Hoping to capitalize on the growing demand for 3D content, JVC
Professional Products is introducing a stereoscopic image processor that can
convert standard video into 3D.
The IF-2D3DI Stereoscopic Image Processor is also designed
to work as a 3D left/right mixer for video-content production, allowing
producers to monitor what they've created while on location.
"3D is a huge topic right now and an area where many people
see a lot of new revenue opportunities on the horizon," said JVC assistant vice
president of marketing and communication Dave Walton. "The IF-2D3DI is designed
to speed up the process of doing 2D to 3D conversions and make the process of producing
3D content much easier."
While the IF-2D3DI converts 2D images to 3D in real time,
Walton stressed that JVC is not trying to sell the product as a means to
completely automate 3D conversion. Nor is it intended to provide producers with
a way of doing live 2D and 3D productions of sporting events with a single crew,
he said.
Currently, to accommodate 3D, live sports telecasts must use
two crews -- one for the two-dimensional HD feed and a second for the 3D feed --
which dramatically increases costs.
"It produces very compelling images in real time, but I
think anyone involved in 3D production will tell you that there is a lot more
to 3D production" than upconversion, Walton said.
Rather, the device is designed to speed up conversion by
creating 3D images that can then be improved and tweaked with the more traditional,
labor-intensive conversion processes.
"It is a little bit like colorizing an old movie in real
time," Walton said. "It is not something you can do. But this is a tool that
will speed up the process. You can create some convincing images and then spend
your time working on sections where more detail work needs to be done. People
who are doing 2D to 3D conversions are looking on this product very favorably."
The product is also designed to allow producers to improve and
speed 3D productions by allowing them to display 3D images on a 3D capable
monitor, such as JVC's GD-463D10U, or to convert them to an anaglyph image that
can be viewed with glasses on a traditional display.
It will also deliver left and right signal output via HD-SDI
or HDMI for dual projects or editing. The output can be adjusted for 3D in a
variety of viewing modes.
Walton reports strong demand for JVC's 3D monitors and said the
initial reaction to the IF-2D3DI has been encouraging. But JVC has no current
plans to introduce an end-to-end product line for 3D production, as Panasonic
is doing.
"It is not that we couldn't develop it," he noted. "But
there are so many different areas involved in 3D production. With cameras, for
example, producers have used separate off-the-shelf cameras that are integrated
into some very clever systems.
"From an economy-of-scale standpoint, it doesn't make
sense to build standalone cameras that are 3D-only. We couldn't sell enough of them
to justify the development cost."
