BBC Dives into 3D Synthetic Stereoscopic Productions

The BBC has been hard at work developing next-generation technologies for 3D production that can use 2D cameras and synthetically build a 3D experience. In fact, the technological developments can be found in soccer analysis systems developed by Piero that allow for viewers to swing around a play.

The potential for synthetic stereoscopy technology to be taken to the next level and allow for a 3D presentation to be built out of 2D is there. Peter Wilson of HDDC, a UK-based HD consulting firm, says 2D camera signals would be pumped into a computer that would then work out the “pose” of the camera (zoom, pan/tilt, focal length, etc.) and then pull out the images of the moving objects and built a multiview of those players. The system would get around issues like widening the interocular for sports, a move that creates a 3D effect but can make foreground objects to be scaled improperly by the brain.

“When you widen the interocular for sports you screw the pooch,” says Wilson. “The brain says the background objects are in the proper scale and the objects in the foreground are wrong. That leads to the eye telling the brain that the 250-pound lineman is a midget.”

Synthetic stereoscopy would also allow 2D positions that Wilson says are not suitable for 3D production to be used on the 3D show.

Source: Sports Video Group