Meant to be Seen

MTBS interviewed DJ Roller and David Cole, Co-Founders of NEXT3D.

YouTube preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMZLpzv4jHQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The FULL story (you need to be a registered MTBS member to access the file):

http://www.mtbs3d.com/dloads/index.php?act=view&id=72" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The potential that this represents is absolutely huge, and we are not just talking about 3D movies on consoles. Watch the entire video and hear what NEXT3D have done with Blu-Ray. If there is a bigger surprise, it's that everyone missed it.

Please Digg here:

http://digg.com/gaming_news/XBOX_PS3_Se ... _Interview" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards,
Neil

So how does the BluRay playback work? Interleaved? Any extra hardware attached to the Video Cable?

Some things are unclear..
- their decompression engine relies on the GPU? Didn't they invent the CELL for that? It seems a little strange to use the GPU for that.
- Is the codec for the BluRay the same as for the PS3/XBOX360? In that case it cannot be a radically different design I think.
- The content is the whole point. The interview is a little iffy on that.

I'd love to see more anouncements from them. I think the reason they were overlooked is the fact that their website has not changed much in recent times?

I will ask them about the BluRay, but from what I can tell, there is nothing special attached to make it work. In their words, they "carefully encoded" the disc to support DLP and interleaved. I saw it in action, and it still has to be optimized - but the potential during the waiting time for agreed upon and implemented standards is immense.

I can't speak to content, but what is most important is:

1. 3D cinema is not dependent on standards to distribute to the home digitally.
2. As their BluRay technology continues to develop, no special equipment or upgrades will be needed to wake up two million 3D HDTVs in the market.
3. I think a major barrier to entry has been lifted, and there is now a safe avenue for content. The standards waiting game is no longer justified.

Regards,
Neil

Some news for you! NEXT3D is going to be making themselves available to answer questions here. I think you should ask away, because I really think their innovations both for console and BluRay could be the holy grail of 3D in the home long before standards are established.

Regards,
Neil

If you wanted to play a 3D movie on using a Blu-Ray player, what will that entail? a software upgrade or something? or will it all be in the format?

That is big news Neil. Thank you for showing us.

I have some questions:

1) What will the approximate cost be for the consumer per movie?

2) After compression what can we expect the average file size to be per hour of movie viewing?

3) Is this service just for purchasing movies or will rental be an option?

4) Anything new on timeline?

5) Have any movie studios signed on to have their content delivered?

6) What sort of sound encoding can we expect?

7) Can you give us an idea of picture quality after compression?

Their technology looks promising, especially the part that makes current blu-ray players work.

From what i have understood they store the images in one of the interlaced formats, that's fine for current 3D-ready TVs (mainly the DLPs, so it wouldn't work in europe since DLPs are so rare over here but it could work in the US).
But with new fullhd 3D display becoming available in the future and 3D movie producers like james cameron showing great interest in fullhd 3D, I fear hollywood might be reluctant to publish two simultaneous versions (one interlaced 3D hd and one fullhd 3D) and focus only on the future fullhd 3D format.

Do already have studios interested in your approach ?

Is your encoding scheme able to encode an interlaced and fullhd 3D version on the same disc ? (and reuse the data from the interlaced version for the fullhd version)

Does a single disc support both 720p and 1080p 3D HDTVs? (e.g. Most Samsung DLPs are 1080p; some older Samsung DLP and Plasma 3D HDTV's are 720p.)

ALL DLPs are 1080P. Only 2, relatively short-lived Samsung Plasma screens were 720P. It's still a good question, but, the installed base of 720P 3D-Ready TV's is vanishingly small.

-- MS

Very cool! And they are right in my back yard in Atlanta no less! Wonder if they are looking for a slightly used but very motivated VP of Sales. I could use a change of pace...

Hi MTBS3D’ers. I’m David Cole, co-founder of Next3D. Thanks for all the great questions. Some things I can’t talk about yet, but I’ll answer as comprehensively as I can.

1. So how does the BluRay playback work? Interleaved? Any extra hardware attached to the Video Cable?

- AND -

2) If you wanted to play a 3D movie on using a Blu-Ray player, what will that entail? a software upgrade or something? or will it all be in the format?

(Answer) The secret sauce for Blu-Ray is a patent pending pre-processing and encoding scheme. The product of which embeds within the Blu-ray AVC transport stream. The result decodes with a standard consumer Blu-ray player into an interlaced 3D stream (either checkerboard, horizontal or vertical interlace). The only hardware required is a 3D-Ready TV, a standard Blu-ray player connected via HDMI, shutter glasses and emitter (or polarized glasses for an XPOL-based TV).

3) Is the codec for the BluRay the same as for the PS3/XBOX360? In that case it cannot be a radically different design I think.

(Answer) Not the same at all. Some of the pre-processing is shared, but the encoding scheme for Blu-ray is very different than our dedicated players.

4) Their decompression engine relies on the GPU? Didn't they invent the CELL for that? It seems a little strange to use the GPU for that.

(Answer) Strange, but beautiful. We could decode in the CPU, but it would have untenable CPU bandwidth requirements.

5) The content is the whole point. The interview is a little iffy on that.

(Answer) Agreed. Content is now the key because the delivery issue is effectively solved.

6) Have any movie studios signed on to have their content delivered?

- AND –

7) Do already have studios interested in your approach ?

(Answer) Yes. We're in active negotiations. We’ve got good people on this. Good people. Expect the first content announcements soon.

8) What will the approximate cost be for the consumer per movie?

(Answer) Not much – if any – more than a current HD download rental.

9) After compression what can we expect the average file size to be per hour of movie viewing?

(Answer) In general, Next3D 1080P movies are somewhat larger than equivalent 2D movies, but substantially smaller than the component left and right-eye streams. There are a LOT of variables, however. One consideration is that the motion artifact that can occur in very aggressive long-GOB compression (as is used in Blu-ray encoding) is less tolerable in 3D than in 2D. The practical result is that 3D demands a less-lossy, higher quality video product.

10) Is this service just for purchasing movies or will rental be an option?

(Answer) Both options will be available for some content.

11) Anything new on timeline?

(Answer) We expect to have the first article beta out on XBOX LIVE in a few weeks. If you haven't signed up for the free public beta, you can do so here: http://www.next3d.com/Sign_Up_Page.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

12) What sort of sound encoding can we expect?

(Answer) AC3, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus and a few other formats. The option is provided to the content rights-holder, who makes the ultimate audio encoder choice.

13) Can you give us an idea of picture quality after compression?

(Answer) Yes. We effectively compress less in the spatial domain than typical video compression formats, because that information is destructive to lose in 3D. To illustrate this, we’ll provide a pre-encode and post-decode stereo pair for your review – as soon as we can.

14) From what i have understood they store the images in one of the interlaced formats, that's fine for current 3D-ready TVs (mainly the DLPs, so it wouldn't work in europe since DLPs are so rare over here but it could work in the US).

(Answer) On Blu-ray, we can encode for XPOL TVs too… which are somewhat well distributed. On the dedicated players, the user can opt for any interlaced format as well as page-flipping.

15) But with new fullhd 3D display becoming available in the future and 3D movie producers like james cameron showing great interest in fullhd 3D, I fear hollywood might be reluctant to publish two simultaneous versions (one interlaced 3D hd and one fullhd 3D) and focus only on the future fullhd 3D format.

(Answer) Here’s the beauty… if you download, our dedicated players will support any interlaced format as well as full page-flipping 3D. In terms of Blu-ray discs, compatibility with existing Blu-ray players and the installed base is a very critical issue when studios select a distribution format. As page-flipping 3D will require new Blu-ray players, mostly likely with new Display-link or dual-HDMI connectors, new 3D TVs and a yet-to-be-made change to the Blu-ray spec, this solution is going to take some time to build an installed base. We’re ready to master discs now for consumer appliances that are in homes today.

16) Is your encoding scheme able to encode an interlaced and fullhd 3D version on the same disc ? (and reuse the data from the interlaced version for the fullhd version)

(Answer) No. We’d distribute 2 discs, once the page-flipping 3D Blu-ray format gels.


Thanks for all the great questions! We appreciate the interest!

Thank you for answering our questions. As a PS3 owner I look forward to seeing your content available.

Good Luck, I think you have a great business idea.

Myself i have 3d-gaming as a preference but this is most probably because of the lack of decent 3d-movies available. However it would be really nice popping some beers in front of a decent 3d-movie! I'm catched! Good find Neil and great info DavidCole. Looking forward to hear more from you!

Dolby Digital in sound and 3D in movies is jaw dropping in my opinion.
It improves life quality

Freke1 wrote:jaw dropping

I'm not sure if David can answer this question. But, I was wondering if next3d is able to sell short 3D films on your network? I'm working on a 3D short film and I'm trying to find out where I can submit my film and seeing how there aren't too many outlets for 3d films yet. Next3d seems to be an awesome opportunity for 3d filmmakers to showcase their films.

I've signed up for the next3d public beta for the xbox 360, are there any plans for a beta for the ps3?

Very much looking forward to next3d when it gets released, cheers.

-Varinder

Marksanderson wrote:ALL DLPs are 1080P. Only 2, relatively short-lived Samsung Plasma screens were 720P. It's still a good question, but, the installed base of 720P 3D-Ready TV's is vanishingly small.

-- MS

Actually a few 2007 Samsung 3D-ready DLPs are 720p (HLT4675/5075/5675 -- see e.g. http://www.3dmovielist.com/3dhdtvs.html). And the 2009 Samsung 450-series plasma (PN42B450/PN50B450) apparently carries the same 3D-ready features from the 2008 models (it is mentioned in the manuals, and I've seen the 3D-sync port on PN42B450), although Samsung stops highlighting it in their advertising. (Together with Samsung having no 2009 DLP models, it looks like Samsung is backtracking from 3D-ready HDTVs for now.)

But that's the point of my question -- I'm thinking of getting PN50A450 or PN50B450, but it seems unwise since "checkerboard" 3D-HDTV is already a small market, and 720p is a small percentage of it.

ignatius wrote:I'm not sure if David can answer this question. But, I was wondering if next3d is able to sell short 3D films on your network? I'm working on a 3D short film and I'm trying to find out where I can submit my film and seeing how there aren't too many outlets for 3d films yet. Next3d seems to be an awesome opportunity for 3d filmmakers to showcase their films.

Not only do we intend to provide distribution for all sorts of quality stereoscopic material (of various lengths and pedigrees) we plan to offer a portal for user contributed stereoscopic content (video and stills). DJ Roller (dj@next3d.com) can advise you further on content submission.

-- David Cole

Thanks for answering my question David, that is really fantastic news. Next3D is sounding better and better.

Do you have any updates for us David?

I've got my DLP / xbox / ps3 ready and waiting for some 3D goodness

I am also dying for an update. Spring is almost over so I am hoping that the Next Player is just about ready for its big release. But, I'm skeptical that we'll see anything before 2010. *Keeping my fingers crossed*

I'm also keen to hear a update. I'm hoping they will be releasing a Windows/*nix client.

Is there an update to this? 3 months ago we were told the first beta would be out in a few weeks. I understand the term "few" to be 3 or 4 not 11 or 12. I went out and bought glasses etc in preparation for this and it is yet to appear and the only thing I've heard is it will also be available for the ps3. If I'm late for an appointment , I call to let them know why I'm late and when I will be there. It's only common courtesy. If people are waiting on you. Communication is the basis for any good relationship.

First I will say that I am fully impressed with knowing that your product the Next3d player is possible and one day will be released. The fact that it will be for free is also impressive because Honestly i would pay $200+ for this software on each console. I know that you will have a pay per view for the movies and that and i understand why because of your fascinating idea and concept. If its not a problem I would like to ask a few questions about your products that cant be found in the MTBS or any forums..

1st I would like to know if the next3d xbox360 beta has a release date.
2nd I would like to know if the beta will be for just movies or games also.
3rd I would like to know will your software work with an 85hz projector at 1024x768 or 1280x720.
4th question I would like to know is will your product work with nvidia 3d vision.

That's all i would like to know because I have a dell 2300mp projector that goes only 85hz and am planning on buying a new projector either the Viewsonic PJD6220-3D or ViewSonic PJD6381 when its released( and will any be compatible).

I hope you have time to respond back it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you