We are pleased to provide this sample of the 3rd ... - Veritas et Visus

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3rd Dimension 

Veritas et Visus 3rd Dimension September 2007 

Veritas et Visus September 2007 Vol 2 No 10 

DAZ 3D, p39 MED, p72 Beowulf, p22 AMD, p43 

Letter from the publisher : A different perspective… by Mark Fihn 2 

News from around the world 12 

S3D Basics+ Conference, August 29-29, 2007, Berlin, Germany 42 

Society for Information Display 2007 Symposium, May 20-25, Long Beach, California 45 

International Workshop on 3D Information Technology, May 15, 2007, Seoul, Korea 49 

3DTV CON 2007, May 7-9, Kos Island, Greece 52 

Stereoscopic Displays and Applications 2007 Conference, January 29-31, San Jose 60 

Interview with Greg Truman from ForthDD 69 

Interview with Ian Underwood from MED 72 

Expert Commentary: 

• Shoveling Data by Adrian Travis 76 

• 3D camera for medicine and more by Matthew Brennesholtz 78 

• 3D isn’t so easy by Chris Chinnock 79 

• Selling to the market for 3D LCD displays… by Jim Howard 82 

• 3D maps – a matter of perspective? by Alan Jones 85 

• PC vs. Console – Has the mark been missed? by Neil Schneider 89 

• 3D DLP HDTVs – all is revealed! by Andrew Woods 91 

• The Last Word: How things get invented by Lenny Lipton 96 

Calendar of events 98 

The 3rd Dimension is focused on bringing news and commentary about developments and trends related to the 

use of 3D displays and supportive components and software. The 3rd Dimension is published electronically 10 

times annually by Veritas et Visus, 3305 Chelsea Place, Temple, Texas, USA, 76502. Phone: +1 254 791 0603. 

http://www.veritasetvisus.com 

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Mark Fihn mark@veritasetvisus.com 

Managing Editor Phillip Hill phill@veritasetvisus.com 

Associate Editor Geoff Walker geoff@veritasetvisus.com 

Contributors Matt Brennesholtz, Chris Chinnock, Jim Howard, Alan Jones, Lenny Lipton, 

Neil Schneider, Adrian Travis, Andrew Woods 

Subscription rate: US$47.99 annually. Single issues are available for US$7.99 each. Hard copy subscriptions are 

available upon request, at a rate based on location and mailing method. Copyright 2007 by Veritas et Visus. All 

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http://www.veritasetvisus.com 1


A different perspective… 

by Mark Fihn 

Not long ago, one of our subscribers asked me why I include topics in this newsletter that not directly related to 3D 

displays. He suggested that my coverage of 3D photography, 3D binoculars, 3D pointing devices, 3D scanners, 

stereo-lithography, lenticular printing, 3D art, etc., was a distraction from the topic of displays. 

Fortunately, this gentleman seems to be in the minority, because most of the feedback I get is quite positive with 

regard to these non-display topics. In any case, if you don’t care for the non-display coverage, we’re confident that 

you can choose to scroll through it quickly and find those topics that are most interesting to you. 

The reason that we cover non-display-related topics in this newsletter is because most of it is directly related to 

displays, and even those things that are not electronic in nature, provide us with some amazing clues about stereo 

vision and three-dimensional imaging. 

Readers of our sister newsletter, High Resolution, will be aware of my fascination with optical illusions. How is it 

that we “see” things that really aren’t there? Of course, this is exactly what stereographic 3D displays do – they 

recreate an illusion, as we are not actually seeing three dimensions on the surface of the 2D display. Perhaps this is 

one of the reasons that I find 3D so fascinating – it’s little more than a trick we play on our brains. But as with all 

good optical illusions – the consequent image is really quite convincing. 

In addition to optical illusions, I find myself fascinated with artwork that considers three dimensions. Sculpture is 

an obvious three-dimensional exercise, but even more than sculpture, I am fascinated by the imaginative forms of 

art that consider the third dimension from a different perspective. As such, in what will be a rather lengthy 

introduction to the newsletter, I’m going to share several creations in 3D (or the appearance of 3D) that intrigue me. 

Although not directly related to displays, only those of you straight-jacketed by the practical and mundane will fail 

to find the next pages interesting, or at least a little fun. Enjoy! 

Jen Stark art work explores three-dimensional use of paper 

Artist Jen Stark introduced an interesting collection that explores how two-dimensional objects like paper can be 

transformed into stunning three-dimensional creations. The basic premise is simple – involving nothing more than 

hand-cutting stacks of construction paper. http://www.jenstark.com 



Robert Lang shows off incredible origami 

The Japanese art of paper-folding known as origami is a well known process that takes two-dimensional sheets of 

paper to create three-dimensional objects. An American, Robert Lang, has been an avid student of origami for over 

thirty years and is recognized as one of the world’s leading masters of the art, with over 400 designs catalogued and 

diagrammed. He is noted for designs of great detail and realism, and includes in his repertoire some of the most 

complex origami designs ever created. His work combines aspects of the Western school of mathematical origami 

design with the Eastern emphasis upon line and form to yield models that are distinctive, elegant, and challenging 

to fold. http://www.langorigami.com 

On the left is Robert Lang’s “Allosaurus Skeleton”, fashioned from 16 uncut squares of paper; in the center is “Tree Frog”, 

made from a single uncut square of paper; and on the right is “The Sentinel”, crafted from 2 uncut sheets of paper 

The Punch Bunch features 3D floral punch art 

My wife runs a little business called The Punch Bunch in which she wholesales craft punches to scrapbook and 

craft stores. One of the things that she has worked hard to popularize is an amazing form of art in which specialty 

paper punches are used to cut out shapes that are then molded and colored to create what are some amazing threedimensional 

floral bouquets. The business started almost 10 years ago out of our home, (the first warehouse was 

some extra space in the master bathroom). She now ships all over the world and offers perhaps the largest 

collection of punches in the world. A substantial portion of what she sells is used by crafters to make floral 

arrangements that are often difficult to distinguish from real flowers. http://www.thepunchbunch.com 

Floral arrangements crafted from paper punch outs. The image on the left is by Australian punch artist Leone Em; 

the two images on the right are by Seattle-based artist Susan Tierney-Cockburn. 



Guido Daniele shows off more Handimals 

In issue #18 of the 3rd Dimension, we showed off some intriguing hand paintings by Italian artist Guido Daniele 

whose “Handimals” serve as an excellent schoolteacher for creating 2D images on a 3D form. By changing the 

perspective of the viewer, Daniele’s meticulous images use the human hand as an easel, but the image is lost if the 

perspective is altered or if the hand is moved. 3D displays have similar problems – except that they recreate a 3D 

image on a 2D form, but similar problems of perspective persist. http://www.guidodaniele.com 

Note that body art has become quite popular, particularly when it 

comes to painting “clothing” on the bodies of attractive young 

female models. While some of this body art is truly creative, it 

rarely relies so much on the shape of the body parts and the 

perspective of the viewer to create the three-dimensional effect. In 

addition to his popular Handimals, Daniele’s website features 

numerous examples of full-body art, most of which has been created 

for commercial purposes. The image to the right, although not a full 

body-art image is an example of Daniele’s commercial art using his 

animal motif in relation to a Jaguar. 



Julian Beaver’s sidewalk chalk paintings continue to astound 

In past editions of the 3rd Dimension, we’ve shown images of Julian Beever’s amazing chalk paintings, (see issues 

#12 and #13), which so clearly show us the importance of perspective. The bottom pair of images serves to identify 

just how important the viewer’s position is to a successful rendering of a 3D image on a 2D surface. In all of these 

images, the lines in the sidewalk serve to remind us that these really are 2D paintings. 

http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever 



John Pugh’s amazing trompe-l’œil artistry 

Trompe-l’œil is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the 

depicted objects really exist, instead of being mere, two-dimensional paintings. The name is derived from French 

for “trick the eye”. One of the current-day masters of the technique is John Pugh, whose stunning creations are so 

lifelike they have caused traffic accidents. In his image “Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life” (shown 

below), which is featured at a café in San Jose, California, a customer complained he had received “the silent 

treatment” when he tried to introduce himself to the woman reading a book. http://www.illusion-art.com 

John Pugh’s “Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life”. The lower left image is an early concept layout; the 

lower right shows Pugh painting the statue. 



Eric Growe paints 3D murals 

Eric Growe is another fascinating artist that uses the trompe-l'œil style to create amazing murals that transform 2D 

spaces into stunning 3D paintings. Growe does most of the artwork by himself and researches, paints and designs 

each project from scratch. These paintings, all on flat surfaces, completely change the perception of an otherwise 

empty space and serve to create a truly novel way to attract interest and attention. http://www.ericgrohemurals.com 

Growe painted the above mural on the side of a shopping mall in Niagara, New York. The upper images are before and after 

photos; the lower image shows detail while, also providing a hint about how the image appears from differing perspectives. 

On the left is the side of a store in Massillon, Ohio, previously nothing more than a brick wall. The front of the 

building was later painted to match the architectural details of the mural on the side of the building. On the right is a 

mural on a wall at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio. 



Two of four murals painted by Growe at the Washington State Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington. 

RollAd competition showcases 3D illusions on sides of trucks 

German ad agency RollAd rents out advertising space on the sides of trucks and for the past three years has 

sponsored the Rolling Advertising Awards competition. The ads are printed on interchangeable canvas covers 

which are placed over the container portions of the trucks. The winners of the competition have their mock-up 

designs actually implemented and showcased at the annual awards ceremony (http://www.rhino-award.com). The 

website shows many very clever examples. The 2005 competition winner was the Pepsi design shown lower left. 

Interestingly, the lower right image is taken from a different perspective where the illusion is not as effective. 



Devorah Sperber uses chenille stems to show examples of perspective 

Devorah Sperber showcases on her website a couple of amazing pieces of art made from chenille straws that both 

center on Holbein’s art and which highlight the importance of perspective when viewing art. In her words: 

“While many contemporary artists utilize digital technology to create high-tech works, I strive to ‘dumbdown’ 

technology by utilizing mundane materials and low-tech, labor-intensive assembly processes. I place 

equal emphasis on the whole recognizable image and how the individual parts function as abstract elements, 

selecting materials based on aesthetic and functional characteristics as well as for their capacity for a 

compelling and often contrasting relationship with the subject matter.” http://www.devorahsperber.com 

In this piece, called “After Holbein”, Sperber arranged chenille stems in such a way that when the image is reflected 

from a polished steel cylinder that Holbein’s work becomes visible 

In this piece, a skull becomes obvious only when viewed from an extreme viewing angle 



Inakadate rice farming… 

Each year since 1993, farmers in the town of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture create works of crop art by growing a 

little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru-roman variety. The images 

start to appear in the spring and are visible until harvest time in September. While I suppose it’s arguable about 

whether these are 3D images, the notion of perspective is a big consideration, as depicted in the close-up image 

depicted in the bottom right. http://www.am.askanet.ne.jp/~tugaru/z-inakadate.htm 

The top left image is the 2007 crop art image creation by the farmers of Inakadate, Japan. On the top right is the 

2006 image and the lower left image is from 2005. The lower right image is a close-up of the different rice plantings, 

identifying the importance of perspective when viewing any image. 

Stan Herd crop artistry 

Stan Herd is an American 

crop artist known for creating 

advertisements that are 

strategically placed to 

coincide with airline flight 

paths. Pictured here are a 

couple of his more artistic and 

not-so-commercial efforts. On 

the left is his “Sunflower 

Field” and on the right is a 

“Portrait of Saginaw Grant”. 

http://www.stanherdart.com 



Heather Jansch creates driftwood sculptures 

Heather Jansch’s driftwood sculptures don’t give us any insights into 2D to 3D transformation or into perspective, 

but they are such unique and beautiful creations that I couldn’t resist including them here anyway. Her specialty is 

in assembling life-size works made from scrap driftwood, particularly of horses. Jansch lives and works in the West 

Country of England. She is holding “Open Studio” 2007 from September 8th to 23rd, showing off work-in-process, 

new life-size works in driftwood and in oak, a woodland walk, a children’s “treasure trail”, and some featured guest 

artists. http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk 



3D news from around the world 

compiled by Mark Fihn and Phillip Hill 

Acacia Research to soon release 3D Content Creation 2007 report 

Market researchers Acacia Research announced their impending release of “3D Content Creation 2007”, which will 

examine the market for 3D modeling and animation tools in the film and video, video game, advertising, 

visualization, and other industries. In addition to software shipment and revenue forecasts, this market study will 

provide details on revenues and budgets of the industries that use the tools and a look at spending on 3D content 

creation within those industries. It will discuss the major trends in the industry including consolidation, new market 

opportunities, the explosion of specialized and lightweight tools, and much more. The report is available at an 

individual rate for $1,995.00 and at a site license rate of $2,992.50. http://www.acaciarg.com 

ITRI forms 3D display alliance with panel makers 

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute 

(ITRI) recently formed the 3D Interaction & Display 

Alliance with Taiwan LCD panel makers, including AU 

Optronics (AUO), Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), 

Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) and HannStar Display, 

and digital TV content suppliers as well as several 

system makers. ITRI suggested that the 3D display 

market will grow from $300 million in 2007 to over $2 

billion in 2010. Taiwan panel makers such as CMO and 

CPT have already developed 3D LCD panels with 

CMO set to volume produce 22-inch 3D panels in the 

third quarter while CPT’s 20.1-inch wide-screen panel 

has gained attention from first-tier display vendors, 

according to sources. http://www.itri.org.tw 

Jon Peddie Research reports about Q2’07 graphics market 

JPR released its Q2’07 quarterly MarketWatch report on PC graphics shipments. Traditionally, the second quarter 

is slow for the computer industry. Nevertheless Q2’07 saw nVidia make significant grains, while AMD and Intel 

saw more typical results for the time period. VIA saw a slight rise, SiS slipped more, and Matrox dropped too. 

Total shipments for the quarter were 81.3 million units, up 3% in over last quarter. Compared to the same quarter 

last year shipments were up 10.6%. On the desktop nVidia was the clear winner, claiming 35.0% against Intel’s 

31.3%, while AMD had a modest gain to 18.8%. In the mobile market Intel held its dominant position and grew 

slightly to 51.5%, with nVidia number two at 27% and AMD at 21%. Mobile chips continued their growth to claim 

31.2% of the market with 24.5 million units. http://www.jonpeddie.com 

Vendor Q2’07 Market share Year ago Market Share Growth 

AMD 15.86 19.5% 19.67 26.7% -19.4% 

Intel 30.59 37.5% 29.68 40.4% 3.1% 

nVidia 26.48 32.6% 14.48 19.7% 82.9% 

Matrox 0.13 0.2% 0.10 0.1% 30.0% 

SiS 2.00 2.5% 3.33 4.5% -39.9% 

VIA/S3 6.26 7.7% 6.27 8.5% -0.2% 

TOTAL 81.32 100.0% 73.53 100.0% 10.6% 



Ozaktas and Onural edit new book about “Three-Dimensional Television” 

The scope of a new book entitled “Three-Dimensional Television: Capture, 

Transmission, Display”, reflects the diverse needs of this emerging market. Different 

chapters deal with different stages of an end-to-end 3DTV system such as capture, 

representation, coding, transmission, and display. In addition to stereographic 3D 

solutions, both autostereoscopic techniques and holographic approaches are also 

covered. Some chapters discuss current research trends in 3DTV technology, while 

others address underlying topics. In addition to questions about technology, the book 

also addresses some of the consumer, social, and gender issues related to 3DTV. The 

800-page book is expected to be available in early December. In hardcover, the book is 

priced at $269.00/€199.95/£154.00. http://www.springer.com 

Philips introduces WOWzone 132-inch 3D display wall 

In late August at IFA in Berlin, Philips introduced the 3D WOWzone, a large 132-inch multi-screen 3D wall, 

designed to grab people’s attention with stunning 3D multimedia presentations. Philips claims that the out-ofscreen 

3D effects fascinate viewers and holds their attention for longer than standard 2D images, thereby making 

3D a valuable marketing tool. No glasses are needed to view the Philips 3D WOWzone and it gives marketeers an 

element of surprise that leaves their target audience with an entertaining 3D multimedia experience. The Philips 

WOWzone multi-screen 3D wall consists of nine 42-inch Philips 3D displays in a 3x3 display set-up. A fully 

automated dual mode feature allows the user to display 3D content as well as 2D high-definition content. Philips 

WOWzone is a complete end-to-end solution including 3D displays, mounting rig, media streamer computers, 

control software and dedicated 3D content creation tools. The WOWzone is available today on a project basis and 

will be commercially available from Q1 2008 onwards. 

Philips and eventIS demonstrate 3D video-on-demand feasibility 

In early September, Philips and eventIS announced that they successfully completed testing of 3D video-ondemand 

(VoD) using an eventIS metadata system and Philips 3D displays. This proves that the new 3D video 

format, based on “2D-plus-depth”, can be integrated into existing media distribution and management systems such 

as video-on-demand via cable, satellite, Internet or terrestrial broadcasting. Earlier this year Deutsche Telekom and 

Philips demonstrated interactive 3D applications like movies, home shopping and online games. Now eventIS takes 

this a step further, by demonstrating that 3D VoD capabilities can easily be implemented in their metadata media 

management system. According to the company, VoD will play an important role in the early distribution of highquality 

3D movies to the consumer. In the demo, eventIS makes use of a library that consists of 3D animated, 

stereoscopic and 2D-to-3D converted videos. http://www.philips.com/newscenter 

On the left is the Philips 3D WOWzone 132-inch 3D display wall; the image on the right depicts 3D video-on-demand 



iZ3D ships 22.0-inch 3D gaming monitor 

In late August, San Diego-based iZ3D announced it is selling its 

iZ3D 22.0-inch widescreen 3D gaming monitor for $999 – and 

the company is specifically targeting the gaming market. iZ3D 

says the system works using custom software drivers, and the 

user must wear passive polarized glasses. iZ3D is a newlyformed 

partnership between 3D imaging developer Neurok 

Optics and Taiwan’s Chi Mei Optoelectronics. The monitor 

itself offers a 1680x1050 pixel format, 5 ms response time, 170° 

viewing angle, 600:1 contrast, and dual DVI/VGA inputs 

designed to connect to a dual-output video card. The display 

ships with stereo drivers which are compatible with either the 

nVidia GeForce 8 series or ATI’s FireGL V3600 workstation 

graphics cards. The monitor incorporates two LCDs and can also 

be used for standard 2D computing tasks. http://iz3d.com 

Fraunhofer Research demonstrates autostereoscopic Free2C display 

Fraunhofer Research showed off its Free2C 3D Display at 

IFA in late August, claiming it to be “currently the most 

advanced development in autostereoscopic (glasses-free 

3D) display technology”. Free2C is based on a special 

head-tracking lenticular-screen 3D display principle, 

allowing free head movements in three dimensions at a 

high level of image quality (the current resolution is 

1600x1200 pixels). The particular design of the lens plate 

ensures that the stereoscopic images are almost perfectly 

separated (no ghosting). The Free2C-Desktop Display is 

perfectly suited for virtual prototyping, archaeology and 

oceanography, minimal invasive surgery and lifelike 

simulations. The researchers claim that the viewer can be 

freely positioned without degradation to resolution, 

brightness, and color reproduction, all with “extremely low 

crosstalk”. http://www.hhi.fraunhofer.de 

SD&A 2007 “Discussion Forum” now on-line 

At the 2007 SD&A event in San Jose, a panel discussion was conducted on the topic, “3D in the Home: How Close 

are We?” The discussion was moderated by Lenny Lipton (far left) from REAL D, and from left to right, included 

Brett Bryars from the USDC, Art Berman from Insight Media, Mark Fihn from Veritas et Visus, and Steven Smith 

from VREX. Transcripts of the forum are now on line: http://www.stereoscopic.org/2007/forum.html 



Hitachi shows off new stereoscopic vision display technology 

In early August, Hitachi 

announced its development 

of a new “small-sized 

stereoscopic vision display 

technology”. Measuring in 

at 7.9 x 7.9 x 3.9 inches and 

weighing 2.2 pounds, the 

device utilizes an array of 

mirrors and projects a 

“synthetic image”. The 

device is reportedly similar 

in design to its larger “Transpost”. Hitachi hopes to implement the technology in locales such as schools, 

exhibitions, and museums. http://www.hitachi.co.jp 

NTT develops tangible 3D technology 

NTT Comware has developed “Tangible-3D” technology, a next generation communication interface for real-time 

motion capture that reproduces the physical feel of three-dimensional video. This technology is an improved 

version of the NTT Comware’s tangible 3D system without requiring special glasses that was originally developed 

in 2005. It relies on a pair of cameras that capture and process data about an object. It allows tactile impressions to 

be transmitted back and forth between multiple users on a real-time basis by the software to process the captured 

images. It displays 3D images without requiring special glasses on the 3D display and translates the images into a 

tactile impression that the user can feel with the dedicated tangible interaction device at the same time. It 

reproduces the physical feel of three-dimensional video on a remote location as well as to allow the viewers to 

literally reach out and touch the person or object on the screen by means of a special device. 

For instance, a real-time motion capture of 3D images and a tactile impression provides a virtual handshaking 

experience. To enable this experience, a pair of cameras captures the image of the hand of a user at one side. The 

image is processed to a 3D image and extracts the data of the tactile impression. The data is then transmitted to the 

receiving end on a real-time basis. The image of the hand captured is displayed on the 3D display without requiring 

special glasses. At the same time, the data of the tactile information for touching a hand is transmitted to the 

recipient’s hand through the tactile device to actually feel the on-screen image as it moves such as shaking hands. 

While the Tangible-3D system only works in one direction on a one-on-one basis in the demonstration for now, 

NTT Comware is developing a two-way system that allows tactile impressions to be transmitted back and forth 

between multiple users. The company is also working to improve the 3D screen for multiple angle viewing, which 

only appears three-dimensional from a 

particular viewing angle. The 

technology will also allow visitors of 

the museum to handle items of 

exhibits with 3D images such as 

fossils. If this technology is applied to 

a remote classroom to make ceramics 

for example, the students can obtain 

perceptible information of a work 

such as the real shape while the 

teacher shows the 3D image on the 

screen. This technology also enables 

interactive communication for video 

conferences. http://www.nttcom.co.jp 



Novint Technologies brings out games titles for Falcon 

Novint Technologies announced a diverse lineup of upcoming titles for the Novint Falcon game controller. The 

company is adding its patented 3D touch technology to a variety of existing titles, including Feelin’ It: Arctic Stud 

Poker Run. Novint is also creating original titles designed specifically for 3D touch and will begin releasing all 

titles later this year. The Novint Falcon is a first-of-a-kind game controller that lets people feel weight, shape, 

texture, dimension, dynamics and force feedback when playing enabled games. New releases will range in price 

from $4.95 to $29.95 and be available to download through Novint’s N VeNT player. http://www.novint.com. 

Mova and Gentle Giant Studios show first moving 3D sculpture of live performance 

Performance capture studio Mova and Gentle Giant Studios unveiled at SIGGRAPH a 3D Zoetrope that uses 

persistence of motion to bring to life a series of 3D models of an actor’s face captured live by Mova’s Contour 

Reality Capture System. This 3D Zoetrope is the first to show a live-action, natural 3D surface in motion. The 

resulting effect is a physical sculpture of a speaking human face that comes to life with perfect motion, faithful to 

the original actor’s performance down to a fraction of a millimeter. The Zoetrope displayed at SIGGRAPH 

consisted of thirty 3D models of a face in motion. The models spin on a wheel and a strobe light illuminates each as 

it passes by a viewing window, much as still frames projected intermittently are perceived as a moving image. To 

the viewer, it looks like one 3D face in continuous motion. Mova used the Contour Reality Capture System to 

capture the live performance of an actor using an array of cameras with shutters synchronized to lights flashing 

over 90 times per second, beyond the threshold of human perception. The glow from phosphorescent (“glow in the 

dark”) makeup sponged onto the actor is captured by the camera array. Triangulation and frame-by-frame tracking 

of the 3D geometry is then used to produce over 100,000 polygons to create a 3D face, to an accuracy of a fraction 

of a millimeter. Gentle Giant Studios used the captured 3D surface geometry and formed 30 individual models with 

the help of a 3D stereolithography printer, which creates the models using a plastic resin. http://www.mova.com 

Mova’s 3D Zoetrope uses 30 3D models that result in a very lifelike full-motion facial representation 

Image Metrics performance capture system to model Richard Burton 

Image Metrics announced at the SIGGRAPH tradeshow in San Diego that its proprietary performance capture 

solution will provide the modeling and animation for a photo-realistic 11-foot 3D hologram of the late Richard 

Burton, for the Live on Stage! production of the multi-award winning, 15 million-selling album, Jeff Wayne’s 

Musical Version of The War of The Worlds. Image Metrics’ technology analyzes the motion data captured in any 

video recording of an actor. It removes the slow process of animation by hand required by other motion capture 

programs and eliminates the need for expensive motion capture camera systems. Image Metrics is completing a 

total of 23 minutes of photo-real facial animation perfectly synchronized to the original audio recording of the star. 

Image Metrics contributed 72 shots developed by a team of five artists. http://www.image-metrics.com 



DAVID-Laserscanner brings out freeware for 3D laser scanning 

DAVID-Laserscanner is a freeware software for 3D laser range scanning to be used with a PC, a camera (e.g. a 

webcam), a background corner, and a laser that projects a line onto the object to be scanned. The concept of 

DAVID was developed by the computer scientists Dr. Simon Winkelbach, Sven Molkenstruck and Prof. 

F. M. Wahl at the Institute for Robotics and Process Control, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and 

was published as a paper at the German Association for Pattern 

Recognition. The object to be scanned has to be put in front of a known 

background geometry (e.g. into the corner of a room or in front of two 

planes with an exact angle of 90°) with the camera pointed towards the 

object. The laser is held freely in the hand, “brushing” the laser line over 

the object. Meanwhile the computer automatically calculates 3D 

coordinates of the scanned object surface. To obtain a complete 360 

degree model of the 3D object, the company has developed DAVID- 

Shapefusion that automatically “puzzles” together the laser scans made 

from different sides. http://www.david-laserscanner.com/ 

Breuckmann launches 3D digital scanning technique 

Breuckmann has launched smartSCAN, especially developed for applications 

for high performance digitization in technique, education, art, and cultural 

heritage. The new system smartSCAN is positioned for target markets 

interested in digitization tasks. The company sees applications for high 

performance digitization: technical tasks, education, art, cultural heritage – 

everywhere where the emphasis is on creating reliable and accurate data. Due 

to the new and compact design the smartSCAN is easy to handle. SmartSCAN 

is available as a mono or stereo system: the setup can be configured with 

either one or two color cameras and one projection unit. With this design, the 

system can be configured to cover this wide range of applications. 

http://www.breuckmann.com 

Fraunhofer develops projector tiled wall system 

Fraunhofer of Germany has developed a cluster-based VR application in an extremely complex process handling 

distributed rendering, device management and state synchronization. Fraunhofer has dramatically simplified this 

process by utilizing X3D as the VR/AR application description language 

while hiding all the low level distribution mechanisms. It provides a new 

cluster application deployment solution which allows the running of X3D 

content on computer clusters without changes. The application developer 

can build high-level interactive application utilizing the full immersive 

profile of the ISO standard including PointingSensors and Scripting. The 

system has been demonstrated and deployed at the 48-projector/18-millionpixel 

tiled-display called HEyeWall. The HEyeWall offers an unmatched 

visual resolution compared to standard projection systems as it enables the 

visualization of brilliant pictures and stereoscopic 3D models. The marketready 

display system was developed by researchers of Fraunhofer IGD. 

Until now, the alerted eye could see single pixels, blurred shapes and colors 

when standing close to the projection wall. The HEyeWall allows 

examination of the projected image from any position. Various possible 

fields of application result from this: from efficient product development to the simulation of heavy flow of traffic 

and the visualization of highly structured 3D area and city models to the specific planning of rescue operations. A 

free beta version of the cluster-client/server solution is available from http://www.instantreality.org/home/. 



NRL scientists viewing STEREO images using EVL’s ImmersaDesk4 technology 

Solar physicists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are viewing solar disturbances whose depth and violent 

nature are now clearly visible in the first true stereoscopic images ever captured of the Sun. These views from the 

STEREO program are providing scientists with unprecedented insight into solar physics and the violent solar 

weather events that can bombard Earth’s magnetosphere with particles and affect systems ranging from weather to 

our electrical grids. NRL scientists are viewing the high-resolution stereo pairs on an ImmersaDesk4 (I-Desk4) 

display system specifically commissioned and installed at the laboratory last 

summer in anticipation of the release of the data. The I-Desk4, invented at the 

University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Electronic Visualization Laboratory 

(EVL), is a tracked, 4-million-pixel display system driven by a 64-bit graphics 

workstation. Its compact workstation design is comprised of two 30-inch 

Apple LCD monitors mounted with quarter-wave plates and bisected by a 

half-silvered mirror enabling circular polarization. Multiple users can view the 

head-tracked 3D scene using lightweight polarized glasses. The Solar Physics 

Branch at NRL developed the SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and 

Heliospheric Investigation) suite of telescopes for the spacecraft. The highresolution 

sensor suite includes coronagraphs, wide-angle cameras and an 

Extreme Ultraviolet Imager. The sensors generate 10 synchronized video 

feeds, each up to 2K by 2K pixels. In summer 2006, EVL student Cole 

Krumbholz worked with NRL solar physicist Dr. Angelos Vourlidas to help 

establish a solar imagery display environment at NRL. Krumbholz helped 

build two EVL-developed display systems capable of viewing and managing 

files on the scale of thousands of pixels per square inch: a nine-panel tiled 

LCD wall ideal for viewing high-resolution 2D imagery, and an I-Desk4 for 

Dr. Angelos Vourlidas of the 

NRL's Solar Physics Branch 

views stereoscopic solar images 

taken with the EUV telescopes of 

NRL's SECCHI instrument suite 

viewing high-resolution 3D imagery. The tiled wall is capable of 

synchronously displaying multiple high-resolution video streams. NRL 

scientists can also composite the sensor data into a single video to conduct a 

multi-spectral analysis, and view multiple days of video. Krumbholz 

implemented a distributed video-rendering tool with interactive features such 

as pan, zoom and crop. http://www.evl.uic.edu 

Anteryon develops new display screen optics for Zecotek 2D-3D system 

Anteryon of the Netherlands announced the launch of a new display screen optics product developed for the 

Zecotek 2D–3D display system. Zecotek is a Vancouver, Canada, based company with facilities in Vancouver and 

Singapore where the Anteryon display screen will be assembled into the Zecotek display system. The initial 

application focus for this Zecotek product lies in the field of biomedical imaging. http://www.anteryon.com 

Ramboll launches free floating video at Copenhagen Airport 

Ramboll of Denmark launched the Cheoptics360 XL at 

Copenhagen Airport where it is on display until October 4. 

Cheoptics360 XL displays free floating 3D video, opening up a 

whole new universe of possibilities to those seeking innovative 

and persuasive methods to present their products. Cheoptics360 

XL is suitable as a stand-alone installation to be viewed from all 

angles, and it can also be integrated into all kinds of buildings, 

structures or environments. Presentations can be viewed on 

Cheoptics ranging in size from 1.5 meters wide up to 10 meters 

wide, allowing displays of both small and large objects. 

http://www.3dscreen.ramboll.dk 



University of Tokyo researchers develop TWISTER 

A research team from the University of Tokyo has developed a rotating panoramic display that immerses viewers in 

a 3D video environment. The Telexistence Wide-angle Immersive STEReoscope, or TWISTER, is the world’s first 

full-color 360-degree 3D display that does not require viewers to wear special glasses. The researchers have spent 

over 10 years researching and developing the device. Inside the 4-foot by 6.5-foot cylindrical display are 50,000 

LEDs arranged in columns. As the display rotates around the observer’s head at a speed of 1.6 revolutions per 

second, these specially arranged LED columns show a slightly different image to each of the observer’s eyes, thus 

creating the illusion of a 3D image. In other words, TWISTER tricks the eye by exploiting “binocular parallax”. 

For now, TWISTER is capable of serving up pre-recorded 3D video from a computer, allowing viewers to 

experience things like virtual amusement park rides or close-up views of molecular models. However, the 

researchers are working to develop TWISTER’s 3D videophone capabilities by equipping it with a camera system 

that can capture real-time three-dimensional images of the person inside, which can then be sent to another 

TWISTER via fiber optics. In this way, two people separated by physical distance will be able to step into their 

TWISTERs to enjoy real-time 3D virtual interaction. http://www.star.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/projects/TWISTER/ 

MIT researchers develop 3D microscope that generates video images 

MIT researchers designed a microscope for generating three-dimensional movies of live cells. The microscope, 

which works like a cellular CT scanner, will let scientists watch how cells behave in real time at a greater level of 

detail. This new device overcomes a trade-off between resolution and live action that has hindered researchers’ 

ability to examine cells and could lead to new methods for screening drugs. Cells can’t be examined under a 

traditional microscope because they don't absorb very much visible light. So the MIT microscope relies on another 

optical property of cells: how they refract light. As light passes through a cell, its direction and wavelength shift. 

Different parts of the cell refract light in different ways, so the MIT microscope can show the parts in all their 

detail. The microscope creates three-dimensional images by combining many pictures of a cell taken from several 

different angles. It currently takes only a tenth of a second to generate each three-dimensional image, fast enough to 

watch cells respond in real time. This processing technique, called tomography, is also used for medical imaging in 

CT scans, which combine X-ray images taken from many different angles to create three-dimensional images of the 

body. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/cells-0812.html 

This image of a live, one millimeter-long worm taken with a new 3D microscope clearly shows internal structures including 

the digestive system. The worm’s mouth is at the left and the thick red band is the worm’s pharynx. 



DNP and Sony commence production of hologram technology to counter fake merchandise 

Dai Nippon Printing and Sony PCL announced in July the start of made-to-order production of a new Lippmann 

hologram for security uses, which is capable of storing dynamic picture images, including animation and liveaction 

created with stereogram technology. The newly developed hologram has the capacity to store in excess of 

100 image frames on a single hologram, and because it is extremely difficult to counterfeit, is effective in helping 

to discriminate between genuine and counterfeit goods via uses including certification seals on genuine products. 

Live-action film as viewed via the newly developed hologram. By changing the viewing angle, the images 

appear to continually change. 

Unlike existing mainstream embossed holograms, which record images in physical relief on the surface of the 

material, the newly developed hologram is a Lippmann hologram, which stores images by recording interference 

patterns in photo-sensitive layers produced by laser. Lippmann holograms are extremely difficult to counterfeit, as 

it is difficult to obtain the photo-sensitive materials used, as Lippmann holograms are capable of producing unique 

image expressions not possible with other hologram formats, and as they require specialized manufacturing 

technology. DNP and Sony PCL have made it even more difficult to illicitly reproduce the holograms by providing 

them with the capacity to record in excess of 100 image frames on a single hologram via the unique application of 

line order recording technology, which has made it possible to record dynamic images, including flying logos and 

animation. Each parallax image displayed on the LCD is horizontally compressed into a vertical slit by a cylindrical 

lens. The beam of the slit and the reference beam form an interference pattern, which is then recorded on the photosensitive 

material on the glass substrate. The hundreds of vertical slits, placed sequentially side-by-side, form the 

larger hologram. The new hologram has undergone approximately 18 months of field tests, and DNP and Sony 

PCL have moved into full-scale operations after successfully confirming the effectiveness of the new hologram as 

an anti-counterfeiting measure. http://www.dnp.co.jp/international/holo/index.html 

New Carl Zeiss stereo microscope claims greatest FOV, zoom, resolution 

Carl Zeiss MicroImaging Inc. introduced the SteREO Discovery.V20 stereo microscope, which claims the 

industry’s largest field of view (23 mm at 10x), highest zoom range (20 to 1), and greatest resolution, all combined 

in one stereo microscope to allow visualization of large samples and their fine details without changing objectives 

or eyepieces. The new tool also promises a substantially greater depth of field than other stereo microscopes, 

allowing the ability to view and measure well-resolved object details with greater ease and accuracy. Step motor 

control enables continuous increases in magnification with precise zoom levels 

to create a well-defined, high contrast image throughout the zoom range. The 

System Control Panel (SyCoP) puts all major microscope functions at the 

user's fingertips, allowing for fast changeover between zoom, focus, and 

illumination functions and displays for total magnification, object field, 

resolution, depth of field, and Z position. Carl Zeiss has designed the system to 

meet the ergonomic demands of users working for hours at a time. The 

SteREO Discovery.V20 is fully integrated into Zeiss’ modular SteREO 

Discovery system and compatible with all SteREO components. The 

microscope can be combined with the AxioCam digital camera and the 

AxioVision image analysis and evaluation software for a powerful, complete 

image recording and analysis system. http://www.zeiss.com.au 



Thomas Jefferson University Hospital software creates 3D view of the brain 

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia have developed 

software that integrates data from multiple imaging technologies to create an interactive 

3D map of the brain. The enhanced visualization gives neurosurgeons a much clearer 

picture of the spatial relationship of a patient’s brain structures than is possible with any 

single imaging methods. In doing so, it could serve as an advanced guide for surgical 

procedures, such as brain-tumor removal and epilepsy surgery. The new imaging 

software collates data from different types of brain-imaging methods, including 

conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), and 

diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI). The MRI gives details on the anatomy, fMRI provides 

information on the activated areas of the brain, and DTI provides images of the network 

of nerve fibers connecting different brain areas. The fusion of these different images 

produces a 3D display that surgeons can manipulate: they can navigate through the 

images at different orientations, virtually slice the brain in different sections, and zoom 

in on specific sections. With the new software, surgeons are able to see the depth of the 

fibers going inside the tumor, shown as dashed lines, and the proximity of those on the 

outside, shown as solid lines. The lines are color-coded based on their depth; they range 

from dark red, which represents the deepest, to dark blue, which represents the 

shallowest. The scale on the left side of the accompanying images is based on depth, 

dark red being the deepest; dark blue the shallowest. http://www.jeffersonhospital.org 

AIST improves 3D projector 

In 1926, Kenjiro Takayanagi, known as the “father of Japanese television,” transmitted the image of a katakana 

character (イ) to a TV receiver built with a cathode ray tube, signaling the birth of the world’s first all-electronic 

television. In early August, in a symbolic gesture over 80 years later, researchers from Japan’s National Institute of 

Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Burton Inc., and Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. displayed the 

same katakana character using a 3D projector that generates moving images in mid-air. The 3D projector, which 

was first unveiled in February 2006 but has seen some recent improvements, uses focused laser beams to create 

flashpoint “pixels” in mid-air. The pixels are generated as the focused lasers heat the oxygen and nitrogen 

molecules floating in the air, causing them to spark in a phenomenon known as plasma emission. By rapidly 

moving these flashpoints in a controlled fashion, the projector creates a three-dimensional image that appears to 

float in empty space. The projector’s recent upgrades include an improved 3D scanning system that boosts laser 

accuracy, as well as a system of highintensity 

solid-state femtosecond lasers 

recently developed by Hamamatsu 

Photonics. The new lasers, which 

unleash 100-billion-watt pulses 

(0.1-terawatt peak output) of light 

every 10-trillionths of a second 

(100 femtoseconds), improve image 

smoothness and boost the resolution to 

1,000 pixels per second. In addition, 

image brightness and contrast can be 

controlled by regulating the number of 

pulses fired at each point in space. 

http://www.aist.go.jp 



“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”: IMAX 3D shatters box office records 

IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced 

that “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” 

shattered virtually every opening box office record at 

IMAX theatres during its debut, contributing $7.3 million 

of the $140 million that the film grossed at the domestic 

box office, from July 11 through July 15. The picture also 

broke the record for IMAX’s largest single day 

worldwide total at $1.9 million and posted a domestic 

opening per screen average of $80,500. “Harry Potter and 

the Order of the Phoenix” opened on 91 domestic IMAX 

screens and 35 international IMAX screens, making it the 

largest opening in IMAX’s 40-year history, with a recordsmashing 

worldwide estimated total of $9.4 million. The 

film’s overall worldwide debut total was an estimated 

$333 million. Through its 7th week, the film earned more 

than $24 million on 91 IMAX screens domestically and more than $11 million on 52 IMAX screens internationally. 

The worldwide IMAX total is now more than $35 million with an impressive per screen average of $243,000 

making it the highest grossing live-action Hollywood IMAX release. http://www.imax.com 

“Beowulf” to be available in Dolby 3D Digital Cinema… 

Dolby Laboratories announced in early August that Paramount Pictures’ “Beowulf”, scheduled for release on 

November 16, will be made available to select exhibitors who have installed Dolby 3D Digital Cinema technology 

by the film’s release date. Dolby claims that their 3D 

Digital Cinema provides exhibitors and distributors an 

efficient and cost-effective 3D solution. The ability to 

utilize a standard white screen gives exhibitors a cost 

advantage, as no special “silver screen” is required. The 

ease of shifting the Dolby 3D Digital Cinema system from 

3D to 2D and back, as well as moving the 3D film between 

auditoriums of different sizes, retains the flexibility 

exhibitors have come to expect. Dolby 3D Digital Cinema 

uses a unique color filter technology that provides very 

realistic color reproduction with extremely sharp images 

delivering a great 3D experience to every seat in the house. 

http://www.dolby.com 

…also in REAL D and IMAX 3D 

In addition to the Dolby 3D Digital Cinema screens, 

“Beowulf” will also be presented on both REAL D and 

IMAX 3D platforms, which cater to audiences willing to 

pay a premium price for a premium, or multi-dimensional, 

viewing experience. Beowulf is a digitally enhanced liveaction 

film using the same motion-capture technology seen 

in “The Polar Express”. Until now, IMAX and Paramount 

hadn't released a film together since IMAX began 

remastering commercial films into the large format in 2002. 

In total, it’s expected that “Beowulf” will show in 3D on 

well over 1000 screens worldwide at its release. 



“Monsters vs. Aliens” in 3D to hit theatres on May 15, 2009 

DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” is slated for domestic release May 15, 2009, a week earlier than 

previously announced. “Monsters vs. Aliens”, now confirmed as the official title, will be the first DreamWorks 

Animation film produced in 

stereoscopic 3D. It is described as 

a reinvention of the classic 1950s 

monster movie into an irreverent 

modern-day action comedy. 

Directed by Conrad Vernon and 

Rob Letterman, the film is in 

production and will be distributed 

domestically by Paramount 

Pictures. May 2009 is shaping up 

to be a crowded month for 3D 

releases. James Cameron’s 3D 

stereoscopic film “Avatar” is slated 

for May 22, which was the planned release date for Monsters vs. Aliens. With two anticipated stereoscopic films 

set to debut during the frame, the digital-cinema community is watching this release window. Real D has advised 

that it is on track to have 4,000 3D-ready digital-cinema screens installed in the US by May 2009, though that 

number might increase. Jeffery Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks has suggested that 6,000 screens need to be 

available for “Monsters vs. Aliens” to be the success the studio is hoping. http://www.dreamworksanimation.com 

“Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure” to open in IMAX 3D 

National Geographic’s new giant-screen film “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure” premieres worldwide in 

IMAX and other specialty theatres on October 5th. The movie brings to life the extraordinary marine reptiles of the 

dinosaur age on the world’s biggest screens in both 3D and 2D. The film, narrated by Tony Award-winning actor 

Liev Schreiber and with an original score by longtime musical collaborators Richard Evans, David Rhodes and 

Peter Gabriel, takes audiences on a journey into the relatively unexplored world of the “other dinosaurs”, those 

reptiles that lived beneath the water. Funded in part through a grant from the National Science Foundation, the film 

delivers to the giant screen the fascinating science behind what we know, and a vision of history’s grandest ocean 

creatures. http://www.imax.com 

The film follows a family of Dolichorhynchops, also known informally as Dollies as they traverse ancient waters 

populated with saber-toothed fish, prehistoric sharks and giant squid. On their journey the Dollies encounter 

other extraordinary sea creatures: lizard-like reptiles called Platecarpus that swallowed their prey whole like 

snakes; Styxosaurus with necks nearly 20 feet long and paddle-like fins as large as an adult human; and at the top 

of the food chain, the monstrous Tylosaurus, a predator with no enemies. 



3D Entertainment completes photography on “Dolphins and Whales 3-D: Tribes of the Ocean” 

3D Entertainment Ltd. announced the successful completion of principal photography on its upcoming feature, 

“Dolphins and Whales 3-D: Tribes of the Ocean”. This new breathtaking documentary will make its US debut on 

IMAX 3-D screens in February 2008 before expanding into Europe and 

will be released in collaboration with the United Nations Environment 

Program and its North American office, RONA, based in Washington 

D.C. “Dolphins and Whales 3-D: Tribes of the Ocean” is currently in 

post-production and will be completed by late November. Principal 

photography began in June 2004 in Polynesia and an extensive three 

years were required to capture the necessary footage. Filming consisted 

of no fewer than 12 expeditions and 600 hours underwater at some of the 

remotest locations on Earth, including off the Pacific Ocean atolls of 

Moorea and Rurutu, Vava'u Island of the Kingdom of Tonga, Pico Island 

in the Azores archipelago and the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. 

Following “Ocean Wonderland” (2003) and “Sharks 3-D” (2005), 

“Dolphins and Whales 3-D: Tribes of the Ocean” marks the final chapter 

in a unique trilogy of ocean-themed documentaries that have proven 

immensely popular with audiences, grossing a combined $52.5 million at 

the box office. http://www.3defilms.com 

Lightspeed Design and DeepSea Ventures announce completion “DIVE!” 

Lightspeed Design and DeepSea Ventures announce the completion of their digital 3D stereoscopic film, “DIVE! 

Manned Submersibles and The New Explorers”. Utilizing deep-ocean manned submersibles in the Pacific Ocean 

off the coast of Washington State, principle 3D photography for “Dive!” was realized in late 2006 by stereoscopic 

filmmaker, Lightspeed Design of Bellevue, Washington. In order to fit into the small, three-person submersible, 

Lightspeed custom-engineered an opto-mechanical dual 

camera rig for two Panasonic HVX-200 high-definition 

cameras. The advanced rig creates precise control of 

camera offsets, which is determined by 3D algorithms 

and Lightspeed’s proprietary live HD video streaming 

software. During the voyage two lost shipwrecks were 

discovered 1000 feet below the surface. Both were 

fishing vessels, one of Japanese origin and the other 

most likely American. The ships were located by 

DeepSea Ventures (DSV), a deep ocean exploration 

company based in Spokane, Washington. The research 

vessel Valero IV - Seattle, and submersible experts 

Nuytco Research Ltd. of Vancouver, BC, supported the 

mission. “DIVE!” is a 22-minute high-definition 3D 

film combines computer graphics and live-action to literally take the audience along for the ride as a unique 

expedition of “Citizen Explorers” voyage in submarines to the bottom of the ocean. “Dive!” opened June 21, at 

MOSI Tampa Florida. http://www.lightspeeddesign.com 

Kinepolis chooses Dolby for cinema conversion 

The Kinepolis Group has selected the new Dolby 3D Digital Cinema technology to outfit 17 screens throughout 

Europe. Kinepolis recently opened its 23rd cinema multiplex, in Ostend, Belgium, and installed the first Dolby 3D 

system in Europe. The Belgium-based exhibitor plans to convert one screen per complex using the Dolby 3D 

system. http://www.dolby.com 



Eclipse 3D Systems combines monochrome and color to produce 3D 

Eclipse 3D Systems announced a new patent-pending technology for displaying 3D movies in theaters and 

homes. The Eclipse 3D technology promises to be less expensive and brighter than polarized projection, which 

some theaters have used to show 3D movies. The new technology is applicable to digital projectors and flat panel 

displays opening the possibility of distributing high quality 3D through most of the major movie distribution 

channels including movie theaters, 

DVD sales and rental, and digital 

TV. The Eclipse 3D technology 

combines a monochrome image 

with a full-color image to produce 

full-color 3D. The 3D images can 

be viewed with Eclipse colored 

filter glasses. The images can be 

projected on any white screen or 

surface. Since a silver screen is not 

needed, the Eclipse 3D format is 

less expensive and more portable 

than the polarized format. Due to 

the properties of the human visual 

system, the monochrome image is 

perceived with a brightness gain of 

about four times while not 

contributing significantly to color 

vision. This process is similar to 

night vision, although the full-color 

One of the most surprising aspects of the Eclipse 3D format is that full color 

perception can be obtained from only one eye. This 3D pair contains a red 

monochrome image and a full-color image, in which case the observed color in 

the 3D image is full-color. For even better color, put a red filter from a pair of 

red/cyan glasses over your left eye. 

image is perceived with normal brightness and color. Color perception comes almost entirely from the full-color 

image. The gain in brightness for the monochrome image means that little brightness is used in adding 3D to a 

display. As such, Eclipse 3D images are about 4X brighter than polarized alternatives. http://www.eclipse-3d.com 

Pace and Quantel team on 3D post system 

Vince Pace, who co-developed the Fusion 3D camera system with director James Cameron, has been working 

closely with manufacturer Quantel on the design of a 3D stereoscopic postproduction system. Quantel and Pace 

have presented private technology demonstrations of the developing system. Quantel’s Mark Horton estimated that 

there were about 100 visitors to Pace’s Burbank office, including directors, visual effects supervisors, 

postproduction execs and representatives from most of the major studios. Horton said the feedback was 

encouraging and that as a result, Quantel intends to release the toolset as a product. A shipping date has not been 

determined, but Horton said that it would be a new version release of Quantel’s Pablo digital intermediate/color 

grading system. Current Pablo customers would have the option to upgrade. The goal is to increase speed, reduce 

cost and add creative flexibility in 3D stereoscopic filmmaking. Quantel said the technology is being developed to 

enable creative post decisions to be made and viewed in 3D in real time. http://www.quantel.com 

3ality Digital uses SCRATCH software in U2 film 

“U2 3D”, the 3D feature film, was one of the highlights at the recent Cannes Film 

Festival, and 3ality Digital and ASSIMILATE teamed to bring the same experience 

to the IBC 07 audience. A three-song segment of “U2 3D”, hosted by Steve 

Schklair, founder and CEO of 3ality, was featured in IBC’s Big Screen Programme 

venue on September 9. 3ality’s stereoscopic 3D technology, coupled with 

ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH real-time 3D data workflow and DI tool suite (from conform to finish) allows lead 

singer Bono to reach out toward the 3D camera and appear to be stepping into the theater. “U2 3D” is scheduled for 

release to theaters this year. http://www.3alityDigital.com 



Kerner debuts 3D mobile cinemas 

Kerner Mobile Technologies announced the debut of the first in its new line of Kerner 3D Mobile Cinemas at the 

California Speedway in greater Los Angeles on Labor Day weekend. Kerner Mobile’s 30 foot 3D movie screen is 

set inside a 10,000 sq. ft. tented theater made by Tentnology. “Opportunity, California FanZone” provided car 

racing fans with everything from music concerts to shopping. In the near future, Kerner says that its Mobile 3D 

Cinemas will surpass movie theaters with the development of special lighting effects, fog and surround sound: 3D 

sights, smells and a light breeze on the face - an immersive 3D experience. http://www.kernermobile.com 

nWave releases first “true” 3D feature 

nWave, based in Brussels and Los Angeles, has 

released “Fly Me To The Moon”, loosely based on 

the Apollo 11 moon-landing including Buzz Aldrin as 

himself, and the crucial interventional of three flies, 

hence the play on words with the song-title. It is the 

first true 3D feature film to be released, according to 

nWave CEO Ben Stassen. It will be going to around 

700 digital 3D cinemas and over 200 IMAX theaters. 

According to Stassen, the first 3D full-length film was 

the Robert Zemeckis film, “Monster House”. But he 

stresses that “Monster House” was not originally 

created in 3D. Instead, it utilized software applied 

after filming in 2D. Disney’s “Meet The Robinsons” 

was the second 3D release film, which also used 

software applied after the fact, he says. 

“Recent advances in computer technology make it possible to convert 2D films to 3D. However, while 

converted films like “Chicken Little” and “Monster House” will be crucial to spurring the development of 

digital 3D theaters, to fully utilize the potential of 3D cinema, you must design and produce a film differently 

than you would a 2D film,” Stassen says. “It’s a different medium. It involves more than just adding depth and 

perspective to a 2D image. There’s a very strong physical component to authentic 3D.” 

He points out that there are very encouraging signs that Hollywood is starting to pay attention to the 3D revival 

spreading worldwide through the giant screen theater network. He pinpoints the importance of “The Polar Express” 

that benefited from a great 3D IMAX version, generating over $40 million of the film’s $283 million worldwide 

grosses on only 64 screens. nWave Pictures is known for being one of the most prolific producers of 3D films in the 

world. Founded in 1994 by Ben Stassen and Brussels-based D&D Media Group, nWave Pictures quickly 

established itself as the world’s leading producer and distributor of ride films for the motion simulator market. The 

company’s current library of titles makes up an estimated 60-70% of all ride simulation films being shown 

worldwide. Core to the nWave operation is the idea that a computer graphics workstation is a mini Hollywood on a 

desktop. It can create a whole movie and, with high-speed Internet, even distribute it. He points out that he only 

uses off-the-shelf software – Maya, Lightwave, and more 

recently Pixar’s Renderman. Where the difference comes is that 

he does not need to use hundreds of animation artists - only 

about 50 people are working on a production at any one time. 

http://www.flymetothemoonthemovie.com 

As an interesting sidenote, the movie’s website includes some 

anaglyph images to help showcase the characters. Next to an 

icon showing red/green glasses, the following warning has been 

inserted: 



ANDXOR and The Light Millennium put forward human rights proposal to the UN 

ANDXOR Corporation and The Light Millennium have submitted a joint proposal to the Department of Public 

Information/NGO Section & Planning Committee of the United Nations to create a stereoscopic movie on human 

rights. The two companies are offering to produce 40 minutes footage in ortho-stereoscopic to “allow a true three 

dimensional vision and an incredible immersive participation of the viewer”. They will create a movie regarding 

human rights, “the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled (from liberty to children abuse, from 

freedom of expression to education) and in particular could include Darfur and Karabakh/Azerbaijan”. The 

companies say that the footage will be very useful to UN campaigns in terms of the viewers’ support and 

awareness. The footage would be filmed with special stereoscopic cameras in digital full-HD. The movie would be 

played at the UN/DPI-NGO 61st Annual Conference and after in all the new stereo ready theaters. The companies 

will also create a DVD Blu-ray format to be distributed together with stereoscopic glasses and ready to be played 

also using standard television. http://www.andxor.com http://www.lightmillennium.org 

Reallusion and DAZ 3D partner on real-time filmmaking 3D content 

Reallusion, a software developer providing Hollywood-like 3D moviemaking tools for PC and embedded devices, 

and DAZ 3D, a developer of 3D software and digital content creation, announced a strategic partnership to bring 

real-time filmmaking and 3D content to the masses. Thanks to this partnership, users will be able to import content 

created in DAZ Studio or purchased from DAZ 3D’s library of professional content into iClone, Reallusion’s realtime 

filmmaking engine, using Reallusion’s recently released 3DXchange object conversion tool. The result will be 

a truly open filmmaking platform that will empower aspiring filmmakers of all stripes to, in the words of 

Reallusion’s theme for SIGGRAPH 2007, “Go Real-Time” with “Movies, Models and Motion.” Reallusion’s 

3DXchange supports most 3DS or OBJ files. It also loads existing props, accessories or 3D scenes from current 

iClone content so users can customize an object’s position, orientation, size, specularity, shadow or other attribute 

setting. Props, accessories and scenes can also be generated into massive libraries for both long and short-form 

iClone film productions. DAZ Studio is a free software application that allows users to easily create digital art. 

Users can use this software to load in people, animals, vehicles, buildings, props, and accessories to create digital 

scenes. http://www.reallusion.com 

Belgian cinema chain opens with Barco projectors 

Barco announced that its latest range of 2K digital cinema projectors has been installed in Kinepolis’s newest 

cinema multiplex at Ostend, Belgium. Exactly one year after its opening of Kinepolis Brugge, Belgian’s number 

one cinema chain, the new multiplex is the chain’s 23rd in Europe and houses eight state-of-the-art cinemas with a 

total of 1,755 seats. Kinepolis Oostende has been fitted with Barco’s latest range of digital cinema projectors, the 

DP-3000 and DP-1500, which were launched at ShoWest in 

March this year. The DP-3000 is Barco’s new flagship, and 

the brightest “large venue” digital cinema projector in the 

industry. Using Texas Instrument’s 1.2-inch DLP Cinema 

chip, the DP-3000 is designed for screens up to 30 m (98 ft) 

wide and has a 2000:1 contrast ratio, new lenses, a new 

optical design and high efficiency 6.5 kW lamps. The DP- 

1500 is Barco’s new mid and small-venue projector, designed 

for screens up to 15 m (49 ft) wide. It incorporates Texas 

Instrument’s new 0.98-inch DLP Cinema chip that offers the 

same pixel resolution (2048x1080) as its larger 1.2-inch 

counterpart, but its smaller size offers significant advantages. 

http://www.barco.com 



3D – lost in translation 

We couldn’t resist including this 

screen capture from a Korean 

website devoted to stereo imaging. 

Their online poll doesn’t translate 

very well using Google’s translator 

function. http://www.3dnshop.com 

Hang Zhou World now selling 120 Tri-lens stereo cameras 

Hang Zhou 3D World Photographic Equipment Co., Ltd introduced their 120 

Tri-lens manual reflex stereo camera – the first one developed and made in 

China. Specifications include anti-reflection coated glass optics, seven 

elements in six groups, f/2.8, 80 mm focal length, a lens separation of 

63.5 mm, light metering consisting 

of two SPD’s (silicon photo 

diodes) for light measurement; and 

aperture and shutter speeds 

matched according to the LED 

display. The focusing screen 

consists of a split-image microprism 

surrounded by a Fresnel 

screen, three LEDs in five 

exposure graduations. The camera 

uses one roll of 120-reversal film 

for a pair of 58 x 56 mm stereo 

images; six pairs per roll. The 

company employs about 100 

people focused on the development 

of devices that promote stereo 

imaging. http://www.3dworld.cn 

New IBM mainframe platform developed to support virtual worlds 

The International Herald Tribune revealed that IBM is launching a new mainframe platform specifically designed 

for next-generation virtual worlds and 3D virtual environments. In concert with Brazilian game developer Hoplon, 

IBM will use the PlayStation3’s ultra-high-powered Cell processor to create a mainframe architecture that will 

provide the security, scalability and speed that are currently lacking in 3D environments – a lack that is one of the 

factors keeping them from becoming widely adopted. 

USGS posted 3D photos of national parks 

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has posted hundreds of highly-detailed anaglyphic 3D photographs of national 

parks on the Web. http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/index.html 

Anaglyph images from Arches National Park and Saguaro National Monument released by USGS 



StereoEye features huge collection of 3D photographic images 

A Japanese stereo society has posted a large number of images, in numerous formats to their website. Beware; 

visiting this website could consume a couple of hours… http://www.stereoeye.jp 

The StereoEye website showcases hundreds of 3D photos in several form factors including these anaglyph images of the 

Tokyo Tower and a fireworks display in Tokyo Harbor. 

3D image of the Moon captured by photographer from the Earth 

It’s intuitive to think that getting a stereo image of the moon from Earth is not possible, but all it requires is getting 

two pictures from different angles only, which requires only a little patience. In this case, photographer Laurent 

Laveder used two pictures taken months apart, one in November 2006 and one in January 2007. He relied on the 

Moon’s continuous libration (or wobble) as it orbits to produce two shifted images of a full moon, resulting in a 

compelling stereo view. http://www.pixheaven.net 

The image on the left is an anaglyph of the Moon; the right image is a stereo pair intended for cross-eyed viewing 



NASA’s STEREO reveals solar prominences 

In late August, STEREO observed a gathering of solar 

prominences in profile as they twisted, stretched and floated 

just above the solar surface. Over about two and a half days 

(August 16-18, 2007), the prominences were seen in extreme 

ultraviolet light by the Ahead spacecraft. Prominences are 

clouds of cooler gases controlled by powerful magnetic 

forces that extend above the Sun’s surface. In a video created 

by NASA, the careful observer can sometimes see the gases 

arcing out from one point and sliding above the surface to 

another point. In the most interesting sequence near the end 

of the clip, the upper prominence seems to arch away into 

space. Such sequences serve to show the dynamic nature of 

the Sun. STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) 

is a two-year mission; launched October 2006 that provides a 

unique view of the Sun-Earth system. The two nearly 

identical observatories, one ahead of Earth’s orbit, the other 

behind, trace the flow of energy and matter from Sun to 

Earth. The image to the left is in anaglyph form. 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/main/index.html 

Globe4D shows off four-dimensional globe 

Globe4D is an interactive, four-dimensional globe. It’s a projection of the Earth’s surface on a physical sphere that 

shows the historical movement of the continents as its main feature, but is also capable of displaying all kinds of 

other geographical data such as climate changes, plant growth, radiation, rainfall, forest fires, seasons, airplane 

routes, and more. The user can interact with the globe in two ways. First: rotation of the sphere itself. Second: 

turning a ring around the sphere. By rotating the sphere the projected image rotates along with the input movement. 

Turning the ring controls time as the 4th dimension of the globe. Of course Globe4D is not limited to the Earth 

alone. The Moon, the Sun, Mars and any other spherical object can be projected as well. Users can even go to the 

middle of the Earth by zooming in on the crust and peeling the earth as if an onion. http://www.globe4d.com 

The Globe4D lets viewers see video images on the movable sphere, while time and other functions are 

controlled by turning the ring around the sphere. 



Microsoft and NASA create several new Photosynths 

Several new Photosynths were generated through a collaboration between NASA and Microsoft’s Live Labs. They 

show different aspects of the Shuttle’s lifecycle related to the Orbiter, Endeavor, Launch Pad, and Vehicle 

Assembly Building. The Photosynth process weaves hundreds of images together and allows viewers to pan and 

zoom amongst the images in a three-dimensional layer of images. http://labs.live.com 

The image on the left shows the Photosynth from a distance. Users can zoom on images to reveal high-resolution 

shots such as the close-up of the Endeavor on the right. 

Google Earth adds Sky 

In late August, Google announced the launch of Sky, a new feature that enables users of Google Earth to view the 

sky as seen from planet Earth. With Sky, users can now float through the skies via Google Earth. This easy-to-use 

tool enables all Earth users to view and navigate through 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. 

High-resolution imagery and informative overlays create a unique playground for visualizing and learning about 

space. To access Sky, users need only click “Switch 

to Sky” from the “View” drop-down menu in 

Google Earth, or click the Sky button on the 

Google Earth toolbar. The interface and navigation 

are similar to that of standard Google Earth 

steering, including dragging, zooming, search, “My 

Places”, and layer selection. As part of the new 

feature, Google is introducing seven informative 

layers that illustrate various celestial bodies and 

events, including Constellations, Backyard 

Astronomy, Hubble Space Telescope Imagery, 

Moon, Planets, Users Guide to the Galaxies, and 

Life of a Star. The announcement follows last 

month’s inclusion of the NASA layer group in 

Google Earth, showcasing NASA’s Earth 

exploration. The group has three main components, 

including Astronaut Photography of Earth, Satellite Imagery, and Earth City Lights. Astronaut Photography of 

Earth showcases photographs of the Earth as seen from space from the early 1960s on, while Satellite Imagery 

highlights Earth images taken by NASA satellites over the years and Earth City Lights traces well-lit cities across 

the globe. The feature will be available on all Google Earth domains, in 13 languages. To access Sky in Google 

Earth, users need to download the newest version of Google Earth, available at: http://earth.google.com. 



Google Earth introduces flight simulator 

In the new Google Earth 4.2 beta, there’s a flight simulator 

mode which provides a fascinating 3D experience. To 

access, hit the special keyboard shortcut: CTRL-ALT-A to 

get a requestor allowing you to choose from two types of 

aircraft - an F-16 or a SR-22, and choose from one of several 

airports. When you’re ready, select “Start Flight”. You’ll 

find controls for flaps, landing gear, trim, and more. The 

SR22 is easier to fly for beginners. You get a head up 

display (HUD) just like in a fighter-jet. And the indicators 

tell you which direction you are moving, rate of climb, 

altitude, and other useful information most flight simulator 

aficionados will understand. Some useful tips for using the 

new simulator are available at http://www.gearthblog.com. 

Virtual Earth 3D adds new cities and greater detail 

Digital Urban recently added a tutorial for creating very high-resolution cityscape panoramas with Virtual Earth. 

Several new cities have recently been launched in 3D and along with the tutorial, the Digital Urban site includes 

videos, some obscure tips, and some great insights into the building of a realistic virtual world such as the subtle 

tweaks made in modeling low, dense cities like Toulouse, shown below. http://www.digitalurban.blogspot.com 

Numerous new VE3D images were recently added, including those of Montreal and Toulouse 

Niagara Falls – impressive in Virtual Earth 

Good digital elevation models, super high-resolution aerial imagery and 3D modeling combine to create virtual 

worlds of amazing realism. The first image below is a static Birds Eye and the second image is a snapshot of the 

same part of the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara in interactive 3D. http://www.microsoft.com/virtualearth/ 



Georgia Institute of Technology and Microsoft Research develop 4D Cities 

Computer scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Microsoft Research have developed 4D Cities, a 

software package that shows the evolution of a city over time, creating a virtual historical tour. The software can 

automatically sort a collection of historical city snapshots into date order. It then constructs an animated 3D model 

that shows how the city has changed over the years. The idea is to give architects, historians, town planners, 

environmentalists and the curious a new way to look at cities, says Frank Dellaert at the Georgia Institute of 

Technology in Atlanta, who built the system with his 

colleague Grant Schindler and Sing Bing Kang of 

Microsoft’s research lab in Redmond, Washington. 

To create a model of Atlanta, the researchers scanned 

in numerous historical photos of the city that had been 

snapped from similar vantage points. The software is 

designed to identify the 3D structures within the 

image and break them down into a series of points. It 

then compares the view in each one to work out why 

some of these points are visible in some of the images 

but not others. Was the building simply out of shot? 

Or was the view of one building blocked by another? 

The software continually rearranges the order of the 

images taken from each vantage point until the 

visibility patterns of all the buildings are consistent. 

The result is that the images appear in time order, 

allowing the researchers to construct and animate a 

3D graphic of the city through which users can travel 

backwards or forwards in time. The researchers plan 

to extend the system to create models of other cities, 

and to improve the software’s ability to recognize whether different photos are showing exactly the same scene. 

This can be difficult as some cityscapes change so profoundly. Here is how they introduce the project on the 4D 

Cities home page. “The research described here aims at building time-varying 3D models that can serve to pull 

together large collections of images pertaining to the appearance, evolution, and events surrounding one place or 

artifact over time, as exemplified by the 4D Cities project: the completely automatic construction of a 4D database 

showing the evolution over time of a single city.” (www.cc.gatech.edu/~phlosoft). 

AMRADNET takes over MedView 

American Radiologist Network (AMRADNET) has acquired ViewTec’s medical division. AMRADNET purchased 

ViewTec’s medical business along with its MedView core product and technology. Through this acquisition, 

existing MedView users worldwide will now be serviced by AMRADNET. Development of MedView, a DICOM 

compatible high performance software product for digital medical imaging, took place at the University of Zurich 

in cooperation with specialists from leading hospitals in Switzerland. http://www.viewtec.ch 

GAF to distribute Intermap 3D data throughout Europe 

Intermap Technologies Corp and GAF AG, an international geo-information technology company located in 

Munich, Germany, have signed an agreement to allow GAF to immediately begin distributing Intermap’s highresolution 

3D digital elevation data and geometric images throughout Germany and the rest of Europe. GAF, a 

private sector enterprise is part of the Telespazio group of companies. The company was founded in 1985 and 

offers a broad range of geospatial applications, including geodata procurement, image processing, software 

development, and consulting services. http://www.Intermap.com 



Immersive Media continues expansion into commercial media 

Immersive Media Corp. announced the first ever use of 360 degree video for experiential marketing. In 

collaboration with adidas and TAOW Productions, IMC captured the “premiere” sports event of this summer – 

David Beckham’s first game with the Los Angeles Galaxy. This immersive video was launched by adidas on their 

website. Soccer fans can experience the 360 degree, full motion video and look around in every direction as if they 

were behind the scenes. With regards to the city collection program, IMC is continuing to expand its GeoImmersive 

database with additional cities being added in North America and Europe. The European expansion includes cities 

in England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The GeoImmersive imagery is being licensed to commercial and 

public organizations for promotional, planning and asset management purposes. To preview the GeoImmersive 

Imagery visit http://demos.immersivemedia.com/onlinecities 

Above are images from a drive down the famed 6 th Street in Austin, Texas. The images were captured at a pause in the video 

and show three different images from the 360 o view available from the on-line demonstration. 

ComputaMaps releases 3D urban models 

ComputaMaps recently released 3D urban video models of several cities, including Toronto, Dubai, Baltimore, 

Washington DC, Hong Kong (Aberdeen), and Durban, South Africa. The company manufactures multi-resolution 

3D databases ranging in detail from the entire globe down to photo-realistic urban environments. These data can be 

deployed in various applications such as interactive entertainment, broadcast weather and news graphics software. 

Download animations of the following cities derived from QuickBird satellite imagery. Animations of are available 

at: http://www.computamaps.com/3d-visualization/3d-visualization.html 

These images are captured from video animations of ComputaMaps flybys in Baltimore and Hong Kong 



RabbitHoles acquires XYZ Imaging 

After recently acquiring the hologram company XYZ Imaging, RabbitHoles announced that it is seeking 

partnerships with “boundary-breaking artists to create limited edition RabbitHole 3D Motion Art and to be pioneers 

of this new contemporary art medium”. The company advertises that “for 3D artists, working in RabbitHoles is the 

first and only way for you to showcase in 3D on gallery walls and 

in the homes and work-places of visionary collectors. For 2D 

artists, RabbitHoles offers an invitation to experiment with what's 

next. The RabbitHole 3D Motion Art is a reflective technology 

reliant on precisely placed halogen light to expose its full-color 

3D artwork. This radical new art form springs from patented 

digital technology that instructs red, green and blue pulse lasers to 

expose a specially formulated film 300 times finer that ISO 300. 

The company is currently focusing on gaining exposure in 

selective, high-profile, artistic contexts that will yield highlycollectible 

limited edition series and affirm the medium as 

revolutionary contemporary art. http://www.rabbitholes.com 

Virtual Images Unlimited acquires Kodak lenticular technology and equipment 

Virtual Images Unlimited, a division of IGH Solutions from Minnesota, announced that it has acquired the large 

format lenticular manufacturing assets of Dynamic Images. The equipment purchased, which utilizes highresolution 

photographic techniques to produce large-format lenticular in single-panel sizes up to 4 feet by 8 feet, 

was originally developed by Kodak. The technology produces 3D and animated effects. The former Dynamic 

Images purchased the technology from Kodak in 2001. The items purchased will allow VIU to continue selling 

movie standees, posters, and bus shelters into the entertainment industry and other key markets. VIU will locate the 

equipment at its parent company’s facility in Minnesota. http://www.viu.com 

3D Systems brings out a hard plastic for rapid prototyping 

3D Systems Corporation, a provider of 3D modeling, rapid prototyping and manufacturing solutions, announced 

Accura Xtreme Plastic, a new material for stereolithography systems. This addition to the company’s family of 

Accura materials facilitates the efficient design, development and manufacturing of products by enabling 

production of early prototypes having improved durability and functionality. Accura Xtreme Plastic is now 

available for beta testing by qualified customers. An extremely tough and versatile material, Accura Xtreme Plastic 

is designed for functional assemblies that demand durability. Due to its high elongation and moderate modulus, 

Accura Xtreme Plastic is ideally suited for many rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing applications. Accura 

Xtreme Plastic’s properties closely mimic those found in molded ABS and polypropylene, which are major 

production plastics. Accura Xtreme Plastic also features lower viscosity and higher processing speeds than other 

materials in the marketplace, resulting in easy operation, fast part creation, and quick cleaning and finishing with 

less waste. http://www.3dsystems.com 

HumanEyes Technologies demonstrates lenticular printing with UV printers 

HumanEyes Technologies demonstrated its 3D and lenticular production on the newest UV flatbed inkjet printers at 

its partners’ booths throughout Graph Expo, held in Chicago, from September 9-12. HumanEyes software allows 

printers to take advantage of the newest technology to produce high quality lenticular and 3D effects on digital 

presses from HP, Gandinnovations, Fujifilm Graphic Systems and Océ. The latest hardware developments are 

making the production of lenticular easier, faster and of highest quality. New processes and materials have also 

considerably reduced the cost of specialty print production. The next generation of UV curable ink flatbed presses 

offer very low drop volume, resulting in high resolution, closely comparable to that of photo quality desktop inkjets 

and high-end plotters. Also, an impressive geometric accuracy of drop placement secures highly accurate printing. 

These features produce very high quality lenticular printing. http://www.humaneyes.com 



National Graphics partners with Sports Image International 

Sports Image International announced the launch of a new line of three-dimensional sports lenticular images 

featuring licensed classic images from Major League Baseball and The National Hockey League. By combining the 

latest technology in photo enhancement and National Graphics’ lenticular imaging with memorable sports 

moments, SII has created a new class of collectible that is unique to the sports memorabilia market. These 

collectibles are now available online at http://www.sportsimageintl.com, where sports fans can experience and 

purchase the three-dimensional lenticular images. They are also available at both Yankee and Shea Stadium gift 

shops. The images are produced by National Graphics, pioneers in lenticular imaging, who claims to provide the 

highest quality lithographic lenticular products in the world. http://www.extremevision.com 

3D Center of Art and Photography to exhibit French graffiti art 

The 3D Center of Art and Photography of Portland, Oregon will exhibit “Urban Spaces” from September 13 

through October 28. “Urban Spaces” is an exhibition of 11 stereoscopic images from the series “Kunstfabrik” 

(2000-2007) by Ekkehart 

Rautenstrauch of Nantes, France. 

Not far from the center of Nantes 

stands an old deserted foundry, out 

of service since the 1980s. Since 

2000 Rautenstrauch has been 

documenting the transformation of 

the space by a host of taggers, 

graffiti artists and others wishing 

to leave their mark on the space. 

As the artist describes, “I quite 

steadily followed the pictural 

transformation, the continuous 

fadedness and every new 

expression testifying to an alive and constant creation. In my own artistic work the freedom of gesture, the rhythm 

of bodies, the writing extended into space, have always been essential elements.” Rautenstrauch’s works are 

presented in specially made folding viewers called “folioscopes” (designed by Sylvain Arnoux) which hang on the 

wall at eye level, allowing the viewer to view the stereoscopic images. http://www.3dcenter.us 

University of Weimar develops unsynchronized 4D barcodes 

Researchers from the University of Weimar recently developed a novel technique for optical data transfer between 

public displays and mobile devices based on unsynchronized 4D barcodes. In a project entitled PhoneGuide, the 

researchers assumed that no direct (electromagnetic or other) connection between two devices can exist. Timemultiplexed, 

2D color barcodes are displayed on 

screens and recorded with camera equipped mobile 

phones. This allows for the transmission of 

information optically between two devices. This 

approach maximizes the data throughput and the 

robustness of the barcode recognition, while no 

immediate synchronization exists. Although the 

transfer rate is much smaller than can be achieved 

with electromagnetic techniques (e.g., Bluetooth or 

WiFi), they envision applying such a technique 

wherever no direct connection is available. 4D barcodes can, for instance, be integrated into public web-pages, 

movie sequences, advertisement presentations or information displays, and they encode and transmit more 

information than possible with single 2D or 3D barcodes. http://www.uni-weimar.de/medien/ar/research.php 



RTT updates software for high-speed development and visualization 

RTT unveiling the new versions of its core products – RTT DeltaGen 7.0 and RTT Portal 3.0. With a range of new 

functions, both software solutions do not only deliver the maximum degree of visualization, but also several 

possibilities for process acceleration and workflow efficiency. The RTT DeltaGen 7.0 software suite enables 

extremely realistic, professional 3D real-time visualization. One of the highlights is the freshly designed graphical 

user interface. The new color system includes smart icons and facilitates the creation of 3D models and scenes. 

Another key element of the recent version is the novel functionality of assembly handling and the direct connection 

to RTT Portal libraries. The latter feature enables users to directly access object and materials libraries, such as a 

wheel rim database for cars, from RTT DeltaGen to RTT Portal 3.0. Assembly handling allows 3D scenes that have 

been divided into assemblies to be loaded into RTT DeltaGen 7.0 to be linked to 3D models or unloaded. Single 

work steps can subsequently be accomplished simultaneously and independently from each other by various users. 

http://www.rtt.ag 

nVidia demonstrates high-speed renderer 

nVidia demonstrated its next-generation, near-real-time, high-quality rendering product with performance 

improvements capable of re-lighting 60 frames of a complex scene in 60 seconds. Along with a new release of 

nVidia Gelato GPU-accelerated software renderer and the announcement of the nVidia Quadro Plex Visual 

Computing System (VCS) Model S4 1U graphics server, this technology demonstration shows nVidia’s expertise 

in the field of high-quality rendering. Adding high-quality frames, like those used in film and other applications 

where visual quality is paramount, have been slow to be integrated into an interactive workflow because they take 

too long to render. nVidia previewed the new technology at the SIGGRAPH 2007 conference that will be part of its 

next-generation renderer, harnessing the full power of the nVidia GPU to bring a truly interactive workflow to 

relighting high-quality scenes in about a second. And, it can also be used for high-speed final renders of broadcastquality 

frames. Running on the latest nVidia GPU architecture, this technology can achieve rendering performance 

improvements of more than 100 times that of traditional software rendering solutions, the company says. By using 

the GPU to enhance rendering CPU-based performance, professional quality, interactive final-frame rendering and 

interactive relighting is now possible — accelerating production workflow, improving review and approval cycles, 

and reducing overall production schedules. http://www.nVidia.com 

e frontier launches Poser Pro and teams up with N-Sided 

e frontier, Inc. announced Poser Pro, a high end addition to its Poser product line. Geared toward a multitude of 

production environments in both the 2D and 3D realms, Poser Pro offers the features and functionality of Poser 7 

plus professional level application integration, a 64 bit render engine, and network rendering support. Poser Pro 

now supports the COLLADA exchange format for content production, pre-visualization, gaming and film 

production, and offers the ability to fully host Poser scenes in professional applications such as Maxon’s CINEMA 

4D, Autodesk’s 3ds Max and Maya, and Newtek’s Lightwave. Other features include increased support for Adobe 

Photoshop CS3 Extended (via COLLADA) and export of HDR imagery. In addition, N-Sided will provide 

“QUIDAM for Poser” based on their QUIDAM character creation software. QUIDAM features the ability to import 

and export Poser character files, which will be bundled exclusively with Poser Pro, that brings Poser content and 

animations into professionals’ workflow. http://www.e-frontier.com/go/poserpro 

TI incorporates DDD software in 3D HDTV 

DDD announced that Texas Instruments demonstrated high definition 3D video using DDD’s TriDef 3D 

Experience software in conjunction with TI’s DLP 3D HDTV at the IFA consumer electronics conference and trade 

show in Berlin between August 31st and September 5th. TI recently announced the world’s first 3D DLP HDTV 

based on TI’s all digital DLP imaging device used in the latest HDTVs. The 3D DLP HDTV uses active 3D glasses 

to bring games and movies to life, jumping off the high definition screen into the viewer’s home theater. The 3D 

enabled feature will be offered by DLP HDTV manufacturers including Samsung and Mitsubishi. The TriDef 3D 

Experience is the latest consumer 3D content solution from DDD that enables a full range of popular entertainment 

from PC games to the latest high definition 3D movies. http://www.DDD.com 



Samsung incorporates DDD software into latest mobile phone 

DDD Group, the 3D software and content company, announced that Samsung Electronics has launched a 3D 

mobile telephone in Korea incorporating the DDD Mobile software library under license from DDD. The Samsung 

SCH-B710 3D handset is already available in selected SK Telecom retail stores in South Korea. The SCH-B710 is 

a CDMA handset capable of receiving both the satellite (S-DMB) and the terrestrial (T-DMB) mobile television 

channels that are presently available in South Korea. Included in the handset is a 3D LCD display that can be 

switched between normal 2D display mode and “glasses-free” stereo 3D mode. Using DDD’s solution, standard 2D 

mobile TV channels can be automatically converted to stereo 3D as they are received by the handset. The license 

agreement with Samsung follows the completion of the £500,000 development agreement that was announced in 

mid 2005. DDD has also granted Samsung exclusive rights to the real time 2D to 3D conversion feature of DDD 

Mobile for use on mobile telephones made for sale in the Korean market until June 2009. http://www.DDD.com 

DDD launches TriDef 3D Experience 

DDD has brought out the TriDef 3D Experience - a comprehensive package of software to support a wide range of 

stereoscopic 3D display systems, including Samsung’s DLP 3D HDTVs. It can play a wide range of 2D and 3D 

movies and photos, including open format files (.avi, .mpg, .jpg, etc); explore Google Earth in 3D; play 3D games; 

enable third party applications to work on 3D displays; and plays current 2D DVDs in 3D. The TriDef Experience 

includes DDD’s 2D-to-3D conversion software enabling existing 2D photos, movies and DVDs to be enjoyed in 

dynamic 3D. A free version is available at http://www.tridef.com/download/latest.html. 

Barco and Medicsight team up on colon imaging software 

Barco and Medicsight, a developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) technologies, have signed a partnership 

agreement to incorporate Medicsight’s “ColonCAD” image analysis software tools within Barco’s “Voxar 3D 

ColonMetrix” virtual colonography application. By integrating Medicsight’s CAD function, Barco further expands 

the functionality of its ColonMetrix software solution, enabling 

faster and more efficient recognition of suspect lesions during 

virtual colonography. Medicsight's ColonCAD is an image 

analysis software tool designed to be used with CT 

colonography (virtual colonoscopy) scans. It has been 

specifically designed to support the detection and segmentation 

of abnormalities within the colon that may potentially be 

adenomatous polyps. ColonCAD can be seamlessly integrated 

within advanced 3D visualization and PACS platforms of 

industry leading imaging equipment partners. Barco's Voxar 

3D ColonMetrix is a complete virtual colonoscopy workflow 

and reporting solution that allows radiologists to interpret a CT 

colonography study and generate a report typically within 10 

minutes. http://www.medicsight.com 

Intuitive Surgical selects Christie for non-invasive surgery 

Christie was selected by Intuitive Surgical, a pioneer in surgical robotics, to help display high definition 3D video 

images generated by the company’s da Vinci surgical system, which is designed to enable surgeons to perform 

complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach. In demonstrations at trade shows and professional 

conferences around the country, Intuitive Surgical successfully harnessed the power of a pair of Christie DS+5K 3- 

Chip DLP digital projectors to render highly accurate 3D images of surgical procedures in passive stereo, as seen 

by surgeons operating the da Vinci surgical system. According to Intuitive Surgical, prior to the da Vinci system, 

only highly skilled surgeons could routinely attempt complex minimally invasive surgery. The Christie DS+5K 

projector offers 6,500 ANSI lumens, native 1400x1050 resolution, and 1600-2000:1 contrast ratio. It features 3chip 

DLP technology and the ability to display standard and high-definition video. http://www.christiedigital.com 



US hospital first to use Viking’s 3Di visualization system in pediatric urological surgery 

Viking Systems, a designer and manufacturer of laparoscopic vision systems for use in minimally invasive surgical 

(MIS) procedures, announced that Dr. Rama Jayanthi and his surgical team at the Columbus Children’s Hospital in 

California successfully performed the first intravesical minimally invasive ureteral reimplantation using Viking 

Systems’ 3Di Vision System. Dr. Jayanthi used a 5 mm 3D laparoscope that enabled him to see inside the bladder 

and perform this complex procedure. “This procedure is especially delicate and requires surgical precision and 

close attention to detail,”' said Dr. Jayanthi. “The 3D high definition view we had during the procedure was 

incredibly precise and we look forward to working with this technology more and more. The 3D view certainly 

makes fine suturing easier and more accurate.” The 3Di Vision System manufactured by Viking Systems delivers a 

magnified, high-resolution 3D image that allows the surgeon to visualize depth in the underlying anatomical 

structures and tissue during complex MIS. The 3D images are viewed by the surgeon and surgical team via 

Viking’s Personal Head Display (PHD). The PHD places the 3D image directly before the surgeon’s eyes, 

providing a high definition immersive view of the surgical field. The Viking 3Di Vision System also delivers an 

information management solution known as Infomatix, which provides immediate, picture-in-picture access to 

additional surgical information through voice activation. This critical information can be provided simultaneously 

with the surgical image on the surgeon’s PHD. http://www.vikingsystems.com 

DAZ 3D announces Carrara Version 6 – “The Next Dimension in 3D Art” 

DAZ 3D recently announced the upcoming release of the latest version of the popular 3D software, Carrara. This 

new version will allow users to choose from a large array of tools while exploring new dimensions in 3D creation. 

Carrara 6 provides 3D figure posing and animation, modeling, 

environment creation, and rendering tools within a single application. The 

extensive support for DAZ 3D content includes handling of morph 

targets, the conversion of Surface Materials and complete Rigging, and 

Enhanced Remote Control, which allows users control over multiple 

translation and transform dials simultaneously. Notable upgrades include 

Non-linear Animation, giving users the ability to create clips of animation 

that can be reused and combined on multiple tracks of animation; 

Dynamic Hair that allows artists to style, cut, brush, and drape the hair; 

Displacement Modeling where the user can paint detail on a model using 

free-form brush tools; and Symmetrical Modeling that allows content 

creators to edit both sides of a symmetrical object at the same time using 

a variety of editing tools. Carrara 6 was released for sale in late August at 

a $249 for the standard edition, while Carrara 6 Pro will have a MSRP of 

$549. http://www.DAZ3D.com 

New 3D format approved by Ecma International 

On June 28, 2007, at its General Assembly meeting in Prien am Chiemsee, in Germany, the new 4th Edition of the 

Universal 3D (U3D) File Format (ECMA-363) was approved. In the new edition, the overall consistency of the 

format has been improved, and the free-form curve and surface specification, including the specification of 

NURBS, has been added. In addition, the non-normative reference source code, available at SourceForge.net has 

been updated accordingly. “The Universal 3D (U3D) File Format Standard (ECMA-363) is a unique 3D 

visualization format being an open standard and having an unsurpassed installed 3D reader base due to the massive 

deployment of Adobe Reader,” said Lutz Kettner, Director Geometry Product Development, mental images GmbH, 

and Co-Editor of Ecma TC43. “3D visualization is finally becoming available to everyone. The U3D File Format 

specification and standardization is an ongoing process in which features such as mesh compression, hierarchical 

surface descriptions, and generalized shading will be addressed in the near future to satisfy even the most 

demanding visualization needs.” http://www.ecma-international.org 



Dassault Systèmes and Seemage announce strategic partnership 

Dassault Systèmes and Seemage announced their intention to become strategic partners. The partnership will 

leverage the companies’ respective strengths to grow their presence in the 3D product documentation market. The 

partnership will provide a seamless link between product documentation and PLM product-related data. For 

companies, this eliminates all disparities between product-related IP and any required product documentation, such 

as animations, graphics and illustrations for training, maintenance manuals and service procedures. Working 

together, the companies will permit the exploitation of 3D as a universal media. Seemage users can exploit 3D data 

from any 3D CAD or enterprise system and create content from this for any desired output in formats including 

Microsoft Office documents, PDF and HTML. Seemage’s XML-based architecture integrates seamlessly with 

enterprise systems. http://www.seemage.com 

NaturalMotion tackles football video games with “Backbreaker” 

NaturalMotion, the company behind the euphoria 

animation technology featured in “Grand Theft Auto 

IV” and “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed”, announced 

Backbreaker, an American football game developed 

exclusively for next-generation consoles. The title is 

slated for a 2008 release. “Backbreaker” is the first 

football game with truly interactive tackles. By utilizing 

our motion synthesis engine euphoria, players will 

never make the same tackle twice, giving them an 

intensely unique experience every time they play the 

game,” said NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil. 

http://www.backbreakergame.com 

Sony and mental images join up on visualization workflows 

Sony and mental images announced a joint project that will allow the Academy Award winning mental ray highend 

rendering software to operate with Sony’s new prototype Cell Computing Board in a range of visualization 

workflows that feature Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) technology. The Cell/B.E. is a high-performance 

microprocessor jointly developed by Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Toshiba Corporation, 

and IBM Corporation. According to the companies, the technology’s innovative architecture is particularly wellsuited 

for highly parallelized, compute-intensive tasks. The “Cell Computing Board”, developed by Sony 

Corporation’s B2B Solutions Business Group, incorporates the high-performance Cell/B.E. microprocessor and 

RSX graphics processor to deliver high computational performance capable of handling large amounts of data at 

high speed while also achieving reductions in size and energy consumption. An essential element of the project will 

be the support of mental images’s new universal MetaSL shading language on the Cell Computing Board platform. 

A large library of essential shaders will be provided. In addition, MetaSL shaders can easily be created with 

“mental mill”, the graphical shader creation and development technology from mental images. The companies 

expect to demonstrate their results in the second half of 2008. http://www.mentalimages.com 

Autodesk takes over Skymatter 

Autodesk announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Skymatter 

Limited, the developer of Mudbox 3D modeling software. This acquisition will augment Autodesk’s offering for 

the film, television and game market segments, while providing additional growth opportunities for other design 

disciplines. Skymatter is a privately held New Zealand-based company. Skymatter’s Mudbox software offers a new 

paradigm of 3D brush-based modeling, allowing users to sculpt organic shapes in 3D space with brush-like tools. 

Appealing to both traditional sculptors and digital artists, Mudbox provides a simple and fast toolset for creative 

modeling, prototyping and detailing. 3D assets created in Mudbox are often imported into Autodesk 3ds Max and 

Autodesk Maya software for texturing, rigging, animation and final rendering. http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox. 



Luxology launches on-line hub for 3D community 

Luxology announced Luxology TV, a new online hub that allows the 3D community to exchange and view highresolution 

video clips on Luxology’s website. Luxology TV enables anyone to enhance their 3D learning 

experience by searching, selecting and immediately watching videos on a variety of subjects such as modeling, 

rendering, painting and sculpting. Luxology TV is structured to quickly grow into a repository of training and 

presentation material on modo and other topics pertaining to 3D content creation. The majority of videos are free. 

Commercial professional training materials from Luxology and third-party vendors will also be available for 

purchase. Luxology TV is now live and can be experienced by visiting http://www.luxology.com/training/. 

Lockheed Martin acquires 3Dsolve 

Lockheed Martin Corporation announced it has acquired 3Dsolve; Inc. 3Dsolve is a privately held company that 

creates simulation-based learning solutions for government, military and corporate applications. The company’s 

software tools assist clients with collaborative training utilizing interactive 3D graphics. 3Dsolve’s core 

competencies include multi-media, software engineering, digital artwork, instructional design and project 

management for use in state-of-the-art simulation learning solutions. http://www.lockheedmartin.com 

Dan Lejerskar presents his vision of the future of 3D 

Real life and digital simulation will merge by 2011, producing a mixed-reality environment that will change the 

way consumers communicate, interact and conduct commerce, according to futurist Dan Lejerskar, chairman of 

EON Reality, the interactive 3D software provider. “What once was imagined soon will be experienced,” Lejerskar 

explained. “The technology convergence of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Web and search, and digital 

content means that people can experience more in their daily lives by blurring the distinction between their physical 

existence and digital reality.” As evidence of this trend, he points to the realization of commercially viable 

applications for 3D interactive virtual reality technology – as well as the position of industry thought leaders 

championing the advancement of such experiences. Heavyweights Google and Microsoft are pushing this trend 

toward the manifestation of the 3D Internet, while computer and video game developers are whetting consumers' 

appetites for 3D experiences with new technologies, such as Nintendo’s Wii. Hollywood studios and amusement 

parks also are incorporating 3D interactive virtual reality elements into their offerings. “We're witnessing the 

creation of an environment in which visualization companies, industry, academia and the public sector can meet 

and exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas,” Lejerskar said. “Within three to four years, we’ll see radical 

changes in how we shop, learn and communicate with business associates, friends and family. Consumers crave 

user-generated experiences that combine virtual reality technology with physical location-based events to produce 

totally immersive 3D interactive experiences.” http://www.eonreality.com. 

EON Reality brings out Visualizer for idiot-proof 3D content creation 

EON Reality unveiled its EON Visualizer at the SIGGRAPH Technology Conference. EON Visualizer is a 3D 

interactive authoring tool that allows non-technical business users to generate 3D worlds for Web, print, video and 

real-time formats. An off-the-shelf tool, EON Visualizer makes it easy for anyone with a computer and Internet 

access to create realistic, interactive, 3D content. According to Gartner Research, by 2011, 1.6 billion out of a total 

2 billion Internet users will actively participate in virtual worlds. However, the knowledge necessary to create these 

worlds today is limited to only the most technically sophisticated. EON Visualizer is founded on EON Reality’s 

new kernel, Dali, which improves the scalability and flexibility of the functionality. Even users without 

programming knowledge of 3D software can use the EON Visualizer to create 3D content, the company says for 

role-playing games, social network communities, business marketing and sales presentations and education and 

training. A user with programming skills will be able to add advanced features to EON Visualizer. The following 

are some of EON Visualizer’s key features: intuitive interface with drag-and-drop tools; Web-based 3D object 

library with 12,000 3D objects and products, more than 12 showrooms and 360-degree landscape settings and 

image backdrops to create augmented realities; visual (non-text) search for objects and components through EON I- 

Search functionality (Google-supported search engine) allows users to search additional EON Reality-supported 

content available on the Internet. EON Visualizer will ship in Nov. 2007. http://www.EONReality.com 



S3D-Basics+ Conference 

August 28-29, 2007, Berlin, Germany 

Phillip Hill reports on presentations from Blue Frames Media, Advanced Micro Devices, 

BrainLAB, Infitec, and Spatial View 

Florian Maier of Blue Frames Media of Germany presented on “3Drecording 

devices for two-channel or multi-channel applications”. The 

talk covered research, one-camera 3D recording devices, and multicamera 

3D recording devices. The motivation for the company is the 

new 3D wave due to digital possibilities and huge demand on 3D 

content. But Maier said that there was a lack of efficient and exact 

recording devices and a lack of knowledge about 3D recording 

parameters. The aims of the research work are to analyze the best 3D 

parameters depending on the set-up; development of a PC program; and 

the development of photographic recording devices. The company has 

carried out deep studies of 3D basics: physiological limits, physiological 

problems (3D sickness), existing recording and display techniques. The 

program for the calculation of 3D parameters gives the best interaxial 

distance between cameras to avoid 3D sickness and the best adaptation 

to different display techniques. 

The 3D photographic recording devices that the company has developed 

fall into two categories: a one-camera system for static objects, and a 

multi-camera system for dynamic objects. The one-camera recording 

system gives exact and reproducible results, it is very efficient due to 

automation, and is designed for special purposes such as macro 

photography or lifetime exposure. A small version will be available 

soon. The multi-camera system minimizes interaxial distance and gives 

a larger field of depth. Close-ups of dynamic objects become feasible 

with no loss of picture quality, and normal digital cameras (both photos 

and video) can be used. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


It targets professional users of CAD, digital content creation, medical 

imaging and visual simulation applications. It maximizes graphics 

throughput by dynamically allocating resources as needed. It 

instinctively configures hardware and software for optimal 

performance for certified applications. It enables real-time interaction 

with larger datasets and more complex models and scenes – 2GB 

graphics memory. It supports multiple 3D accelerators in a single 

system for up to quad display output. Finally, it delivers hardware 

acceleration of DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 without impacting CPU 

performance. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




Society for Information Display 2007 Symposium 

May 20-25, Long Beach, California 

In this second report from the principal event of the year, Phillip Hill covers presentations from 

Samsung SDI, Communications Research Centre Canada, Philips Research Laboratories, 

and SeeReal Technologies 

28.3: Dense Disparity Map Calculation from Color Stereo Images using Edge Information 

Ja Seung Ku, Hui Nam, Chan Young Park, Beom Shik Kim, Yeon-Gon Mo, Hyoung Wook Jang, Hye-Dong Kim, 

and Ho Kyoon Chung 

Samsung SDI, Korea 

Samsung has developed a stereo-corresponding algorithm using edge information. The conventional stereocorresponding 

algorithm, SAD (Sum of Absolute Difference), has good quality in case of texture region, but it has 

false matching in the non-texture region. In order to reduce the false matching in the non-texture region, a new cost 

function, which is defined as SED (Sum of Edge Difference) based on global optimization, is added to the cost 

function of SAD. They evaluate the algorithm and benchmark Middlebury database. The experimental results show 

that the algorithm successfully produces piecewise smooth disparity maps while reducing the false matching in the 

non-texture region. Moreover, the algorithm is faster in terms of getting the best quality than SAD. 

32.1: Invited Paper: — Human Stereoscopic Vision: Research Applications for 3D-TV 

Wa James Tam 

Communications Research Centre Canada, Ottawa, Canada 

The Communications Research Centre (CRC) 

Canada has been conducting research on 3D-TV 

and related stereoscopic technologies since 1995. 

Three areas of CRC’s research on human 

stereoscopic vision and its application to 3D-TV 

are highlighted. The author presents work on the 

use of inter-ocular masking to reduce bandwidth 

requirements, without sacrificing high image 

quality. Secondly, he presents experimental 

results that show the effect of stereoscopic objects 

in motion on visual comfort. Thirdly, he presents 

studies to illustrate how the tendency of the 

human visuo-cognitive system to correct or fill in 

missing visual information can be used to 

generate effective stereoscopic images from 

sparse depth maps. 

Figure 1: An example of a surrogate depth map is shown at the 

bottom right. The original source image and its typical depth 

map are shown at the top and on the bottom left, respectively. 



In the search for ways to generate depth maps, the researcher investigated the possibility of creating depth maps 

from the pictorial depth information contained in standard 2D images, such as from blur information arising from 

the limited depth of field of a camera lens. For this example, blur information is useful if one assumes that blurred 

objects are at a farther distance than sharp objects and, therefore, a depth map can be created from the blur 

information contained in the original 2D images. Along the way, CRC discovered that depth maps do not have to 

contain dense information to be effective. CRC found that depth maps containing sparse depth information, that is, 

depth information concentrated mainly at edges and object boundaries in the original 2D images, are sufficient to 

yield an enhanced sensation of depth, compared to a corresponding monoscopic reference. CRC named these maps 

“surrogate depth maps”. An example is shown in Figure 1 (previous page). 

In conclusion, the studies show that the approach combining surrogate depth maps and DIBR can be used to 

generate rendered stereoscopic images with good perceived depth. The effectiveness of surrogate depth maps can 

be explained if it is assumed that the human visual system combines the depth information available at the 

boundary regions together with pictorial depth cues to compensate for the missing/erroneous areas and arrive at an 

overall perception of depth of a visual scene. The results of the studies also provide useful indications with respect 

to the minimum depth information required to produce an enhanced sensation of depth in a stereo image, i.e., depth 

at object boundaries. This minimum depth information can be used as a backup method when no other depth 

information is available to a 3D-TV broadcast system. 

32.2: Effect of Crosstalk in Multi-View Autostereoscopic 3D Displays on 

Perceived Image Quality 

Ronald Kaptein and Ingrid Heynderickx 

Philips Research Laboratories, Eindhoven, The Netherlands 

The effect of crosstalk in multi-view autostereoscopic 3D displays on perceived image 

quality was assessed in two experiments. The first experiment shows that preference 

decreases with increasing crosstalk, but not as strong as expected. The second 

experiment shows that the crosstalk visibility threshold is higher than found in earlier 

studies. 

Gaining insight in the ambivalent effects of crosstalk is essential when it comes to 

improving the quality of multi-view autostereoscopic 3D displays. Therefore, this 

study investigated the visibility of crosstalk in still images, and its effect on image 

quality (preference), taking into account the properties of multiview autostereoscopic 

3D displays. To do this, it was necessary to vary the amount of crosstalk over a 

considerable range. This was not feasible using a multi-view lenticular 3D display 

because of the fixed lens. However, since binocular image distortion was found to be 

the average of the monocular image distortions of both eyes, depth was not a 

necessary feature. This meant that the researchers could investigate the perceptual 

effects of crosstalk by simulating it on a 2D panel. To include the typical pixel 

structure of a multi-view lenticular 3D display, they used a high-resolution panel and 

simulated a single 3D pixel using multiple pixels from the high-resolution display. In 

the present study, only crosstalk and the pixel structure were taken into account. Two 

different experiments were performed. The first experiment assessed the preference 

for different crosstalk levels. In this experiment, the trade off between visibility of 

crosstalk (i.e. blurring and ghosting) and visibility of pixel structure artifacts was 

investigated. The visibility threshold of crosstalk was determined in a second 

perception experiment. 

Figure 1: (A) shows LCD 

panel and the position of the 

lenses. Oblique lines 

indicate lens edges. (B) 

shows a real 3D pixel 

structure, (C) the 

simulation. 



The 3D TV taken as a reference was a Philips lenticular 3D TV; the high-resolution 2D display used for the 

simulations was a 22.2-inch IBM T221 display, with a resolution of 3840x2400 pixels and a pixel pitch of 0.1245 

mm. The researchers wanted to simulate the 3D pixel structure using as few 2D pixels as possible, while preserving 

the essential characteristics (slope and aspect ratio of the sides). The solution can be seen in Figure 1C (previous 

page). The width of this structure is 9 pixels, i.e. 1.12 mm. However, a real 3D pixel has a width and height of 

about 1.45 mm. To compensate for this, the simulated image should be viewed from a slightly different distance, 

namely a factor of 0.77 closer compared to the 3D TV (i.e. 2.3 m). How crosstalk manifests itself on pixel level can 

be derived from Figure 1A. 

The results suggest that crosstalk is less visible in multi-view autostereoscopic 3D displays than expected. The 

results also suggest that pixel-structure artifacts in lenticular based 3D displays, although visible, play a minor role 

in determining image quality, compared to crosstalk, at least at the viewing distance for which the 3D display was 

designed (3 m). These results are of importance considering the optimal design of multiview autostereoscopic 3D 

displays. They give a first indication of the decrease in image quality that is to be expected when crosstalk is 

increased. Increasing crosstalk can help to obtain more uniform display intensity and smoother view transitions 

during head movements. All in all, the results can help in finding a better balance between the various factors that 

play a role, Philips says. 

32.3: A New Approach to Electro-Holography for TV and Projection Displays 

A. Schwerdtner, N. Leister, and R. Häussler 

SeeReal Technologies, Dresden, Germany 

Among 3D displays, solely electro-holographic displays are in principle capable of completely matching natural 

viewing. SeeReal’s new approach to electro-holography facilitates large object reconstructions with moderate 

resolution of the spatial light modulator. They verified the approach with a standard 20-inch LCD as a spatial light 

modulator. A key factor limiting universal application of stereoscopic displays are vision problems due to the 

inherent mismatch between eye focusing and convergence. Solely holographic displays are in principle capable of 

completely matching natural viewing. The most severe problem creating large-size video holograms is the so-called 

space-bandwidth product which is directly related to the number of display pixels. This is the reason why electroholographic 

displays have been restricted to display very small scenes with very small viewing angles and low 

image quality. Therefore, the object of the project 

was to develop a new approach to electro-holography 

that will enable the observer(s) to see large 

holographic reconstructions of 3D objects from 

electro-holographic displays having moderate pixel 

resolution. Figure 1 illustrates the concept. The light 

source LS illuminates the spatial light modulator 

SLM and is imaged by the lens F into the observer 

plane OP. The hologram is encoded in the spatial 

light modulator. The observer window OW is located 

at or close to the observer eye OE. The size of the 

OW is limited to one diffraction order of the 

hologram. The observer sees a holographically 

Figure 1: Schematic drawing of the holographic display 

reconstructed three-dimensional object 3D-S in a reconstruction frustum RF that is defined by the observer window 

and the hologram. An overlap of higher diffraction orders in the observer window is avoided by encoding the 

holographic information of each single point P of the object 3D-S in an associated limited area A1 in the hologram. 

The correct size and position of A1 are obtained by projecting the OW through the point P onto the light modulator 

SLM, as indicated by the lines from the OW through P to the area A1. Light emanating from higher diffraction 

orders of the reconstructed point P will not reach the OW and is therefore not visible. A 3D-object comprising 

many object points results in overlapping associated areas with holographic information that are superimposed to 



the total hologram. The researchers summarize by saying that the approach significantly reduces the requirements 

on optical components and software compared to conventional electro-holographic displays. They achieve this by 

generating the visible object information only at positions where it is actually needed, i.e. at the eye positions. 

Large holographic object reconstructions are possible as the pixel pitch of the spatial light modulator does not limit 

the size of the reconstructed object. The fundamental idea in the concept is to give highest priority to reconstruction 

of the wave field at the observer’s eyes and not the three-dimensional object itself. They say that they have been 

working to extend the approach to projection displays. Again, there are one or several observer windows through 

which one or several observers see a holographically reconstructed object. The hologram is encoded on a small 

spatial light modulator and the holographic reconstruction is optically enlarged by magnification optics. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


International Workshop on 3D Information Technology 

May 15, 2007, Seoul, Korea 

by Andrew Woods 

The 3D Display Research Centre (3DRC) based at Kwangwoon University (Seoul, South Korea) recently organized 

the fourth in its series of international workshops. The workshop was held at the compound of Cheong Wa Dae 

(literal translation “the blue house”, which is the office of the South Korean president) and featured presentations 

from eight international invited speakers, four local speakers, and also a poster session. 

The presentations were a mixture of 

a summary of 3D research from the 

authors’ origin country and also a 

summary of the particular research 

of each presenter. 

The first presentation was by 

Professor George Barbastathis 

(MIT, USA) whose paper was titled 

“3D Optics”. His presentation 

focused on holographic imaging and 

the process of capturing 3D images 

and datasets using holographic 

methods. The presentation of 

Andrew Woods (Curtin University, 

Australia) was titled “R&D 

Activities on 3D Information 

Technologies in Australia” and 

summarized the work of a number 

of stereoscopic R&D organizations 

in Australia (including DDD, iVEC, 

and Jumbo Vision), plus his own 

work on underwater stereoscopic 

video cameras and the compatibility 

of consumer displays with 

3DIT 2007 invited speakers and organizers: (left to right) Sang-Hyun Kim 

(student, Waseda Univ., Japan), Takashi Kawai (Waseda Univ., Japan), unknown 

(Presidential Security Service), student (3DRC), Jin Fushou (Jilin Univ., China), 

student (3DRC), Vladimir Petrov (Saratov State Univ., Russia), Hiroshi 

Yoshikawa (Nihon Univ., Japan), Eun-Soo Kim (3DRC), Zsuzsa Dobranyi 

(Holografika, Hungary), Dae-Jun Joo (Presidential Security Service), Tibor 

Balogh (Holografica, Hungary), George Barbastathis (MIT, USA), student 

(3DRC), Jack Yamamoto (3D Consortium, Japan), Andrew Woods (Curtin Univ., 

Australia), Nam-Young Kim (3DRC). 

stereoscopic methods. Professor Fushou Jin’s (Jilin University, China) presentation titled “3D display activities in 

China” discussed the stereoscopic human factors work of Fang et al. (Zhejiang Univ., 2004), autostereoscopic 

video transforms and novel autostereoscopic backlights by Zou et al. (Hefei Univ. of Tech., 2004 and 2005), head 

mounted displays by Sun et al. (National Key Lab of Applied Optics, 2005), volumetric displays by Lin et al. 

(Zhejiang Univ., 2005), as well as his own work on integral 3D imaging. 

The second session contained two papers. Professor Vladimir Petrov (Saratov State University, Russia) discussed 

“Recent R&D activities on 3D Information Systems in Russia” which included coverage of his own work on 

classification of stereoscopic methods, formats & technologies, optical correction of depth plane curvature, and 

electronically controlled optical holograms, plus a description of the autostereoscopic “SmartON” display by 

Putilin et al. (FIAN, Moscow), Volumetric displays by Shipitsyn (Moscow, Russia) and Golobov et al. (LETI, 

Russia), a stack of holograms by Golobov et al. (LETI, Russia), a stack of light scattering shutters by Kimpanets et 

al. (Lebedev Physical Institute, Russia), waveguide holographic display by Putilin et al. (FIAN, Moscow), and 

others. The presentation by Tibor Balogh (Holografika, Hungary) was titled “HoloVizio, The Light Field Display 



System”. Various aspects of the HoloVizio autostereoscopic display system was described including fundamentals, 

principles of operation, implementations, hardware and software systems, and applications. 

The third session of the day included three papers. Professor Takashi Kawai’s (Waseda University, Japan) paper on 

“Recent R&D Activities on 3D Information Technologies in Japan” discussed his own work on stereoscopic 

ergonomic evaluation, display hardware and stereoscopic video software development, content creation, time-series 

analysis of stereoscopic video, and scalable conversion of stereoscopic content for different screen sizes. He also 

summarized industry activities including the Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ), the Ultra Realistic 

Communications Forum (URCF), and 3D Fair 2006 (November 2006, Akihabara, Japan). Jack Yamamoto (3D 

Consortium, Japan) provided a “3D Market Trend Overview” and also summarized the recent activities of the 3D 

Consortium. The presentation of Professor Hiroshi Yoshikawa (Nihon University, Japan) was titled “Recent 

activities on 3-D imaging and display in Japan” discussed government and industry supported activities along with 

a summary of his university’s research in optical holograms, digital holography, a fringe printing system, fast 

computer generated holograms, and holo-video. 

The final formal session of the day included four papers. Professor Eun-Soo Kim (3DRC, Kwangwoon University, 

Korea) presented a paper titled “3D R&D Activities in 3DRC” which provided a brief overview of commercial 3D 

R&D activities in Korea (including Samsung, LG, Pavonine, Zalman, Innertech, Sevendata, and KDC Group), an 

introduction to the 3DRC, and a summary of the 3D display prototypes and R&D activities of the 3DRC. Dr. 

Jinwoong Kim from ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) (Daejeon, Korea) presented 

“R&D Activities on 3D Broadcasting Systems in ETRI”. As well as providing an overview of 3D in the 

broadcasting industry, detail was provided on ETRI’s activities in 3D DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) to 

handheld devices and multi-view 3DTV systems. Dr Sung-Kyu Kim from KIST (Korean Institute of Science and 

Technology) (Seoul, Korea) presented “R&D Activities on 3D Displays in KIST”. His presentation discussed 

KIST’s work on multi-focus 3D display systems (using either a laser scanned DMD modulated display, or a multilight 

source (LED) method), and camera related issues for autostereoscopic mobile displays. Dr. Jae-Moon Jo 

(Samsung Electronics, Korea) presented “Status of 3D Display Development”. His paper was divided into three 

parts: technology and market trends, 3D display technologies, and technology of Samsung. The latter part of his 

presentation discussed Samsung’s 3D DLP HDTVs, Samsung’s 3D LCD DMB phone (SCH-B710), Samsung 

autostereoscopic 2D/3D monitor using time-sequential LCD, and the Samsung SDI autostereoscopic OLED 2D/3D 

demo. 

Selected papers in the poster session included: 

• Effective generation of digital holograms of 3-D objects with a novel look-up table method 

• Three-dimensional reconstruction using II technique of captured images by holographic method 

• Efficient generation of CGH for frames of video images 

• Holographic 3D display of captured by II technique 

• Enhanced IVR-based computational construction method in three-dimensional integral imaging with 

non-uniform lens array 

• Three-dimensional image correlator using computationally reconstructed integral images 

• Using quantum optics in 3D display 

• Extraction of rat hippocampus using stereoscopic microscope system 

• Efficient 3D reconstruction method using stereo matching robust to noise 

• A compact rectification algorithm for trinocular stereo images 

• The effect of saccadic eye movements on motion sensitivity in 3D depth 

A proceedings volume was published by the 3DRC containing all of the slides of the speakers and poster authors. 

http://www.3drc.org/ 





3DTV CON 2007 

May 7-9, Kos Island, Greece 

In this second report on this IEEE conference on capture, transmission and display of 3D video, Phillip 

Hill covers presentations from Monash University, Middle East Technical University/STM Savunma 

Teknolojileri Muhendislik ve Ticaret, ATR/University of Tsukuba, Tampere University of Technology, 

Momentum, Yonsei University, University of Rome, University of Oulu, and two from Tel-Aviv University 

Large scale 3D environmental modeling for stereoscopic walk-through visualization 

Nghia Ho, Ray Jarvis, 

Intelligent Robotics Research Centre, Monash University, Australia 

The availability of high resolution and long-range laser range finders with color image registration facilities opens 

up the possibility of large scale, accurate and dense 3D environment modeling. This paper addresses the problem of 

integration and analysis of multiple scans collected over extended regions for stereoscopic walk-through 

visualization. Large-scale 3D environment modeling has gained popularity due to the availability of high resolution 

and long range 3D laser scanners. These devices can capture a dense point cloud of the environment, collecting in 

the order of 10’s or 100’s of millions of points. Laser scanners can provide very rich data but on the other hand 

present a technical challenge in processing such large volume of data which can easily grow to a couple of 

gigabytes. Two common tasks that are essential for large-scale environment modeling are scan registration and 

visualization. Scans need to be taken at various locations and registered together to build a complete model. The 

ability to be able to visualize it via a stereoscopic display is very attractive because the data is well suited for a 

walk-through application such as a virtual tour. The paper reports a campus modeling project undertaken at Monash 

University. 

Figure 1 (left): Buildings and vegetation rendered entirely by planes and texture. Figure 2 (right): Birds eye 

view of the campus model. 



The researchers used the Riegl LMS-Z420i laser range scanner to scan the Monash University campus. The scanner 

is capable of scanning 360 degree horizontally and 80 degrees vertically. The average sampling rate for a high 

resolution scan is about 8000 points per second. Color information is obtained separately via a Nikon D100 

mounted on the scanner. Approximately 30 scans were taken around the Monash campus over the duration of a 

couple of weeks. We fixed each scan to capture 5-6 million points. One problem they faced was people walking 

about during the scanning. This introduced some unwanted noise, which appears as a thin line of points. To 

alleviate this problem they did two scans at the same location. The two scans were then compared side by side and 

the points with the furthest distance away from the scanner taken as the true range. 

Figure 2 (previous page) shows a bird’s eye view section of the campus model. Some of the tree leaves come out 

blue rather than green and is a result of incorrect registration with the sky color. One possible explanation is that the 

leaves are being blown by the wind, which causes an incorrect registration with the laser range data and color 

images. Point clouds obtained from a laser range scanner are dense for distances near to the scanner but sparse 

further away. This greatly affects the visual quality and is noticeable in some part of the scenes where there is 

inadequate sampling. This can be improved by performing a longer scan and collecting more points. This also has 

the extra benefit of collecting less noise from people moving across the scans. 

Shape from unstructured light 

Anner Kushnir and Nahum Kiryati 

Tel-Aviv University, Israel 

A structured light method for depth reconstruction using unstructured, essentially arbitrary projection patterns is 

presented. Unlike previous methods, the suggested approach allows the user to select the projection patterns from a 

given slide show or from movie frames, or to simply project noise, thus extending the range of possible 

applications. The system includes a projector and a single camera. Two progressive algorithms were developed for 

obtaining projector-camera correspondence, with each additional projection pattern improving the reliability of the 

final result. The method was experimentally demonstrated using two projection pattern sets – a vacation photo 

album (similar to frames extracted from a video sequence) and a set of random noise patterns. 

Figure 1: Depth map and textured reconstruction of a mannequin head: (a,b) 50 patterns, DP method. (c,d) 50 

patterns, PPC method. (e,f) 10 patterns, DP method. (g,h) 100 patterns, PPC method. 



Figure 1 (previous page) presents the reconstruction results obtained using the vacation photo album pattern set, in 

two formats: depth map and visualization of the 3D surface with its texture. Results are shown for the two 

correspondence-establishment methods considered, Pixel-to-Pixel Correspondence (PPC) and Dynamic 

Programming (DP), using several pattern-set sizes. It can be seen that the DP method performs well even when the 

number of projection patterns used for reconstruction is small. The PPC method yields a reasonable result when 50 

patterns or more are used, and is superior to the DP method in terms accuracy and robustness when 100 patterns or 

more are used. 

Effects of color-multiplex stereoscopic view on memory and navigation 

Yalın Baştanlar, Hacer Karacan, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey 

Deniz Cantürk, STM Savunma Teknolojileri Muhendislik ve Ticaret, Ankara, Turkey 

In this work, effects of stereoscopic view on object recognition and navigation performance of the participants are 

examined in an indoor Desktop Virtual Reality Environment, which is a two-floor virtual museum having different 

floor plans and 3D object models inside. This environment is used in two different experimental settings: 1) colormultiplex 

stereoscopic 3D viewing provided by colored eye-wear, 2) regular 2D viewing. After the experiment, 

participants filled in a questionnaire that inquired into their 

feeling of presence, their tendency to be immersed and their 

performance on object recognition and navigation in the 

environment. Two groups (3D and 2D), each having five 

participants, with equal tendency were formed according to 

the answers of “tendency” part, and the rest evaluated to 

examine the effects of stereoscopic view. Contrary to 

expectations, results show no significant difference between 

3D and 2D groups both on feeling of presence and object 

recognition/navigation performance. 

A museum consisting of two floors was created. Several 3D 

object models like cars, airplanes, animals, buildings were 

placed in the museum. Also a few 2D pictures were put on 

the walls in order to ease navigation. The two floors have 

different floor plans and wall textures. A screen shot is 

shown in Figure 1. Results did not indicate a significant 

difference between the two groups. Although increasing the number of participants and preparing different kinds of 

navigation and recognition questions may change the result, the current result may be explained by two ideas: both 

groups were able to examine the objects and environment closely from different points of view. Although 3D group 

participants sometimes spent a little more time on the objects to test stereoscopic viewing, it seems that this did not 

cause participants to recognize them well. Despite the stereoscopic viewing 3D group participants did not feel 

much more involved than the 2D participants. In fact, the control mechanism and speed of the test environment was 

not realistic enough, and this may have resulted in a boring effect on participants causing to lose their attention 

while observing objects. 

Depth map quantization – how much is sufficient? 

Ianir Ideses, Leonid Yaroslavsky, Itai Amit, Barak Fishbain 

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Tel-Aviv University, Israel 

Figure 1: A screen-shot from first the floor of the 

virtual environment 

With the recent advancement in visualization devices over the last years, in order to synthesize 3D content, one 

needs to have either a stereo pair or an image and a depth map. Computing depth maps for images is a highly 

computationally intensive and time-consuming process. In this paper, the researchers describe results of an 

experimental evaluation of depth map data redundancy in stereoscopic images. In the experiments with computer 



generated images, several observers visually tested the number of quantization levels required for comfortable and 

quantization unaffected stereoscopic vision. The experiments show that the number of depth quantization levels can 

be as low as only a couple of tens. This may have profound implication on the process of depth map estimation and 

3D synthesis, the researchers say. 

In each experiment, the viewer had to indicate which image has more quantization levels; if correct in his choice, 

the program would increase the quantization levels until the viewer can not distinguish between the images. If the 

viewer had been incorrect in his choice, the program would reduce the quantization levels until the viewer would 

again be able to distinguish between the images. Each experiment is composed of several tens of rounds until the 

quantization levels converge. In order to increase the reliability of the selection, the viewer was prompted to verify 

his answer to each round. A screenshot of the program is shown below. 

The results of these tests show that, for depth map quantization, a relatively low number of about 20 quantization 

levels of depth map are sufficient for 3D synthesis. This number was acquired for shapes with high height gradients 

and is lower for other shapes. The obtained results can be utilized in different applications, and especially in 

iterative algorithms of depth map computation and in the process of generating artificial stereo pairs from an image 

and a depth map. 

An example of images that were shown to the viewer. The viewer had to indicate which image has a smoother 

(quantized with more quantization levels) depth map (viewed with anaglyph glasses, blue filter for right eye). 

Virtual camera control system for cinematographic 3D video rendering 

Hansung Kim, Ryuuki Sakamoto, Tomoji Toriyama, and Kiyoshi Kogure 

Knowledge Science Lab, ATR, Kyoto, Japan 

Itaru Kitahara1, Department of Intelligent Interaction Technologies, University of Tsukuba, Japan 

The researchers propose a virtual camera control system that creates attractive videos from 3D models generated 

with a virtualized reality system. The proposed camera control system helps the user to generate final videos from 

the 3D model by referring to the grammar of film language. Many kinds of camera shots and principal camera 

actions are stored in the system as expertise. Therefore, even non-experts can easily convert the 3D model to 



attractive movies that look as if they were edited by expert film producers with the help of the system’s expertise. 

The user can update the system by creating a new set of camera shots and storing it in the shots’ knowledge 

database. 

In one application, the system generates footage by piecing all of the generated videos. Figure 1(a) shows example 

footage of a cinematographic video with camera controls using two annotations to 3D regions and five annotations 

to time codes. Varied shots with different angles and framing are set for the 3D video to capture a man shadowboxing 

dynamically. Figure 1(b) shows other footage that is applied to the same shots, to which a region annotation 

is added to the man’s foot. Despite the fact that these pieces of footage are made from the videos of the same 

scenes, the impressions they give are rather different. 

The goal of this study is to develop a virtual camera controlling system for creating attractive videos from 3D 

models. The proposed system helps users to apply expert knowledge to generate desirable and interesting film 

footage by using a sequence of shots taken with a virtual camera. As future work, the researchers are going to 

devise a method to use sensors to automatically determine annotation information. 

Figure 1: Outcome of shadow-boxing scene 

Mid-air display for physical exercise and gaming 

Ismo Rakkolainen, Tampere University of Technology, Finland 

Tanju Erdem, Bora Utku, Çiğdem Eroğlu Erdem, Mehmet Özkan, Momentum, Turkey 

The researchers presented some possibilities and experiments with the “immaterial” walk-through FogScreen for 

gaming and physical exercise. They used real-time 3D graphics and interactivity for creating visually and 

physically compelling games with the immaterial screens. An immaterial projection screen has many advantages 

for physical exercise, games and other activities. It is visually intriguing and can also be made two-sided so that the 

opposing gamers on each side see both their side of the screen and each other through it, and can even walk through 

it. The immaterial nature of the screen helps also on maintenance, as the screen is unbreakable and stays always 

clean. The initial results show that the audience stayed with the game over extended periods of time. 



The FogScreen is currently available in 2-meter-wide size and in 

modular 1-meter-wide size, which enables several units to be linked 

seamlessly together. The FogScreen device is rigged above the heads 

of the players so that they can freely walk through the screen, which 

forms under the device. The continuous flow recovers the flat screen 

plane automatically and immediately when penetrated. The 

resolution is not quite as high as with traditional screens, but it works 

well for most applications like games. The presented context could 

also be used in physical rehabilitation, edutainment in science 

museums, and many kinds of sports games like boxing, karate or 

other martial arts, for example. 

Comparison of phoneme and viseme based acoustic units for speech driven realistic lip animation 

Elif Bozkurt, Çigdem Eroglu Erdem, Engin Erzin, Tanju Erdem, Mehmet Özkan 

Momentum, Turkey 

Natural looking lip animation, synchronized with incoming speech, is essential for realistic character animation. In 

this work, the Momentum company evaluates the performance of phone and viseme based acoustic units, with and 

without context information, for generating realistic lip synchronization using HMM based recognition systems. 

They conclude via objective evaluations that utilization 

of viseme based units with context information 

outperforms the other methods. Humans are very 

sensitive to the slightest glitch in the animation of the 

human face. Therefore, it is necessary to achieve 

realistic lip animation, which is synchronous with a 

given speech utterance. There are methods in the 

literature for achieving lip synchronization based on 

audio-visual systems that correlate video frames with 

acoustic features of speech. A major drawback of such 

systems is the scarce source of audiovisual data for 

training. Other methods use text-to-speech synthesis, 

which utilize a phonetic context to generate both speech 

Figure 1: The 3D graphical user interface used for viewing 

the lip synchronization results 

and the corresponding lip animation. However, current 

speech synthesis systems sound slightly robotic, and 

adding natural intonation requires more research. If the 

lip synchronization is generated using speech uttered by a real person, the animation will be perceived to be more 

natural. In such systems, a phonetic sequence can be estimated directly from the input speech signal using speech 

recognition techniques. This paper focuses on the limited problem of automatically generating phonetic sequences 

from prerecorded speech for lip animation. The generated phonetic sequence is then mapped to a viseme sequence 

before animating the lips of a 3D head model, which is built from photographs of a person. Note that, a viseme is 

the corresponding lip posture for a phoneme, i.e. visual phoneme. 

In this work, the researchers experimentally compare four different acoustic units within HMM structures for 

generating the viseme sequence to be used for synchronized lip animation. These acoustic units are namely phone, 

tri-phone, viseme and tri-viseme based units. The lip animation method is based on 16 distinct viseme classes. After 

the generation of the 3D head model, a graphic artist defines the mouth shapes for the 16 visemes using a graphical 

user interface. The results of the lip synchronization can be viewed using a user interface shown in Figure 1. 



Stereoscopic video generation method using motion analysis 

Donghyun Kim, Dongbo Min, and Kwanghoon Sohn 

Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea 

Stereoscopic video generation methods can produce stereoscopic content from conventional video filmed from 

monoscopic cameras. The researchers propose a stereoscopic video generation method using motion-to-disparity 

conversion considering a multi-user condition and characteristics of display device. Field of view, maximum and 

minimum values of disparity are calculated through an initialization process in order to apply various types of 3D 

display. After motion estimation, they propose three cues to decide the scale factor of motion-to-disparity 

conversion, which are magnitude of motion, camera movement and scene complexity. Subjective evaluation is 

performed by comparing videos captured from a stereoscopic camera and generated from one view of the 

stereoscopic video. In order to evaluate the proposed algorithm, several sequences were used. They used two 

stereoscopic sequences and two multi-view sequences. The test platform is a 17-inch polarized stereoscopic display 

device which offers resolution of 1280x512 in stereoscopic mode. Figure 1 shows the results of stereoscopic 

conversion for four test sequences. In this figure, we could find the shape of objects are well represented enough to 

assign depth feeling to the moving objects. Note that in the second sequence with the large flowerpot container 

captured by panning camera, the result shows that there is reverse depth of background and foreground. It verifies 

that camera movement recognition is essential. Errors may occur when the original images are roughly segmented 

or illumination variation occurs. 

Figure 1: Results of stereoscopic conversion 

A non-invasive approach for driving virtual talking heads from real facial movements 

Gabriele Fanelli, Marco Fratarcangeli 

University of Rome, Italy 

In this paper, the University of Rome researchers depict a system to accurately control the facial animation of 

synthetic virtual heads from the movements of a real person. Such movements are tracked using “active appearance 



models” from videos acquired using a cheap webcam. Tracked motion is then encoded by employing the widely 

used MPEG-4 Facial and Body Animation standard. Each animation frame is thus expressed by a compact subset of 

“Facial Animation Parameters” (FAPs) defined by the standard. They precompute, for each FAP, the corresponding 

facial configuration of the virtual head to animate through an accurate anatomical simulation. By linearly 

interpolating, frame by frame, the facial configurations corresponding to the FAPs, they obtain the animation of the 

virtual head in an easy and straightforward way. 

The paper addresses the problem of realistically animating a virtual talking head at interactive rate by resynthesizing 

facial movements tracked from a real person using cheap and non-invasive equipment, namely a 

standard webcam (Figure 1). Using 

appropriately trained active appearance models, 

the system is able to track the facial movements 

of a real person from a video stream and then 

parameterize such movements in the scripting 

language defined by the MPEG-4 FBA 

standard. Each of these parameters corresponds 

to a key pose of a virtual face, namely Morph 

Target, a concept largely known in the computer 

graphics artist’s community. These initial key 

poses are automatically precomputed through an 

accurate anatomical model of the face 

composed by the underlying bony structure, the 

upper skull and the jaw, the muscle map, and 

the soft skin tissue. The morph targets are 

blended together through a linear interpolation 

weighted by the parameter’s magnitude, 

achieving a wide range of facial configurations. 

Future developments will focus on extending the system to support 3D rigid transformations of the real head (i.e., 

translations and out-of-plane rotations), and the iris movements. Fields of possible application include the 

entertainment industry or human-computer interaction software, where cartoon-like characters could reproduce the 

expressions of real actors without the aid of expensive and invasive devices, or visual communication systems, 

where video conferences could be established even on very low bandwidth links. 

Stereoscopic viewing of digital holograms of real-world objects 

Taina M. Lehtimäki and Thomas J. Naughton 

University of Oulu, Finland. 

Figure 1: From each input video frame (left), the facial movements 

are tracked (center), and then used to control a virtual talking head 

The researchers have studied the use of conventional stereoscopic displays for the viewing of digital holograms of 

real-world 3D objects captured using phase-shift interferometry. Although digital propagation of holograms can be 

performed efficiently, only one depth-plane of the scene is in focus in each reconstruction. Reconstruction at every 

depth to create an extended-focus image is a time-consuming process. They investigated the human visual system’s 

ability to perceive 3D objects in the presence of blurring when different depth reconstructions are presented to each 

eye. Their digital holograms are sufficiently large that sub-regions can be digitally propagated to generate the 

necessary stereo disparity. The holograms also encode sufficient depth information to produce parallax. They found 

that their approach allows 3D perception of objects encoded in digital holograms with significantly reduced 

reconstruction computation time compared to extended focus image creation. 



Stereoscopic Displays and Applications 2007 Conference 

January 16-18, 2007, San Jose, California 

In this third installment, Mark Fihn summarizes presentations made by Ocuity, NEC, Dynamic Digital 

Depth, Philips Research (x2), Boston University, Eindhoven University of Technology, LG.Philips LCD, 

Hitachi, Ltd., and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The full papers are available in the 

2007 SD&A conference proceedings at http://www.stereoscopic.org/proc 

Autostereoscopic display technology for mobile 3DTV applications 

Jonathan Harrold and Graham J. Woodgate, Ocuity Limited, Oxford 

This presentation discussed the advent of 3DTV products based on cell phone platforms with switchable 2D/3D 

autostereoscopic displays. Compared to conventional cell phones, TV phones need to operate for extended periods 

of time with the display running at full brightness, so the efficiency of the 3D optical system is key. The desire for 

increased viewing freedom to provide greater viewing comfort can be met by increasing the number of views 

presented. A four view lenticular display will have a brightness five times greater than the equivalent parallax 

barrier display. Therefore, lenticular displays are very strong candidates for cell phone 3DTV. Specifically, Ocuity 

discussed the selection of Polarization Activated Microlens architectures for LCD, OLED and reflective display 

applications, providing advantages 

associated with high pixel density, 

device ruggedness, and display 

brightness. Ocuity described a new 

manufacturing breakthrough that 

enables switchable microlenses to 

be fabricated using a simple coating 

process, which is also readily 

scalable to large TV panels. 

Photos of Polarization Activated Microlens structures for some simulated 

configurations for 2.2-inch 320x240 and 640x470 panels. . 

Image from Ocuity 

Ocuity has demonstrated that 

Polarization Activated Microlens 

technology is a strong candidate to 

meet the stringent demands of 3D 

mobile TV, especially when 

combined with recent advances in a 

LC coating technology which does 

not require sealing or vacuum 

processing. 



A Prototype 3D Mobile Phone Equipped with a Next Generation Autostereoscopic Display 

Julien Flack, Dynamic Digital Depth (DDD) Research, Bentley, Western Australia 

Jonathan Harrold and Graham J. Woodgate, Ocuity Limited, Oxford 

According to the authors, the most challenging technical issues for commercializing a 3D phone are a stereoscopic 

display technology which is suitable for mobile applications as well as a means for driving the display using the 

limited capabilities of a mobile handset. This paper describes a prototype 3D mobile phone which was developed 

on a commercially available mobile hardware platform that was retrofitted with a Polarization Activated Microlens 

array that is 2D/3D switchable and provides both class-leading low crosstalk levels, and suitable brightness 

characteristics and viewing zones for operation without compromising battery running time. DDD and Ocuity 

collaborated to produce this next generation autostereoscopic display, which is deployed on a 2.2-inch TFT-LCD at 

320x240 pixels. They also describe how a range of stereoscopic software solutions have been developed on the 

phone’s existing application processor without the need for custom hardware. The objective in developing a 

prototype 3D mobile phone was to 

demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating 

an advanced autostereoscopic display into a 

Smartphone supported by a range of 3D 

content demonstrations in order to stimulate 

the development of the next generation of 

stereoscopic 3D mobiles. Through the 

integration of efficient conversion and 

rendering software with the handset’s main 

application processor it was possible to 

playback 24 frames/sec 320x240 video 

content rendered in real-time using 

optimized depth based rendering techniques. 

This means that provision of content is no 

longer an issue for 3D handsets. The phone's 

primary purpose was to provide a 

benchmark for handset manufacturers and 

As part of the presentation, Flack gave an overview of depth based 

rendering: virtual left and right eye images are rendered from a depth 

map and the original 2D image at 320x240 pixels 

Image from DDD 

Multiple Footprint Stereo Algorithms for 3D Display Content Generation 

Faysal Boughorbel, Philips Research Europe, Eindhoven 

telecoms carriers to assess the commercial 

viability of a stereoscopic 3D phone using 

technologies that are available and ready for 

mass production as of 2006. 

This research focuses on the conversion of stereoscopic video material into an image + depth format which is 

suitable for rendering on the multiview auto-stereoscopic displays of Philips. The recent interest shown in the 

movie industry for 3D significantly increased the availability of stereo material. In this context the conversion from 

stereo to the input formats of 3D displays becomes an important task. The presentation discusses a stereo algorithm 

that uses multiple footprints generating several depth candidates for each image pixel. The proposed algorithm is 

based on a surface filtering method that employs simultaneously the available depth estimates in a small local 

neighborhood while ensuring correct depth discontinuities by the inclusion of image constraints. The resulting 

high-quality, image-aligned depth maps proved an excellent match with Philips’ 3D displays. The researchers 

showed that using a robust surface estimation approach built on top of basic window-based matching techniques 

leads to impressive results. Several efficient implementations are being pursued towards embedding the presented 

algorithm in future commercial sets. 



A 470x235 ppi LCD for high-resolution 2D and 3D autostereoscopic display 

Nobuaki Takanashi and Shin-ichi Uehara, System Devices Research Laboratories, NEC Corp., Sagamihara 

Hideki Asada,, NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd., Kawasaki 

The NEC researchers suggested that 3D display developers face many challenges, particularly with regard to 

autostereoscopic 3D and 3D/2D convertibility. They suggested a solution that utilizes a novel pixel arrangement, 

called Horizontally Double-Density Pixels (HDDP). In this structure, two pictures (one for the left and one for the 

right eye) on two adjacent pixels form one square 3D 

pixel. This doubles the 3D resolution, making it as high 

as the 2D display and shows 3D images anywhere in 

2D images with the same resolution. NEC’s prototype 

polysilicon TFT LCD is lenticular lens-based, at 2.5inches 

diagonal inches, and at 320x2 (RL) x 480x3 

(RGB) resolution. As a 3D display, the horizontal and 

vertical resolutions are equal (235 ppi each). NEC 

verified the efficacy of the display with a broad user 

survey, which demonstrated a high acceptance of and 

interest in this mobile 3D display. The researchers 

reported that the display enables 3D images to be 

displayed anywhere and 2D characters can be made to 

appear at different depths with perfect legibility. No 

HDDP Arrangement: right and left-eye pixels combine to 

form a square. 

Image from NEC 

switching of 2D/3D modes is necessary, and a thin and 

uncomplicated structure and high brightness makes the 

design especially suitable for mobile terminals. 

Compression of still multiview images for 3D auto-multiscopic spatially-multiplexed displays 

Ryan Lau, Serdar Ince and Janusz Konrad, Boston University, Boston 

Auto-multiscopic displays are becoming a viable alternative to 3-D displays with glasses. However, since these 

displays require multiple views the needed transmission bit rate as well as storage space are of concern. This paper 

describes results of research at Boston University on the 

compression of still multiview images for display on 

lenticular or parallax-barrier screens. Instead of using 

full-resolution views, the researchers applied 

compression to band-limited and down-sampled views in 

the so-called “Ntile format”, (proposed by 

StereoGraphics). Using lower resolution images is 

acceptable since multiplexing at the receiver involves 

down-sampling from full view resolution anyway. They 

studies three standard compression techniques: JPEG, 

JPEG-2000 and H.264. While both JPEG standards work 

with still images and can be applied directly to an N-tile 

image, H.264, a video compression standard, requires N 

images of the N-tile format to be treated as a short video 

sequence. They presented numerous experimental results 

indicating that the H.264 approach achieves significantly 

better performance than the other three approaches 

studied. The researchers examined all three compression 

standards on 9-tile images, and based on their studies, 

Close-up of rectangular region from a multiplexed image 

before compression (on the left) and JPEG-compressed 

with a compression ratio of 40:1 (on the right). Note 

numerous artifacts in the compressed image; displayed 

on a SynthaGram SG222 screen, these artifacts result in 

objectionable texture and depth distortions. 

Image from Boston University 



proposed a “mirrored N-tile format” where individual tiles are transposed so as to assure maximum continuity in 

the N-tile image and thus improve compression performance. Results of the testing indicate that compressing 9-tile 

images gives better results than compressing multiplexed images, and that H.264 applied to 9-tile images gives the 

best performance. 

Predictive Coding of Depth Images across Multiple Views 

Yannick Morvan, Dirk Farin and Peter H. N. de With, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 

A 3D video stream is typically obtained from a set of synchronized cameras, which are simultaneously capturing 

the same scene (multiview video). This technology enables applications such as free-viewpoint video which allows 

the viewer to select his preferred viewpoint, or 3DTV where the depth of the scene can be perceived using a special 

display. Because the user-selected view does not always correspond to a camera position, it may be necessary to 

synthesize a virtual camera view. To synthesize such a virtual view, the researchers from the University of 

Eindhoven adopted a depth image-based rendering technique that employs one depth map for each camera. 

Consequently, a remote rendering of the 3D video requires a compression technique for texture and depth data. 

This paper presents a predictive coding algorithm for the compression of depth images across multiple views. The 

presented algorithm provides 

• an improved coding efficiency for depth images over block-based motion-compensation encoders (H.264) 

• a random access to different views for fast rendering. 

The proposed depth-prediction technique works by synthesizing/computing the depth of 3D points based on the 

reference depth image. The attractiveness of the depth-prediction algorithm is that the prediction of depth data 

avoids an independent transmission of depth for each view, while simplifying the view interpolation by 

synthesizing depth images for arbitrary view points. The researchers presented experimental results for several 

multiview depth sequences that result in a quality improvement of up to 1.8dB as compared to H.264 compression. 

Therefore, the presented technique demonstrates that that predictive-coding of depth images can provide a 

substantial compression improvement of multiple depth-images while providing random access to individual 

frames for real-time rendering. 

Application of Pi-cells in Time-Multiplexed Stereoscopic and Autostereoscopic LCDs 

Sergey Shestak and Daesik Kim, Samsung Electronics, Suwon 

The Samsung researchers investigated Pi-cell based polarization switches regarding their applications in both glass 

type and autostereoscopic LCD 3D displays. (Pi-cells are nematic liquid crystal optical modulators capable of 

electrically controllable birefringence). They found that Pi-cell should be divided into the number of individually 

addressable segments to be capable of switching synchronously with line-by-line image updates in order to reduce 

time-mismatch crosstalk. They discovered that the displayed stereoscopic image has unequal brightness and 

crosstalk in the right and left channels. The asymmetry of stereoscopic image parameters is probably caused by the 

asymmetry of rise/fall time, inherent in Pi-cells. Finally, they proposed an improved driving method capable of 

making the crosstalk and brightness symmetrical. Further, they demonstrated that a response time acceleration 

technique (RTA) developed for the reduction of motion blur, is capable of canceling the dynamic crosstalk caused 

by slow response of LCD pixels. 

The research revealed that if an LCD monitor is used in a stereoscopic system with conventionally driven shutter 

glasses, severe crosstalk (mixed left and right images) is seen across the almost entire screen. Even simple systems 

using passive polarizing glasses demonstrate the same high crosstalk. The crosstalk appears even if the monitor has 

a very short response times. 

The researchers further studied application of polarization switches based on Pi-cell in two different stereoscopic 

systems employing LCD image panels. Both stereoscopic systems are capable of displaying low crosstalk 

stereoscopic images at frame rates of 60 and 75Hz. The main problems of the studied systems are the time- 



mismatch crosstalk caused by low number of individually switchable segments in Pi-cell, the dynamic crosstalk 

caused by slow switching of liquid crystal cells and asymmetry of crosstalk and image brightness caused by the 

asymmetry in Pi-cell switching time. The researchers also found that the response time acceleration technique 

(RTA), developed for the reduction of motion blur, is capable of canceling the dynamic crosstalk, caused by slow 

response of LCD pixels. Experimentally, they discovered that the displayed stereoscopic image has unequal 

brightness and crosstalk in right and left channels -- probably caused by the asymmetry of rise/fall time, inherent in 

Pi-cells. They proposed to compensate the brightness and the crosstalk asymmetry in the left and right images by 

the adjustment of duty cycle of control signal. They further concluded that it is not adequate to simply extend the 

supported vertical frequency of LCD monitors to 100-120Hz. To provide low crosstalk flicker-less stereo, the 

overdrive levels should also be optimized for the canceling of crosstalk at higher operational frequency. 

The images on the left show a severe crosstalk problem inherent with autostereoscopic displays. After compensating for the 

crosstalk using RTA, the images on the right are markedly improved. The images also show a noticeable difference in 

brightness between the left and right images, probably due to the asymmetry of switching a Pi-cell. 

Switchable lenticular based 2D/3D displays 

Dick K.G. de Boer, Martin G.H. Hiddink, Maarten Sluijter, Oscar H. Willemsen and Siebe T. de Zwart, Philips 

Research Europe, Eindhoven 

The use of an LCD equipped with lenticular lenses is an attractive route to achieve an autostereoscopic multi-view 

3D display without losing brightness. However, such a display suffers from a low spatial resolution since the pixels 

are divided over various views. To overcome this problem Philips developed switchable displays, using LC-filled 

switchable lenticulars. In this way it is possible to have a high-brightness 3D display capable of showing the native 

2D resolution of the underlying LCD. Moreover, for applications in which it is advantageous to be able to display 

3D and 2D on the same screen, they made a prototype having a matrix electrode structure. 

A drawback of multi-view systems is that, since a number of pixels are used to generate the views, there will be a loss of 

resolution that is particularly clear if two-dimensional (2D) content is displayed. The left picture shows the image of a normal 

display, the picture at the right shows the same image with a lenticular placed in front of the display. Resolution loss is a 

common drawback of both lenticular and barrier technology. 



To compensate for the loss of spatial resolution, there is a desire for a concept that can switch from 3D mode to 2D 

mode. This can be achieved by using switchable barriers or birefringent lenticulars that are either switchable or 

polarization activated. The paper discusses the principles of lenticular-based 3D displays, as well as problems 

related to their usage. Philips has taken the approach to slant the lenses at a small angle to the vertical axis of the 

display to distribute the resolution loss into two directions. The resulting resolution loss is equal to a factor that is 

the square root of the number of views. 

Multi-view autostereoscopic display of 36 views using an ultra-high resolution LCD 

Byungjoo Lee, Hyungki Hong, Juun Park, HyungJu Park, Hyunho Shin, InJae Jung, LG.Philips LCD, Anyang 

LG.Philips reported on their development of an autostereoscopic multi view display with 36 views using a 15.1inch 

ultra-high resolution LCD. The resolution of LCD used for experiment is QUXGA – 3200x2400. RGB subpixels 

are aligned as vertical lines and size of each sub pixel is 0.032 mm by 0.096mm. Parallax barriers are slanted 

at the angle of tan-1(1/6) = 9.46 degree and placed before the LCD panel to generate viewing zones. Barrier 

patterns repeated approximately for every 6 pixels. So, the numbers of pixels decrease by six along the horizontal 

direction and the vertical direction. Nominal 3D resolution becomes (3200/6) x (2400/6) = 533 x 400. 

In slanted barrier configuration, the angular luminance 

profile for each zone overlaps each other. For the case of a 

2-view 3D system, cross-talk between left eye and right eye 

zone deteriorates 3D image quality. However for multiview 

3D, cross-talk between adjacent zones does not 

always bring about negative effects. The LG.Philips 

researchers changed the barrier conditions so that 

horizontal angles between each zone are different and 3D 

image qualities were compared. For each barrier condition 

of different horizontal angles between viewing zones, they 

found an acceptable range of 3D object depth and camera 

displacement between each zone. The researchers 

concluded that the smaller the viewing interval, the more 

narrow 3D viewing width becomes but the better 

perceptional resolution and the naturalness of 3D imaging. 

So the optimum design is necessary depending on target 

performance. 

The image on the left has a less narrow 3D viewing 

width compared to that of the image on the right, 

resulting in a better perceptional resolution of the 3D 

image quality. But it is a trade-off between the 3D 

viewing width and 3D perceptional resolution, as the 

image on the right provides a higher level of depth. 

Image from LG.Philips LCD 

Autostereoscopic Display with 60 Ray Directions using LCD with Optimized Color Filter Layout 

Takafumi Koike, Michio Oikawa, Kei Utsugi, Miho Kobayashi, and Masami Yamasaki, Hitachi, Ltd., Kawasaki 

Researchers at Hitachi reported about their development of a mobile-size integral videography (IV) display that 

reproduces 60 ray directions. IV is an autostereoscopic video image technique based on integral photography (IP). 

The IV display consists of a 2D display and a microlens array. The maximal spatial frequency (MSF) and the 

number of rays appear to be the most important factors in producing realistic autostereoscopic images. Lens pitch 

usually determines the MSF of IV displays. The lens pitch and pixel density of the 2D display determine the 

number of rays it reproduces. There is a trade-off between the lens pitch and the pixel density. The shape of an 

elemental image determines the shape of the area of view. Based on this co-relationship, Hitachi developed the IV 

display, which consists of a 5-inch 900-ppi LCD and a microlens array. The IV display has 60 ray directions with 4 

vertical rays and a maximum of 18 horizontal rays. They optimized the color filter on the LCD to reproduce 60 

rays, resulting in a resolution of 256x192 pixels and a viewing angle of 30 degrees. These parameters are sufficient 

for mobile game use. 



The design method optimizes the 

parameters of the IV display, 

consisting of three parts: increasing 

the 2D image frequency, increasing 

the number of rays without 

decreasing the image frequency, and 

optimizing the viewing area. The 

proposed color filter layout increases 

the number of rays without 

decreasing the image frequency. 

They claimed “The prototype is 

suitable for displaying realistic 

autostereoscopic images.” 

Development of SVGA resolution 128-directional display 

Kengo Kikuta and Yasuhiro Takaki, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 

Researchers from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology reported on their development of a 128directional 

display at 800x600 pixels, called a high-density directional (HDD) display. They previously had 

constructed 64-directional, 72-directional, and 128-directional displays in order to explore natural 3D display 

conditions to solve the visual fatigue problems caused by the accommodation-vergence conflict, and learned that 

spatial resolution was too low for comfortable viewing. The newly developed display consists of 128 small 

projectors each at 800x600 pixels; each with a separate LCoS device, using the field sequential technique is used to 

display color images. All 128 projectors are aligned in a modified 2D arrangement; i.e., all projectors are aligned 

two-dimensionally and their horizontal positions are made different from one another. All images are displayed in 

different horizontal directions with a horizontal angle pitch of 0.28º. The horizontal viewing angle is 35.7º, and 

screen size is 12.8 inches. The display is 

controlled by a PC cluster consisting of 

16 PCs. In order to correct image 

distortion caused by the aberration of 

imaging systems, images displayed on 

the LCoS devices are pre-distorted by 

reference to correction tables. 

Photographs of 3D images generated by the 128-directional display 

captured from different horizontal view points. 

Image from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 

Layout of color filters and lenses for prototype IV display 

Image from Hitachi 

The researchers noted that image 

intensity was low, because the light 

power of the illumination LED was not 

sufficiently high, and non-uniform 

intensity was observed in the 3D images. 

The 3D image intensity will increase by 

employment of higher power LEDs, and 

crosstalk will be reduced by adjusting 

the width of the apertures in the projector 

units. Interactive 3D image manipulation 

programs developed for the previous 

HDD display systems. The research was 

supported by the “Strategic Information 

and Communications R&D Promotion 

Program” from the Ministry of Internal 

Affairs and Communications, Japan. 


Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XIX 

Sponsored by 

IS&T 

Collaborate with industry leaders, researchers and developers 

in these fields: 

Autostereoscopic Displays 

Stereoscopic Cinema 

3D TV and Video 

Applications of Stereoscopy 

Volumetric Displays 

Stereoscopic Imaging 

Integral 3D Imaging 

2D to 3D Conversion 

Human Factors 

Stereoscopic Image Quality 

and much more at the principal venue in the world 

to see stereoscopic displays! 

Technical Presentations • Keynote Address • Discussion Forum • Demonstration 

Session • 3D Theater • Poster Session • Educational Short Course 

Conference Chairs: 

Andrew J. Woods, Curtin Univ. of Technology (Australia) 

Nicolas S. Holliman, Univ. of Durham (United Kingdom) 

John O. Merritt, The Merritt Group 

Stereoscopic Displays and Applications Conference 

and Demonstration: 28–30 January 2008 

Stereoscopic Displays and Applications Short Course: 27 January 2008 

See the Advance Program in November 2007. 

IS&T/SPIE 20th Annual Symposium 

27–31 January 2008 

San Jose Marriott and San Jose Convention Center 

San Jose, California USA 

electronicimaging.org 

www.stereoscopic.org

Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XIX 

28–30 January 2008 

San Jose McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, California, USA 

2008 Highlights 

Keynote Address 

Stereoscopic and Volumetric 3-D Displays Based on DLP ® 

Technology 

Dr. Larry Hornbeck, Texas Instruments 

Texas Instruments’ DLP ® technology enables both stereoscopic and volumetric 3-D 

imaging for a variety of markets including entertainment, medical imaging and 

scientific visualization. For the first time in history, stereoscopic 3-D entertainment is 

commercially viable and being implemented on a large scale. DLP Cinema ® projectors, 

equipped with enhanced stereoscopic functions, support a variety of 3-D digital 

cinema implementations. Today, approximately 20 percent of the more than 5,000 

DLP Cinema systems currently installed take advantage of this 3-D functionality. In 

the consumer HDTV market, DLP technology now enables 3-D display modes in DLP 

HDTVs, with more than 16 models entering the market in 2007. Innovators in the 

display industry are using DLP technology to advance displays from 2-D image 

planes to 3-D volumetric space. Interactive, volumetric DLP displays provide real-time 3-D information 

needed to perform complicated tasks, such as targeting cancer tumors in medical radiation therapy. This 

informative talk is designed to further the understanding of the role of DLP technology in the 3-D world. 

Topics include an introduction to DLP technology; the status of DLP technology in the 3-D home entertainment 

and theatrical markets; the primary attributes of DLP technology that uniquely enable single-projector 

solutions for stereoscopic 3-D entertainment and volumetric imaging applications; how systems designers 

are leveraging these attributes to optimize for key application-specific requirements; and some thoughts on 

the future of stereoscopic 3-D entertainment. 

Technical Presentations 

Hear presentations from Sony Pictures Imageworks, REAL D, Disney, In-Three, SeeReal, NEC, JVC, 

Actuality Systems, Hitachi, Philips Research, Nokia, Toshiba, Namco Bandai Games, and many 

many more. 

3D Theatre 

A two hour showcase of 

stereoscopic video and 

stereoscopic cinema 

work from around the 

around the world shown 

on the conference’s 

polarized stereoscopic 

projection systems. 

Demonstration Session 

See with your own two eyes a wide collection of 

different stereoscopic displays systems. There 

were over 30 stereoscopic displays on show at 

SD&A 2007—imagine how long it would take to 

see that many stereoscopic displays if it weren’t 

for this one session! 

Discussion Forum 

Hear industry leaders discuss a topic of interest to the whole stereoscopic imaging community. 

All that and more at Stereoscopic Displays and Applications 2008.


Interview with Greg Truman from ForthDD 

Greg Truman is managing director of Forth Dimension Displays. He has served in that 

position since the formation of CRLO Displays Ltd. in September 2004, and of its 

predecessor, CRL Opto, and led the successful fund raising that formed Forth Dimension 

Displays. He has also participated in the formation of new displays companies Opsys and 

AccuScene. Prior roles have included corporate development manager of Scipher plc, where 

he was part of the core team working on VC fund-raising (£5 million) and, subsequently, the 

IPO of the Company (raising £30 million) in February 2000. Earlier, Greg Truman held roles 

in sales, marketing, R&D project management and integrated circuit design within Thorn 

EMI, GEC and in a joint venture in Malaysia. Greg Truman has a BSc in Computer Science 

from the University of Hertfordshire. 

Please give us some background information about Forth Dimension Displays. Forth 

Dimension Displays develops, manufactures and supplies the world’s most advanced microdisplays using a 

proprietary, fast-switching liquid crystal technology. The company - previously named CRLO Displays Ltd - was 

formed in September 2004, funded by an “A” series round from Amadeus Capital Partners and Doughty Hanson 

Technology Ventures. The company is located in Dalgety Bay, Scotland across the River Forth from Edinburgh, 

with offices in California. In 2006, 82% of ForthDD’s rapidly-growing revenues were from products shipped to 

international (non-UK) customers, mostly to the US, Germany, and Japan. ForthDD’s proprietary, high-speed 

liquid crystal display and driver technology has major advantages in performance and cost. A portfolio of more 

than seventy patents protects ForthDD’s Time Domain Imaging (TDI) technology. 

What advantages do your ferroelectric devices have over competitive devices? The biggest advantage is that 

the technology is all digital. It processes images in the time domain (TDI) on a single chip, without RGB subpixels, 

separate RGB beams and optics, and without tilting mirrors. This combination allows both amplitude and 

phase modulated imaging. It provides 

high native resolution, full 24-bit color 

for showing high-speed motion. The 

very fast switching (100 times faster 

than nematic LC) characteristics of the 

ferroelectric LCD material offers 

benefits in a number of applications. 

The most relevant of these to Forth 

Dimension Displays is the ability to 

produce high performance, color 

sequential displays where it has major 

advantages in performance and cost. 

The technology is well-matched to the 

new LED and laser diode light sources. 

In addition, there are cost advantages: 

The single chip has no moving parts, so 

it is built using standard CMOS wafer 

processes. The absence of separate RGB 

light paths enables customers to use 

simpler, lower cost optics in their 

system integration. 

On the left is a cross-section of a liquid crystal-based microdisplay in 

operation. On the right is on of ForthDD’s microdisplay solutions. The 

company is focused on producing high-performance displays for near-toeye 

applications such as Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), which are often 

used to simulate scenarios that may be too dangerous or expensive to 

replicate in the real world. ForthDD is the world’s leading supplier of 

microdisplays into high-end immersive training and simulation HMDs. 



You recently made some sizable staff reductions as a result of strategic decision to shift the focus of your 

business. Tell us more. We decided that the prospects of success in the rear projection TV market were being 

determined more by the price reductions in LCD TV than by the ability of Forth Dimension Displays to meet the 

product specifications. Price decreases in LCD TVs have been far greater than any analyst forecast and this made it 

very difficult to compete with a “high performance, value” RPTV product proposition. Forth Dimension Displays 

already had an established reputation as the leading supplier of premium, high native resolution microdisplays in 

training and simulation systems for military and aerospace customers. The company’s business is expanding with 

products to customers in areas such as: 

• Confocal microscopy and image injection for medical diagnostic and surgical systems 

• Digital printing and imaging systems 

• High-resolution industrial metrology and process systems 

• Advanced 3D and holographic imaging systems 

So the decision was made to drop the RPTV market and focus on those markets where the prospects were better. 

Given your decision to withdraw from the rear projection TV market, can you share your thoughts about 

the future of RPTVs? A quick review of the news and forecasts from the RPTV market, since we withdrew, 

quickly shows that the pressure from LCD TV has continued to drive forecasts down and cause problems for those 

companies continuing to focus on that market. It is going to be very difficult for RPTVs to compete in anything 

other than the largest sizes (55 inch+) and emergent areas (e.g. 3D TV). Without some radical breakthrough, there 

seems little future for RPTV in the mainstream 36-42-inch diagonal TV market. 

Please share your opinions about the new class of “pico-projector” products. The pico-projection business has 

the prospect of being a large market in terms of unit volumes, the challenge will be achieving profitable 

manufacture of microdisplays/microdisplay chipsets at the low prices they will be sold at. 

So you’re now focusing all of your efforts on high-resolution near-to-eye devices. How big do you see this 

market? It is very difficult to know, as there is little good market data and it depends largely on whether you 

perceive that high-resolution near-to-eye (NTE) devices will ever penetrate the consumer market in high volumes. 

You are a fabless company, but still have semiconductor integration capabilities. Please tell us how your 

supply chain works. Actually, we are not really “fabless” but “partially fabless”; we receive silicon wafers 

manufactured on our behalf by a silicon foundry (the fabless bit) but do all subsequent processing (coating, 

laminate assembly, cell filling, mounting etc.) within our own Dalgety Bay manufacturing facility. This gives us a 

lot more flexibility and control versus trying to use a totally fabless approach and is one of our core strengths. 

Although ForthDD does not produce its own silicon wafers, their facility in Dalgety Bay, Scotland does all the processing 

(coating, laminate assembly, cell filling, mounting, etc), providing advantages related to quality and scheduling 



What is your current production capacity? Currently around 20,000 microdisplays per annum but we can 

increase capacity in Dalgety Bay to over 100,000 per annum should the market demand be there. 

In terms of improving performance, is there one area in which you are focusing your development efforts? 

The technology already performs extremely well in our key applications, so we are focused on making small 

improvements across the board (while trying not to introduce negative side effects) and reducing cost of ownership 

to allow our customers to expend their markets. 

Your current solutions are at 1280x1024 pixels. Do you see a need to move to higher resolutions? Yes, we 

expect to move from the current 1.3M pixel displays to 2M pixels and beyond. 

What are the pitfalls in moving to higher resolutions? Is it more than just a larger die size? The key 

challenges include the larger die size (or reduced pixel size) and the high data rates required. A high refresh rate 

(120Hz), 2M pixel display requires around 10 Gbits/second to be delivered to the display. 

What are the most promising applications for high-resolution near-to-eye devices? Forth Dimension Displays 

is the clear global market leader supplying high-resolution microdisplays for near-to-eye (NTE) devices in the 

training and simulation market and, right now, this is the best market for us. 

Do you see 3D as a big opportunity for Forth Dimension? It already is. We supply a lot of our systems for use 

in binocular, stereoscopic head mounted displays. 

Tell us one of your favorite customer satisfaction stories. I 

would prefer not to put words in our customer’s mouths – and 

suggest you contact Marc Foglia of NVis. We contacted Mr. 

Foglia, who provided these insights about ForthDD: 

“ForthDD has been our supplier for microdisplays since our 

company was founded in 2002, enabling NVIS to build an 

entire product line of high-resolution head-mounted and 

hand-held displays. While most microdisplay suppliers turn 

away low volume manufacturers, ForthDD (then CRL 

Opto) welcomed the opportunity to work with us. Over 

time, great suppliers start to feel more like partners, and 

ForthDD always treated NVIS as a partner. They made it 

clear to us that our success was an important part of their 

business. This was evident in their responsiveness to our 

requests for technical information, documentation, and at 

times, demanding delivery schedules. As a small 

manufacturer, our ability to support our customers is often 

tied to our suppliers’ support for us, and in this capacity our 

relationship with ForthDD has been vital to our success. 

We see a bright future together with ForthDD as both our 

businesses grow.” http://www.nvisinc.com. 

The NVis nVisor ST uses ForthDD’s highresolution 

ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon. 

The illumination scheme includes an RGB LED 

mounted on the top-face of a polarizing beam 

splitter prism. The microdisplay is illuminated by 

the light reflected off the polarizing beam splitter 

surface. Color is generated by the LED using an 

advanced color sequential algorithm that rapidly 

switches between red, green, and blue light which 

is synchronized with the pixels on the LCoS device 

to generate a 24-bit color image. 

Given your earlier financial troubles, when do you expect to reach profitability? We have not had any 

financial issues since the formation of CRLO Displays (later Forth Dimension Displays) in September 2004. We 

have always had positive cash in the bank and have very supportive investors/owners. We expect to achieve break 

even in late 2007 and move into sustained profitability in 2008. 

Please describe what you think Forth Dimension will look like three years from now. I would expect that we 

have grown substantially, are consistently profitable and cash generative and have a value that justifies our 

investors’ belief and investment in us. 



Interview with Ian Underwood from MED 

Ian Underwood is CTO and a co-founder of MED as well as co-inventor of its P-OLED 

microdisplay technology. Prior to 1999 he was at The University of Edinburgh where he 

carried out pioneering research and development in the field of liquid crystal microdisplays 

between 1983 and 1999. He is a Fulbright Fellow (1991), Photonics Spectra Circle of 

Excellence designer (1994), British Telecom Fellow (1997), Ben Sturgeon Award winner 

(1999), Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2003), Fellow of the Royal Society of 

Edinburgh (2004), and Gannochy Medal winner (2004). He is recognized worldwide as an 

authority on microdisplay technology, systems and applications. In 2005, Ian was named 

Professor of Electronic Displays at The University of Edinburgh. In addition to his fulltime 

post at MED, he sits on the Council of the Scottish Optoelectronics Association and 

the Steering Committee of ADRIA (Europe’s Network in Advanced Displays). He is coauthor 

of a recently released book entitled Introduction to Microdisplays. 

Please give us some background information about MED. MicroEmissive Displays 

(MED) is a leader in polymer organic light emitting diode (P-OLED) microdisplay technology. The company was 

founded in 1999 and has developed a unique emissive microdisplay technology by using a P-OLED layer on a 

CMOS substrate. In late 2004, MED floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange 

(AIM) following a fourth successful funding round, which raised £15.7M. Funding has been used for proof of 

principle, technology development and establishing pre-production facilities in Edinburgh, culminating in the first 

product release and commercial shipments of MED’s “eyescreen” microdisplays in December 2005. MED has been 

awarded ISO 9001:2000 registration for the research, design, development and marketing of digital microdisplay 

solutions and is working towards full accreditation in 2007. MED is headquartered at the Scottish Microelectronics 

Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland and its manufacturing site is in Dresden, Germany. The company employs 62 people 

and also has sales representatives and applications support located in Asia, the USA and Europe. 

Do you regard yourselves primarily as a display company or as a semiconductor company that happens to be 

making displays? MED is a displays company whose displays happen to use a CMOS active matrix backplane. 

So, like all microdisplay companies, our manufacturing and cost base is very semiconductor-like. 

Please provide an overview about your technology. MED’s eyescreen products are the world’s only polymer 

organic light emitting diode (P-OLED) microdisplays. The full color eyescreen combines superb TV quality 

moving video images that are free from flicker, with ultra-low 

power consumption, enabling greatly extended battery life for the 

consumer. This enhancement in battery usage time made possible 

by the eyescreen will play a vital role in the widespread adoption of 

portable head-sets for personal TV and video viewing in the 

consumer marketplace. The design of the eyescreen, with its 

integrated driver ICs and its digital interface, offers product design 

engineers a robust design-in solution for smaller, lighter weight, 

stylish products of the future, all for a size comparable with the 

pupil of the human eye. 

You are currently very close to offering a complete “display on 

a chip” in a CMOS process. What remains to achieve this goal, 

and what advantages are derived from offering a complete 

solution? Display-System-on-Chip (DSoC) means that the 

microdisplay component is the only high-value or active 

component required. MED’s eyescreen microdisplays offer 

MED builds its display devices on a CMOS 

active matrix device. This photo of a wafer 

shows how more than a hundred devices can be 

manufactured on a single die. 



emissive operation which is equivalent to having an “integrated” backlight. The use of a CMOS backplane allows 

the functionality of the display driver IC to be integrated. The display has a high level of integrated configurability 

such as brightness control, image orientation, frame rate, switching between digital data formats, down-scaling of 

incoming data stream, etc. 

More generally, what are the primary advantages of OLED microdisplays as compared to LC 

microdisplays? The primary advantages are: 

• Lower power equating to longer battery life 

• Higher contrast equating to a more vivid image 

• Higher pixel fill factor equating to higher perceived image quality 

In 2004, your display was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest color TV 

screen. Is this still true? Do you have plans to make even smaller displays? MED’s original display was the 

ME3201 (320x240 monochrome). The backplane of the ME3201 was used to create a color microdisplay – 

ME1602 (160x120 color) by applying color filters over a 2x2 array of monochrome pixels to create a single color 

pixel. ME1602 made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 and 2005. But Guinness has more 

records than they are able to put into the book each year so MED has not appeared in the book since 2005. 

As a CDT licensee, does CDT’s polymer OLED development work in large area displays translate without 

problem to your microdisplays? CDT is a developer and licensor of generic IP in polymer OLED technology. 

MED and CDT have worked very closely together to ensure that MED achieves the best possible implementation 

of that IP in its field of application. 

OLEDs generally face problems related to barrier layers to protect from moisture and oxygen. Do you face 

these same problems, or is it actually much simpler to adequately protect a microdisplay versus a larger 

display? All OLEDs must be encapsulated in order to ensure reliable performance by protecting the OLED layer 

from the detrimental effects of atmospheric oxygen and moisture. MED has developed an encapsulation strategy 

that is appropriate for, and compatible with, P-OLED microdisplays. 

In terms of definition, you currently show off 320x240 pixels. Since this is less than even standard TV, are 

you under any pressure to increase the resolution? 320xRGBx240 (QVGA color) is a typical definition for lowcost, 

low-power consumer video glasses. Viewing TV or video content from a personal DV player or iPod, users 

are normally satisfied with that. Even those who would prefer 

say VGA may not readily accept the additional cost, bulk and 

power consumption. 

What size do you typically achieve with regard to the 

“virtual” image? Does magnifying to larger sizes diminish 

the image quality? In other words is there some “sweet 

spot” related to device size and virtual image size? The 

virtual image is best described in terms of “Field of View” – 

the angle subtended at the eye by the diagonal of the image. 

The norm is to make the FoV as large as possible without the 

individual pixels becoming resolvable. (If individual pixels 

can be resolved, this reduces the perceived quality of the 

image). The appropriate FoV depends on a number of factors 

relating to the display, the system and the application; these 

include display definition and pixel fill factor. For eyescreen 

ME3204 the appropriate FoV is typically around about 20 

degrees. 

MED’s tiny eyescreen microdisplay with a 6 mm 

(0.24-inch) diagonal pixel array can be 

combined with magnifying optics to produce a 

large virtual image, that appears to the eye to be 

equivalent in dimensions to the picture on a TV 

screen or computer display. 



Your devices are entirely digital with no analog interface. Tell us about what this means in terms of 

cost/performance. The future is digital. MED has implemented two interface possibilities into eyescreen ME3204 

– CCIR 656 and serial RGB. An all-digital signal path maintains flexibility, reduces power and maintains best 

possible image quality. In the case of an application where the data source is analog, e.g. composite video, a low 

cost/power video pixel decoder can be used to convert incoming data to CCIR 656. 

Your eyescreen devices have recently been showcased in systems that utilize Qualcomm’s MDDI protocol. 

Why is this important and do other mobile standards (such as the MIPI standard) provide similar results? 

MDDI (Mobile Digital Display Interface) allows an all digital signal path and has provision for driving an external 

display. This realizes all of the benefits of eyescreen from a cell phone. The MDDI/eyescreen demo runs from the 

cell phone battery – it does not require an external battery box. 

Tell us about the markets you intend to address? MED is aiming specifically at consumer markets with existing 

or potential for high volume. Our first target is video glasses and we also plan to target electronic viewfinders for 

applications including digital cameras, video cameras and night vision systems. 

Mobile TV is still something of a question mark. Please give us your thoughts about this market. 3G took off 

in Korea and Japan, migrating to Europe then USA and onwards. Similarly, mobile TV is now taking off in Korea. 

If mobile TV takes off, what will entice users to consider near-to-eye devices that incorporate MED 

microdisplays? Considerations such as: 

• Enhanced viewing experience in any environment (e.g. bright sunlight or fluorescent light); the NTE 

device can be configured to block ambient light 

• Larger image than that available from cell phone or iPod or other pocketable device 

• Privacy (no one can look over your shoulder) 

• Consideration for others (what you are watching does not disturb the person sitting next to you in a 

plane or train) 

Tell us about your work related to developing 3D video glasses? MED worked with the EPICentre at the 

University of Abertay and Thales Optics (now Qioptiq) to develop a stereoscopic 3D headset using eyescreen 

microdisplays. That project, called EZ-Display, was sponsored by the UK Department of Trade and Industry and 

finished in 2006. 

One of the historical issues associated with near-to-eye devices is related to nausea. Adding 3D to the 

equation and it seems like you’ll need to add “sanitary bags” to your bill of material. What sorts of things 

can you do to minimize these inner-ear problems? MED is not a developer and manufacturer of video glasses. 

Optimization of the end product to provide a comfortable viewing experience rests with the system manufacturer. 

If someone already wears glasses, do they need to wear prescription video glasses? MED is not a developer 

and manufacturer of video glasses. Some video glasses can be worn over prescription spectacles and some cannot; 

some have focus adjustment and some do not; some could incorporate custom prescription lenses and some cannot. 

Your new manufacturing center in Dresden, Germany is a big step forward. When do you expect to have 

commercial products ready to ship from the facility? On 24th July 2007, MED announced that it had made its 

first production shipment from its Dresden manufacturing facility on schedule. 

Why did you choose to build in Dresden rather than in Edinburgh or elsewhere? Dresden was an ideal 

selection because it has the Fraunhofer IPMS at its heart and is at the very forefront of electronic innovation. We 

are very proud to be part of Silicon Saxony and are looking forward to sharing our success in such a vibrant 

technological and cultural center. 



Twenty Interviews 

Volume 2 just released! 

Interviews from Veritas et Visus newsletters – Volume 2 

+ 21st Century 3D, Jason Goodman, Founder and CEO 

+ Add-Vision, Matt Wilkinson, President and CEO 

+ Alienware, Darek Kaminski, Product Manager 

+ CDT, David Fyfe, Founder and CTO 

+ DisplayMasters, David Rodley, Academic Coordinator 

+ HDMI Licensing, Les Chard, President 

+ JazzMutant, Guillaume Largillier, CEO 

+ Lumicure, Ifor Samuel, Founder and CTO 

+ Luxtera, Eileen Robarge, Director of Marketing 

+ QFT, Merv Rose, Founder and CTO 

78 pages, only $12.99 


+ RPO, Ian Maxwell, Founder and Executive Director 

+ SMART Technologies, David Martin, Executive Chairman 

+ Sony, Kevin Kuroiwa, Product Planning Manager 

+ STRIKE Technologies, David Tulbert, Founder 

+ TelAztec, Jim Nole, Vice President – Business Development 

+ TYZX, Ron Buck, President and CEO 

+ UniPixel Display, Reed Killion, President 

+ xRez, Greg Downing, Co-founder 

+ Zebra Imaging, Mark Lucente, Program Manager 

+ Zoomify, David Urbanic, Founder, President, and CEO 



Shovelling data by Adrian Travis 

Educated at Cambridge University, Adrian Travis completed his BA in Engineering in 1984, 

followed by a PhD in fiber optic wave guides in 1987. With his extensive optics experience, he 

is now an internationally recognized authority on flat panel displays. He is a Fellow of Clare 

College and lectures at Cambridge University Engineering Department. He is the inventor of 

the “Wedge” and is now working to commercialize the product through the Cambridge spinout 

company Cambridge Flat Projection Displays, Ltd. (CamFPD). Adrian is also a cofounder 

and the chief scientist for Deep Light, a company that is planning to commercialize 

a high-resolution 3D display system. 

If we are serious about getting true 3D, then we need displays which modulate light in 

both azimuth and elevation and this implies enormous data rates. Suppose we want 100 

views in azimuth and elevation; then each pixel has to be in effect a miniature video 

projector with 100 by 100 pixels so our data rates will be 10,000 times those of a 

conventional flat panel display. 

This produces a dilemma: users want displays to be big, but big displays struggle to handle such high data rates 

because RC time constants tend to keep row addressing times at between two and four microseconds. Silicon 

microdisplays such as TI’s DMD and the ferroelectric LCOS devices from Displaytech and Forth Technologies 

easily manage binary frame rates in the range of 2-5 kHz but then they are too small. 

The obvious solution is to use projection but instead of one microdisplay, we will need 100 microdisplays running 

at 5 kHz if we are to increase data rates by a factor of 10,000 and that sets out the starting conditions for the 3D 

designer – how now are we to connect all these devices? 

RISC (Reduced Instruction Set) processors brought important advances in computing when processor architects 

realised that they did better by make their devices simple in order to increase clock speed, and perhaps the same 

might help with microdisplays. After all, both micro-mirrors and ferroelectric liquid crystals can switch at 40 kHz 

or so when addressed at several volts and the frame rate tends instead to be limited by the number of lines times the 

line-address time. Suppose that we make a “Reduced Microdisplay” by lowering the number of lines from 500 to 

100; then the frame rate might get up towards 30 kHz which equals the line rate of a conventional 2D display with 

500 lines. The significance off this is that we could display 3D images line by line and this might greatly simplify 

the optics. 

Our ideal 3D display should have a wide field 

of view and 100 views should suffice to span 

100 º , but lenses with that angular range tend to 

be bulky and expensive. A ball lens, for 

example, can collimate light from any angle 

because of its spherical symmetry but a ball lens 

the size of a television would be unthinkable. 

However, if we are displaying images line by 

line, then our optical system need be only one 

pixel thick so the ball lens can be replaced by a 

disc as shown: 

Stephen Benton used spinning prisms to synthesize his famous holographic video line by line and is reported to 

have been eager to get away from moving parts. But line-scanning displays have been demonstrated by several 

independent teams as a strategy for simplifying the display of 2D images. 



A particularly successful concept seems to have been 

that in which the emission from a line projector was 

passed into a slab light-guide, then piezo-electrics were 

used to push gratings into the evanescent field, one line 

at a time. The gratings eject the light from the lightguide 

and need only move a few microns to switch on 

and off which sounds easy until one looks through a 

right-angled prism and tries to push an object in and 

out of the evanescent field at the hypotenuse. Except in 

dust free conditions, most solid objects cannot get close 

enough while fluids such as water work only too well 

and are reluctant to release. This brings me to the 

reason why I wrote this article: a few days ago, I tried a 

pencil rubber and that works fine, even in my filthy 

laboratory. 




3D camera for medicine and more 

Matthew Brennesholtz is a senior analyst at Insight Media. He has worked in the display 

field since 1978 in manufacturing, engineering, design, development, research, application 

and marketing positions at GTE/Sylvania, Philips and General Electric. In this time he has 

worked on direct view and projection CRTs, oil film light valves and systems, TFT LCD 

microdisplays and systems, DMD systems and LCoS imagers and systems. He has 

concentrated on the optics of the display itself, the display system and display 

instrumentation. He has also done extensive work on the human factors of displays and the 

relationship between the broadcast video signal and the image of that signal as displayed. 

More details on this promising market segment and many other conclusions are included in 

Insight Media’s “3D Technology and Markets: A Study of All Aspects of Electronic 3D 

Systems, Applications and Markets”. This article is reprinted with permission from Insight 

Media’s Display Daily on August 8, 2007. 

by Matt Brennesholtz 

On August 8, Avi Yaron and Joe Rollero of Visionsense visited Insight Media headquarters in Norwalk, 

Connecticut to demonstrate their 3D camera technology. This micro-miniature camera technology can be expected 

to appear in medical equipment, primarily for minimally invasive surgery (MIS), in mid-2008. 

3D MIS has been well received by doctors, at least in principle. According to Yaron, the Intuitive Surgical system 

has been especially well received. Unfortunately this system is very large and very expensive, even by the 

standards of medical equipment, which has limited its sales and penetration into the minimally invasive surgery 

market. Currently, minimally invasive surgery represents only about 15% of all surgery. One of the limits on MIS 

is based on the difficulty of doing surgery with only 2D images. 

The basic Visionsense technology uses a single sensor, which can be a CMOS or CCD imager. Their “Punto” 

detector, shown in the photo with a camera containing the detector, has a diagonal of 3.3 mm. The sensor has a 

microlens and a color filter array applied to it in a manner much like an 

autostereoscopic LCD panel. In an autostereoscopic display, this produces two 

or more “sweet spots” for the pupils of the eyes to receive different images. In 

the camera configuration, the system essentially runs backwards and the two 

sweet spots become the interpupillary distance for the 3D camera. This single 

sensor approach can produce very small cameras. The relatively large physical 

size of other 3D camera offerings with two sensors for medical applications has 

limited their use in MIS. Visionsense has five granted patents on the technology 

plus numerous other patents pending, according to Yaron. 

This arrangement provides an interpupillary distance of about 1/2 to 2/3 the imager diagonal. This provides stereo 

images out to about 20 to 30 times the interpupillary distance, or in the case of the Punto chip, out to an inch or 

two. While this is enough for many MIS applications, when it is not enough there are two approaches to increase 

the stereo range. First, you can use a larger image sensor, and Visionsense is working on a high-resolution sensor 

6.8 mm in diameter. If that doesn’t provide a large enough interpupillary distance for an application, prisms can be 

used in the pupil plane to separate the two pupils as necessary. 

Visionsense is developing the camera sensor, camera module including optics and electronics and support software. 

They demonstrated for me both pre-recorded 3D video of actual medical procedures and live 3D video coming 

from a sample camera containing the Punto sensor. Yaron emphasized that Visionsense was display technology 

neutral and the final display for any medical instrument using Visionsense technology would be chosen by the 

Visionsense customers, not by Visionsense itself. Their technology has been used as an image source with 



MacNaughton, Planar and Philips 3D displays and could be used with any other 3D display technology as well. 

They have also used single and dual projector installations for demonstrations at medical trade shows, for example. 

One interesting software tool Visionsense has developed is called Image Fusion. This tool takes an image from a 

3D source such as an MRI or CAT scan and warps it to overlay the live 3D image from the camera. The system 

shows the fused image on the surgeon’s 3D monitor. This would allow the surgeon to see, for example, how far 

away his tools are from the spinal cord while doing disc surgery, even if the cord is not yet visible in the camera 

image. 

After leaving Insight Media, Yaron and Rollero were heading up to Boston for several scheduled meetings. While 

Yaron would not disclose any customers or potential customers at this point, he said it was necessary to visit both 

potential Visionsense customers in the medical equipment business and potential end users in hospitals. Medical 

equipment manufacturers are unlikely to commit to designing and building a piece of equipment using new 

technology until the concept and the design has been blessed by doctors. Therefore, it’s necessary for Visionsense 

to visit end users as well as medical equipment manufacturers. 

No medical equipment is currently on sale using Visionsense cameras. Yaron expects this to change in mid-2008, 

however. At that point he expects FDA-approved medical equipment containing Visionsense technology to appear 

on the market. While Visionsense is currently focused on medical systems, Yaron eventually expects there will be 

non-medical applications for the technology as well. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


as Hollywood rushed to embrace 3D only to see it abandoned very quickly due to shortcomings in the technology 

and resultant image quality. 

Today’s 3D cinema technology is vastly superior and image quality is quite good. But creating a good 3D movie 

takes a lot of effort and special skills to add just the right “Dimensionalization” on a scene-by-scene basis. There 

are skilled people to do this, but there are also more than a dozen studios gearing up to do 3D movies. Is there 

enough talent and training available to ensure these projects produce high quality content? A bad 3D 

implementation of a first run movie can have a disproportionate impact on the impression it creates with the 

viewing public about 3D. 

Another area of concern is content conversion from 2D to 3D. Games and other computer generated graphics 

content with a 3D database behind them could fare well in conversion to stereoscopic 3D. But so far, gaming 

content developers have merely converted 2D games to 3D games. What is needed are 3D games that take 

advantage of the ability to hide or reveal objects that may not be visible in a 2D version. This will create a real 

reason to own a 3D game. 

Converting 2D still images to S-3D is not too hard, but converting 2D video is tough. Doing it offline where 

professionals can adjust and tweak is the preferred, and expensive, approach but there is a huge pull to do it 

automatically in real time. Most of real time demos I have seen of 2D to 3D conversion have not been very 

compelling. In fact, some are not good at all. We need to be careful in how fast we roll out these solutions so as not 

to create bad impressions of 3D that will take years to reverse. 

And let’s not forget the hardware implementation of 3D display systems. Even at trade shows dedicated to 3D, I 

have seen demos that are of poor quality or even set up incorrectly. If the people who are trying to sell 3D can’t 

configure it properly or create compelling demos, that’s a problem. Case in point: autostereoscopic 3D displays are 

ones that do not require glasses to see the 3D effect. To do this, the technology requires that you trade off image 

resolution in order to enable multiple viewing zones across a fairly wide field of view. One clear lesson with using 

such displays is to limit content to low-resolution images such as icons or larger graphic elements. 

At S-3D, I saw one demo that was showing SD resolution video on an autostereoscopic display. As expected, the 

video was so compromised it looked like it was out of focus. Also, the viewing zones were so narrow that it was 

difficult to find and keep the image in full stereo. 

Other demos showed large rainbow patterns and similar difficulties in visually acquiring the image. Another 

common mistake is reversing the left and right images when coupled to the polarization filtering glasses. This 

creates a stereo image, but it looks funny and will create eye strain. How can manufacturers ensure this doesn’t 

happen? There are no standards or methods that I know of. 

And, 3D needs to recreate, as much as possible, the way we see the world. You cannot see stereo pairs when 

looking at objects beyond 50 feet or so, so don’t try to add dimension to these long distance shots - it looks wrong. 

And, when moving your head laterally around a stereo display, don’t maintain the same object orientation as you 

move. That’s not how it works in the real world. Finally, making objects jump out at you may work in a theme park 

3D experience, but not if you want to use the 3D display for extended periods. 

The bottom line: while we have to solve the technology part, we can’t sell the technology to the consumer. It’s 

about the application. Let’s stop being obsessed with the technology and focus on making the applications for the 

technology to work. Once it is easy to use and offers a clear benefit over 2D, 3D will be adopted. But let’s not be 

too over-anxious to roll out 3D systems either. Bad implementations create a poor impression and a backlash that 

could take years, maybe decades to reverse. 



8:15 AM 

8:40 AM 

9:05 AM 

Rob de Vogel, Sr. Director Business Creation 

Philips 3D Solutions 

Jeremy Tear, Consultant/Partner 

GGT Consultants Ltd. 

Keith Fredericks, CTO 

Newsight 

Tuesday, September 18, 2007 

Session 1: 3D Public Displays 

Leveraging 3D Digital Signage into 3D 

Entertainment 

Does 3D Advertising Increase Brand Retention? 

3D Digital Signage Solutions 

Panel Discussion - Moderator: Chris Yewdall, CEO, DDD 

Session 2: Stereoscopic 3D for Gamers 

Neil Schneider, President & CEO 

10:10 AM Taking Stereoscopic 3D Gaming to the Next Level 

Meant To Be Seen (MTBS) 

Tarek El Dokor, CTO 

10:35 AM New Ways in Game-Human Interface 

Edge 3 Technologies 

Richard Marks, Manager of Special Projects 

11:00 AM TBA 

Sony Computer Entertainment of America 

11:25 AM Panel Discussion - Moderator: Arthur Berman, Analyst, Insight Media 

1:00 PM 

1:25 PM 

1:50 PM 

2:15 PM 

3:00 PM 

3:25 PM 

4:10 PM 

4:35 PM 

Matthew Brennesholtz, Sr. Analyst 

Insight Media 

Lenny Lipton, CTO 

RealD 

Dave Seigle, President/CEO 

InThree, Inc. 

John Carey, Vice President of Marketing 

Dolby Laboratories 

Aaron Parry, Executive Producer 

Paramount Pictures 

Jim Mainard, Head of Production Development 

Dreamworks Animation 

Session 3: 3D Digital Cinema 

Prospects for 3D Digital Cinema 

Next Steps in the 3D Cinema Revolution 

Trade-Offs in 2D to 3D Conversion 

Stereoscopic Technology Options for 3D Digital 

Cinema 

Challenges to 3D Filmmaking 

Authoring in Stereo: Rewriting the Rules of Visual 

Story Telling 

Panel Discussion - Moderator: Chris Chinnock, President, Insight Media 

Thomas Ruge, Representative of the Americas 

Holografika 

Alex Corbett, Sr. Engineer 

Light Blue Optics 

Session 4: Novel 3D Technologies 

Light Field Reconstruction Approach to 3D 

Displaying 

Steerable Holographic Backlight for 3D Autostereo 

Displays 

Exhibits Open to Conference Attendees only 5:00-8:00; Networking Session 5:45-8:00 



Wednesday, September 19, 2007 

Session 5: 3D TV 

Arthur Berman, Analyst 

8:15 AM 

Insight Media 

3D in the Home 

Chris Yewdall, CEO 

8:40 AM 

DDD 

3D TV - Crossing the Chasm 

David Naranjo, Director, Product Development 

9:05 AM 

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America 

Educating Retailers & Consumers on 3D TVs 

Nicholas Routhier, President 

9:30 AM 

Sensio 

Joining Forces: Is a 3DTV Consortium 

Needed? 

Panel Discussion - Moderator: John Merritt, CTO, Merritt Group 

Session 6: 3D Visualization 

Paul Singh 

10:35 AM 

Albany Medical College 

Minimally Invasive Surgery 

Ronald Enstrom, President & CEO 

11:00 AM 

The Colfax Group 

Geospatial Analysis 

James Oliver, Director VRAC 

11:25 AM 

Iowa State University 

Fully Immersive Ultra-High Resolution Virtual 

Reality 

Johnny Lawson, Director of Visualization 

11:50 AM 

Louisiana Immersive Tech Enterprise 

Bringing Immersive Visualization into the 

Light: The Challenges and Opportunities 

Creating the LITE Center 

Panel Discussion - Moderator: André Floyd, Marketing Manager, Sony Electronics 

Exhibits Open to Public 10:00 to 3:00 PM 

Special Screening at Dolby (Buses leave for Dolby at 3:15 and 3:30 PM) 

http://www.3dbizex.com 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


• I recently had the opportunity to visit a lab where I saw a demonstration of 3D LCD displays, 3D LCD 

TV and a 3D LCD gaming console. The images were astonishing. The images did appear to jump out 

into mid-air and it made for the most exciting video game realism I had ever seen. 

• I know the director of a major medical facility here in Southern California who expressed definite 

interest in 3D LCD displays for their medical imaging applications. He said he thought this new state-ofthe-art 

technology is important for 3D and 4D ultrasound and other applications. 

• I know computer products distributors who are looking for the most advanced display systems available 

and who also represent the niche known as “specialty displays”. For them, 3D display technology is a 

no-brainer. It is not a matter of if, but when, they can launch new 3D products. 

• In my travels and research I had the pleasure of meeting one of the VPs of a major multi-billion dollar 

aerospace company. He considers advanced 3D LCD and widescreen panoramic displays to be 

important for their government, military and aerospace applications. 

• The gaming market itself has now grown so fast that the computer industry is now taking it seriously, 

whereas previously it was regarded mostly as just a small market for youth. It has grown to be an 

established major market for consumers of all ages. 3D is considered to be an essential part of this 

growing market. 

3D display technology is the next big thing: 3D is the next logical step in the technology cycle. Imagine the 

excitement of a truly immersive experience in which you take your family to the theater and you watch an action 

adventure movie with 3D images along with the great Dolby sound systems we have. Now you feel like you are 

taking part in the action for the images are more real. Now imagine having one of these systems in your home – as 

part of your home theater or home PC system. Soon you will be able to do just that. 

Advice to OEMs planning on 3D technology: Now it is just a matter time before OEMs take their technology and 

form tactical plans to execute and build market momentum. It looks like the next CES show this January will be 

more exciting than ever. 

Make sure you do the basics well. The basics are fundamental product fulfillment skills that deliver the 

product to you quickly and in good working order. They are: 

• A quality product line. The supplier should follow the products and trends and offer a range of quality 

products to meet the OEM customer’s particular needs. 

• Responsiveness to inquiries and good communication. Nobody likes calling, leaving a message and then 

waiting a day or two for a call back, especially if they are thinking of spending money with you. 

• Easy ordering. Your OEM customers don’t want to have to undertake an extensive treasure hunt to find 

the products they need. Also, how easy are you to do business with? If there is a stack of paperwork 

required this can be a disincentive to the OEM customer and frequently OEMs prefer companies that are 

easy to work with and have minimal paperwork or costly delays. 

• On-time order delivery. Slow product delivery can slowly usher an OEM or a supplier out of business. 

It’s taken for granted as a no-brainer, however, that this is one of the basics many competitors fail at and 

other leaders succeed at: on-time delivery. This is important and OEM customers appreciate it and show 

it with more orders. Fast, friendly and value-added service. 

Make sure you have the differentiators OEMs need. This is where the intangibles come in strongly. 

OEM differentiators are those things that you do to make sure you present the best solution for the problem or 

need for the OEM. Being good at these requires solution experience, technical knowledge as well as an 

understanding of their specific needs and a strong relationship connection with the OEM – not just 

understanding the needs of a similar customer. OEMs look for suppliers that differentiate themselves in terms of 

business philosophy, experience and knowledge in their area of need, and post-sales practices and support. 





3D maps – a matter of perspective? 

by Alan Jones 

In 1492, Columbus first set off to the west in an attempt to get to Asia. For centuries before and after there was a 

debate about whether the Earth was round or flat. Columbus’ feats succeeded in adding fuel to the debate because 

he did not circumnavigate the world and left open the possibility that the world was flat, if a little bigger. The Flat 

Earth Society continued the debate until the late 20th century when some photographs taken from Space provided a 

rather uncomfortable truth for them that the world was indeed round. 

But is it? I have been playing with Microsoft’s Virtual Earth and Google Earth. Both are relatively straight-forward 

to use. I found the Google Earth interface a little easier to navigate while the Virtual Earth interface was what one 

could describe as more lay-person friendly. From an image point of view both are rich in content although Google 

Earth provides more support information which can become obtrusive if not turned off. 

Spending what time I have with each of them has posed some thoughts and questions, which might generate some 

comments from you, our readers. Take the Statue of Liberty as an example. A 2D image looks pretty convincing 

that the Statue is indeed a 3D object. But is all we are seeing correct? The left-hand image is the option the “bird’s 

eye” view – a photograph taken with perspective. The center image is the map data, which gives the illusion that 

the Statue is not there, although there is a shadow! If we rotate the image, as in the right image, then the Statue 

comes into view, but where has it come from? 

With the high profile that New York enjoys it is not really a surprise that a great deal of effort has gone into 

maximizing the representation of the city. Not least of these efforts is the 3D modeling of the New York skyline, 

including the Statue of Liberty. On the left is the Virtual Earth image which clearly shows the statue while on the 

right is a similar Google Earth image – but oh, where is the Statue?! 



If we go somewhere less glamorous, then what do we see? Blackpool was famous in the 20th century as a place for 

“Sea, Sun and Fun”. It is positioned on the north-west coast of the UK and was a favorite summer haunt for the 

mill-workers out of the Lancastrian cotton mills. In the hey-day of the mills, technology was defined by the 

Spinning Jenny and Water Frame – much “beloved” by the Luddites! As a tourist attraction, Blackpool has a Tower 

which is modeled on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I have chosen this place because I suspect that there would be little 

incentive to focus 3D imagery resources on such a small town. 

In the image on the left, the Tower in Blackpool can just be made out. Rotate to the horizon and the Tower 

has disappeared, but not the shadow! 

A favorite place for both our publisher and me is Stonehenge. Trying the same test as before, in the Virtual Earth 

images, we loose those magnificent Preseli Bluestones when we rotate to the horizon, 

Virtual Earth views of Stonehenge are shown in these two images, but note the tilted view loses the sense of depth 



The Google Earth team tried to preserve the depth image of the stones with a 3D overlay, but unfortunately they are 

about 30 feet to the east of where they should be. 

Google Earth images are shown in the above images, where height is maintained, but not the correct position. 

Finally, let’s take a look at the highest place on earth, Mount Everest – depicted in Virtual Earth in the top two 

images and in Google Earth in the bottom two images: 



I guess that there is so much depth involved in a photograph of Mount Everest; we cannot fail to be impressed by 

the imposing images. 

Summary: From my short time looking at these 3D maps, the conclusion is that we do not yet have the rich 3D 

data source in the “real” world that we have in the virtual worlds created inside computers by games, medical 

imaging, modeling, etc. However we should be confident that this need will be satisfied over time as the capability 

to capture depth information with increasing detail is deployed in volume. What is not so clear is that we shall get 

the compelling 3D displays that will allow us to exploit that rich information source as and when it becomes 

available. 

Postscript: Regular readers will know that I take pride in our old thatched cottage (built in 1766 – about the time 

the Spinning Jenny was being invented!). The outside has been used many times in this and other sources, but what 

does it look like in Virtual Earth and Google Earth? 

But when we do a 3D rotation, there is no depth. Maybe I live on a Flat Earth after all! 

Alan Jones retired from IBM in 2002 after 35 years of displays development, marketing and product management. He 

was a frequent speaker at iSuppli and DisplaySearch FPD conferences. 



PC vs. Console – Has the mark been missed? 

Neil Schneider is the president & CEO of Meant to be Seen (http://www.mtbs3D.com). He 

runs the first and only stereoscopic 3D certification and advocacy group. MTBS is nonproprietary, 

and they test and certify video games for S-3D compatibility. They also 

continually take innovative steps to move the S-3D industry forward through education, 

community development, and member driven advocacy. 

I’d like to point you all to this article I read online recently that has me feeling very 

conflicted. It is an interview summary with Mr. Roy Taylor, nVidia’s VP of Content 

Relations. (http://www.tgdaily.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=33143). 

There are three things happening here that don’t make a lot of sense to me: 

by Neil Schneider 

1. He is claiming that players have switched to consoles over PCs for gaming. 

2. He strongly believes that the PC innovation that will drive the PC gaming market 

share are high-resolution screens. 

3. He thinks that it is acceptable for a good game to require a $20,000 (yes, twenty THOUSAND) dollar PC. 

I found this article troubling for a number of reasons. First, and most importantly, it doesn’t make any business 

sense to me. 

Yes, console games are very successful, and they will continue to be very successful. Back in my day, computers 

and consoles lived happily ever after with Coleco Vision, Atari, Commodore, Apple, Amiga, and so on. In fact, it 

wasn’t the consoles catching up to computers, it was computers catching up to – and surpassing – the consoles! So, 

like a fine wine connoisseur, there will always be a market for those who like to buy their white in a box, and their 

red in a bottle. The PC market is the bottle market, and Mr. Taylor is at least correct in recognizing that. 

Now, he is very much correct that to continue to reap the benefits of superior game developer attention, the PC 

market has to differentiate itself from the console market. Unfortunately, his mindset is based on a myth that 

believes a console can only plug in to the living room HDTV. I’m sorry, Roy, but monitors are not PC ONLY 

equipment, and if nVidia’s marketing strategy is to say “Hey, we are after games that display on LCD panels”, they 

are in for a shock! 

In fact, I think this is a very dangerous strategy because it gambles the PC market’s success on a relatively boring 

piece of equipment – the flat 2D monitor. It amazes me that the biggest idea the industry can think of is a higher 

resolution. It just doesn’t strike me as a major breakthrough worth paying top dollar for now that HDTV is 

commonplace. 

The article hints at having PC games with extra levels and more artistic quality, but where is the innovation? Who 

cares? Here’s the real problem - since when is $20,000 for a PC acceptable? Sure, if you want an Octo-SLI set-up 

with a CPU farm rendering your video game in your garage while your wife is threatening to run you over as you 

chant “serenity now, serenity now”, I guess that’s an option. 

Suppose the hardware manufacturers do manage to sell a modest number of these $20K machines. Can you think of 

a single game developer who would think to develop and market to such a small, boring market place? 

Let’s face facts, the PC gaming market is the industry’s dirty little secret. While the average consumer may be 

impressed by the words “Dual Core” or “Intel Inside”, it’s the video games that give customers the annual excuse to 

upgrade their computer and feed the industry’s families. The PC dollar value has to be something that every day 

consumers can swallow, and still offer a competitive advantage over their console counterpart. 



The good news is the solution is right under nVidia’s noses. For those of you reading this newsletter, it’s no 

surprise that stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) is the thrilling technology used in 3D movie theaters like IMAX 3D, RealD, 

and Dolby Labs. Everyone is jumping on board, including Dreamworks Animation, James Cameron, George Lucas, 

and more. When millions of moviegoers see Star Wars in re-mastered S-3D, they won’t need to be educated on 

what true 3D gaming is in video games. 

With the exception of speed, nVidia’s only competitive advantage right now is their stereoscopic 3D support for 

video games. While we are very excited to see that nVidia is continuing to develop these drivers, it’s time for 

nVidia to put more public focus and private money into it. Their stereoscopic 3D development team is going to be 

the lifeblood of that company much sooner than later, and they should have every resource needed to be successful. 

It’s not just about nVidia. iZ3D has developed proprietary drivers that work on both nVidia and AMD/ATI graphics 

cards, and they further support post-processing effects in 3D like never before seen. 

If you spent $5,000 on a computer (which is high), and your neighbor spent $400 on his console, how are you going 

to wow him to your house? Give him a pair of 3D glasses, and he won’t be mowing the lawn for months. THAT’S 

what the PC industry needs right now, and THAT’S what game developers want to hear. None of this rubbish about 

high-resolution monitors that no one cares about. 

Like oil riches being drained from the ground, the PC market understands that time is ticking for the next 

defendable business breakthrough in gaming, but unlike the world’s energy crisis, the solution is right in front of 

our eyes and in movie theaters across the country. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


3D DLP HDTVs – all is revealed! 

Andrew Woods is a research engineer at Curtin University’s Centre for 

Marine Science & Technology in Perth, Australia. He has nearly 20 years of 

experience in the design, application, and evaluation of stereoscopic video 

equipment for industrial and entertainment applications. He is also co-chair of 

the annual Stereoscopic Displays and Applications conference – the world’s 

largest and longest running technical stereoscopic imaging conference. 

by Andrew Woods 

Samsung released their range of “3D Ready” DLP HDTVs in April, 

Mitsubishi released theirs in June, Texas Instruments publicly revealed the 

3D format that these HDTVs accept in late August, i-O Display systems 

Photo: Mark Coddington 

released wireless 3D glasses suitable for these 3D HDTVs early this month, 

and PC software which supports the format of these new 3D HDTVs is also becoming available. All the pieces are 

slotting together for high-quality stereoscopic 3D viewing, and the marking push is beginning. 

Samsung “3D Ready” HDTV from 

http://product.samsung.com/dlp3d 

HDMI cable). Switch the display to “HDMI 3” (by 

pressing the source button), and then enable 3D mode 

by pressing the “3D” button on the remote control. 

For a full list of the “3D Ready” HDTV models 

available from Samsung and Mitsubishi: 

http://www.3dmovielist.com/3dhdtvs.html 

There have been a number of 3D formats around for 

some time (e.g. row-interleaved, column interleaved, 

over-under, side-by-side, time-sequential), but the 3D 

format that these 3D HDTVs accept is something 

different – a checkerboard pattern. That is, the native 

resolution image sent to the display consists of an 

alternating checkerboard pattern of pixels from the 

left perspective and right perspective images (as 

indicated by letters “L” and “R” in Figure 1). The 

display internally converts this checkerboard pattern 

Firstly, a short technology recap: these “3D Ready” HDTVs 

are capable of displaying 120Hz time-sequential stereoscopic 

3D images and video providing high-resolution flicker-free 

3D viewing. The viewer wears a pair of liquid crystal shutter 

(LCS) 3D glasses that switch in synchronization with the 

sequence of left and right perspective images displayed on 

the screen (at 120 images per second). All of the “3D ready” 

displays are based on DLP technology from Texas 

Instruments, offer either 1080p or 720p resolution, and all are 

rear-projection TVs (of a new extremely slim design). 

Equipment setup is quite simple – plug in a pair of VESA 

3-pin compatible LCS 3D glasses into the “3D Sync” 

connector on the rear of the 3D HDTV. Connect the DVI 

output of an appropriate PC (running suitable 3D-capable 

software) to “HDMI input 3” on the display (using a DVI-to- 

Figure 1: 3D DLP checkerboard pattern for a 

1920x1080 native resolution display 



into a 120Hz time-sequential image that is viewed using LCS 3D glasses. 

The reason for using the checkerboard pattern relates to the way that these displays work. They use a process TI 

calls “Smoothpicture” or “Wobulation” to achieve a full-resolution image from a half-resolution DMD (Digital 

Micromirror Display) panel. Each 60Hz full frame is displayed as two sub-frames (at 120 sub-frames per second). 

This has similarities to the way that interlacing works but is also quite different in many ways. With reference to 

Figure 1, in the first sub-frame all the “L” designated pixels are displayed, and in the second sub-frame all the “R” 

designated pixels are displayed – at 120 sub-frames per second. The position of the image is wobbled between subframes 

so they are slightly spatially offset. This “wobulation” process was already being used in last year’s range of 

DLP TVs, just for 2D display – as mentioned earlier, to achieve a full-resolution image from a half-resolution 

panel. The DMD is perfect for this since it can switch between states extremely fast – it has no phosphor 

persistence, it has an ultra-fast pixel response time, and can generate a black period. Someone in TI obviously 

realized this feature set had possibilities for 3D display. Two discrete images, shown at 120 Hz, with a black period 

– perfect for 3D! And this 3D function can be added at almost zero additional cost (over what was already being 

done for 2D display in last year’s models). A match made in heaven! 

TI recently published a paper (“Introducing DLP 3-D TV” by David Hutchison, available at 

http://www.dlp.com/3d, which summarizes the 3D image format that these new displays accept. In that document 

they have said that the checkerboard format “preserves the horizontal and vertical resolution of the left and right 

views providing the viewer with the highest quality image 

possible with the available bandwidth”. This is not entirely 

true – the total resolution per eye is half that of the full native 

display resolution. The “pixel” layout of each sub-frame is 

shown in Figure 2. Each diamond represents a DMD mirror 

– notice that they are rotated 45º relative to the normal 

orientation for DMD mirrors. Also notice that the center of 

each of these diamond mirrors corresponds with the pixels 

for one eye in the checkerboard pattern (shown in light gray 

in Figure 2). Now, due to the use of the checkerboard 

pattern, it isn’t entirely straightforward how to describe the 

Figure 2: The diamond pixel layout, which produces 

each eye view – shown overlaid on top of the native 

input pixel layout (light gray) 

An example of combining left and right perspective 

images into a DLP 3D checkerboard image from the 

TI DLP 3D white paper 

reduced resolution. It is not half vertical resolution and it is 

not half horizontal resolution. It is a bit of both. Perhaps it is 

1 /√2 in each direction. I’m sure someone will work this out 

eventually. 

In TI’s white paper they have also provided examples of how 

to generate the checkerboard pattern using Adobe Photoshop 

(for 3D still images) and AVIsynth (for 3D video). 

However, the average user is unlikely to use either of these 

techniques with their 3D HDTV (except for DIY users) and 

it is highly unlikely that images or video will be distributed 

natively in the checkerboard pattern (it simply doesn’t cope 

with compression well). It is most likely that consumers will 

use hardware or software that reformats 3D images on-thefly 

into the checkerboard format. Three pieces of software 

which currently support the DLP 3D checkerboard pattern 

internally are Peter Wimmer’s Stereoscopic Player 

(http://www.3dtv.at), DDD’s TriDef 3D Experience 

(http://www.tridef.com), and Lightspeed Design’s DepthQ 



Stereoscopic Media Server (http://www.depthq.com) - and I’m sure there will be more soon! These programs 

accept 3D video (and stills) in a range of different conventional 3D image formats (e.g. over-under, side-by-side, or 

field-sequential) and reformat to the DLP 3D checkerboard pattern in real-time. 

With regard to 3D glasses, i-O Display has recently announced an LCS 3D glasses pack specifically tailored for the 

Samsung 3D DLP HDTVs (http://www.i-glassesstore.com/dlp3dsystems.html). Some of the packs also include 

DDD’s new TriDef 3D Experience software. It is possible to use other LCS 3D glasses with these displays – 

anything with a VESA 3-pin “3D Sync” connector should work. The venerable Crystaleyes and NuVision LCS 

glasses can be made to work with these displays. There are also RF wireless LCS 3D glasses from Jumbo Vision 

International: http://www.jumbovision.com.au. For those who are interested in knowing more about the VESA 3pin 

“3D Sync” connector, more information is available here: http://www.stereoscopic.org/standard/connect.html. 

The availability of 3D content to show on these displays is going to be the next question. There are over 30 fieldsequential 

3D DVDs available right now (see this list: http://www.3dmovielist.com/3ddvds.html). However, the 

resolution of these DVDs is far below what these new 3D HDTVs are capable of. People will be yearning for highdefinition 

3D video content to show on these displays. Hopefully some of the newer digital 3D cinema releases, or 

even some of the older 3D movies, will eventually be released on a 3D HD home-format – perhaps on 

3D HD-DVD or 3D Blu-ray? For those wanting to show off their new 3D HDTV now with some 3D HD video 

content, the “Dzignlight Stereoscopic Demo Reel 2007” is particularly good (available from: 

http://www.dzignlight.com/stereo.html). 

The largest source of 3D content in the short term will likely be stereoscopic games. No doubt nVidia is preparing 

to add support for the DLP 3D checkerboard pattern to their “3D Stereo driver”, but DDD have beat them to market 

– the TriDef 3D Experience software mentioned earlier also allows a select number of consumer games to be 

played in stereoscopic 3D on the Samsung 3D HDTVs. 

It will be interesting to see how the availability of 3D content evolves over the coming months. Stay tuned! 

Hopefully these displays will sell well – buy one yourself today! 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers 

Pre-conference Symposium 

STEREOSCOPIC PRODUCTION 

Tuesday October 23rd, 2007 

Stereoscopic 3D display technology has experienced dramatic advancements within the past few years. Installations of 3D 

systems for digital cinema are fast approaching 1000 screens worldwide. In addition, 3D displays are also being proposed for 

consumer home theater, videogames and point-of-sale advertising. If stereoscopic displays begin appearing in consumer 

homes for gaming and home theater, will 3D television follow? 

This symposium will provide the broadcast, production, or cinema engineer with a roadmap for exploring the stereoscopic 

production landscape, from acquisition to the latest projection systems. Leading industry experts will explain the core 

technologies, applications and challenges of managing a 3D production pipeline. Stereoscopic projection will be liberally used 

to illustrate the speakers’ presentations. 

Symposium Committee 

Pete Ludé Sony Electronics, Inc., Editorial VP, SMPTE 

Lenny Lipton CTO, Real D, Conference Chairman 

Tom Scott OnStream Media, Program Director 

Chris Chinnock Insight Media, Featured Speaker 

8:00 AM Continental Breakfast 

Opening Session 

8:30 AM 

Bob Kisor, President, SMPTE: Welcome to the Conference 

8:40 AM 

Peter Ludé, Editorial VP, SMPTE: Conference Overview 

8:50 AM 

Lenny Lipton 

CTO 

Real D 

9:10 AM 

Chris Chinnock 

President 

Insight Media 

The Stereoscopic 

Cinema Reborn 

Emerging 3D 

Display 

Technologies 

3D films have been around from the invention of motion pictures, and have enjoyed 

passing waves of popularity. Is the recent activity in Hollywood just another fad or 

is there something fundamentally different this time? 

This talk will enumerate the principal means of producing 3D images, for both 

projection and direct-view displays, and explain the operating principles of each. 

The advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be explored and recentlyannounced 

products and systems for consumer and cinema use will be explained. 

Session 1A: Content Creation, Live Action 

There are many challenges to real-world stereoscopic cinematography both in terms of compositional considerations and 

camera design. The speakers are experts in both areas of this nascent art as applied to the stereoscopic digital cinema. 3D 

cameras require exquisite precision and coordination to produce quality images and lately electronic correction has been part of 

the solution as has rectification during post. Bleeding edge concepts will be presented here. 

9:40 AM 

Chris Ward 

President 

Lightspeed Design 

Group 

10:00 AM 

Jason Goodman 

President 

21st Century 3D 

10:20 AM 

Vince Pace 

President 

Pace Technology 

An Advanced 

Beam-splitter Rig 

Using Meta-data 

A New Concept in 

High Definition 

Camera Design 

Live Action 3D 

Cinematography 

The beam-splitter rig has been adapted to a hi-def meta-data based system for 

maintaining image rectification during cinematography and through post-production. 

This talk will discuss the advances of such an approach to left/right image 

coordination. 

A compact hi-def camera-recorder is being designed to allow for image capture of 

uncompressed data. The camera has uses for both industrial and feature 

production. 

The technology and methods for capturing, transmitting and projecting D-Cinema 

quality stereoscope sporting events will be described. 

10:40 PM Break 

Session 1B: Content Creation, Synthesis and Computer Generation 

Computer generated imaging and conversion from planar to 3D have the promise of creating perfect stereoscopic images, 

unencumbered by the limitations of real-world cinematography. This is an art that can create perfectly controlled beautiful 

stereo images. But it’s an art must deal with movies that were conceived of a 2D projects – at this moment. Our speakers 

include the 3D directors of several recent theatrical releases and have advanced the understanding of the creative elements of 

stereoscopic composition. Conversion from planar is also finding its place in the sun as techniques advance. 

11:00 PM 

David C. Seigle 

President 

In-Three 

Dimensionalizing 

2D Movies 

This talk will provide a behind-the-scenes look at converting planar movies into 3D 

movies and dispel some of the myths about the process. It may well be that 2D as 

source material produces superior results to conventionally acquired two-view 

material.

11:20 PM 

Rob Engle 

Sony Pictures 

Digital Effects 

Supervisor 

Imageworks 

11:40 PM 

Phil McNally 

Stereoscopic 

supervisor 

DreamWorks 

Animation 

Creating 

Stereoscopic 

Movies from 3D 

Assets 

Stereoscopic 

compositional 

concerns from 

Inception to 

Projection 

CG animation and motion-captured movies have an intrinsic three-dimensional data 

base making production of a stereoscopic version of such material theoretically 

possible. But theory and practice depart. What are the practical considerations of 

making a 3D movie out of these assets? 

Movies are usually not conceived of from the get-go as being stereoscopic and this 

leads to compromises when the stereo director handles the assets. What can be 

done to change this situation? An educational program has been instituted at 

DreamWorks Animation to teach everyone from writers to layout artists how to 

maximize the effectiveness of the 3D medium. 

12:00 PM Panel Discussion Lenny Lipton, moderator 

12:20 PM Lunch 

Session 2: The Stereoscopic Production Pipeline 

The stereoscopic production pipeline is being created at this moment. Visionary studio head Jeffry Katzenberg has mandated 

that all future DreamWorks Animation films will be in 3D. Disney has already taken the plunge as has Sony Pictures 

Imageworks. It is probable that future productions will use everything: CG animation, live action, and synthesis. But where and 

what are the tools for the post production processes? That story will be told in this session. 

1:30 PM 

Mark Horton 

Strategic Marketing 

Manager 

Quantel 

1:50 PM 

Jim Mainard 

Head of Prod. Dev. 

DreamWorks 

Animation 

2:10 PM 

Buzz Hays 

Senior VFX Producer 

Sony Pictures 

Imageworks 

2:30 PM 

Steve Schklair 

Founder and CEO 

3ality Digital Systems 

A Solution for 

Stereoscopic 

Post-Production 

Pipeline - There 

Isn’t One for 

Stereo… 

Stereoscopic 

Production 

Pipeline for VFX, 

Live Action, and 

Animation 

Electronic 

Rectification 

Applied to 3D 

Camera Design 

Stereo acquisition and distribution are being widely discussed – but what issues 

must be addressed in post-production and what are the possibilities? This tutorial 

focuses on the current workflows being used for stereoscopic post production and 

then explores alternative methods. Practical examples are shown of multiple 

techniques, covering the most common issues faced and tools for handling them. 

From Editorial to Post and most everything in between we find ourselves creating a 

new pipeline and revising our toolset to author in stereo. These hazards and how 

to deal with them will be identified and explored. 

A discussion of the Imageworks pipeline evolution from CG Animation to Live- 

Action and everything in-between. The talk will include highlights of tools and 

processes with examples from SPI-produced films. 

Shooting with the two camera heads that make up a single stereoscopic rig can be 

a daunting task in terms of producing images that are properly coordinated to a fine 

tolerance. This talk will concentrate not only on the means to achieve such 

coordination but also on the post-production tools that are required to follow through 

to create a quality stereoscopic image. 

2:50 PM 

Chuck Comisky Motion Capture James Cameron’s new feature, Avatar, will be 60% motion capture, 20% 

3D Visual Effect as a Stereoscopic stereoscopic cinematography, and 20% green-screen. How can all of these 

Specialist 

Source on a processes be coordinated to produce a unified look? This presentation will discuss 

Lightstorm Productions $190M budget that challenge. 

3:10 PM Panel Discussion Buzz Hays, moderator 

3:30 PM Break 

Session 3: Stereoscopic Exhibition 

A unique value-added of the digital cinema is the ability to project 3D images with a quality level not possible with 35mm 

projection. In this session we'll review the different add-on technologies available to convert 2D digital projection systems into 

3D projection systems. 

4:00 PM 

Michael Karagosian 

President 

MKPE Consulting LLC 

The 3D Cinema A high level review of the various stereoscopic digital cinema systems. 

4:20 PM 

Dave Schnuelle 

Senior Director Image 

Technology 

Dolby Laboratories 

4:40 PM 

Matt Cowan 

CSO 

Real D 

Dolby 

Stereoscopic 

Digital Projection 

Real D 

Stereoscopic 

Digital Projection 

5:00PM Panel Discussion Michael Karagosian, moderator 

5:30 PM Closing Remarks Chris Chinnock 

A tutorial on the Dolby stereoscopic projection system. 

A tutorial on the Real D stereoscopic projection system.


Last Word: How things get invented 

by Lenny Lipton 

Lenny Lipton currently serves as chief technology officer at Real D. He founded 

StereoGraphics Corporation in 1980, and created the electronic stereoscopic display 

industry. He is the most prolific inventor in the field and has been granted 25 patents in the 

area of stereoscopic displays. He is a member of the Society for Information Display, the 

Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers, and he was the chairman of the Society of 

Motion Picture and Television Engineers working group, which established standards for 

the projection of stereoscopic theatrical films. 

The history of motion pictures is an interesting one, and I am learning more about it in the 

context of my present work inventing stereoscopic motion picture systems, and in 

connection with the work I am doing with studios and filmmakers. I am taking working 

with filmmakers seriously because the quality of the Real D system is judged by the 

content projected on our screens. I was recently appointed as the co-chair (Peter Andersen 

is the other co-chair) of the sub-committee of the ASC Technology Committee tasked to help figure out workflow 

production pipeline and stereoscopic cinematographic issues. These subjects are tentative and need to be developed 

and we’re all learning together. 

The stereoscopic cinema, in its present incarnation, as manufactured by Real D, is entirely dependent upon digital 

and computer technology. Digital projection allows for a single projector, while other stereoscopic systems use two 

projectors. Two projectors work well in IMAX theaters, based on my observations. I cannot say the same for theme 

parks, whether they use film or digital technology, because there are occasions when the projected image is out of 

adjustment. 

Replacing multiple machines with a single machine – i.e. a projector – is the way to go, especially in today’s 

projection booths; because typically there is no projectionist in the booth at the time the film is being projected. 

There is a technician who will assemble the film reels and make sure everything is going to project well, but then 

somebody else – maybe the kid at the candy counter – who actually works the projector and makes adjustments. 

(Interestingly the kid at the candy counter may be well qualified to work the servers and projectors because of his 

or her PC experience.) 

The product that I invented, the projection ZScreen, has been used for years for the projection of CAD and similar 

images for industrial applications. Real D turned the ZScreen into a product that had to work even better for 

theatrical motion picture applications. It turns out that the film industry has very high standards when it comes to 

image quality. This is easy to understand, because the industry lives or dies by image quality. 

The stereoscopic cinema has had a long gestation. To date, this is the longest gestation of any technology advance 

in the history of the cinema. For example, within about three decades of the invention of the cinema, sound was 

added. There were numerous efforts to make sound a part of the cinema and make it a bona fide product. In the 

three-year period from about 1927 to 1930, rapid advances were made both in sound technology and in aesthetics. 

If you take a look at movies that were made in 1927, and then you see movies that were made in 1930 or 1931, 

there’s a gigantic difference. Movies made in the early 1930s look a lot like, and sound like, modern movies. There 

was a tremendous advance in the technology and in filmmaker know-how in a short period of time. 

It is the creative professionals who will perfect the stereoscopic medium. That’s exactly what they did every time a 

new technology came along, whether it was sound, color, wide-screen, or computer-generated images. In fact, those 

are the major additions to the cinema, and they all took decades to become an ongoing part of the cinema. Ads for 

movies never say, “This is a sound movie,” or “This is a color movie,” or “This movie is in the widescreen (or 

’scope) aspect ratio.” It’s assumed. It’s a rare movie that is in black-and-white. It’s an even rarer movie that is 



silent. And nobody is going back to shooting 4:3 Edison aspect ratio movies. (Curiously, that’s more or less the 

aspect ratio used by IMAX for their cinema of immersion.) 

An attempt was made in the early 1980s to use a single projector with the above-and-below format – essentially 

two Techniscope frames that could be projected through mirrors or prisms or split lenses, optically superimposed 

on the screen, and polarized. The audience used polarizing glasses to view the images in 3D. I was the chairman of 

the SMPTE working group that established the standards for the above-and-below format. But as soon as the 

standards were established, the above-and-below format was more or less abandoned. A few films like “Comin’ At 

Ya!” or “Jaws 3-D”, and one I worked on, “Rottweiler: Dogs of Hell” were projected above-and-below, an 

approach that was technically inadequate. For one thing it was hard to adjust properly and set up the projector to 

achieve even illumination. I know; I set up a few, and it was tough to do a good job because of the design of the 

lamp housings and the projectors. 

Curiously it was the above-and-below format that led me to the first flicker-free stereoscopic field-sequential 

computer and television systems. I noticed that the above-and-below format was applicable to video, because that 

which is juxtaposed spatially can, with the injection of a synchronization pulse between the two frames, become 

juxtaposed temporally when played back on a CRT monitor; so the first StereoGraphics systems used the aboveand-below 

format. 

The above-and-below video format, which is applicable to video or computer graphics, results in a field-sequential 

image that can be viewed using shuttering or related polarizing selection techniques. I designed the first flicker-free 

field sequential system in 1980. It used early electro-optics that were clunky, but the flicker-free principal was 

established. Using 60Hz video, for example, with the above and below format, one achieved a 120Hz result, that is 

to say, 60 fields per second per eye. The field sequential system is what is used for the Real D projection system. 

The electro-optics are different. There’s the ZScreen 

modulator used in the optical path in front of the 

projection lens, and audience members wear 

polarizing eyewear. (The combination of ZScreen and 

polarizing eyewear actually form a shutter. You can 

classify the system as either shuttering for selection or 

polarization, but in fact a proper classification is that 

it uses both polarization and shuttering.) But the 

principal is the same as that used for the early stereo 

systems I developed. The right eye sees the right 

image while the left sees nothing and vice versa, ad 

infinitum, or as long as the machine is turned on. 

The issue I had to solve in 1980 was this: How to 

make an innately 60Hz device work twice as fast. 

And the above-and-below format did just that. We 

had to modify the monitors to run fast, but for a CRT 

monitor it wasn’t that hard. There are two parts to 

stereoscopic systems’ issues: the selection device 

design and content creation. Today we are faced with 

the same design issue I was faced with in 1980. In 

addition, content creation has always been a major 

issue and that’s why I am working with the film 

industry to work out compositional and workflow 

issues. 

Engineer Jim Stewart (left) and I are working on the first 

electronic stereoscopic field-sequential system that produced 

flicker-free images (Circa 1980). We used two black and 

white NTSC TV cameras as shown, and combined the signals 

to play on a Conrac monitor, which, without modification, 

could run at 120 Hz. The images were half height, but we 

proved the principal. Stewart is wearing a pair of welder’s 

goggles in which we mounted PLZT (lead lanthanum 

zirconate titanate) electro-optical shutters we got from 

Motorola. The shutters had been designed for flash blindness 

goggles for pilots who dropped atomic bombs. I kid you not. 



Display Industry Calendar 

A much more complete version of this calendar is located at: http://www.veritasetvisus.com/industry_calendar.htm. 

Please notify mark@veritasetvisus.com to have your future events included in the listing. 

September 2007 

September 8-12 GITEX 2007 Dubai, UAE 

September 9-12 PLASA '07 London, England 

September 10-11 

Europe Workshop on Manufacturing LEDs for 

Lighting and Displays 

Berlin, Germany 

September 10-11 Printed Electronics Asia Tokyo, Japan 

September 11 Workshop on Dynamic 3D Imaging Heidelberg, Germany 

September 12-14 Semicon Taiwan, 2007 Taipei, Taiwan 

September 13 Printing Manufacturing for Reel-to-Reel Processes Kettering, England 

September 14-16 Taitronics India 2007 Chennai, India 

September 16-20 

Organic Materials and Devices for Displays and 

Energy Conversion 

San Francisco, California 

September 17-20 EuroDisplay Moscow, Russia 

September 18-19 3D Workshop San Francisco, California 

September 18-19 Global Biometrics Summit Brussels, Belgium 

September 18-19 RFID Europe Cambridge, England 

September 21 FPD Components & Materials Seminar Tokyo, Japan 

September 24-26 Organic Electronics Conference Frankfurt, Germany 

October 1-4 


October 2007 

European Conference on Organic Electronics & 

Related Phenomena 

International Topical Meeting on Optics of Liquid 

Crystals 

Varenna, Italy 

Puebla, Mexico 

October 2-3 3D Insiders' Summit Boulder, Colorado 

October 2-3 Mobile Displays 2007 San Diego, California 

October 2-6 CEATAC Japan 2007 Tokyo, Japan 

October 2-7 CeBIT Bilisim EurAsia Istanbul, Turkey 



October 3-4 Displays Technology South Reading, England 

October 7-10 AIMCAL Fall Technical Conference Scottsdale, Arizona 

October 8-9 Printed RFID US Chicago, Illinois 

October 9-11 SEMICON Europa 2007 Stuttgart, Germany 

October 9-13 Taipei Int'l Electronics Autumn Show Taipei, Taiwan 

October 9-13 Korea Electronics Show Seoul, Korea 

October 10 Novel Light Sources Bletchley Park, England 


International Symposium on Environmental 

Standards for Electronic Products 

Ottawa, Ontario 

October 10-11 HDTV Conference 2007 Los Angeles, California 

October 10-12 IEEE Tabletop Workshop Newport, Rhode Island 

October 10-13 CeBIT Asia Shanghai, China 

October 11-12 Vehicles and Photons 2007 Dearborn, Michigan 

October 13-16 Hong Kong Electronics Fair Autumn Hong Kong, China 

October 13-16 ElectronicAsia 2007 Hong Kong, China 

October 15-18 Showeast Orlando, Florida 

October 15-19 CEA Technology & Standards Forum San Diego, California 

October 16 

Enabling Technologies with Atomic Layer 

Deposition 

Daresbury, England 

October 17-18 Photonex 2007 Stoneleigh Park, England 


Printable Electronics & Displays Conference & 

Exhibition 

San Francisco, California 

October 17-20 SMAU 2007 Milan, Italy 

October 18 Displaybank FPD Conference Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan 

October 22-25 CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment San Francisco, California 

October 23 Stereoscopic Production Brooklyn, New York 

October 23-25 SATIS 2007 Paris, France 

October 23-25 Display Applications Conference San Francisco, California 

October 24-26 Worship Facilities Conference & Expo Atlanta, Georgia 



October 24-26 LEDs 2007 San Diego, California 

October 24-26 FPD International Yokohama, Japan 

October 24-27 SMPTE Technical Conference & Exhibition Brooklyn, New York 

October 29-30 Plastic Electronics Frankfurt, Germany 

October 29 - 

November 1 

Digital Hollywood Fall Los Angeles, California 

November 2007 

November 1-2 Digital Living Room San Francisco, California 

November 5-7 OLEDs World Summit La Jolla, California 

November 5-6 Challenges in Organic Electronics Manchester, England 

November 5-9 Color Imaging Conference 2007 Albuquerque, New Mexico 

November 6-8 Crystal Valley Conference Cheonan, Korea 

November 6-9 EHX Fall 2007 Long Beach, California 

November 6-11 SIMO 2007 Madrid, Spain 

November 7-8 High Def Expo Burbank, California 

November 8 Taiwan TV Supply Chain Conference Taipei, Taiwan 

November 8-10 Viscom Milan, Italy 

November 8-11 Color Expo 2007 Seoul, Korea 

November 9 2007 FPD Market Analysis & 2008 Market Outlook Seoul, Korea 

November 11-15 Photonics Asia 2007 Beijing, China 

November 12-15 Printed Electronics USA San Francisco, California 

November 14-15 Nano 2007 Boston, Massachusetts 

November 14-15 DisplayForum Prague, Czech Republic 

November 15-16 Future of Television New York, New York 

November 15-16 Future of Television Forum New York, New York 

November 19-20 International Conference on Enactive Interfaces Grenoble, France 

November 25-30 RSNA 2007 Chicago, Illinois 

November 29 Displaybank Japan Conference Tokyo, Japan

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