Hollywood's new stereo 3-D movies could finally reach the livingroom as long as the Blu-ray technology supports it in the near future.
The
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has recently formed a Task Force on "3D Home Display Formats." The purpose of this effort is to define what content mastering standards would be needed to establish easy distribution of stereoscopic image content via multiple types of distribution channels (e.g. packaged, broadcast, satellite, cable, internet) for the purpose of rapid adoption of this content on a fixed home display.
The Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) hosted a meeting of the Task Force at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on 19 August 2008. In the meeting, participants discussed the various available
stereographic (commonly referred by the public as 3D) distribution solutions for home consumption on displays. The project's scope was to
define what standards would be needed to establish rapid adoption of stereoscopic a/v content from content mastering to consumption in the home via multiple types of distribution channels.
The Blu-Ray Disc Association has been also discussing the possibilities to support the stereo 3-D technologies. However, rendering a 3-D movie inside a Blu-ray player before outputing it to an HDTV would require specific changes/additions in the specifications of the Blu-ray disc.
On the other hand, the increased capacity offered by the Blu-ray discs could be ideal for storing the bandwidth-hungry 3-D movies. Many see Blu-Ray as the likely first vehicle to deliver stereo 3-D movies to the home.
For now, Blu-ray fans should make themselves comfortable with the interactive features of the available Blu-ray titles, and may expect 3-D movies on the BD disc in the following 4-5 years.