The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and
release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which
represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer
electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home
entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers’
living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home
entertainment platform.
"Throughout this year, movie goers have
shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option
to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda,
chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for
3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray
Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the
living room."
The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the
technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched
picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full
range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the
specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full
HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry
leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed.
Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray
3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display,
regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology
and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the
image to the viewer’s eyes.
"From a technological perspective,
it is simply the best available platform for bringing 3D into the
home," said Benn Carr, chairman, BDA 3D Task Force. "The disc capacity
and bit rates Blu-ray Disc provides enable us to deliver 3D in Full HD
1080p high definition resolution." The Blu-ray 3D specification is also
designed to allow PS3 game consoles to play back Blu-ray 3D content in
3D. Additionally, the specification supports playback of 2D discs in
forthcoming 3D players and can enable 2D playback of Blu-ray 3D discs
on the large installed base of Blu-ray Disc players currently in homes
around the world.
"In 2009 we saw Blu-ray firmly establish
itself as the most rapidly adopted packaged media format ever
introduced," said Matsuda. "We think the broad and rapid acceptance
Blu-ray Disc already enjoys with consumers will be a factor in
accelerating the uptake of 3D in the home. In the meantime, existing
players and libraries can continue to be fully enjoyed as consumers
consider extending into 3D home entertainment."
The Blu-ray 3D
specification calls for encoding 3D video using the Multiview Video
Coding (MVC) codec, an extension to the ITU-T H.264 Advanced Video
Coding (AVC) codec currently supported by all Blu-ray Disc players.
MPEG4-MVC compresses both left and right eye views with a typical 50%
overhead compared to equivalent 2D content, and can provide full 1080p
resolution backward compatibility with current 2D Blu-ray Disc players.
The specification also incorporates enhanced graphic features for 3D.
These features provide a new experience for users, enabling navigation
using 3D graphic menus and displaying 3D subtitles positioned in 3D
video.
The completed specification will be available shortly and
provides individual manufacturers and content providers with the
technical information and guidelines necessary to develop, announce and
bring products to market pursuant to their own internal planning cycles
and timetables.
