Quick Post: SMPTE Wants 1080p/60fps per-eye 3DTV Standard Within a Year
UPDATE: 4/16/09 - Michael here. After reading the full SMPTE task force report, it is clear that 24p 3D content is still a possibility, as the image file is required to contain video resolutions "up to and including 1920x1080 and native frame rates up to and including 60p per eye view." It seems from the wording that since 24p is a native frame rate, the image file will be required to contain it if the source material is 24p. Whether we will actually able to see 24p 3D content displayed without pulldown will be determined by the technology of the display. Hopefully CEA will work on solutions for this.
UPDATE: 4/15/09 - Michael here. I, as well as MarketSaw readers, have been thinking/worrying about how 24p 3D content will be displayed using this standard. Hopefully, there will be a solution such that no pulldown or other types of messing with the original frames is required. Perhaps variable frame rate TVs that can display at both 120 and 96 hz? I'll let you know as soon as I find out how the players involved will be handling 24p content.
Michael here. I agree with Jim (see article below) that lousy 3DTV will do nothing but slow the widespread adoption of 3D by the consumer electronics industry, primarily by misleading consumers with a subpar product.
Those of us wishing for the highest possible quality in 3DTV, however, may have cause to celebrate, as SMPTE (a major player in creating the DCI standard for Digital Cinema) announced on Monday that they hope to finish a 3DTV standard within a year. And, wisely, they have decided that this standard should be 1080p at 60 frames per second, per eye. This is equivalent to what Panasonic has been demonstrating with its uber-impressive 103 inch 3D plasma.
The SMPTE standard will rigorously define the requirement for a "3D Home Master", which studios or game publishers would deliver as source material for Blu-ray disks, broadcasts and internet downloads.
The best news about this is that the 3D images will be delivered to various mediums without sacrificing resolution or frame rate. And a year from now seems like the perfect time to debut the new standard with the Avatar Blu-ray!
source: EETimes
