Project R-1303

20-20 3D Media: Spatial Sound and Vision (Research)

Film or cinema has been the driving force for the entertainment industry, setting the standards of quality, providing the most compelling experience, and feeding the distribution chains of other media (broadcast TV, cable and satellite channels, DVD, video, games et cetera). The creation of a complete `3-D capable' chain is expected to follow a similar path. The media industry knows that astonishing the public is still a route to large audiences and financial success. 2020 3D Media proposes to research, develop, and demonstrate novel forms of compelling entertainment experience based on technologies for the capture, production, networked distribution and display of sounds and images in three-dimensions. 2020 3D Media will add extra dimensions to Digital Cinema and create new forms of stereoscopic and immersive networked media for the home and public spaces. The goal is to research and develop technologies to support the acquisition, coding, editing, networked distribution, and display of stereoscopic and immersive audiovisual content to provide novel forms of compelling entertainment experience in the home or public spaces. The users of the resulting technologies will be media industry professionals across the current film, TV and `new media' sectors to make programme material addressing the general public. The key will be the creation of technologies for creating and presenting "surround video" as a viable system, based on recognised standards. This will require innovations and knew knowledge in: - Technologies and formats for 3D sound and image capture and coding, including novel high-resolution cameras - Technologies and methods for 3-D postproduction of sound and images - Technologies for the distribution and display of spatial media - The creative application of spatial media technologies

01 March 2008 - 29 February 2012