Blu-ray boys finish 1080p 3D spec
Compatible with old players, kind of
The Blu-ray Disc Association has completed its specification for standardising the inclusion of stereoscopic 3D content on its optical discs.
The material will be presented in resolutions up to and including 1080p. Crucially, the BDA said, it doesn't depend on any specific 3D technology - active-shutter or polarised lens - or display type.
The spec also details how 2D content can be played back on 3D-capable players. It provides a way existing players can take the 3D content and display it in 2D form at 1080p, which will allow Hollywood to release 3D movies in place of 2D version without pissing off the installed base - assuming it doesn't charge a premium for the material, of course.
Speaking of the installed base, the BDA made a special mention of member Sony's games console: "The Blu-ray 3D specification is also designed to allow PS3 game consoles to play back Blu-ray 3D content in 3D."
Sony has already said as much, but it's testament to the consumer electronics giant's power in the BDA that it was the only company to get product placement in the press release.
The BDA's spec mandates encoding 3D video using the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec, an extension to the H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec currently supported by all Blu-ray Disc players. The specification also incorporates enhanced graphic features to enable menus, subtitles and so on to appear in 3D form.
The BDA said the final specification will be published shortly, paving the way for a blaze of publicity and product announcements at next January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. ®
COMMENTS
have you heard of compression
Yes Bluray is already compressed. You can't take a 25+ GB file and compress it to 8 with the same class of codec and not reduce the quality.
PS3 - The ONLY current player that will do 3D.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091217005371&newsLang=en
"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."
Interesting wording there, PS3 can do it all, existing players can play 2D content on 3D discs...
MiniDisc dead?
..oh, you mean on the retail side - yes, quite so.
On the recording and mastering side, plenty of studios still use minidisc as a medium just the same as they use DAT for mastering ("DAT?" ah-huh)
Peace to all - those who bought 1st Gen BR players, and those that didn't.
oh god. more shouting
yawn. more stupidity. oh look, how many BR players have you bought now? 3? 4? why's that? out of date? so your blue ray player can't play blue rays? how about that now...
man, these manufacturers must really have some stupid shills who keep buying their products.
anyway, 3D? till it doesn't require glasses or sitting still in a particular position for the entire length of the film, it'll just ..... fail...
We Enlightened Ones Saw The Death Of MiniDisc
Yeah, and you no doubt were also crowing about the death of CD and before that vinyl.
Oh, but wait. CD isn't dead and vinyl is actually coming BACK.
Minidisc competed with CD, not with downloads. Downloads won't replace discs because the majority of human beings derive gratification from owning THINGS that they can hold in their hands. We accumulate stuff in our lives not because we have to but because we enjoy it.
A hard disk with GB's of MP3 might appeal to geeks (among which I count myself), but it does not appeal to the majority of people (and for those that might be tempted, the day that that hard drive bricks itself and takes the entire MP3/DVD collection with it is the day they will go running back to their book cases and the shiny discs).
