Greetings!
I have been asked to host a Q and A column on HT China Magazine. I will also be posting the questions on this site and providing answers for you here.
Feel free to ask further questions or additional information.
Regards
Gregg
Question:
How does 2D to 3D conversion work on some 3D Projectors?
Answer:
I posed this question to John Dahl, Senior Fellow at THX Ltd. John responds:
The technology used to convert 2D to 3D in projectors and TVs is a technology still in development.
Because the original 2D was not intended for 3D and the technology must work automatically in real time the results look OK sometimes but not other times. The more exaggerated the 3D effect attempted the more likely it is to look false. Most of the very best film directors believe that good 3D does not poke you in the eye, rather is makes the story more involving and exciting. Except for the occasional special effects scene you would not even notice the 3D’ness, instead it would look like really, really good 2D.
The process used in 2D to 3D up-conversion involves scanning each image and analyzing the same visual cues that give us a sense of 3D in the real world. For example, backdrops are further away, objects get smaller as they move further away, shadows give clues to an objects size and position, an object that goes behind another is further away and etc. The 3D synthesizing algorithms use these normal 2D clues to estimate what the image would look like if it were originally created in 3D.
These techniques are similar to those used in the studio to create 3D movie releases but the huge advantage the studios have is that the conversions can be viewed and changed by humans during the process to insure that the result has a more desirable result. In addition, when the original is an animation or uses extensive computer generated graphics the studio can go to the computers and re-assemble each image to produce more convincing and natural looking right - eye left eye 3D, something not possible in real time conversion in the TV or projector.
Creating 3D is easy, creating good 3D is not.
John Dahl, Fellow THX Ltd.
Gregg Loewen
Lead Video Standards Instructor, THX Ltd.
I have been asked to host a Q and A column on HT China Magazine. I will also be posting the questions on this site and providing answers for you here.
Feel free to ask further questions or additional information.
Regards
Gregg
Question:
How does 2D to 3D conversion work on some 3D Projectors?
Answer:
I posed this question to John Dahl, Senior Fellow at THX Ltd. John responds:
The technology used to convert 2D to 3D in projectors and TVs is a technology still in development.
Because the original 2D was not intended for 3D and the technology must work automatically in real time the results look OK sometimes but not other times. The more exaggerated the 3D effect attempted the more likely it is to look false. Most of the very best film directors believe that good 3D does not poke you in the eye, rather is makes the story more involving and exciting. Except for the occasional special effects scene you would not even notice the 3D’ness, instead it would look like really, really good 2D.
The process used in 2D to 3D up-conversion involves scanning each image and analyzing the same visual cues that give us a sense of 3D in the real world. For example, backdrops are further away, objects get smaller as they move further away, shadows give clues to an objects size and position, an object that goes behind another is further away and etc. The 3D synthesizing algorithms use these normal 2D clues to estimate what the image would look like if it were originally created in 3D.
These techniques are similar to those used in the studio to create 3D movie releases but the huge advantage the studios have is that the conversions can be viewed and changed by humans during the process to insure that the result has a more desirable result. In addition, when the original is an animation or uses extensive computer generated graphics the studio can go to the computers and re-assemble each image to produce more convincing and natural looking right - eye left eye 3D, something not possible in real time conversion in the TV or projector.
Creating 3D is easy, creating good 3D is not.
John Dahl, Fellow THX Ltd.
Gregg Loewen
Lead Video Standards Instructor, THX Ltd.
