3D, Digital Cinema Methodology Also to be Discussed

Sometimes, standards help define new technology. (Think newly engineered codecs that help create new workflows, or rigidly defined home-video formats like Blu-ray Disc.) But even more often, they seem to lag behind cutting-edge workflows, creating an environment where kludges and workarounds carry the day. That's why this year's SMPTE Conference & Expo in Los Angeles, to be held October 27 through 30 at the Renaissance Hollywood hotel in Hollywood, is looking especially important. Among the topics up for discussion is nothing less than a brand new standard for that granddaddy of video standards: time code.
Time code needs to be revamped as the existing standard’s limitations in today’s all-digital pipelines become more clear. Also under consideration, and under discussion by the same joint task force of SMPTE and the EBU, are new standards for synchronization. Also under discussion at the conference will be a new effort to create standards for broadband video delivery.

Real D CTO Lenny Lipton will chair a session comparing methodologies for creating 3D content – namely, the difference between getting it in the camera and creating depth effects in post – and Mark Fihn of Veritas et Visus will char a technical session on home viewing of games and movies in stereoscopic HD.

Other session topics include: “Digital Video Package”; “Image Artifacts in the Digital Era”; “IPTV and Internet Video: Delivering on the Promises”; “Advancements in Compression and Transcoding: 2008 and Beyond”; “The Role of Metadata and Process in the Evolution of Media Asset Management”; two sessions on the image interchange framework for digital cinema; and more.

A full conference pass costs $725 for members and $875 for non-members.

For more about the new time code and synchornization standards, read Film & Video‘s interview with SMPTE Director of Engineering and Standards Peter Symes.

For more information on the SMPTE Conference & Expo: www.smpte.org/events/smpte_annual_tech/