow' factor of 3D, and then happily supplying the extra bandwidth needed for 'Full 3D'. Much the same education process was needed, at least over Europe, to inform consumers and broadcasters of the merits of full HD. Gabriel Fehervari’s Euro 1080 channel made its debut in 2004. Here we are barely 5 years later with more than 150 HD channels on air amongst Europe’s major satellite operators. That’s progress. 3D will not generate as much activity, but one or two initial channels per platform could quickly grow to a half-dozen over the next few years – and that can only be good news for the industry.

By Chris Forrester, RapidTV News

Edmeades cuts in at Tech Shop Kerner

Entrepreneur Eric Edmeades has purchased a controlling interest in Lucasfilm spinoff Kerner Group and has assumed the CEO role there. Kerner Group began as the former Industrial Light & Magic models-and-miniatures shop. Its businesses also extend to advanced video compression software called FrameFree and 3-D camera rigs for stereoscopic movies. In addition, Kerner has plans for a 3-D TV network.

Terms for the acquisition were not disclosed. Edmeades closed the deal and assumed the CEO post last week. Kerner's current management will otherwise remain in place.

Edmeades told Daily Variety that the deals for Kerner's 3-D broadcasting plans had to be put on hold while he completed his acquisition. He said those efforts are now being resumed, though what approach Kerner will take to 3-D broadcasting is still being investigated.

"We are also getting back into film production," said Edmeades, "which is something that Kerner largely left behind when it left the Lucasfilm family. We are excited about getting back to moviemaking and, of course, we will be focusing on live-action 3-D feature films and, when the time comes, television programming."

The company's FrameFree compression software is also going to be applied to 3-D, he said.

"The next release of FrameFree will allow anyone who wants to get in on 3-D to produce HD commercials in 3-D that can be shown in cinemas, on the coming 3-D laptops or in homes as the 3-D home cinema industry takes off. Nothing is more convincing than a genuine explosion or a genuine textured practical effect combined with great composition and CG," Edmeades said.

Edmeades also said the surging number of 3-D titles will create demand for high-quality 3-D camera rigs, which are in short supply. Kerner's staff, most of whom have been there for many years, have extended their experience in electronics and engineering to fields far beyond f/x. For example, their creature shop is working on extremely lifelike dummies for training combat medics, and their electronics experts are working on a new approach to autostereo (3-D without glasses) flatscreen monitors.

By David S. Cohen, Variety

The Patent Covering SENSIO 3D Technology is Issued by the USPTO

SENSIO Technologies Inc., inventor of the SENSIO 3D technology, announced that it has obtained its U.S. patent number (#7,580,463). This is the final step confirming that SENSIO’s technology is now patented in the American market. Following the delays encountered with regard to issuance of the patent, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is granting an extension of 600 days so that the patent will be valid for a longer period. The patent will be valid starting from the date of filing of the patent application, which was in 2003, and will remain valid for twenty years not including the extension period.

The patent obtained by SENSIO covers more than just the SENSIO 3D technology. It gives SENSIO exclusive operating rights over its whole method of compression, decompression, formatting and playback of stereoscopic content for various 2D and 3D screens, and applies to the markets for home theater, professional movie theaters, personal computing and mobile telephony.

“Our intellectual property is at the heart of our licensing strategy, so this patent is a major tool that will greatly facilitate the implementation of that strategy. Also, due to the scope of our patent, it enables us to explore new application development possibilities in order to make our intellectual property respected in various markets”, says Nicholas Routhier, President and Chief Executive Officer of SENSIO.

Source: SENSIO Technologies

BSkyB Denies 3DTV Format War

BSkyB denies suggestions that its 3DTV service will ferment a standards war, instead encouraging broadcasters to launch 3D services using its platform.

"There's no sense to any suggestion that we don't think standards are important," said Gerry O'Sullivan Sky's director of strategic product development. "In fact we are using one of the most common standards - MPEG-4 - which is the way in which most of the world's HDTV is delivered. Other broadcasters should join with us. We have pioneered HD and DVRs and we make no apology for innovating again."

O'Sullivan continued: "Sky is taking a lead here. We've created some fantastic content to huge acclaim just as we did with HD. Then we took risks and we're doing so again. The alternative is to sit back and still be waiting for 3D to happen ten years from now."

In Sky's model the left and right images are squeezed side-by-side into a single HD frame and transmitted by satellite via Sky+ HD boxes to select 3D Ready TVs where the images are re-interlaced and viewed with polarised glasses.

The BBC and ITV favour an implementation that uses 1080p resolution for both eyes, and crucially, that allows existing HD viewers to see the same pictures in 2D. This is likely to require that consumer's purchase new set-top boxes.

Sky, said O'Sullivan, has moved from an R&D phase to trial phases and is moving toward a launch phase for its 3DTV service. It is working with TV set manufacturers to bring 3DTVs compatible with Sky's system to the UK market next year. Currently only JVC and Hyundai sets are available. It is also talking with Hollywood studios to ensure that Sky can show 3D movies on its service from launch.

"We are totally focused on getting content," he said. "There must be some content. We are all learning what are the most efficient ways of producing 3D at the same time as conventional HD programming. We want to learn how to create 3DTV with minimal effort and we want to learn what works when we put this in front of consumers."

Sky's latest trial is a simultaneous 3D and 2D production for a single programme in the Sky 1 series Noel's Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old?.

By Adrian Pennington, TVB Europe

Dashwood Stereo3D Toolbox

Dashwood has produced a new video effects plug-in, Stereo3D Toolbox, based on Noise Industries' FxFactory platform. The software converts footage from After Effects, Motion or Final Cut into stereoscopic 3D. Possible output formats include side-by-side, over/under, checkerboard, interlace and anaglyph; controls adjust for the requirements of each one, tweaking details such X-, Y- and Z-axis convergence, or zoom levels for each eye.

An auto-scale function compensates for convergence settings, and users also have access to components that maintain text resolution, or adjust flip, flop and swap between eyes. Supported 3D capture formats include the likes of Cineform's neo3D and Inition's Stereobrain.

The plug-in costs $389, but can also be tried in a free version that watermarks output.

Source: Macnn

Panasonic's Full HD 3-D

Panasonic Corp. executive Bob Perry told me last week that the company's Full HD 3-D technology is "the next big thing in consumer electronics" and coming to the home by fall 2010. "There will be no format battle this time," Perry vowed, in my visit to Panasonic's Secaucus, N.J., headquarters for a preview of the technology. "Sony is with us on this. Our 'Full HD' will be a de facto standard for displays, and a 3-D Blu-ray Disc format will be standardized in the next few months."

Perry predicted for about 100 3-D movies to be prepared for disc release along with the hardware for the 2010 holiday shopping season.

Peter Fannon poses with the Panasonic 3D Full HD Home Theater

The "Full HD" part of their branding relates to the fact that alternate left and right images are rapidly fired off the screen, 120 times a second in full 1080p resolution (that's 60 frames per side). A viewer wears infrared-light-triggered, liquid shutter glasses that consecutively blink open and shut, left and then right, in sync with the screen images. The brain puts these alternating images together and, voilà, we see pictures with the same three-dimensional depth that our two eyes take in the world.

"Unlike other 3-D systems that have been put out there," (talking about Samsung, or your former employer Mitsubishi, Bob?) "there is no compromise in our image quality," said Perry.

That's the kind of talk that makes movie purists like Cameron very happy. And it probably doesn't bother the movie studios that cable and satellite broadcasters will be reluctant, at least for a while, to devote the extra bandwidth it takes to deliver a Full HD 3-D channel to subscribers. All the better to sell hard-copy discs and the pricier, pay-per-view 3-D versions that CinemaNow and Vudu plan to slowly download onto consumers' hard drive devices.

Yes, a TV has to work harder, run faster to process 3-D images. "Our current 600 Hz" (600 cycles per second) "plasma technology is well suited, but we'll still have to upgrade components for the new sets," said the Panasonic guy. "The bonus is that the added power will make conventional TV look better, too."

And he predicts that makers of LCD TVs will also speed up their display technology to cope with 3-D. Perhaps to this end, Samsung (and maybe others) will introduce 400 Hz displays at the IFA electronics show in Berlin next week.

Of course, a new breed of Blu-ray Disc and player will be needed to deliver this more data-intensive content load - "though it's not exactly double a regular high-def movie," explained Perry. "First you encode a full frame. That's the left side image. Then for the next, right eye frame, you only have to deliver the difference in the picture from that perspective." Today's 50 GB capacity Blu-ray Disc will suffice to hold a 3-D movie, "though we may have to sacrifice a few of those prized extras everyone watches," Perry said, tongue-in-cheek.


The 3D Full HD active-shutter glasses and 3D Blu-ray player used in Panasonic's 3D FHD demonstration

A new standard HDMI 1.4 connector cable with slightly different connectors on the ends will also be required to get components connected and the show going. That requirement will slow the introduction of 3-D on video game consoles - hey, Sony has just introduced the PlayStation 3 Slim - though Perry said the growing number of 3-D titles for PCs, including Ubisoft's G-Force and upcoming Avatar: The Video Game, will be playable on his Panasonic 3-D TVs through a multi-pin computer jack hookup.

In my recent time in a Panasonic Full HD 3-D theater, I found the image quality to be razor sharp, deep and involving. A clip from Disney's Bolt was especially loaded with shot-out-of-the-blue, in-your-face treats. My only complaint is that, as with 3-D movies shown theatrically on "silver" (really aluminum) surfaced screens, the picture brightness is significantly diminished by those blinking left/right shutter lenses. Think about it. The glasses effectively blackout one eye's view whenever the other is open, reducing light intake by 50 percent.

For current demos, Panasonic is using another vendor's 3-D shutter glasses, pretty comfortable, which run on a 250-hour capacity button battery and have a tinted, sunglasses look about them. Hopefully, when Panasonic's own viewing spectacles come out of the lab, they'll let a little more light shine in our eyes.

By Jonathan Takiff, Philly

3D Will Be Big, Very Big, for TV

It is a fair bet that almost anywhere and everywhere you look at this year's IBC there will be examples of 3D in action. Indeed, the green shoots of 3D on TV are everywhere around us. In Europe satellite operator Eutelsat has been running a free-to-view experimental 3D channel for the past 18 months. It is the same in Japan. Now BSkyB says it will have a dedicated 3D channel on air next year, while DirecTV and Fox in the US are known backers of 3D, as is Discovery Channel. Even the UK's Channel 4 is about to get into the act with a week of special 3D programming including previously unseen images of Queen Elizabeth in 3D.

Hollywood's enthusiasm for 3D is obvious as movie after movie is released to adoring fans prepared to pay a premium to visit 3D-equipped theatres. But how important will 3D be on TV?

One recent study (Strategic Impact of 3D) helps answer the question, suggesting that more than 10% of homes in the USA and Japan will be equipped with 3D-enabled TV sets, and just as importantly Europe with its massive number of TV households "will not be far behind" says research consultancy Futuresource.

"Consumers are starting to experience the new wave of 3D technologies at the cinema and through Digital Out of Home advertising, and it won't be long before there's a groundswell of demand for 3D within the home," says Sarah Carroll, Director of Continuous Services, Futuresource Consulting. "With over 200m new TVs sold across the globe every year, the potential is huge, but the industry needs to overcome some serious obstacles in order to kick start and fully realise the revenue streams.

"Most notably, technical and standards issues still need to be resolved and there is a limited supply of 3D content, with the current economic climate making new investment in production and distribution a challenge, particularly for the broadcast industry. That said, there is a real feeling of excitement surrounding 3D and here at Futuresource we believe this will translate into commercial success within the next three to five years."

All eyes will be on the consumer electronics industry, with ‘3D Ready' TVs a prerequisite to consumer adoption in much the same way as ‘HD-Ready' sets were used to seed the high definition market five years ago. An early decision on the Blu-ray 3D standard will also be critical, as packaged media will be necessary to help drive the market.

"Custom chipsets can be embedded into net-gen hardware at relatively low cost," says Carroll. "Combine this with an integrated consumer awareness programme and a coherent ‘3D-Ready' branding strategy, and the resulting price premium on hardware will more than offset the additional manufacturing costs."

Futuresource suggests that 3D on TV will definitely NOT be a niche category, and will gain traction from 2011 onwards with Blu-ray releases available as well as an increasing number of studio remastered film ‘classics' into 3D. Moreover, it sees Japan and South Korea's TV set suppliers learning lessons from the past and building multi-format sets suitable for all the likely standards. By 2015, it suggests we'll be seeing a wider portfolio of content available, embracing sport, films, wildlife and studio-based drama.

"Our analysis points to the emergence of two distinct phases as we move through the diffusion curve," says Jim Bottoms, MD of Corporate Development at Futuresource. "Currently, we're easing into the preparatory phase, which will stretch out to 2011. Here we'll see 3D movies primarily being made for theatrical release and the continued rollout of 3D digital cinema. TV manufacturers will start to roll out multi-format ‘3D-Ready' sets and glasses from 2010, VoD delivery systems will begin to include limited 3D movie, concert and sport content, and the market for 3D PC games will continue to develop.

"Our probability modeling shows the permeation phase will kick in from 2011, where - among other initiatives - we'll see new 3D movie releases on Blu-ray, re-masters of classic blockbusters like Star Wars, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, a wider range of 3D TV content for sports, wildlife documentaries and concerts, and studios introducing selective production of 3D TV shows and series.

By 2012, more than 10% of US and Japanese homes will be ‘3D enabled', and Western Europe won't be too far behind, with 6% household penetration. Moving forward, a new generation of videogame consoles will begin to emerge, fully embracing 3D technologies, and in the long term we'll see the industry shift to autostereoscopic (no glasses) displays."

By Chris Forrester, RapidTV News

A Watershed Event for 3D?

Like many Display Daily readers, I grew up enthralled by science fiction and in love with the movies. In my case, I was also fascinated by 3D. These three continuing interests will all come together on December 18th with the release of Avatar. As has been well publicized, Avatar is a movie that is being filmed in photo realistic, stereoscopic 3D. It hopes to mix live action and CGI imagery in a seamless blend.

There has been no shortage of hype about Avatar. I offer two very different examples of items recently posted in the news:
- 20th Century Fox has budgeted $237 million for production alone.
- Director James Cameron told Time Magazine that the 3D viewing "is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2D viewing doesn’t."

This movie, more than any other single event that will occur this year, has the potential to affect the trajectory of the public’s appetite for 3D. The quality of the movie and the extent of its’ commercial success will impact the near term prospects for all of the 3D industry.

This article will take a quick look at some aspects of the 3D production techniques used in Avatar. To start, we note that making a film using digital 3D technology is still very new. This means that much of the filming process itself is being improvised along the way, with new technologies being developed as they are needed.

Consider first the Computer Graphics aspects of the film. Avatar’s footage is built from about 70% CGI. But it will also include computerized images from real human action, which is called "performance capture." This is accomplished by the cast donning motion capture suits, essentially leotards covered in sensors that feed the movements of the body back to a bank of computers. In Avatar, scenes were accomplished on a "performance capture" stage six times bigger than anything previously used in Hollywood.

The realism of the performance was enhanced by improving the way the suits captured the actors’ facial expressions. The new technique is called Facial Performance Replacement. The FRP process calls for the use of a skullcap with a camera enhancement that closely monitors the actor’s eyes and mouth as well as other small movements. Each frame is analyzed for facial details such as pores and wrinkles all of which enable creation of a moving, computerized image that better reproduces human emotions. In addition, FPR allows the director to digitally re-work an actor’s facial movements. Lines of dialogue that get changed after principal photography on a scene can still be seamlessly implemented into the finished scene, without the actors having to re-don their body suits and head rigs for another take.

The performance capture workflow on Avatar used a so-called "Simulcam" or "virtual camera." This tool allows the director to hold a camera (really a monitor) in his hands, point it at the actors and see them in real time as their CG characters. The virtual camera allows the director to move through, edit and record the computer generated 3D scene as if he were the actual cameraman. The virtual camera removes the need to wait for the computer to render the images. The effect on screen of this approach is that of a "shaky cam." The effect makes action sequences seem up-close and can be used to focus audience attention on a particular part of a scene.

Next consider the live action 3D capture aspects of the film.

When James Cameron directed his first 3D film, Terminator 2: 3D, for Universal Studios theme parks more than a decade ago, the bulky camera equipment made some shots awkward or impossible. The 450 pound contraption, had two film cameras mounted on a metal frame and was so heavy that producers had to jury-rig construction equipment to lift it off the ground for shots from above. The cameras, slightly set apart, had to be mechanically pointed at the subject and then locked into place to create the 3D effect.

To address the camera problem, Cameron collaborated with Vince Pace, a cinematographer and the founder of a Los Angeles based 3D production company. Together they developed and patented a so-called "fusion digital 3D camera system." This camera was first employed in Cameron’s 2003 documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss, and has subsequently been refined and adapted. The camera rig now weighs only 50 pounds. The complete filming suite consists of a number of stereoscopic cameras that each use two camera lenses that can dynamically converge on a focal point with the help of a computer. With these cameras, the cinematographer can capture two images simultaneously and with perfect alignment both of which are crucial in 3D for sweeping camera moves and action sequences.

During production, Cameron needed a way to review just-shot footage in 3D. Since no equipment existed to do this, Texas Instruments customized three large screen DLP TVs to allow a scene shot in 3D to be immediately reviewed, enabling on-the-spot directorial decisions.

Those of us on the "technology side" of 3D should remember a point well made by Director Cameron: "Ideally, the technology is advanced enough to make itself go away. That’s how it should work. All of the technology should wave its own wand and make itself disappear."

And, don’t forget that an Avatar 3D game is simultaneously in development. If the game replicates the same look (which it appears to do) and the game play is compelling (no feedback yet), this could drive a longer-lasting wave of 3D interest.

Today, August 21, is also being promoted by Fox Studios as "Avatar Day" — a 15 minute screening at a number of theaters designed to increase excitement for the movie. Tickets disappeared almost immediately.

The début of Avatar has the potential to be a very big day not only for the Avatar team, but also for the entire 3D industry. See you at the movies!

By Art Berman, DisplayDaily

Finding the Language of Stereo 3D

While news from the exhibition floor of SIGGRAPH was a little ho-hum, there were a number of excellent panels and presentations upstairs at the convention. One of the most popular was a full day on stereo 3D and how filmmakers are trying to move away from stereo as a gimmick towards it being a true cinema language, just like color and sound. Representatives from Sony, Pixar and Dreamworks discussed the present challenges and strategies, as well as the future of 3D as a medium.

Peter Ludé, senior VP solution engineering Sony Electronics, kicked off the day with an overview of the history of 3D. He presented a number of quotes from giants in the industry about how 3D will soon become how all movies are made and viewed. It just so happens that these quotes were from the 1930s, underscoring the trepidation many in the industry are feeling over whether 3D will continue to grow in popularity or will fade away as it has many times in the past.

Up and Toy Story 3D
Bob Whitehill, stereoscopic supervisor at Pixar, used Up and Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to illustrate how they tried implement a stereo language into the films. “We are trying to use a more subtle, kinder 3D. We want to answer the question ‘Why is this movie in 3D?’”

Up, the story of an elderly man, recently widowed, who ties balloons to his house and goes on a spectacular aerial adventure, implemented a visual language of circles and squares to structure the layout and how stereo imaging would work in the film.

“We used this general idea in the planning and layout stages to design the film. We used long lenses on the square sequences and wider lenses on the circle ones, and had a relatively shallow space in the square scenes and deep space in the circle scenes,” notes Whitehall. “We created a graph of how we would use stereo. In the beginning when the character is happy there is a deep space, then it flattens out when he loses his wife and then it slowly increases throughout the film. Just like the lack of color in dark scenes make the vibrant images stand out more, so do the flat scenes enhance the scenes where you are more aggressive with the 3D.”

On Toy Story and Toy Story 2 the 3D language was more complex. “We approached the 3D in these films in two main veins: environment and emotion. In the environment you have the toy world versus the human world. I wanted the toy world, where the toys are together and have a community, to feel safe so the space was flattened out. When the toys are alone in the human world the depth is much greater. This changes through the film. We also broke the film down into themes of safety versus risk. So while the shallow space is comfortable it becomes untenable. It is not a place you can remain in. You want to make the choice to experience the richness of life, so as the film progresses we dial up the stereo.”

Whitehall theorizes that it will take some time for filmmakers to truly understand how to use 3D, just as it did for sound and color. “In the future I imagine success in 3D is going to happen when we marry the ‘wow’ moments of 3D and also learn how to use it subtly to emotionally tell a story.”

Monsters vs. Aliens
A team from Dreamworks Animation discussed how they built an entire 3D pipeline for Monsters vs. Aliens so they could author in stereo from the earliest stages of layout all the way through final QC. While Dreamworks had produced 3D projects for special venues, Monsters vs. Aliens was its first feature film, which was a “different animal altogether” notes Ken Bielenberg, visual effects supervisor. “We wanted to stay away from using stereo as a gimmick. That tends to pull the audience out of the movie. The things that worked for us creating projects for theme parks didn’t work for a feature. We had a clear mandate not to use stereo as a gimmick and only use it as part of the storytelling process.”

Authoring in stereo required building solutions so different artists to view the project in 3D at any time. “We did a lot of work to figure out how our artists could preview stereo at their workstations — every artist from editorial through lighting. It required separate hardware/software solutions for all of those different setups. It took a long time to figure out but we knew if we didn’t make it easy for artists to preview they wouldn’t work in stereo. Each department dealt with stereo but each one was impacted to varying degrees,” explains Bielenberg.

While the engineers were handling the technical aspect of the 3D pipeline configuration, the artists were going back to school to learn about the artistry of stereo. The first thing they did was to hold a hands-on stereo photography workshop for their layout artists. These artists went out and shot with the stereo still cameras and then the ‘class’ to reviewed the images. “They came back with some great stuff and some stuff that was absolutely horrific,” says Phil ‘Captain 3D’ McNally. “But they learned what made good 3D and what made bad 3D. It gave them the basics of 3D and how to view environments.”

With the basics of stereo photography in hand, they then had to understand the concepts of how stereo works in a theater and how the eye perceives a 3D image on a flat screen. Normal techniques that work in 2D fillmmaking can literally cause headaches in 3D.

“In 2D we use a 50mm lens a lot but what we found is that a 50mm lens in stereo is quite an aggressive setting when you introduce the background and foreground. Why is 50mm painful when it matches human vision? Because the theater doesn’t match human vision,” says McNally. “So finding a lens that matches the viewing space of a theater can make your stereo work easy. We found a 24mm lens is the easiest to set. When the lens is longer is tends to flatten out the characters and make them look like cardboard cutouts when they are in stereo,” says McNally. “The whole point of stereo is re-thinking filmmaking in a spatial way and you have to get a grip on basic skills and theories before you can actually think about what you want to do with stereo.”

Editorial
Editing a 3D film becomes a big challenge since in addition to getting the cuts to work on a linear fashion, now they also have to work spatially.

“Between a cut, the stereo effect often jumps from behind the screen to in front. It’s not as simple as making the shots the same,” McNally explains. “Otherwise your whole movie would look the same with everything behind or in front of the screen. So we animate the depth across the cut and used it extensively. There have been studies that show it takes your eyes a fraction of a second to adjust from looking at something near or far. So we essentially do the same thing. If one shot has the effect behind the screen then we go to another cut, we animated the stereo effect so the first frame is behind the screen and then each frame we bring it forward and after 10 frames we have the correct stereo setting we want for that shot. It is something you should absolutely not notice in the movie but you need to use it to blend shots together.

“Your first job in creating stereo is to do no harm. Then your job is to build creatively on top of that. There’s a real core toolset of knowledge you need to be able to create a film that audiences can watch for 90 minutes. But there’s also some room to play around and I think having the film be in stereo from the beginning all the way through production really helps creatively and technically.”

Stereo Artifacts
Mahesh Ramasubramanian, digital supervisor on Monsters vs. Aliens, discussed the visual artifacts that invariably pop up in a stereo production. He identified a number of common problems and how they were solved:

- Texturing. Problem: Often a shot looks fine until the texturing and lighting is added. The lighting reveals the depth setting on the shot and causes eye separation in the foreground elements. Solution: Adjusting the position of the camera to remove the extreme foreground.

- Incorrect reflections. Problem: Reflections look stuck to the object rather than going through them. Solution: Check your Renders. This happens when you mistakenly render the reflections with the wrong eye camera setting, which makes the reflections look like shadows stuck to the flooor rather than going in depth beneath them.

- Camera mismatches. Problem: The layers don’t look cohesive. Solution: When you are rendering different layers, different lights at different times, or when changes occur, it is a common error that the settings are not all the same. This is probably the most difficult to catch because it is subtle changes.

- Ghosting. Problem: A double Image. Solution: When a little bit of light is leaking into the other eye, which results in a subtle double image. This is most noticeable when there is a combination of high contrast and a lot of eye separation. We have two controls here. We can creatively de-contrast the image and pull it a little closer to the screen. Additionally we can use a prodecuderal cross cut canceling software that identifies the narrow regions around the edges and de-contrasts them.

Matte Painting
“One might think that matte painting would play less of a role with stereo. But this is hardly the case,” explains Ramasubramanian. “The consequences of having a huge robot in the film is that we have big, wide sets. We had to rethink the way we painted clouds. Normally we would paint the clouds on a dome. But for this we projected out painted clouds onto planes that were separated from the sky. This really helps with the spatial location of the clouds. You still have to paint in perspective. You have to have a motion parallax between the layers. We ended up stacking the clouds, but this was still not enough. We expected more depth from our matte paintings so we had to come up with ways to create hyper-depth, which is not optically correct but helped bring out the matte painting.”

For a shot of space ship traveling through clouds they employed a number of techniques to achieve depth. “In compositing we separated the cloud layer by one pixel from the ground beneath it. Then we used a multi-camera rig and had the spaceship in one camera and the rest of the set in another camera so that the spaceship was separated from the clouds. Finally we projected the foreground clouds onto volumes to add more depth to the shot,” says Ramasubramanian

Benefits of Authoring in 3D
While there were significant costs in getting every artist in the studio set up for stereo viewing, in the end it saved money and added to the creative.

“Because we were doing the effects before the editorial was locked we could influence the way the picture was cut in a way we couldn’t if we were treating it as a post process. In many cases effects department would request changes about lens choice, position of the camera and in certain cases adding shots in order to get the most depth from the effects we were doing. When there were problems we could deal with them as they arose instead of having to go back to the beginning and do it all over.”

By Matt Armstrong, Studio Daily