Panasonic Ramps Up Blu-ray 3D Authoring Facility


As major CE makers scramble to place themselves first in the minds of consumers in the race to bring 3D to the home, at least one firm is setting up shop as though the future of HD 3D TV is a given.

Panasonic, which showcased some of its first 3D product at last month's CES — such as its 1080p 3D monitors and camcorders, this week is unveiling its "fully operational" Blu-ray 3D Advanced Authoring Center. The center is housed at Panasonic's R&D facility at its existing research labs in Los Angeles.

Panasonic recently upgraded its Advanced Authoring Center with newly devised 3D tech innovations based on standards recently developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association for 3D content. The AAC plans to provide Hollywood studios and independent filmmakers with image processing, authoring and disc certification services for 3D Blu-ray content.

Panasonic said its Hollywood labs had been collaborating with various studios to conduct Blu-ray 3D encoding trials well before the Blu-ray standard for 3D was announced in late 2009.

The company projects that its AAC could be producing Blu-ray 3D discs for commercial distribution within the next few months.