The various technologies underpinning glasses-free 3D autostereoscopic viewing will be a key feature of the forthcoming Blu-ray Disc Academy 3D conference held in Hamburg on 3-4 May, co-organised by DVD Intelligence

Dr Ulrich Leiner, Head of the Interactive Media Department – Human Factors, at the Berlin-based Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute will take stock of the progress so far. Holder of a PhD in applied mathematics, Leiner started as a research scientist at Siemens Corporate Technology working on human-machine interaction areas. Later at Siemens Mobile and BenQ he managed the user experience department for cell phones and fixed network devices, being responsible for the user interface solutions of over 100 million phones.

Ever since 1985 the Fraunhofer HH Institute has been active in the research and development of the whole process chain of autostereoscopic 3D systems – from production techniques and distribution through to presentation.

To allow viewers to view in 3D from whatever position they take in front of the screen without experiencing double outline effects, Fraunhofer scientists have coupled the 3D display with another technology known as ‘Eye Tracking’. An eye-tracking camera mounted over the display follows the viewer’s eyes and gives their exact position. Special software then continuously adapts the three dimensional image content to the viewer’s position with no time delay.

While the ‘Singleview Mode’ enables one person to view in 3D without glasses while moving to the left and right in front of the screen, the ‘Multiview Mode’ enables groups of several people to simultaneously view in 3D from a variety of different angles in front of the screen.

Also, on hand to present the state-of-the-art in 3D autostereoscopy will be Maarten Tobias, CEO of Dutch company Dimenco. Prior to founding Dimenco, Maarten worked at Philips Electronics within the Philips 3D Solutions division where he was responsible for sales and business development within USA, Europe and Russia. After the discontinuation of this division Maarten worked at Philips TV where he was involved in determining the worldwide strategy. In June 2010 he founded Dimenco together with three other former Philips 3D Solutions colleagues.

Dimenco is nowadays being recognized as one of the leading auto-stereoscopic technology companies in the world. The company will demonstrate how its slanted multi-view lenticular lens technology leads to full brightness, full contrast, and true color representation. Moreover, it allows multiple users to view 3D content at the same time within a large comfort zone.

A new addition to a strong line-up of speakers is Alexey Kozoulyaev, CEO and co-founder of RuFilms, the leading Russian company in the subtitling sector and a specialist in the challenging area of 3D subtitling. “The issue is really hot as there are at least two competing "schools" of 3D subs placement and the standards are still in the making,” Kozoulyaev points out. “There is also extreme sensitivity to certain linguistic and cultural differences as the composition of the 3D subbed picture becomes an real issue.”

Last year RuFilms was the first company in Russia to create a Blu-ray and 3D subtitling divisions. Currently the list of RuFilms clients includes 20th Century Fox CIS, Deluxe Digital Studios, Panasonic in-flight AVOD systems and other major players in the market.

Prior to founding RuFilms Kozoulyaev worked for Worldnet TV creating and managing the nationwide TV programme distribution network in 1993-1999. Before that, he was a special correspondent for the Russian National TV. Kozoulyaev is the author of a number of fiction and non-fiction books and one of the leading movie and TV interpreters in Russia.

Sharing his experience at Hamburg will be as well Daniel Hromadko, Managing Director of Prague-based digital services company Brickbox Digital Media, a member of the KIT group. Brickbox released last month the first multi-territory stereoscopic 3D Blu-ray – Piranha 3D – the latest action thriller by director Alexandre Aja. The disc includes 3D subtitles in Czech, Hungarian, Romanian and Bulgarian, and on the theatrical 3D trailer, Polish and Croatian as well

Brickbox had earned kudos with its restoration on Blu-ray of Dario Argento's acclaimed 1971 classic horror film Suspiria. Hromadko will explain how the company integrates 3D in the entire distribution chain, from cinema to VOD.



For the full roster of speakers to date, visit www.blurayacademy.com.

Story filed 10.04.11