END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION paperThe technology choices involved and the likely

routes by which 3D will emerge into the mass market.

3DTVTaking television to a new dimension

02END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

This paper from Ericsson is intended to help you as a

broadcaster or service provider to better understand

the current realities and options with 3D, the technology

choices involved and the likely routes by which 3D will

emerge into the mass market.

It’s a complex picture to understand, with many

different facets to it. Throughout the history of the

convergence sector, various discontinuities have

impacted on our abilities to make things work

successfully on a true end-to-end basis. We might

have had the processing power – but we didn’t have

the bandwidth. We might have had the bandwidth – but

we didn’t have the applications. And so on…Standards

were often incompatible, regional variations abounded

and legacy infrastructure and thinking sometimes

slowed innovation to a crawl.

That said, the number of players then involved

in the tricky work of ‘joining things together’

was comparatively small – essentially the IT and

Telecommunications communities. With 3D, that

complexity has grown almost exponentially and now

includes the satellite, broadcast, cable, film and media

production, and consumer electronics sectors – as well

as a host of supporting communities such as sport,

advertising, news gathering and gaming.

Just as critical in this context for 3D are the final parts

of the delivery chain – the family home and the human

eye and brain. While the telecommunications industry

has invested billions to solve the ‘last-mile’ problem,

3D necessarily involves a great deal of complex

engineering to solve the ‘last-meter’ problem – getting

the right signals into the consumer’s eyes at the right

time to ‘fool’ the brain into perceiving depth. These are

non-trivial issues, both in engineering and human terms

and many human factors need to be taken into account

if we are to optimize the entire 3D viewing experience.

The prizes are certainly worth aiming for. Research

from Ericsson’s Consumer Labs clearly shows that

consumers are willing to pay a premium for a high-

quality viewing experience, while feedback both directly

from box-office takings and from wider industry analyst

reports shows a growing wave of interest in 3D –

emphasized in a CES poll of 19,000 people where

50 percent said that they wanted 3D in some form.

Executive summary

Mankind has always been fascinated by the idea of

making the real ‘more real’. From prehistoric cave

paintings, where our ancestors used natural features in

the rock to give an impression of depth and movement,

to the development of formal rules of perspective by

Italian painters in the 15th century, there seems to have

been an inherent drive to draw the viewer ever deeper

into 3D worlds of artists’ own making. More recently,

over the last hundred years or so, various emerging

technologies have been employed to enhance these

effects – first with stereoscopic photography and then,

more recently, with cinematography.

The focus of various interlinked industries across

the world is now on continuing that journey further

still – but with a much greater emphasis on delivering

a high-quality experience across multiple platforms,

enjoyable anywhere from the cinema, over mobile

handsets and, finally, into the home on gaming devices

and televisions. Attempts in the past to deliver a 3D

experience through these media all too often foundered

on gaps in some part of the delivery and value chain.

Display or viewing technologies were primitive, content

was less than compelling and supportive business

models had yet to evolve.

In the fast-merging worlds of communications,

consumer electronics and content, those gaps have

been steadily shrinking over the last two decades or

so. A ‘perfect’ – and largely benevolent storm has been

sweeping across multiple industry sectors, driven in part

by technology change, but also by major shifts in the

regulatory and commercial environments in which those

companies operate.

The latest development – 3D – has been slowly creeping

into the headlines over the last few years, while more

recently a handful of films or special events have made

it a ‘must-see’ experience for adults and children alike

at cinemas and other venues around the world.

But what’s the actual substance behind the surface?

Are we on the brink of a major change in the ways that

we make, distribute, display and consume media, with

these first announcements just being the early ripples

that warn of a fast-gathering tidal wave of change?

Or is this just a lot of hype?

03

CONTENTS

SECTION 1Looking into the future from the reaLities of the present day

› CInEMA

› 3D BROADCASTIng

› BLu-RAy

› TV AnD DEVICE MAnuFACTuRERS

› 3D gAMIng AnD OThER AppLICATIOnS

SECTION 2ChaLLenges for the 3d industry ‘extended famiLy’

› A pROFuSIOn OF ChOICES

› BACkWARDS COMpATIBILITy

› CuSTOMER DECISIOnS AnD ThE gLOBAL MARkET

› COnSuMER ExpERIEnCE AnD uSABILITy

› SuppORTIng BuSInESS MODELS

SECTION 3understanding the teChnoLogy options in deLiCering 3d

› FRAME COMpATIBLE

› 2D BACkWARDS COMpATIBILITy

› 2D + DELTA

› 3D-In-2D + EnhAnCEMEnT

› IMpLEMEnTATIOn TIMEFRAMES

› COnTRIBuTIOn 3D

› COnTRIBuTIOn IMpLEMEnTATIOn TIMEFRAMES

SECTION 4eriCsson soLution area tV produCts

SECTION 5important standards bodies

04END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

Industry momentum is building behind 3D. Many

observers – partisan and otherwise –increasingly seem

to see the distribution and display aspects of 3D as

essentially an enhancement to existing hD investment

and innovation - and not the major technological

discontinuity that some might expect.

Let’s start by looking at some communities that are

already having a central role in the current 3D jigsaw

puzzle, including cinema and entertainment content

producers; broadcasters; consumer electronics

manufacturers; manufacturers of 3D Blu-ray content;

and the wider gaming, mobile and applications players.

CinemaWhatever the underlying facts and figures are, parents

around the planet will currently be suffering from ‘pester

power’ at the hands of their children as each new 3D

blockbuster like Avatar or Alice in Wonderland reaches

their cinema – even though the latter film actually had to

be repurposed for 3D.

At the start of 2010, Avatar had already broken all world

records as the highest grossing film of all time – and

that was only 41days after its release. While only around

a quarter of the cinemas around the world were actually

showing the film in 3D, takings from these accounted for

over half of the revenues earned in the first weekend. In

the longer term, “Avatar: The game” shows the potential

for 3D gaming spin-offs, with the 3D-ready pC platform

version scoring high ratings for customer satisfaction

when set against other gaming systems without that

graphics ability.

In all, around 18 3D films are scheduled for release

in 2010 and the infrastructure required to show

them is being constantly upgraded. Digital screens

now account for about 15 percent of the world’s

modern cinema screen with over 55 percent of them

equipped with digital 3D. This deployment also seems

to be accelerating, with 3D screen deployments in

2009 having grown by 255 percent when set against

2008 levels.

Cinema owners are also discovering that they can

charge a substantial premium for a high-quality 3D

experience, with ticket prices rising by around 25

percent over standard features.

In addition, there are other 3D opportunities that

cinema owners may wish to exploit to expand their

revenue-generating base beyond the traditional offering

from the hollywood machine. A market does exist for

significant documentaries and nature and science

programming as well as event-based programming

in sport, music and possibly even religion.

Figure 1 - number of upcoming 3D releases scheduled by uS studios * includes pixar productions Source: IDATE

Looking into the future from the realities of the present day

17

Disney

*

Dream

Wor

ks A

nimat

ion

Fox

War

ner

Dream

Lions

gate

Sony

Param

ount

11

3 32 2 2

1

05

3D broadcastingWhile a few channels around the world have

experimented with 3D content for particular programs

and specific episodes, these have used necessarily

primitive viewing technologies and have been mainly

based on sheer novelty value.

BSkyB in the uk has announced ambitious plans for

its 3D strategy over 2010 and onwards, exploiting

its existing strengths, capacity on Astra satellites,

investments in hD infrastructure and its already well-

established 1.3 million base of hD-equipped premises

and households. In January 2010, the company carried

out a successful 3D trial, broadcasting a premier

League soccer match to nine uk pubs and this service

will be rolled to other pubs which already have hD

subscriptions with BSkyB. Its 3D channel will initially

be offered free to existing hD customers, while

BSkyB is simultaneously pursuing an aggressive

content acquisition strategy, including the production

of 3D content itself.

In Belgium, Belgacom is also adopting BSkyB’s trial

strategy and will be broadcasting national league

matches to selected cafes and pubs fitted with

Samsung 3D TVs.

Continuing this focus on sport as an important

crowd-puller in the short term to help spread the word

about 3D’s potential, ESpn announced in March 2010

that it planned to cover around 85 events over the

year through a specialized 3D channel – separate to

its normal hD channel – to take maximum advantage

of the differences in production grammar and camera

positioning required to optimize the 3D viewing

experience. key events that ESpn will be supporting

during 2010 include 25 FIFA World Cup matches and the

college football ACC Championship, while programming

for 2011 will also cover the BCS national championship

game, plus college basketball and nBA games.

More broadcasters are also lining up and carrying

out 3D trials and announcing firm plans for the coming

months – such as Discovery Channel, Cablevision,

Verizon, Comcast and DirecTV, with the last offering

three dedicated 3D channels to its uS subscribers

for free.

A flurry of announcements at the CES show in Las

Vegas in January 2010 shows the breadth of this

momentum – a stark contrast to the very flat market in

consumer electronics in 2009. The Discovery Channel

announced its intention to partner with Sony and

IMAx to deliver 3D channels, while panasonic is also

partnering with DirecTV to launch three hD 3D TV

channels by June 2010.

06END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

Blu-rayComplementing activities in the broadcasting space, the

introduction of Blu-ray-based 3D content also looks set

to spur customer interest still further. At the end of 2009,

the Blu-ray Disc Association announced that it had

finalized its Blu-ray 3D™ specifications, allowing every

player and movie supporting it to deliver full hD 1080p

resolution to each eye. Importantly, this specification

is agnostic as far as the display technologies involved

are concerned, supporting 3D across LCD, plasma and

other platforms, irrespective of which 3D technology is

actually used in the viewing glasses.

It is widely expected that 3D capability will become a

standard integral part of all Blu-ray consumer devices

within a few years, following a similar expected path

for Set-top boxes (STBs).

A number of films – such as Avatar – are already

scheduled for release in 2010 in 3D Blu-ray format,

while DreamWorks announced at the CES show that

it will issue its “Monsters vs. Aliens” film as a 3D

Blu-ray disk in an exclusive promotion with Samsung

and Technicolor.

TV and device manufacturersWhile content makers and broadcasters begin to

navigate their way out of the maze of 3D technology

choices, things are already starting to speed up at

the display end of the delivery chain with over 20 3D

TV models planned to reach market in 2010. historic

scepticism about the readiness of consumers to invest

in 3D TVs and STBs is being rapidly eroded, partly by

the huge revenue-driving success of recent 3D launches

in the cinema but also – and perhaps more importantly

in the long run – an expected rapid fall in the actual

costs of purchasing the required hardware.

07

Early on in 2010, Insight Media predicted that 3D

products would only carry a price premium of around

20 percent against a standard 2D hD device – and that,

based on experience with other consumer electronics

devices - that premium would erode over the next two

to four years. In hard terms, that translates into a fall

in price for a 3D set from the current average of $1770

to $825 by 2015. At the same time, market sales are

estimated to rise from an annual figure for 2010 of 3.3

million to nearly 50 million by 2015.

In terms of the actual viewing technologies that will

be used, most TV manufacturers see wireless-enabled,

active shutter glasses as the optimum route for

domestic use. The circular polarized glasses currently

used in cinemas are not suited to the home environment

and active glasses offer a number of enhancements to

the viewing experience, such as brighter colors, a

wider viewing angle and sharper contrast.

3D gaming and other applicationsAs already stated, pC-based games have an advantage

over other platforms that use standard TVs in terms

of the graphic engines used which do allow users to

convert 2D games to 3D. It is currently estimated that

there are already around 300 existing games that can be

readily adapted to 3D through the use of comparatively

straightforward re-purposing technologies. Indeed,

there are even products already available on the market

that promise to do this in real time, in the home for

games, films and TV – though these do require the use

of wirelessly-linked ‘active’ glasses, another highly

important technology choice that will be covered later

in this document.

nintendo, for example, recently announced that is will

be launching a new, glasses-free 3D-capable portable

platform into the mass market early in 2011 that also

offers full backwards-compatibility with existing games.

Around and beyond the more traditional gaming

applications lie other significant market opportunities.

Adult services, for example, have played a major role in

the mainstream success of first video technologies and,

later, the internet itself and many in the adult content

market expect 3D to play a similar role.

Similarly, the emergence of social networking sites -

from the avatar-inhabited ‘real’ world of Second Life to

the more two-dimensional environments of Facebook

and MySpace – could provide additional demand at

the viewing end.

Finally come wider developments in the networked

home. Increasingly being seen as the next battleground

for customer loyalty by telecommunications service

providers, ISp and broadcasters, is use of the

customer’s control interface on the TV to brand and

enhance interactions with an increasingly wide range of

home applications such as entertainment, security and

energy management will become ever more important.

In this context, the ability to support 3D graphics in

these interfaces and displays will increase service

provider stickiness and loyalty.

08END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

Challenges for the 3D industry ‘extended family’

While the predictions from industry analysts are being

echoed by real and tangible investment in programming

content and broadcasting technologies by the major

players in those sectors, there are numerous issues

that remain to be addressed. Just as all hardware and

software in communications and IT relies on shared

clocks and synchronized activities, so too must the

many different parts of the 3D value fall into line – and

fit into the wider swings and changes in customer

purchasing behaviors, consumer confidence and

domestic viewing patterns.

A profusion of choicesAs will be covered in more depth in a later section,

broadcasters have a number of different options

available to them in terms of the technologies that they

can use to distribute 3D content. Some may already

have invested heavily in hD platforms, while others

are still at a greenfield stage.

Backwards compatibilityIntegral to the technology choice issue comes the

question of implementing 3D on legacy infrastructure.

Which options can give the fastest payback on

investment – while simultaneously protecting

future flexibility?

As highlighted earlier – and as is explored in more

depth in the following technical sections – everyone

involved must adopt a truly holistic perspective that

encompasses the entire value chain if 3D is to reach

market quickly and cost-effectively. Fortunately, a series

of first and second order standardization and industry

groups are well advanced in both developing and

coordinating the required content capture, management,

compression, security, transmission and display

technologies involved. A number of the most important

of these are profiled at the end of this document.

SECTION 2

09

Customer decisions and the global marketOn one hand, customer purchasing decisions may be

delayed while there is apparent uncertainty amongst

mass market consumers about the appropriate

technology choices to be made – and the current

20 percent premium involved when compared to hD

hardware. On the other, the huge publicity generated

by headline grabbing 3D sporting events and releases

of films like “Avatar” – and the fact that broadcasters

actually own a powerful promotional tool themselves

– seem capable of eroding that market inertia fairly

quickly, especially given the rapid falls in device costs

mentioned earlier.

As far as the wider economic picture is concerned, it

must be remembered that experience so far shows

that consumer spending on communications and

entertainment focused around the home either stays

stable – or actually increases – during a downturn.

Costs for entertainment expenses through a single

subscription or device are amortized across multiple

family or community members, while associated costs

for food and drink during an ‘entertainment experience’

remain far more containable and controllable than

during a typical night out. This in turn makes family

budgeting much more straightforward and stress-free.

In terms of the variations in the eventual shape of the

global market, the penetration of hD in north America

and Western Europe will raise some legacy technology

issues, while other markets will benefit from ongoing

standardization work.

Consumer experience and usabilityThe appearance of any new, radically different

technology often throws up unexpected issues

when it comes to ensuring that the end-user’s

experience is a consistently high-quality one – and

this is where broadcasters with hD platforms can

ensure their strategic dominance against competitors

in IpTV and cable who may be lagging behind in

technology deployments.

Some specific technical factors need to be taken into

account when delivering 3D, such as guaranteeing that

frames and phase are correctly aligned across both

right and left channels.

Supporting business modelsSo far, all the services being offered by broadcasters

– or those in the planning stage – are being made

available as part of an existing hD service subscription

or on a pay-by-event basis. The ability of broadcasters

to offer live-to-air 3D events is a valuable differentiator

when set against their competitors using other

delivery mechanisms.

END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

10

Understanding the technology options in delivering 3D

Television broadcast differs greatly from pre-packaged

cinema or Blu-ray content, having to contend with an

infrastructure containing numerous, often independent,

stages of content repurposing.

Essentially, there are two methodologies for delivering

3D content: frame compatible 3D (“3D-in-2D”) and 2D

compatible 3D.

Frame compatibleBroadcast and Direct-to-home (DTh) 3D services being

launched in 2010 will be based on 3D content that has

been created from pre-processing separate left and

right eye images in such a way as to appear to existing

broadcast equipment and consumer STBs as if the 3D

content is standard 2D hD content.

This is known as frame compatible 3D - or 3D

delivered in 2D infrastructure (‘3D-in-2D’). In the

majority of cases, this will be done by using horizontal

resolution sub-sampling (spatial compression) and

then multiplexing the “half resolution-per-eye” images

together. The reverse process is employed in the newly

announced 3D TV sets, where the TV set is aware that

the received 2D-compatible content involves, in fact,

left eye and right eye multiplexed images and internal

post-processing (including up-sampling and left/right

polarization) is done to render the images as 3D.

There are many possible spatial sub-sampling methods

defined, but the two most common are side-by-side

(half-resolution horizontally) and over/under (also known

as “top-and-bottom” or “half-resolution vertically”). At

the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2010

at least six major TV manufacturers announced that they

will be shipping 3D TVs that support frame-compatible

side-by-side packing during 2010.

An example of ‘3D-in-2D’ subsampling and multiplexing, using

1080i image format and frame-compatible side-by-side packing.

The advantage of a frame compatible or “3D-in-2D”

solution is that it allows the service provider to use

existing content storage, play-out, and broadcast

transmission equipment and - most importantly - their

existing deployed hD STB population to support 3D

services. Of course, the consumer needs to purchase

a 3D TV set and view the images using the included 3D

glasses (unless it’s an auto-stereoscopic display, which

will not be common for many, many years) in order to

see the picture in 3D. Existing 2D TV sets will render

two separate 2D images (side-by-side in the example

used in the above figure) with or without the consumer

donning any 3D glasses that happen to be in the home

which is clearly not an acceptable viewing option.

The disadvantages of this solution are:

The image has only half the resolution of normal hDTV.

In the example above, horizontal resolution is reduced

- but other methods would reduce vertical resolution

instead or a combination of vertical and horizontal

resolution reduction. While resolution reduction

has not had a major impact on current 3D movie

presentations in cinemas which use a similar method,

the industry is still actively studying this issue. While

this may be acceptable at the consumer’s end of the

broadcast chain, reduced resolution is not acceptable

for production, post-production, editing, storage etc.

More details on this aspect are covered in the Content

Contribution section later in this document.

SECTION 3

11

Additionally, this solution does not allow existing 2D

TVs to display a compatible 2D image and such a

service is 3D TV compatible only. A separate 2D service

or program must be simulcast if the service provider

wishes 2D TV users to view a full-resolution hD 2D

version of the same content.

The advantages of this solution are:

Operators can start to offer 3D services as soon as they

can source 3D content and have a 3D pre-processor, a

standard (2D) hD encoder, and sufficient bandwidth for

a hD service.

Operators can offer 3D services via deployed hD STBs

and do not need to wait for new decoder silicon to

reach new STB designs before launching 3D services.

note that some operators have announced that their

deployed STBs will have their firmware upgraded to

support 3D, and such upgrades will be performed in the

background through the existing transmission channel

with no consumer involvement or negative impact.

In the future, operators will be able to enhance their

service offering by providing full resolution hD 3D (Full

3D) to new STBs based on new decoder silicon, while

still providing 3D to their customers using current STBs

(3D-in-2D), by deploying a new 3D video encoder.

For more information on this please see the 3D-in-

2D+enhancement section later on.

2D backwards compatibilityThere are also industry efforts to deliver full resolution

hD 3D TV to the home, as well as methods that

enable the same content to be used by both existing

TVs (all 2D) and the new 3D TVs. This is known as 2D

backwards-compatible or 2D-compatible 3D.

The existing standard for Multi-view Video Coding

(MVC) – an amendment to the h.264/MpEg-4 AVC

standard - provides a potentially interesting technology

path for bit-rate efficient, full-resolution

hD, stereoscopic (3D) transmission.

The latest generation of Blu-ray Disc players will

have MVC-compatible chipsets capable of decoding

full-resolution hD 3D TV, but the timelines for such

silicon reaching DTh STBs is currently unclear. There

is also a legacy issue with deployed STBs that do not

support MVC or the higher resolution 3gbps+ hDMI

(in particular hDMI 1.4 or later) that would be required

for full resolution hD 3D TV signals to be delivered from

the STB to the 3D TV.

The two most commonly discussed 2D backwards

compatible methods are “2D+delta” (stereoscopic MVC)

and “3D-in-2D+enhancement”.

2D + deltaThe principle used here is that a 2D image - for

example, the left camera image only - is transmitted

for use on 2D TVs, with a delta signal also transmitted

that contains additional view information with which to

create a 3D image (i.e. create the right camera image

from the left camera image and the delta data). As

left and right images are very similar, the bit-rate cost

for the delta stream may be only 40-60% more than

the 2D image, as opposed to double the bit-rate. The

advantage of this solution is that a service provider can

offer a single service that can be displayed by both

legacy 2D TVs as well as new 3D TVs. While this may

appear to be a good solution for greenfield deployments

where 3D-ready STBs will be deployed, some factors

need to be considered:

The production values and grammar of 3D and 2D

are very different. Contrast the typical camera setup

at a sports stadium for 3D - low angle, long distance

shots for good 3D effect – versus that for 2D - in closer,

camera panning, and so on. As a result, the industry is

presently questioning the likelihood of a 2D production

being the same as either the left or right image of the 3D

production. If it turns out that separate productions are

required in the majority of cases, the practical use of 2D

+ delta is far less than ideal.

Early-to-market deployments, based on the need to use

existing deployed STBs, will begin transmissions with

3D images spatially compressed into a single 2D image

- or 3D-in-2D, as described earlier in this document.

As such, there will already be a legacy 3D deployment

situation in the marketplace.

END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

12

3D-in-2D + enhancementThe principle here involves transmitting the same 3D

image as used in early-to-market deployments (left

& right 3D images with spatially-reduced resolution

combined into a single 2D image), as well as the

additional information from an enhancement layer.

This contains the spatial information not present in

the base layer feed and delivers increased spatial

resolution of the two images that are finally presented

to the user as the 3D image. Due to a high level of

correlation, the enhancement layer bit-rate cost is

substantially less than double the 3D-in-2D base

layer image.

This solution will allow early adopter 3D customers

(3D-in-2D) to continue normal use, with no STB

replacement required.

For new users, with new 3D-supporting STBs, then

both the base layer and enhancement layer streams

are processed together to provide “Full 3D”, involving

discrete, full resolution hD left and right images, for

use with displays that support full 3D.

The service provider can therefore support both 3D

technologies (3D-in-2D and Full 3D) within a single

service. With the imminent implementation of new

3D signaling techniques now in discussion within

standards development organizations (a proposed 3D

SEI message), there is a possibility that a legacy STB

will be able to recognize the 3D-in-2D format and scale

one of the views to 2D hD. The resulting image will be

half hD resolution, of course, but at least this would

provide a 2D-compatible solution. If full resolution hD

2D is required, however, then a separate 2D service or

program must be simulcast.

Discussions are on-going with content providers to

determine what percentage, if any, of productions will

be done with common 2D/3D in mind, and whether

live productions such as sports events and concerts

will require a rethink on camera placement.

An MVC example where the right eye images reference the left eye images, so that either the delta or the enhancement stream requires less bandwidth than sending separate left/right streams. The left eye temporal references are the same as in a typical 2D AVC-encoded bitstream.

Further standardization of 3D, including improved

MVC, is in progress as well, but the results of this will

be longer term, long after 3D services have been

launched to consumers.

Implementation timeframesFrame compatible 3D solutions can be launched

today, as long as careful consideration is given to

interoperability issues. As noted earlier, all of the

announced broadcast/direct-to-home (DTh) 3D

services that are planned to launch in 2010 will be frame

compatible 3D. production equipment already exists,

existing 2D broadcast equipment and consumer STBs

can be used, and new 3D TVs are already available for

sale, with more models being rapidly added over the

next 3-6 months.

2D compatible 3D will first appear in Blu-ray Disc

players, although not much content will be available in

2010. however, it’s likely that it will be after 2011 before

2D-compatible 3D will be used for broadcast television

for the legacy equipment reasons explained earlier.

Broadcasters launching frame-compatible services now

will need to continue to provide frame-compatible 3D for

the duration of the typical TV set swap-out cycle. 3D-in-

2D + enhancement will therefore be more attractive to

markets such as north America and Western Europe,

while greenfield deployments will have more flexibility

and choice available to them.

As such, unless there is a break-through in common

3D/2D production, 3D-in-2D+enhancement will likely

follow frame-compatible platforms in late 2011 or 2012.

13

Contribution 3DThe issues for Contribution 3D applications differ greatly

from DTh, with the most important being the need for

the best picture quality possible - defined as full spatial

resolution, 4:2:2 chrominance, 10-bit precision, and

other factors - and not compromising on these in the

drive to reduce bit-rate or support legacy equipment as

inevitably has to be done for early DTh applications.

For single operator content coverage, some operators

may place a 3D pre-processing box on-site at the

event and use normal, existing (2D) hD-capable DSng

equipment for backhaul. The 3D-in-2D pre-processing

could even be embedded in the existing encoder. This

approach has the advantage of enabling 3D contribution

cost-effectively using existing equipment. however, pre-

processing the content at the source will limit its value

in post-production, distribution and future repurposing,

so many operators will likely choose to deliver full

resolution left and right channels as illustrated below.

An example of an end-to-end 3D solution, showing dual-stream contribution backhaul and 3D-in-2D DTh.

For universal open contribution, the 3D content

must be transmitted with the highest fidelity and in

a format independent of the broadcaster’s chosen

3D DTh delivery method. One possible solution is to

deliver dual-stream left eye and right eye images, by

synchronizing two encoders for transmission and two

receivers/decoders for reception. This method enables

full resolution hD 3D transmission of left and right

images, while maintaining their input temporal and

phase alignment within an acceptable tolerance.

Contribution implementation timeframesDual stream (left eye + right eye) full 3D contribution

solutions can be launched in Q2 2010, as long as careful

consideration is planned for stream synchronization.

Improvements in the synchronization method and

equipment integration will follow in the second half

of 2010.

Contribution

• Dual link HD-SDI• Frame Aligned• Phase Aligned

Ericsson RX8200 Advanced Modular Receiver

Distribution-to-the-Home3D

Pre-processor

Ericsson EN8190 MPEG-4 AVC HD Encoder

Ericsson CE-xH42 Contribution Encoder

Ericsson RX8200 Advanced Modular Receiver

Sync

• Dual link HD-SDI• Frame Alignment• Phase Alignment

014END-TO-ENDLESS TELEVISION VISION PAPER

Ericsson Solution Area TV products

3D TV is a complex topic and early operator

deployments will require a detailed investigation of

need, market potential, legacy infrastructure and assets

and will involve separating out the 3D “hype” from

the “buzz”.

While the industry’s desire will be to implement 2D

backwards-compatible 3D in the immediate term and

initial discussions may involve a discussion of MVC or

other 2D backwards-compatible 3D options, Ericsson

believes that early adoption of 3D for DTh eventually

will end up with a frame-compatible 3D solution.

Another important initial discussion is to determine

clearly whether the 3D application is DTh or

Contribution (whether back-haul or front-haul) or both,

as the solution for each is very different.

Especially important in the Contribution link section is

the synchronization of left and right hand channels and

Ericsson solutions already deliver unique capabilities

in the receivers to deliver both frame-aligned and

synchronized 3D TV.

Regardless of the application, Ericsson has complete

solutions to offer today for both DTh and Contribution

parts of the value chain and is building on its existing

successes and awards in hD technologies, creating a

compelling road map for the future that will delight and

entertain audiences around the world and deliver new

revenues and strategic differentiators for broadcasters.

SECTION 4

15

Important standards bodies

given the inherent complexity of the associated capture,

creation, management, distribution, delivery and viewing

elements within the 3D value chain, it’s no surprise that

multiple standards and industry bodies are involved in

both developing standards for specific sub-sectors as

well as in coordinating and integrating wider activities.

Standards and industry bodies can perhaps be classed

into what might be called first and second order

roles – though each has an equally important part to

play. Some concentrate on developing and defining

fundamental, global standards, while others may focus

on specific application, industry or regional sector work,

interpreting wider developments and providing their

members with a voice in the wider debate.

While Ericsson obviously plays a major role both in

developing standards itself and in closely monitoring

relevant activity on behalf of its customers, it is

perhaps useful to chart out the significant groups in

the 3D community:

fundamental standards:

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)

http://www.ce.org

Joint photographic Experts group (JpEg)

http://www.jpeg.org

Moving picture Experts group (MpEg)

http://www.mpeg.org

applications standards:

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)

http://www.atsc.org

Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)

http://www.blu-raydisc.com

Digital Versatile Disc Forum (DVD Forum)

http://www.dvdforum.org

Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)

http://www.dvb.org

International Telecommunications union (ITu)

http://www.itu.int

Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)

http://www.scte.org

Society of Motion picture and

Television Engineers (SMpTE)

http://www.smpte.org

SECTION 5

Ericsson provides award-winning TV solutions and

services that enable global media companies and

operators (cable, satellite, telco and terrestrial) to

deliver TV content, either directly to consumers or

for professional digital video content exchange.

With a broad suite of open, standards-based solutions,

Ericsson offers the highest quality solutions for Digital

TV, hDTV, VOD, IpTV, Mobile TV, content management

and advanced advertising, based on the technology

leadership and industry expertise of Ericsson.

www.ericsson.com/televisionary

The content of this document is subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall have no liability for any error or

damage of any kind resulting from the use of this document

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