3D Television Standard to be Proposed?

The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers is to start detailed work in June on its proposed standard for 3D television. Peter Symes, SMPTE’s director of engineering and standards says it isn’t likely that the 3D standard will emerge until 2010.

SMPTE’s concept is for an all-embracing 3D Home Master that covers not just broadcast TV but Blu-ray, console games, cable and IPTV transmission and even mobile phone delivery. The problem is that each of these methods have their own standards bodies dealing with their respective formats. However, it is looking increasingly likely that Blu-ray’s 1080p and 60Hz ‘standard’ will form the bedrock for 3D.

“A number of proposals have been put forward [for example] of how to do this for Blu-ray. But the important point is that the different distribution platforms will have one deliverable [the 3-D home master] as their starting point. It will allow for the efficient production of stereoscopic content because everyone will have a common target without worrying about the delivery or the display mechanism,” Symes told Multichannel News.