3D Software Applications for VC100 Systems
3D Processing Applications Now Standard on New VC100 Systems
The Teranex VC100 now includes all 3D processing applications as standard features, including format and frame-rate conversions for stereoscopic signals, decoding and encoding of 3D streams and simulation of 3D signals from 2D sources. The forthcoming 3D toolkit application, VC1-3DTK, will permit matching of cameras in 3D rigs for perfect alignment.
2D-to-3D Processing with Up/Down/Cross and Frame Rate Conversion
Dual channel VC100 systems support more than 250 Format & Frame Rate conversions on each processing channel and adding 3D applications does not reduce this unique ability. In fact, it makes the VC100 the only universal Frame Synchronizer and Converter able to handle or simulate 3D from virtually any video source. Its dual-channel architecture is ideally suited to stereoscopic processing and its reprogrammable processors easily evolve with changing 3D specifications. Software configurability and online upgradeability adapt to changing 3D needs, keeping the product current.
Teranex's VC1-2D-3D algorithm creates "soft" 3D programming from any 2D SD or HD source and runs exclusively on dual channel VC100s. It can be used to transition from 2D programming to 3D by creating additional programming for new 3D channels. It's also ideal for mixing 2D content within 3D workflows. This software application enables broadcasters, producers and service providers to use existing 2D programs to simulate 3D broadcasting.
In recent years, broadcasters moved from analog SD to Digital TV & HD, requiring substantial investments throughout their facilities. Moving to 3D will require additional capital expenditures. To validate any additional revenue that 3D can generate while minimizing investment, many are choosing to create 3D programs from existing 2D content.
Using Teranex's Soft 3D Processing simplifies the transition to 3D by using current production methods and equipment. The VC1-2D-3D application also offers broadcasters the ability to brand 3D channels by inserting 3D logos, with horizontal, vertical and depth position.
(VC1-2D-3D is a Patent Pending technology)
Typical VC1-2D-3D Application Diagram
(Click Image to Enlarge)
Articles & Testimonials
Panorama Audiovisual - See what a journalist in Madrid, Spain, had to say about the performance of our 2D to 3D algorithm.- Hollywood Reporter - See article by Carolyn Giandina of Hollywood Reporter.
- TVB Europe - See article by Adrian Pennington of TVB Europe.
See a testimonial from the InterBee floor.- See a testimonial from the InterBee floor - in Japanese.
- See a Presentation video of 2D to 3D at InterBee - in Japanese.
Get a PDF Datasheet of the 3D Sofware Applications
3D Software Applications Datasheet (PDF)Tutorial Video
Learn more about Teranex's 2D to 3D conversion software with this video presentation:
VC1-3D-ENC provides encoding of 3D right and left eye streams supporting most major 3D formats, such as:
- Side by Side
- Top Bottom
Typical VC1-3D-ENC Application Diagram
(Click Image to Enlarge)
VC1-3D-DEC provides decoding of 3D streams supporting most major 3D formats, such as:
- Side by Side
- Top Bottom
Typical VC1-3D-DEC Application Diagram
(Click Image to Enlarge)
VC1-3D-SYNC is a 3D Frame Synchronizing & Frame Rate Conversion software application for dual channel VC100s with the ability to lock free-running right and left eye signals. Locking 3D signals in real-time is essential to good 3D and it applies to all 3D production streams. Whether coming from non–genlocked cameras, broadcast signals or file servers, the right and left eye streams must be locked together to make the 3D experience work. The 3D Sync application solves this requirement and offers frame rate conversion when needed, such as a R/L Eye 1080i50 source into a R/L Eye 1080i59.94 output for international 3D venues, as seen in diagram below. This complex operation is easily handled by the VC100, all in real-time and with only 4 frames of processing delay.
Typical International Venue Application of VC1-3D-SYNC
(Click Image to Enlarge)
Upcoming 3D Application:
VC1-3DTK is a 3D software application meant to correct typical problems created by 3D Camera Rigs. It offers horizontal & vertical flip, pixel accurate Inter-Axial Distance (IAD) adjustment, separate horizontal and vertical adjustment. Axial and toe-in rotation, zooming/crop capability and adjustment of all video parameters to accurately match right and left eye camera streams. As an added benefit, the application includes all the features of VC1-3D-SYNC above with +/-1 Frame Synchronizing capability, frame rate conversion and the ability to reference the R/L Eye signals to an external source or to the Left Eye signal.
Some of the 3D Capture Issues that VC1-3DTK and 3D-SYNC address:
The size of professional cameras makes stereoscopic capture a challenge, since it is mechanically difficult to position 2 high quality lenses, 65-70mm apart; to mimic the inter-ocular distance (IOD) of the Human Visual System (HVS). So to get the lens centers in the HVS range; 3D camera rigs often rely on optical beam splitting which has intrinsic optical, mechanical and electronic errors. Typically, beam splitting 3D camera rigs use a first surface mirror to reflect the captured image to the vertically mounted (top) camera, resulting in inversion of the horizontal axis, and sometimes inversion of the vertical axis as well. This is a complex mechanical arrangement, and some mechanical horizontal and vertical positioning errors, as well as axial rotation errors are likely to occur. The bottom camera, looking at the subject through a first surface mirror, will see a tinted image with a lower light level causing the two image captures to be different, thus requiring video signal corrections.
Another typical 3D camera rig mounts smaller cameras "Side by Side" to position the lens centers 65-70 mm apart. Due to the nature of this precise arrangement and the high number of pixels in HD, intrinsic mechanical horizontal and vertical positioning errors will occur. Depending on the quality of the 3D rig, axial rotation errors are also likely to occur. Since the images are captured with two separate electronic devices, some video signal corrections will be required. These typical 3D rig issues can be easily corrected using the VC1-3DTK software application.
With any 3D signal or capture, the Right Eye (RE) and the Left Eye (LE) signals must be perfectly matched in time. Without time-lock a 3D image is unusable. Since they often have no genlock; lower cost cameras, or High-Speed cameras used on SbS jigs or Beam Splitting rigs above can only be used to capture 3D if their outputs are recorded separately then frame-matched in post-production. Using VC1-3D-SYNC resolves this issue by locking Right and Left Eye signals to either an external reference or the Left Eye signal, yielding perfectly matched 3D images as they are being captured.
Typical VC1-3DTK Application Diagram
(Click Image to Enlarge)
See How Teranex 3D Applications are used in a 3D Production
(Click Image to Enlarge)
Printer-friendly version
