Ericsson is demoing a new solution for both direct-to-home (DTH) and contribution and distribution of 3D content that will allow them to meet viewers’ demands. Staffan Pehrson, Head of Solution Area TV, Ericsson, says that advances in camera, delivery, and display technologies now make it possible to effectively deploy 3D television to the home.

“Consumers will be able to get the same enhanced experience in their living room as they do at the movie theater,” says Pehrson. “At NAB, we will launch a complete solution to enable broadcasters and operators to introduce 3D consumer services today.” The launch builds on Ericsson’s understanding and expertise in content distribution and high definition video.

The Ericsson 3D solution addresses challenges in both contribution and distribution as well as direct-to-home delivery of 3D content. The challenges for live 3D contribution differ greatly from DTH, with the utmost being the need for the best picture quality possible including full spatial resolution. Ericsson’s large contribution and distribution portfolios have been optimized to ensure that 3D feeds are compressed and delivered correctly.

The expertise in the TV area comes from Ericsson’s acquisition of Tandberg Television and its video compression technology three years ago. Thanks to its established position in the market, Ericsson can enable these 3D services to a rapidly expanding consumer group.

The Ericsson CExH42 MPEG-4 AVC HD contribution encoder provides a platform for 3D contribution links, ensuring full control of encoding parameters, exact synchronization and time-stamping of the compressed frames and the generation of a fully packaged 3D simulcast. And the Ericsson RX8200 receiver is a new technology for these receivers ensures that the exact temporal and spatial relationship between left and right feeds is also maintained at the receive end, avoiding possibly severe reductions in early 3D customer experience.

Lastly, the Ericsson EN8190 HD encoder, for today’s DTH delivery, is designed for 3D deployments using frame-compatible methods use the best available compression technology to maximize the consumer 3D experience. This encoder provides the MPEG-4 AVC HD compression, using new in-house technology designed to enable conversion to an all-HD world.