On my first pair of installments on the subject I covered 3DFusion and their demoed 42” auto-stereoscopic 3DTV panel (AS3DTV) at CES 2011, which to my eyes was the best of its kind at the show.

My previous article covered how 3DFusion managed to create this product, which is not simply a 3DTV.

This article offers further details about how the product actually works, and how can be used for what purpose.

2D-plus-depth, on-the-fly

Depth map providing 3D geometry information by depth-per-pixelIn terms of the technology, 3DFusion differentiates with other manufacturers in that those mostly do image stitching to build the multi-view 3D effect so several viewers can see the same 3D effect from different positions.

3DFusion rather worked on depth mapping (of 2D-plus-depth), a depth that can be adjusted with their software engine at any time from the camera to the display, and developers are constantly refining the exclusive feature.

By working with 2D-plus-depth 3DFusion is able to re-render the depth-map 30 times a second in real time giving the proprietary system the ability to make on-the-fly adjustments that allow for image quality corrections to reach picture perfect results.

The 3DFusion solution can take any 3D source at any given time, from the camera operator to the display, whether is a side-by-side DirecTV, or Blu-ray, or discrete 3D camera image pair, transform it into a 2D-plus-depth in real time, and have their server processor software re-render those images in 3D, also in real time, to been able to show the 3D improvements live on the screen.

How can that invention be used?

One example, one can take a DirecTV STB, plug its output to the 3DFusion software, and instead of viewing with a 3DTV with glasses, one can use a 3DFusion auto-stereoscopic 3DTV to display a better quality 3D image with no glasses, and give viewers the ability to make the preferred adjustments to the 3D image to better suit their needs and taste, either increasing or decreasing the effect of depth if that causes discomfort, such as just adjusting a volume control.

This control knob capability to turn the 3D effect up or down can be applied to any product from any 3DTV manufacturer regardless if the display is active, passive, or auto-stereoscopic, which is a business opportunity for 3DFusion beyond their effort of implementing their technology on their own TV sets.

According to 3DFusion the final image is of such quality that can allow a viewer to watch a 3D TV set for many hours without suffering the typical discomfort attributed to the other technologies.

The company said that the math based 3D software package has also the ability to utilize other digital sensing and mapping capture methods such as Radar, Ultrasound, Cat Scan, etc. This is because they all are math based. Their images can be translated into stereoscopic side-by-side interface software packages that can be adapted to the 3DFMax stereoscopic viewing mode. 3DFusion can take that signal source and instantly apply its solution for glasses-free 3DTV viewing for commercial, military, or health purposes, to mention a few.

Shooting 3D without glasses is a little different than shooting 3D for glasses-required 3DTV viewing, 3DFusion explained, “we are not dealing with just the left and right views; we are dealing with reaching an appropriate level of image quality that would support the conversion to 2D-plus-map by the algorithm. The operator has to decide the best angle and zoom for the shot to obtain superior image quality for the 3D-glasses-free display.”

In closing 3DFusion added “The 3DFMax camera capture technology allows the operator to adjust the depth map output after it leaves the camera, our proprietary server software converts the camera feed in real time into a stereoscopic depth map encoded signal which is a seamless replacement for 2D HD transmissions, thereby making the 3DFusion 3DTV technology platform a potential replacement for all aspects of 2D video imaging”.

Posted by Rodolfo La Maestra, June 8, 2011 7:00 AM