The Blu-ray Disc Association announced the finalization and release of the “Blu-ray 3D” specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers’ living rooms on Blu-ray Disc.

The “Blu-ray 3D” specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer’s eyes.

The Blu-ray 3D specification is also designed to allow PS3 game consoles to play back Blu-ray 3D content in 3D. Additionally, the specification supports playback of 2D discs in forthcoming 3D players and can enable 2D playback of Blu-ray 3D discs on the large installed base of Blu-ray Disc players currently in homes around the world.

The Blu-ray 3D specification calls for encoding 3D video using the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec, an extension to the ITU-T H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) codec currently supported by all Blu-ray Disc players. MPEG4-MVC compresses both left and right eye views with a typical 50% overhead compared to equivalent 2D content, and can provide full 1080p resolution backward compatibility with current 2D Blu-ray Disc players. The specification also incorporates enhanced graphic features for 3D. These features provide a new experience for users, enabling navigation using 3D graphic menus and displaying 3D subtitles positioned in 3D video.

The completed specification will be available shortly and provides individual manufacturers and content providers with the technical information and guidelines necessary to develop, announce and bring products to market pursuant to their own internal planning cycles and timetables.

Technicolor said it aims to launch 3D replication for Blu-ray Discs within the first six months of 2010 when the Blu-ray Disc Association will finalises its specification for the format.

Thomson/Technicolor Chief Marketing Officer Ahmad Ouri said it was a straightforward process. “We are using the same machines, and there are no major changes. We are developing new encoding, authoring and subtitling tools. We are building something new, and we want to be the first to deliver on all of these components. I have no doubt that in the first half of next year, our technology will be ready,” Ouri told Video Business.

Story filed 21.12.09