Seminar paper in English Language 3

3D television
Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
2. History............................................................................................................................................ 4
3. Technologies .................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1. Displaying technologies.............................................................................................................. 6
3.2. Producing technologies .............................................................................................................. 8
3.3. 3D production ............................................................................................................................. 9
4. Standardization efforts ............................................................................................................... 10
4.1. DVB 3D-TV standard .............................................................................................................. 11
4.2. World record ............................................................................................................................ 11
5. Health effects ............................................................................................................................... 12
6. References .................................................................................................................................... 13
 1. Introduction

3D television (3DTV) is television that conveys depth perception to the viewer by

employing techniques such as stereoscopic display, multi-view display, 2D-plus-depth, or any
other form of 3D display. Most modern 3D television sets use an active shutter 3D system or a
polarized 3D system, and some are autostereoscopic without the need of glasses.

Image 1. An example of three-dimensional television.

 2. History
The stereoscope was first invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838. It showed that
when two pictures are viewed stereoscopically, they are combined by the brain to produce 3D
depth perception.

Image 2. Drawing of Sir Charles Wheatstone, the English scientist and inventor.

Stereoscopic 3D television was demonstrated for the first time on 10 August 1928, by
John Logie Baird in London.

The first 3D TV was produced in 1935, and stereoscopic 3D still cameras for personal
use had already become fairly common by the Second World War. Many 3D movies were
produced for theatrical release in the US during the 1950s just when television started to
become popular.
In 1946 the Soviet Union also developed 3D films, with Robinzon Kruzo being its first
full-length 3D movie. People were excited to view the 3D movies, but were put off by their
poor quality. Because of this, their popularity declined quickly.

3D showings became more popular throughout the 2000s, culminating in the success of
3D presentations of Avatar in December 2009 and January 2010.

Though 3D movies were generally well received by the public, 3D television did not
become popular until after the CES 2010 trade show, when major manufacturers began selling
a full lineup of 3D televisions.
 3. Technologies

There are several techniques to produce and display 3D moving pictures. The following
are some of the technical details and methodologies employed in some of the more notable 3D
movie systems that have been developed.

Image 3. an early stereoscopic card for viewing Image 4. Brewster-type stereoscope.

a scene from nature.

The future of 3D television is also emerging as time progresses. New technology like
WindowWalls and Visible light communication are being implemented into 3D television as
the demand for 3D TV increases. Vice president of Samsung's LCD business, says that the
demand for 3D TV will skyrocket in the next couple of years, fueled by televised sports.
One might be able to obtain information directly onto their television due to new
technologies like the Visible Light Communication that allows for this to happen because the
LED lights transmit information by flickering at high frequencies.
3.1 Displaying technologies

The basic requirement is to display offset images that are filtered separately to the left
and right eye. Two strategies have been used to accomplish this: have the viewer wear
eyeglasses to filter the separately offset images to each eye, or have the light source split the
images directionally into the viewer's eyes (no glasses required).

Image 5. Functional principle of active shutter 3D systems.

Image 6. Functional principle of polarized 3D systems.

Common 3D display technology for projecting stereoscopic image pairs to the viewer
include:
With filters/lenses:
1. Anaglyph 3D with passive color filters

Image 7. Anaglyph of a column head in Persepolis

 2. Polarized 3D system with passive polarization filters
3. Active shutter 3D system with active shutters
4. Head-mounted display with a separate display positioned in front of each eye, and
lenses used primarily to relax eye focus

Image 8. The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.

Without lenses: Autostereoscopic displays, sometimes referred to commercially as Auto 3D.

Image 9. The Nintendo 3DS uses parallax barrier autostereoscopy to display a 3D image
Hitachi released glasses-free 3D projection systems that use a set of 24 projectors,
lenses, and translucent half mirrors to superimpose 3D images with a horizontal viewing angle
of 60 degrees and a vertical viewing angle of 30 degrees. Besides Hitachi, Sony is also working
on similar technologies.
Single-view displays project only one stereo pair at a time. Multi-view displays either
use head tracking to change the view depending on the viewing angle, or simultaneous
projection of multiple independent views of a scene for multiple viewers (automultiscopic).
Various other display techniques have been described, such as holography, volumetric
display, and the Pulfrich effect.
3.2 Producing technologies
Stereoscopy is the most widely accepted method for capturing and delivering 3D video.
It involves capturing stereo pairs in a two-view setup, with cameras mounted side by side and
separated by the same distance as is between a person's pupils. If we imagine projecting an
object point in a scene along the line-of-sight for each eye, in turn, to a flat background screen,
we may describe the location of this point mathematically using simple algebra.

Image 10. Modern stereo TV camera.

Multi-view capture uses arrays of many cameras to capture a 3D scene through multiple
independent video streams. Plenoptic cameras, which capture the light field of a scene, can also
be used to capture multiple views with a single main lens. Depending on the camera setup, the
resulting views can either be displayed on multi-view displays, or passed along for further
image processing.
After capture, stereo or multi-view image data can be processed to extract 2D plus depth
information for each view, effectively creating a device-independent representation of the
original 3D scene. These data can be used to aid inter-view image compression or to generate
stereoscopic pairs for multiple different view angles and screen sizes.
2D plus depth processing can be used to recreate 3D scenes even from a single view
and convert legacy film and video material to a 3D look, though a convincing effect is harder
to achieve and the resulting image will likely look like a cardboard miniature.
3.3 3D production
Production of events such as live sports broadcasts in 3D differs from the methods used
for 2D broadcasting. A high technical standard must be maintained because any mismatch in
color, alignment, or focus between two cameras may destroy the 3D effect or produce
discomfort in the viewer. Zoom lenses for each camera of a stereo pair must track over their
full range of focal lengths.
Addition of graphical elements (such as a scoreboard, timers, or logos) to a 3D picture
must place the synthesized elements at a suitable depth within the frame, so that viewers can
comfortably view the added elements as well as the main picture. This requires more powerful
computers to calculate the correct appearance of the graphical elements. For example, the line
of scrimmage that appears as a projected yellow line on the field during an American football
broadcast requires about one thousand times more processing power to produce in 3D
compared to a 2D image.
Since 3D images are effectively more immersive than 2D broadcasts, fewer fast cuts
between camera angles are needed. 3D National Football League broadcasts cut between
cameras about one-fifth as often as in 2D broadcasting. Rapid cuts between two different
viewpoints can be uncomfortable for the viewer, so directors may lengthen the transition or
provide images with intermediate depth between two extremes to "rest" the viewers eyes. 3D
images are most effective if the cameras are at a low angle of view, simulating presence of the
viewer at the event; this can present problems with people or structures blocking the view of
the event. While fewer camera locations are required, the overall number of cameras is similar
to a 2D broadcast because each position needs two cameras. Other live sport events have
additional factors that affect production; for example, an ice rink presents few cues for depth
due to its uniform appearance.
 4. Standardization efforts
The entertainment industry is expected to adopt a common and compatible standard for
3D in home electronics. To present faster frame rate in high definition to avoid judder (non-
smooth, linear motion), enhancing 3-D film, televisions and broadcasting, other unresolved
standards are the type of 3D glasses (passive or active), including bandwidth considerations,
subtitles, recording format, and a Blu-ray standard. With improvements in digital technology,
in the late 2000s, 3D movies have become more practical to produce and display, putting
competitive pressure behind the creation of 3D television standards. There are several
techniques for Stereoscopic Video Coding, and stereoscopic distribution formatting including
anaglyph, quincunx, and 2D plus Delta.

Image 11.Audience wearing special glasses watch a 3D "stereoscopic film" at the Telekinema
on the South Bank in London during the Festival of Britain 1951.
Content providers, such as Disney, DreamWorks, and other Hollywood studios, and
technology developers, such as Philips, asked SMPTE for the development of a 3DTV standard
in order to avoid a battle of formats and to guarantee consumers that they will be able to view
the 3D content they purchase and to provide them with 3D home solutions for all pockets. In
August 2008, SMPTE established the "3-D Home Display Formats Task Force" to define the
parameters of a stereoscopic 3D mastering standard for content viewed on any fixed device in
the home, no matter the delivery channel. It explored the standards that need to be set for 3D
content distributed via broadcast, cable, satellite, packaged media, and the Internet to be
played-out on televisions, computer screens and other tethered displays. After six months, the
committee produced a report to define the issues and challenges, minimum standards, and
evaluation criteria, which the Society said would serve as a working document for SMPTE 3D
standards efforts to follow. A follow-on effort to draft a standard for 3D content formats was
expected to take another 18 to 30 months.
 4.1 DVB 3D-TV standard

DVB has established the DVB 3D-TV Specification. The following 3D-TV consumer
configurations will be available to the public:
3D-TV connected to 3D Blu-ray Player for packaged media.
3D-TV connected to HD Games Console, e.g. PS3 for 3D gaming.
3D-TV connected to HD STB for broadcast 3D-TV.
3D-TV receiving a 3D-TV broadcast directly via a built-in tuner and decoder.
For the two broadcast scenarios above, initial requirements are for Pay-TV broadcasters
to deliver 3D-TV services over existing HD broadcasting infrastructures, and to use existing
receivers (with firmware upgrade, as required) to deliver 3D content to 3D-TV sets, via an
HDMI or equivalent connection, if needed. This is termed Frame Compatible. There are a range
of Frame Compatible formats. They include the Side by Side (SbS) format, the Top and Bottom
(TaB) format, and others.

4.2 World record

The 2011 UEFA Champions League Final match between Manchester United and
Barcelona was broadcast live in 3D format on a Ukrainian-produced EKTA screen in
Gothenburg, Sweden. The screen made it to The Guinness Book of World Records as the
world's biggest screen. The live 3D broadcast was provided by the company Viasat.
 5. Health effects
Some viewers have complained of headaches, seizures and eyestrain after watching 3D
films.There have been several warnings, especially for the elderly.Motion sickness, in addition
to other health concerns, is more easily induced by 3D presentations.
There are primarily two effects of 3D TV that are unnatural for the human vision:
crosstalk between the eyes caused by imperfect image separation and the mismatch between
convergence and accommodation caused by the difference between an object's perceived
position in front of or behind the screen and the real origin of that light on the screen.
It is believed that approximately 12% of people are unable to properly see 3D images,
owing to a variety of medical conditions. According to another experiment, up to 30% of people
have very weak stereoscopic vision preventing depth perception based on stereo disparity. This
nullifies or greatly decreases immersion effects of digital stereo to them.
6. References
[1] How Stereoscopic Television is Shown. Baird Television website, 2010.

[2] The History of 3D TV. brighthub.com. 2016.

[3] Future looks flat for 3D TV. The Sydney Morning Herald, 2013.

[4] Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future. Engadget.
2012.