New S3D Test Lab Opens For Blu-ray Quality Assurance

Jim here. Set to launch in the first quarter of 2010, Testronic Laboratories, a quality assurance and testing service provider to the Blu-ray and Broadcast industries, has announced the opening of its new 3D Test Lab, which will be housed in the company’s 1st Street Facility in Burbank, CA.

The 3D Test Lab will thoroughly test Blu-Ray discs for the entire 3D and 2D viewing experience and ensure quality for the consumer. With the cooperation of the company’s 3D supply chain partners, the equipment at the new Testronic 3D Test Lab will include pre-release 3D players and monitors.

Says Adam Lesh, CTO of Testronic Labs: "Testronic Labs has been on the forefront of every technology shift in home entertainment from the day that these new things called DVDs were unloaded off the truck, to the launch of BD-Live. In that sense, 3D is no different. We will continue to lead the industry in safeguarding the consumer experience for our clients."

Good to see them up and running! S3D in the home is almost upon us guys :-) Love it!!

About Testronic Labs
Testronic Laboratories, established in 1998, is the worldwide leading Quality Assurance provider of choice for the software, hardware, digital media and entertainment industries. Services cover DVD, Blu-ray and video game QA, along with a range of services for telecommunications, e-learning, interactive software and hardware products, as well as a suite of certification standards.

Testronic Labs' skilled team provides testing of any content across any medium to any end device. Based in Burbank, CA; Pinewood Studios and Central London, UK; Diepenbeek, Belgium; and Warsaw, Poland; Testronic Labs is the only global Quality Assurance company operating across the entire digital media industry.

S3D Blu-ray Standard Is COMPLETE! CES Will Explode With 3D Home Entertainment!!

Jim here. I don't mean to bump Michael's blue carpet talk with Cameron but this can't wait!

The Blu-ray Disc Association is DONE with its task of standardizing stereoscopic 3D Blu-ray content!!

1080p will still be the top resolution, however there are many changes:

1. ANY type of S3D technology can be used with it (active shutter, polarized, etc).
2. It will be backwards compatible with existing 2D content: Existing Blu-ray players will be able to the new S3D content and display it on their 2D setups in 2D (in 2D of course). This allows for the distribution on only one format of disc for ALL audiences.
3. The Sony PS3 console will be able to play Blu-ray S3D content in 3D.

The specification enforces the use of a Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec (coder-decoder) which is an extension to the H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec currently supported in Blu-ray players today.

Further, the spec allows for the integration of 3D menu systems and subtitles.

The final spec will be published very soon and should make for a VERY interesting Consumer Electronics Show in January! I can't wait to see what is in store for 2010 - S3D is taking off baby!!

Source: RegHardware

Final Spec for 3D Blu-Ray by End of 2009

Michael here. Thanks to Fuad Zain for pointing me to this article from Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits, which has an update on 3D Blu-Ray from Blu-Con 2.0, which was held this past week in Los Angeles.

Read an excerpt from Hunt's report below (emphasis mine):

According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the final spec for 3D Blu-ray (possibly called 3D-BD or something like it) will be announced by the end of the year, likely in December. The spec WILL REQUIRE that all 3D capable displays (regardless of how they process the 3D-BD signal) will use the same signal. The spec will be DISPLAY FORMAT AGNOSTIC, meaning whether the display is Plasma or LCD based (or whether it uses active or passive glasses) won't matter. So if you buy a 3D-BD player, it will work will all properly marked 3D display technologies. What's more, all 3D-BD discs will be backwards compatible with current Blu-ray players, so the disc will include both a 3D version in the new spec AND a standard 2D version for current players - all in full 1080p. The 3D-BD spec will require full 1080p signal delivery for each eye - left and right. The intent is that there's only one shot to get it right, so make sure it's a standard that will work for a long time to come.

An important point to make: THERE IS NO 3D-BD spec format war. Every company in the industry is cooperating on the final spec. The only difference is that the DISPLAY technology each company uses may be different, but the 3D-BD spec will be used by ALL of them.

Manufacturers will introduce a variety of 3D signal processing technologies, some based on plasma and some on LCD. Some will use active shutter glasses and some will use passive or polarized glasses. These technologies will be on display at CES in January and the first gear (and 3D-BD movie titles) will start arriving by mid-2010. Some product announcements MAY be made at CES. The glasses needed will be sold with the DISPLAYS, not the players, because the type of glasses needed will be dependent on the display.

All of the CE manufacturers stressed that 3D display is here to stay. It's not just about Blu-ray - you'll see cable and satellite offerings, live sports broadcasts and even gaming in 3D. The next round of gaming consoles are likely to support 3D gaming.

There WILL be a premium for the 3D capability in terms of display/player pricing, but as with all new technologies, this will drop over time.

This is particularly interesting: Multiple sources at the event - including one Sony source - informed me that there's a possibility that the PS3 can be firmware-updated to make full 3D gaming and (possibly even) 3D Blu-ray playback possible. All you'd need to do is to buy the glasses as an accessory. This may be possible because of the power of the PS3's Cell processor.

I am very excited for 3D Blu-Ray and am very happy that the powers that be are working towards a standard that provides the best possible 3D experience.

Panasonic Unveils Concept 3DHD (1080p) Camera Setup

Jim here. Well we knew it was going to happen, and here it is - at least in concept form. Panasonic has opened their komodo on the concept for an integrated stereo pair of 1080p cameras for shooting native 3D.

From their PR Newswire:
The system, which is expected to be the first of its kind in the industry, consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D-compatible High Definition Plasma display. Panasonic will exhibit concept models of the 3D system at its booth (Central Hall #3712) at NAB 2009 to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 20, 2009.

Each component of Panasonic's innovative 3D Full HD production system has unique features. The twin-lens P2 camera recorder enables the capturing of natural and high-quality live 3D images. Thanks to the non-mechanical solid-state construction of the P2 system, the camera recorder will be compact enough to allow more flexible 3D shooting, thereby maximizing the creativity of the filmmakers by eliminating the stress factor from the use of the equipment.

3D Full HD recording using Panasonic's proprietary P2 system also enables recording of two channels of Full HD images on the P2 card. P2's non-mechanical construction and compactness will also be incorporated into the company's 3D image recording and editing equipment to make production in the field highly flexible and efficient.

"Panasonic is continuing its efforts to enable consumers to enjoy 3D movies in the comfort of their own living rooms with its 3D Full HD Plasma Home Theater System, which incorporates a Plasma HDTV and a Blu-ray Disc player," said Dr. Paul Liao, Chief Technology Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America. "The professional 3D Full HD image production system we are going to develop will improve the 3D production environment and accelerate creation of 3D titles."

Will this Panasonic in-the-home-3D initiative adhere to the SMPTE work that has been done and revealed recently? I will let you know when I know!