SMPTE 2012 will include a focus on online closed captioning, 3D, and ultra high-definition TV - and the participation of the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Media Bureau and the presentation of a new surround sound format for cinema.
White Plains, NY, 27 August 2012 – The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the media, entertainment, communications, and technology industries, today detailed a series of key papers at the SMPTE 2012 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition that will focus on online closed captioning, 3D, and ultra high-definition TV – including the participation of the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Media Bureau and the presentation of a new surround sound format for cinema.
SMPTE 2012 will take place 23 – 25 October in Hollywood. A special pre-conference symposium – High Frame Rates for Digital Cinema – will take place on 22 October. Registration and program information are available at www.smpte2012.org.
Premier Annual Event Draws Broadcast, Cinema, IT Thought Leaders
As the premier event for motion-imaging industry, the annual SMPTE conference enables technical and high-level business professionals to hear from and engage with academic, engineering, executive, and standards thought leaders across the broadcast, cinema, and IT industries.
SMPTE 2012 lives up to this standard, with scheduled presentations from the BBC, Belden, Cisco, Dolby Laboratories, Ericsson, FUJIFILM, Harmonic, Harris, HBO, IBM, Microsoft, NHK, NVIDIA, Motorola Mobility, Qualcomm, Snell, Skywalker Sound, Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Technicolor, and Verizon. Also participating will be leading vision-science researchers from around the world – as well as representatives from the European Broadcasting Union and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Online Captioning Sessions Includes FCC Media Bureau’s Chief Engineer
Earlier this year, the FCC issued new regulations requiring closed captions for Internet-delivered video programming and adopted SMPTE Timed Text as the "safe harbor" captioning standard. To help companies meet these new requirements, the Society will welcome Alison Neplokh, the Chief Engineer of the FCC’s Media Bureau to SMPTE 2012. Neplokh will describe the rules, compliance, and status of SMPTE Timed Text, as well as the status of ongoing FCC accessibility initiatives.
Other Timed Text sessions will feature papers that describe best practices for using it, a review of its deployment by HBO, its use in UltraViolet movies and TV programs, and an update on efforts to create an industry supported captioning implementation for consumer electronics devices.
Key 3D, UHDTV, Audio Updates
Papers at SMPTE 2012 will also showcase key advances stereoscopic 3D (S3D) workflows, including academic research into these areas: semi-automatic 2D-to-3D conversion to enable faster and more accurate conversion and to slash a studio’s time to release 3D content; image enhancements to compensate for inconsistencies in left and right eyes during the filming of S3D movies in challenging environments; and perception and the human visual system.
Meanwhile, as ultra high-definition HD (UHDTV) makes its way from the lab to the airwaves, researchers from NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, will report on the results of its decision – announced at last year’s SMPTE 2011 – to double the frame rate of its Super Hi-Vision (SHV) system’s video to 120 Hz to improve its quality of motion portrayal. The paper will include a description of the 120-Hz devices developed by NHK.
In the area of audio, Dolby will present a paper on a new surround sound format designed to dramatically advance the capabilities of cinema sound. SMPTE 2012 attendees will also hear about several efforts to improve the audio experience in the cinema environment.
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