Movie industry eyeing 3D movies for the home theater

From the Newsdesk

By Joel Hruska | Published: July 22, 2008 - 07:05AM CT

3-D display technology has had an on-again/off-again relationship with the film industry for decades, but has never established itself on the small screen. Modern technology has made 3-D broadcasting a more realistic proposition, but there's currently no standardized method for how such content should be formatted, processed, and displayed. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers intends to tackle this problem, and has given the problem over to the newly formed 3-D Home Display Formats Task Force.

The stated goal of the task force is to develop a standard that will allow 3-D programming to be played "on all fixed devices in the home, no matter the delivery channel." The group will first explore what technology is required in order for 3-D content to play over the variety of devices available in the home, and plans to issue a report on its findings within six months. When the group refers to playback on all fixed devices, they mean it—the report will cover cable, satellite, and over-the-air broadcasting, as well as packaged media (DVDs, Blu-ray). A variety of display mediums will be evaluated as well, including "televisions, computer screens, and other tethered displays." Presumably, this includes plasma, LCD, and standard televisions, as well as displays based on OLED technology.

Once this initial document is finished, it will form the basis of what's to become the SMTP 3-D standard. The task force holds its first meeting on August 19, at the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, and the event will feature multiple product and technology demonstrations, as well as a discussion of the development group's goals and aims. If any of you are planning to attend, feel free to drop us a line and let us know.

The prospect of 3-D technology gaining traction in the home entertainment market is both bane and boon to Hollywood studios. On the one hand, there's nothing that would make Hollywood happier than selling us all of our old favorites again, but this time, in AMAZING 3-D ACTION. Not all films benefit from a 3D makeover, and 2D-3D film conversion is still problematic, but industry heads clearly think the idea has potential. George Lucas' upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated movie will be released in 3-D on August 15, and the director himself has expressed interest in doing a 3-D version of the previous Star Wars movies.

The problem with pushing 3-D technology into the home, from Hollywood's perspective, is that it gives people yet another reason to stay home, instead of driving to a theater. Recent 3-D movies have done quite well, and Hollywood has picked up on that. Big-screen TVs and 7.1 surround sound systems have made it increasingly difficult for the movie industry to entice people to pay for the "theater experience," and the industry would undoubtedly be unhappy to see the potential 3-D cash cow handed off to the small screen before it has been well and thoroughly milked.

The transition may be inevitable, but writing a new standard, building support for it, and putting actual compatible hardware on store shelves are all processes that will take time. Until it happens, the movie industry will push the 3-D angle for as much as it's worth, while simultaneously perfecting their own conversion technologies.