If 3-D is ever going to make it into viewers’ homes, there’ll have to be a way to get it there. In fact, there are several ways springing up, some of them incompatible.
Which is why the MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF) has formed a 3DTV Working Group that will try to sort out the most appropriate ways of transmitting 3DTV within the structure of the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 protocols.
Sean McCarthy, chair of the working group and fellow of the technical staff at Motorola, said: “3DTV is of keen interest to everyone in the video creation and delivery industries. The challenge we all face is that of sorting through the myriad technical options. Our common goal is to create a 3DTV ecosystem that delivers great new experiences to consumers.
“The 3DTV Working Group and the ‘3D over MPEG’ campaign are designed to provide focus and clear information to decision makers,” McCarthy continued. “3DTV can be distributed today using MPEG-related standards. Existing broadband and broadcast services and infrastructures are 3-D-ready, and ongoing works by standards bodies provide a compelling path for the future evolution of 3DTV.”
David Price, vice president of the MPEGIF and vice president at Harmonic, said, “3-D video will be a major theme of the next MPEG Industry Forum Master Class being held at CES 2010 in Las Vegas in January.”
