IBC: Dolby, Philips Demo Glasses-Free HD 3D

Complete Coverage: IBC 2012

Dolby and Philips have been showing a new format at IBC that brings full HD 3D to glasses-free 3D devices. Although 3D has fallen out of the headlines, work continues on technologies that would improve both 3D workflows and the quality of content on glasses-free devices.  

"Dolby and Philips are committed to taking the 3D experience to the next level and delivering a high-quality solution for all 3D display devices, including today's glasses-based devices and tomorrow's glasses-free displays," said Dolby's Guido Voltolina, general manager of the joint project.

The joint project by Dolby Laboratories and Philips is focusing the 3D viewing experience for a variety of displays, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, and televisions and as a technology that effectively covers every aspect of content chain, from production to playback.

The partners are billing Dolby 3D as providing "best-in-class video" rendering technology with a pixel-accurate conversion/multiview-rendering module that they believe delivers the industry's most "depth-accurate" 3D video for glasses-free (autostereoscopic) displays.

To save bandwidth, the Dolby 3D system also upgrades half-resolution 3D signals to full resolution by adding a low-bandwidth enhancement layer for both glasses and glasses-free devices. Visitors to the demo included director James Cameron along with Roland Vlaicu, Dolby's senior director, broadcast video ecosystems.