|
MANAGING STEREOSCOPIC CONTENT
For 3D-TV Viewing
PART 1
Before continuing, perhaps it
will be helpful to pass on my experience and observations when
buying a 3D-TV:-
Looking into the specifications
of available TV sets, I was advised by the staff of a ‘proper’
TV shop that a Plasma, rather than LCD or LED set provided the
better display. I was also advised that viewing would benefit
from the TV display frequency being 600 cycles per second rather
than the more common 200 cycles. I shall leave the technical
debate alone, but having compared sets from four manufacturers,
I fully accepted the advice and purchased a 42” Panasonic
‘Viera’ set.
Other features on my 3D-TV that
influenced my decision were the presence of an SD Card and a USB
slot in addition to the more familiar connections - HDMI, SCART,
AV, etc. An inbuilt media player is also included; this means
that my 3D content can be viewed directly from the connected
storage device, an SD Card or Flash Drive for example. I now
have the possibility to view 3D content directly from a
connected Fujifilm W1 or W3 cameras, or from just the SD Card
itself. With the help of my computer and free software -
StereoPhoto Maker (SPM), on my computer, I can manipulate
digital images from any source and view them on my 3D-TV using
the inbuilt media player. I can browse individual images or run
a slide show with variable slide display frequency and
background music. I can also use an external media player to
show Blu-ray, 3D movies, commercial or home-made.
Note: More recently, at least
one 3D-TV manufacturer (LG) has launched a 3D-TV that uses
‘Passive’ (polarised) glasses, rather than the more usual
‘Active’ (shuttered) glasses; this is a feature that could
affect your purchasing decision.
Direct Connection
Although the
Fuji W3 can be connected to an HDMI input of our 3D-TV, you will
need to buy a special lead for this purpose. I would
suggest the simplest route is to remove the SD Card from the
camera (Fuji W1 or W3) and insert this into the SD socket on
your 3D-TV. It is wise to try this at the retailers before
purchasing your set. My own 3D-TV recognises that an SD
card, containing MPO stereo images, has been inserted and
immediately displays these through the 3D-TV’s media player;
this then provides various viewing options including slideshow
and background music. If your 3D-TV does not have an SD
card slot, then look for a USB connection which should provide
similar results. This, of course, will require you to
transfer your MPO stereo images to a Flash Drive via a computer.
If you own a
computer, you can of course select and edit your images, ready
for a more ‘structured’ presentation, again using the 3D-TV’s
media player.
I shall now
take you through the workflow for preparing your images, using a
computer with StereoPhoto Maker (SPM) installed;
you will need the version
4.63b or later. You have two choices of converted file
formats, MPO or JPG. The MPO file format can be used in many
3D-TV sets and media players. The JPG format provides two
options ‘Side-by-Side’ (SSB) or ‘Above-Below’ (A/B) which may be
used for TV and other applications such as ProShow.
Multi-Conversion with StereoPhoto Maker (MPO workflow)
I will assume
that you will have used StereoPhoto Maker (SPM), or some other
application, to work on your images and you have saved them to a
folder as stereo pairs; side-by-side (Fig 1.), above and below
etc. You should now make sure that you have all the files you
wish to convert for 3D-TV viewing, in a folder named to your
liking.
Fig. 1 -
Typical Side-by-Side (SBS) image.
Fig. 2 -
‘Multi conversion’ dialogue for MPO files
Having
opened SPM chose ‘File’ > ‘Multi Conversion’ (Fig 2.) check
"Input File Type" (Side-by-Side etc.) for the files type in your
source folder. Now select ‘Output File Type’ > Individual (L/R)
then ‘Output File Setting > MPO; this defines the format for
3D-TV compatible images.
Now check
‘Resize’ and key in ‘Width’ > 1920 and ‘Height’ >1080. We also
need to check the check 'keep designated size' and select
'Border'.
You can now
click on the ‘Convert Selected Files’ or ‘Convert all Files’ as
you need.
This
concludes the workflow for creating full high definition MPO
stereo images which you can now transfer to a Flash Drive for
viewing on your 3D-TV.
Multi-Conversion with StereoPhoto Maker (JPG workflow)
I will
assume that you will have used StereoPhoto Maker (SPM), or some
other application, to work on your images and you have saved
them to a folder as stereo pairs; side-by-side (Fig 1.), above
and below etc. You should now make sure that you have all the
files you wish to convert in a folder named to your liking.
Fig. 3 -
‘Multi conversion’ dialogue for JPG files
Having
opened SPM chose ‘File’ > ‘Multi Conversion’ (Fig 2.) check
"Input File Type" (Side-by-Side etc.) for the files type in your
source folder. Now select ‘Output File Type’ > ‘Half width SBS’
or ‘Half height A/B’ then ‘Output File Setting > JPG; these
defines a format useable on some 3D-TV sets or for building AV
shows and videos.
Now check
‘Resize’ and key in ‘Width’ > 1920 and ‘Height’ >1080. We also
need to check the check 'keep designated size' and select
'Border'.
You can now
click on the ‘Convert Selected Files’ or ‘Convert all Files’ as
you need.
This
concludes the workflow for creating half width or half height
JPG stereo files with an overall 16 x 9 aspect ratio at an HD
resolution of 1920 x1080.
|
