Brian Lenz, director of product design and TV production development at Sky, has spoken candidly about 2D to 3D conversion technology, explaining that the results can be poor.
Speaking at the 3DTV World Forum in London, Lenz said about the tech: "I am sceptical when it comes to 2D to 3D conversion – any attempts to do it quickly and cheaply will make it bad 3D."
3D conversion appears in the new Samsung 3D TVs and will also be integrated into Toshiba's Cell TV.
The technology has been put into the television sets, mainly due to the lack of 3D content available. As its name suggests 2D to 3D conversion creates a 3D image in real time out of 2D images, processing the footage within the television.
Editing 3D
There are problems with this, though, as Lenz explains: "Creatively, 3D is different to 2D. You want slower cuts, your editing style needs to reflect the 3D image.
"Because of this, 2D cuts don't work in 3D, so 3D conversion will never rise to the level of native 3D content."
When asked if Sky would use conversion technology in its 3D channel, Lenz was quick to note: "Sky is focused on native 3D. That's not to say that there will be advancements over time with 2D conversion, I don't doubt that that will be the case. But we are looking at native 3D."
3D moviemaking
Neil Dodgson, from the University of Cambridge and an expert in 3D agrees about converting 3D, saying: "Automatic 2D to 3D conversion is a poor substitute for real 3D. Coverting 2D to 3D manually is adequate, but very expensive, costing 2,000 Euros a minute to convert.
"It also puts people off. Clash of the Titans was recently converted into 3D and got poor reviews. Bad 3D can put off moviemakers and that is not good for promoting the technology."
Dodgson believes that the best way for 3D to work is to make it a key part of filmmaking process.
"If 3D is to survive it must not be a gimmick but actually part of the moviemaking tool set", he notes. "Up and Avatar hold up well in 2D – they do look better in 3D – but this is because they are good movies without the 3D."
Your comments (4) Click to add a new comment
tech89
May 26th 2010
4. BORED OF 3D. I saw Avatar in 2D and 3D, did 3D make me hugely impressed, no. It was good but nothing special.
3D just means replacing all the recently bought tech such as HDTVs etc.
To advertise 3D content to someone who has just bought a HDTV in the last couple of years is a slap in the face and one received with much scorn for the giver of it.
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cheysuli
May 25th 2010
3. It's NOT 3D, it's a headache-inducing silver shimmer that spoils the viewing experience and adds an unwelcome surcharge.
I'm a techy and a gadget fan, and if I can't be persuaded this is anything more than a pointless expensive fad, what hope has this of being picked up by the mainstream public? None!
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rimscar
May 25th 2010
2. i`ll skip this tech and wait for holosuites... :)
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not_the_messiah
May 25th 2010
1. *cough* gimmick *cough*
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