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| 3D Projection |
| 2014-06-12 14:49:53 |
What is 3D Viewing?
3D viewing is the process of delivering alternative images to each eye and thereby convincing the human brain it is seeing objects from an additional, third perspective.
3D content may be simple images or a series of images, animated movies or the latest Hollywoodproductions. The reality of the experience depends as much about the 3D image or movie and the projector or screen as it depends on the capability of the mind to combine what it sees with our established understanding of the form of the objects around us.
The Emergence of 3D
The showing of L’arrivée du Train, a 60 second film, by the Lumière brothers in 1895 was not just a brand new cinema experience but laid the path for the 1934 remake, which Louis Lumière shot in full 3D and had the audience leaving their seats and leaving the theatre, because the train actually appeared to be coming out of the screen at them.
In 1952, ‘Bwana Devil’, the first feature-length motion picture to use 3D was released and started an era that drew audiences away from their TV sets to the movies. However quality and viewing comfort were mainly unsatisfactory.
There were genuine 3D successes such as ‘House of Wax’, ‘The Mad Magician’ and ‘Son of Sinbad’ starring Vincent Price, but by 1955, the buzz was all but over, hampered by constant technical complications in exhibiting 3D, limited availability of ground-breaking content and most importantly poor quality and an uncomfortable user experience.
3D today
Today, 3D is again drawing people back to the cinema and generating record-breaking revenues. Technology created by companies like Texas Instruments and NEC create a genuine high quality viewing experience for audiences and an advanced, simple to operate, content management and playback solution for exhibitors.
Many esteemed directors such as Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton have already embraced 3D for their upcoming efforts, while James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ was filmed in 3D using custom cameras and special effects.
Advances in technology have made shooting 3D films more cost effective and distribution much simpler, as well as eliminating motion sickness and migraines. Today the technology is there and production houses are rushing to tap into the new revenue streams. In 2010, 3D has rightfully established its leading role in today’s Cinema World.
Why 3D?
Quality 3D media and playback creates an outstandingly enhanced viewing experience. Provided the 3D content is of a sufficiently high standard and the means of delivery via projection, display or other systems are technically satisfactory, whatever the viewer is watching they will enjoy a more engaging and rewarding experience that is essentially incomparable to conventional 2D viewing.
In terms of reality, capturing attention, increasing emotional response and ultimately providing more visual information in the same amount of time, 3D viewing stands alone.
GREATER REALITY : With easier visual understanding of an object’s dimensional characteristics, objects no longer appear a fixed distance away, but distances appear between them, with the viewer perceiving themselves physically amongst displayed content.
GREATER ATTENTION : 3D is interesting and captivating, it is new and inspiring, in particular Education audiences find the learning experience more inspirational, more enjoyable and therefore more memorable.
GREATER PRODUCTIVITY : In a similar time to conventional filming, 3D passes considerably more information to the viewer in a simple to grasp manner, it therefore effortlessly accelerates learning without making the experience more trying. This is a potential advantage in education and in the commercial world of presentations or modeling.
INCREASED EMOTION : Whether it is interest, admiration, attraction, curiosity, or fear or awe, high quality 3D media powered by the latest 3D projection systems adds to the emotional experience to the extent that conventional viewing can seem comparatively unrewarding.
3D technology is now both convincing and visually outstanding and is set to improve as Studio’s become more familiar with making the most from the advances in 3D technology.
How 3D works : The Basics
Simply speaking the 3D we see today (Stereoscopic 3D) is a visually enhanced two dimensional viewing experience that the viewer believes they are seeing in three dimensions and not in two. This is achieved partly by 3D simulation technology, but the spatial understanding of the viewer is essential to complete a convincing 3D perception. Effectively the human has a learnt pre-conception about the form of objects that the 3D experience taps into.
3D playback also works by delivering slightly differing information to each eye using varying methods, thus allowing the brain to see two different views of the same object that it can then use to develop an overall impression of the complete object.
It is essential to ensure that the differing images are perceived simultaneously, for this reason 3D technology has certain minimum standards, such as any active shutter 3D system requires a 120Hz image refresh rate (60Hz per eye), quick enough to ensure the viewer perceives alternating images as simultaneous.
3D Simulation Process : 3D Simulation Systems work by displaying two slightly different angled images. The viewer wears glasses that use filters to allow one of these images to pass to the left eye and the other to the right eye, the human brain using spatial awareness completes the picture.
There are different methods of filtering, some are continuous and use polarizing or anaglyph filters, others use shuttering, allowing images to pass through each lens alternatively at a minimum rate of 60 images per second per eye.
Delivering the 3D Stereoscopic Signal
As discussed, all formats aim to deliver a slightly different image for the left and right eye, however standardization of S3D picture formats is in its early phase and unfortunately many different methods exist.
One of the key technical challenges today is to convert various delivery formats into the display format supported by the display or projector. The technologies for separating the images for each eye are explained on the page to the right.
3D Stereoscopic Formats From Table Below :
60Hz 3D Formats
IMAGE 1 : Separate single pictures for the left and the right eye.
IMAGE 2 : “Side-by-Side”, half horizontal resolution. Both sub frames for the left and the right eye played out as half horizontal resolution in one file or frame.
IMAGE 3 : “Top-and-Bottom”, half vertical resolution. Both sub frames for the left and the right eye
IMAGE 4 : “Line-Interlaced”, half vertical resolution per sub frame. Both sub frames for the left and the right eye are played alternately one above the other (line by line) as interlaced resolution in one file or frame. This format is exclusively used for the direct output to S3D displays or TV’s. It will not be applied for S3D Broadcasting.
60Hz Full HD 3D Formats
IMAGE 5 : “Side-by-Side”, full resolution. Both sub frames for the left and the right eye are played out in one file or frame.
IMAGE 6 : “Top-and-Bottom”, full resolution. Both sub frames for the left and the right eye are played out in one file or frame.
120Hz 3D Format
IMAGE 7 : “Shutter“ (“Field sequential“ or “Page flipping“). Separate single pictures for the left and the right eye are played out one after the other.
Which 3D System?
3D technology is all around us, from the ultimate 3D Digital Cinema experience to 3D pocket cameras and camcorders that record and display in 3D. Today, even home users can instantly upload their own 3D movies to the web to be viewed in 3D all over the world. With a multitude of new and differing 3D systems, an absence of commonly adopted standards and a market that develops daily, choosing the right 3D technology for your application is a genuine challenge. The following are key 3D delivery systems in development today.
3D viewing without glasses
Perhaps the ideal option for 3D viewing is high quality without glasses, but currently systems in development have major limitations.
When the 3D content is small and close to the eyes like on a notepad or the screen of a pocket camcorder or 3D mobile phone, a lenticular effect can be used to direct different parts of the image to each eye. This is achieved by using tiny lenses on screen, which direct the light at different angles – some lenses direct it to the left eye, others to the right, with an assumption made that the viewer will occupy a set position in relation to the device.
These lenticular displays now include multiple viewing adaptation to deliver 3D to a number of favoured viewing positions, but at a normal viewing distance, they generally can only provide 3D to a number of sweet spot locations and therefore are limited in numbers of viewers seeing a good quality 3D image. Looking to the future, lenticular systems are being developed that use cameras to track a viewers change in physical location and adapt the lenticulation to maximise the 3D experience for each viewer regardless of their location.
Affordable 3D Viewing
3D Anaglyph Viewing
Traditional anaglyph 3D viewing is nothing new, it works with glasses that have different colour filtering that eliminate different colour elements of the image respectively, in order to separate the two different images for the left and the right eye.
Viewing is affordable as the glasses are very low cost and are regarded as consumable, but the quality of anaglyph 3D is generally poor. Because colours are impaired by the 3D replication process, viewing for the duration of say a movie can be uncomfortable and unrewarding.
Today this technology is more ideal for quick set up, short duration informative 3D viewing than watching movies or playing 3D games.
Entry Level 3D Shutter Viewing
Recently, active shutter technology (technology that is now established as one method in Digital Cinema) has become more affordable and is now a widely adopted 3D mass market solution, setting standards in 3D Consumer Television, 3D Home Projection, 3D Gaming and Education.
3D DLP Link projection in the latest 3D Projectors provide low cost large screen home 3D cinema and gaming or Ultra Short Throw 3D Projection for the classroom.
LCD shutter glasses use liquid crystals to make each of the two lenses either transparent or opaque to separate images in alternating order. Due to the high frame rate, the brain however has the impression that it perceives both images at the same time and not in sequential order. The effective frame rate per eye therefore is half of the total frame rate. With 120Hz the viewer receives 60 images for each eye, per second.
The quality of the 3D Viewing
The quality of 3D you see at your local cinema is still worlds apart from the 3D you can realistically play at home. Aside from the resolution and size of the displayed image, Digital Cinema Solutions such as NEC’s NC Series use Triple- Flash technology to provide best 3D performance at 144 Hz.
All typical 3D technologies are available for Single Projector Digital Cinema including polarizing technology, colour separation by different frequency filters and shutter glasses.
There is also a two projector Digital Cinema solution; both projectors have a different polarising filter in the front, each operating with only the left or right side of the visitor’s filter glasses.
Applications for 3D Viewing - Not just for the movies
The way 3D has impacted the world of cinema is clear, but there are other applications where 3D breaks new boundaries, improving the aspirational, viewing, learning or commercial experience for those involved.
Education :
3D modelling and viewing creates informative and captivating learning with its more efficient method of passing on spatial knowledge and the benefits that 3D creates a more rewarding viewer experience and greater interest.
Applications include Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Anatomy, Geography, Mathematics, Engineering, Architecture and the Arts.
Gaming
Gaming represents one of the biggest drivers in the growth and more widespread acceptance of 3D viewing, with games consoles also taking a key role in the playback of 3D modelling and playback of 3D educational content.
PC based gaming
Nvidia pioneered Stereoscopic 3D with their 3D Vision Technology. Displays and projectors need to be “Nvidia certified”. The Nvidia 3D Vision set includes shutter glasses with an infrared emitter. NEC NP216 projectors are fully Nvidia certified thus providing the ideal large display playback compliment to the home based PC 3D set up.
Game consoles
Games consoles from all the leading names are playing a big part in the move to 3D at home and it is anticipated that playing 3D discs at home will become standard practice.
Engineering
3D is an excellent medium to make more representational models, visuals or movies in Design, Engineering, CAD/CAM and Simulation applications. 3D models enable the viewer to fully appreciate the final appearance of an engineered product.
Video
Broadcasting : Major broadcast channels started to do test broadcasting to limited audiences in venues such as cinemas or pubs and bars during the last World Cup. The additional cost of 3D production, the challenges of providing 3D viewing solutions to all and bandwidth requirements are the major limitations to bringing 3D to the mass market.
Blu-ray 3D standard and Consumer TV’s / Projectors : All major consumer electronic brands have announced big plans for 3D TV and projector models. 3D consumer televisions and projectors are already broadly available.3D Blu-ray players are becoming common place now with more and more 3D Blu-ray DVD titles being shipped. |
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