Stereoscopic 3D is an exciting, but rather complex and, what is even worse than that, usually proprietary technology. In a bid to make it easier for manufacturers to avoid compatibility issues and ensure that consumer experience is consistently positive, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) plans to meet on the 12^th of May and try to set at least some standards for stereo 3D at home.

During the meeting in mid-May the members of the CEA are projected to initiate the processes of setting separate standards for active and passive glasses that are required for stereo 3D experience, reports EETimes web-site. Besides glasses, a lot of other things need to be standardized, including screens of HDTVs, displays, etc.

“Almost every stereo 3D device comes with its own set of glasses and almost none of them are compatible,” said Chris Chinnock, president of Insight Media, a market research company focused on display technology, and the chairman of 3D@Home consortium.

Most importantly, content creators have to choose which 3D technology to support as all of them have different requirements. Moreover, it is important that the quality of 3D effects is high enough and the technology itself does not cause headaches of dizzy feeling.

“The average engineer going to the National Association of Broadcasters 2009 show realized there were twice as many issues that they thought going in. You do 3D wrong and you don't just give people headaches, you make them sick. […] A lot of [OEMs] were saying, ‘cripes this is more complex that we thought’. That was the great awakening that came out of NAB 2009” said Richard Doherty, principal of consulting firm Envisioneering.

“It’s easy to create 3-D, but it’s hard to create good 3-D… So-called pros were putting up stuff that hurt my eyes.  There will be a lot of subpar material that comes out, and it could give the sector another black eye. […] There is a handful of stereographers that know what they are doing,” Mr. Chinnock added.

Tags: Stereo 3D, HDTV