The future of TV is live 3D broadcasts

Juniper Foo | Sep 25, 2009

3ality Digital's Howard Postly in a live 3D broadcast taking place at IDF 2009. You'll need 3D goggles to get the full effect. (Credit: Juniper Foo/CNET Asia)

What we found under our seats.
(Credit: Juniper Foo/CNET Asia)

SAN FRANCISCO--Immersive entertainment is already happening as we speak. We're watching 3D movies of animation like Ice Age 3, while vendors such as Philips is working on 3D TVs. However, at a keynote on the third and final day of the Intel Developer Forum, audiences got to put on 3D goggles to watch as Howard Postly, COO and CTO of 3ality Digital, virtually "stepped off" a giant screen onto the stage to greet Justin Rattner, Intel senior fellow, VP and director of Intel Labs and Intel CTO. And the cool factor was that all this was live.

The demonstration was followed by a clip of a U2 concert in 3D.

Coming soon: 3D TV. However, live action 3D still holds challenges. (Credit: Juniper Foo/CNET Asia)

While sonic immersion has been honed down to a science and now part of the home experience, Rattner said that the technology hasn't been quite ready for immersive video to catch up. The real challenge lies in the massive computation and bandwidth resources required to shoot and manage 3D TV in real time, where everything is moving and has to be in perfect alignment.

Intel, which announced a new Atom CE4100 processor for TVs, also envisions marrying 3D TV with its recently unveiled Light Peak. This single fiber-optic link has bi-directional capabilities to carry data at a whopping 10 gigabits per second. This will certainly relieve the bandwidth bottleneck and replace the multitudes of copper-based cables, required for a 3D shoot today, with just one optical wire. According to Postly, a single 3D broadcast requires a setup of about 40 cameras and 5,000 cables.

Demonstrated was a single optical link being hotplugged. (Credit: Juniper Foo/CNET Asia)

Also showcased at the keynote was a new laser-based 3D technology from California startup HDI which has developed a prototype 100-inch laser 3D-scopic television system. The company's key claim is that its technology can scan over 1,000 frames per second, equivalent to about 1080Hz vs. the 480Hz TVs coming up. The result is smoother, faster playback than most other 3D solutions.

HDI's prototype laser 3D-scopic projection system. (Credit: Juniper Foo/CNET Asia)

All in all, the way we watch TV is rapidly changing, with the tube becoming a social science and service providers soon to turn into experience providers.

TV that will eventually be smart enough to offer me choices, let me drill down to details about shows, discuss with friends about a program over a network, share shows and download third-party apps? What's not to like.