Silicon Imaging and NVIDIA Show Live 3D System
Posted on Apr 13, 2010 by Alex Fice
SI has teamed up with NVIDIA to provide a live 3D solutionSilicon Imaging has teamed up with NVIDIA® to launch the new SI-3D Live System – a stereo HD-SDI Video Processing and 2K recording platform, based on the NVIDIA Quadro® Digital Video Pipeline that will enable users to shoot and transmit live stereoscopic 3D events using the SI-3D cameras. SI-3D Live is the first stereo camera system to allow for synchronized capture, stereo correction, Iridas color grading, 2K raw recording and simultaneous generation of live stereo, independent left and right, SMPTE HD-SDI genlocked outputs. It is also the first to support NVIDIA 3D Vision for direct viewing on 120Hz 3D HDTV’s for on-set monitoring.
“Silicon Imaging provides impressive, turn-key technology for shooting 3D video in real-time,” said Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Solutions Group, NVIDIA. “The SI-3D Live System, which harnesses the power of NVIDIA graphics processors for image capture and color correction, is leading a new wave of 3D production workflows.”
Twin heads of SI 2K camerasThe SI-3D Live system is ideal for closed-circuit events and live broadcasts, providing robust, real-time controls. Stereoscopic 12-bit RAW image data is transported via Gigabit Ethernet to the processing system containing an NVIDIA® Quadro FX 3800 GPU and a Quadro HD-SDI digital video output module. The data is interleaved into a stereo pair for recording to a single QuickTime file for 2K RAW postproduction. It is also sent to the NVIDIA GPU for real-time 30-bit 3D-LUT color processing using the IRIDAS SpeedGrade rendering engine. There the images are developed and spatially repositioned for correct stereo display. The NVIDIA Quadro HD-SDI module outputs the Left-Right stereo pair as a genlocked dual SMPTE 4:2:2 broadcast stream at 1080 or 2K for direct projection.
With the SI-3D Live, broadcasters and production companies can shoot and record 2K cinema-quality stereoscopic images, while simultaneously outputting stereo HD from the same system. And since Silicon Imaging’s 2K data is overscanned, (2048 X 1152 at 24/25fps or 2048 X 1080 at 30fps compared to a DCI standard 2K image at 1998 X 1080), operators have 50 lines of horizontal shift, allowing them to adjust convergence issues without losing any resolution. This means that the parallax can be set for broadcast, with enough data latitude remaining for cinema.
“Silicon Imaging streamlined the way Hollywood shoots and produces academy award winning content; now it will be live in 3D” said Ari Presler, CEO of Silicon Imaging. “The SI-3D Live system, powered by NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics solutions and IRIDAS Color Management, enables us to deliver a complete 3D acquisition, HD-SDI broadcast, stereo visualization and a post production workflow. A live event can be broadcast in 3D and then remastered for D-Cinema distribution”
