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ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocols
AndrewWoodsandJesseHelliwell
CurtinUniversity
PROJECT:CMST944
REPORT:C201117version1
ISSUED:31March2011
CENTREFORMARINESCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY
CURTINUNIVERSITY
PERTH,WESTERNAUSTRALIA
www.cmst.curtin.edu.au
www.AndrewWoods3D.com
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................3
TestingMethod .......................................................................................................................................4
3DSyncProtocolsSummary ...................................................................................................................5
CrystalEyesProtocol(Standaloneemitter) ............................................................................................6
NuVisionProtocol(Standaloneemitter)................................................................................................7
XpandProtocol(Standaloneemitter) ....................................................................................................8
H3D/ELSAprotocol(Standaloneemitter) ............................................................................................9
NVIDIAProtocol(Standaloneemitter).................................................................................................10
Samsung2007Protocol(Standaloneemitter).....................................................................................11
Samsung2010Protocol(InternalTVEmitter).......................................................................................11
PanasonicProtocol(InternalTVemitter)..............................................................................................12
SonyProtocol(Standaloneemitter).....................................................................................................13
DLPLinkProtocol(visiblelightinternal) ..........................................................................................14
Discussion .............................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................16
Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................................16
References.............................................................................................................................................16
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
Introduction
ThepurposeofthisdocumentistosummarisethedifferentIRcommunicationprotocolsusedbya
selectionofcommerciallyavailablestereoscopic3DActiveShutterGlasses.
ActiveShutterGlasses(alsoknownasLiquidCrystalShutter(LCS)3DglassesorjustShutterGlasses)
areacommonlyusedselectiondeviceusedtoviewstereoscopic3Dcontentontimesequential
stereoscopicdisplays.Timesequentialstereoscopic3Ddisplaysoperatebydisplayingdiscreteleft
andrightimagesinalternatingsequenceoftenatimageratesof100,120or144imagespersecond.
Thistimesequentialapproachcanalsobedescribedastimemultiplexed.Theactiveshutterglasses
alternatelyblanktheleftandrighteyesinsequencewiththesequenceofimagesshownonthe
displaysuchthatthelefteyeonlyseestheleftperspectiveimagesandtherighteyeonlyseesthe
rightperspectiveimages.Theactiveshutterglassesusuallycontaintwoliquidcrystalcells,each
actingasashutteroneinfrontofeacheye.
Inorderfortheactiveshutterglassestoswitchinsynchronywiththesequenceofleftandright
imagespresentedonthetimesequentialstereoscopicdisplay,someformoftimingsignalmustbe
sentfromthedisplaytotheglasses.Mostwirelessactiveshutterglassesuseaninfrared(IR)
communicationprotocolsimilartothatusedforIRremotecontrolsusedforTVs,airconditionersand
otherconsumerelectronics.SomeglassesuseanRF(radiofrequency)communicationprotocolsuch
asBluetoothorZigBee,howevertheseareoutsidethescopeofthisdocument.TheDLPLink
protocolusespulsesofvisiblelightinitsprotocol.
Activeshutterglasseshavebeenusedasaviewingdevicefortimesequentialstereoscopicdisplays
asfarbackas1922fortheTeleviewsystem1.Thefirstwirelessactiveshutterglassesappeartobe
theStereoGraphicsCrystalEyeswhichwerereleasedinthemid80s,usedliquidcrystalshutters,and
anIRcommunicationprotocolforsynchronisation.SeveralotherbrandsanddesignsofIRcontrolled
wirelessactiveshutterglasseshavebeenreleasedovertheyears2andinearly2010thelargest
consumerreleaseofactiveshutterglassesoccurredwiththeconsumerreleaseof3DHDTVsby
severalconsumerelectronicsmanufacturers(includingSamsung,Panasonic,Sony,LG,Sharp,and
others3.)
RegrettablymostoftheIRcontrolledactiveshutterglassesreleasedtodatebyvarious
manufacturershaveusedavarietyofdifferentIRcommunicationprotocolswhichmeansthatactive
shutterglassesfromonemanufactureraregenerallynotcrosscompatiblewithanother.For
example,apairofPanasonicactiveshutterglassescannotbeuseddirectlywithaSamsung3DHDTV,
andviceversa.
Thereasonfortheincompatibilitybetweendifferentmakesofactiveshutterglassesmostlyrelatesto
differencesbetweentheactualIRcommunicationprotocolusedforeachbrandofglasses,butthere
arethreeotherpossiblereasonsforincompatibility:(1)someglassesuseRForvisiblelight
communicationslinkinsteadofIR,(2)somedisplaysneedtheglassestoswitchwithareducedduty
cycleforcorrectoperationandonlysomeglassesoperatethisway,(3)someglasses(i.e.Sony)dont
haveafrontpolariserontheshutterandrelyonthedisplaytooutputlinearpolarisedlight.
AmongsttheactiveshutterglassesthatuseanIRcommunicationprotocol,thereisverylittle
informationinthepublishedliteratureastohowthevariousprotocolsdiffer.In2010,weinitiateda
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
projecttocharacterizethespecificsofawiderangeof3DSyncIRprotocolssoastogainan
understandingofwhyvariousactiveshutterglassesareincompatible,howandwhytheprotocols
differ,whatlimitationstheremightbeincreatingasinglestandard3DSyncIRprotocol,andthe
possibilityfordisplaydevicestooutputmultipleprotocolsatthesametimesothatmultiplemakesof
shutterglassescanbeusedwiththeonedisplay.
Thisdocumentsummarisesthe3DSyncIRprotocolasusedbyaselectionofemittersandglasses.
Theprotocolsummariesprovidedherearederivedfromthemeasurementoftheactualprotocol
signaloutputbyaselectionofcommerciallyavailableproducts.Theprotocolsummariesprovided
herearenotderivedfromanydocumentationdefinedbyindividualmanufacturersandhencedoes
notincludeanyinformationontimingtolerancesorperhapsadvancedtimingspecifics.The
manufacturershavenotprovidedanyoftheprotocoltiminginformationdescribedinthisdocument.
Atotaloftenprotocolswerecharacterisedinthisstudy.
TestingMethod
Theprotocolsweremeasuredbyconnectingtheemitter/dongleor3Ddisplay/projectortoa3D
videoor3Dsyncsource.Inthecasewheretheemitterwasintegratedintothe3Ddisplay/projector,
the3Ddisplay/projectorwasswitchedinto3Dmode.AhighspeedIRphotosensorwasdirectedat
theIRemitterandanalysedusingadigitalstorageoscilloscope.ThetimingoftheIRpulseswere
measuredrelativetothe3DSyncsignal,thelightfieldemittedbythedisplay,and/orthetimingof
theshutteringoftheeyewear.
ThetenpairsofactiveshutterglassestestedinthisstudyareshowninFigure1.Someofthe
emitterstestedinthisstudyareshowninFigure2.
Figure1:Thetenactiveshutterglassestestedinthisstudy:(a)StereoGraphicsCrystaleyesCE1,(b)ELSA/H3D,
(c)NuVision60GX,(d)NVIDIA3DVision,(e)PanasonicTYEW3D10U,(f)Samsung2007,(g)Samsung(2010)
SSG2100AB,(h)SonyTDGBR100,(i)ViewsonicPGD150DLPLink,(j)XpandX103Universal.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
Figure2:SomeofthestandaloneIR3Demitterstested:(a)Samsung2007,(b)NuVision,(c)NVIDIA,
(d)CrystalEyes1,and(e)H3D/ELSA.
Inordertoverifytheaccuracyoftheprotocolmeasurements,acustombuiltuniversalIRemitterwas
constructed4andusedtosendaregeneratedversionofthevariousIRprotocolstothevariousactive
shutterglasses.Wewereabletoreliablydriveallofthetestedactiveshutterglassesusingthe
appropriatemeasuredIRprotocol.Therewasonlyoneexceptiontothistesting,whichwasthatwe
wereunabletoreliablydrivetheXpandX103universalglassesintheSamsung(2010)protocolmode
usingourregeneratedSamsung2010protocol.Thismightindicateaslighttimingerrorinour
measurementoftheSamsung2010protocol,howeverwewereabletousethisprotocoltimingto
driveanactualpairoftheSamsung2010activeshutterglasses.
3DSyncProtocolsSummary
Thetimingdiagramsforthetenprotocolsmeasuredinthisstudyaredetailedbelow.
Itisimportanttopointoutthat:
notallofthediagramsaredrawntoscale.
thetimingsareasmeasuredfromcommerciallyreleasedhardwareandwerenot
providedorendorsedbythemanufacturers.
theremightbetimingerrorsinthedescriptions.
theSamsungandDLPLinkprotocolshaveasubtlydifferentmodeofoperationwhich
aredetailedbelow.
allunitsareinmicroseconds(s)
thetimingoftheopeningandclosingoftheleftandrightshuttersarenotindicated
inthesediagramsanddonotnecessarycoincideexactlywiththetimingofthe
tokens.Thesetimingswillbethesubjectofafuturepublication.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
CrystalEyesProtocol(Standaloneemitter)
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
NuVisionProtocol(Standaloneemitter)
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
XpandProtocol(Standaloneemitter)
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
H3D/ELSAprotocol(Standaloneemitter)
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
NVIDIAProtocol(Standaloneemitter)
23.25
39.75
43.25
23.25
23.75
23.25
30.75
Notes:
Thisisafourtokenprotocolandhenceallowsthedisplaytospecifythedutycycleforthe
glassestooperate.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
10
Samsung2007Protocol(Standaloneemitter)
14.2
14.2
12.1
14.2
12.1
Open Right Eye,
Close Left Eye
Then Open Left
Eye, Close Right
Eye
Samsung2010Protocol(InternalTVEmitter)
Notes:
BoththeSamsung2007andtheSamsung2010protocolsareaonetokenprotocol.The
Samsung2007tokenisoutputonceeveryright+leftframepairperiod(atthebeginningof
therightframeperiod)andtheSamsung2010protocolonceeverytworight+leftframepair
periods.Theglassesmustassumeadutycycleofapproximately50%andcalculatethe
intermediatetiminginternally.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
11
PanasonicProtocol(InternalTVemitter)
20
20
20
20
Close Right Eye
60
20
20
60
20
20
20
Open Left Eye
20
60
60
20
20
20
20
Close Left Eye
20
20
60
60
20
20
20
Open Right Eye
20
100
20
Notes:
Thisisafourtokenprotocolandhenceallowsthedisplaytospecifythedutycycleforthe
glassestooperate.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
12
SonyProtocol(Standaloneemitter)
Notes:
Thisisafourtokenprotocolandhenceallowsthedisplaytospecifythedutycycleforthe
glassestooperate.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
13
DLPLinkProtocol(visiblelightinternal)
Notes:
Thelefteyetokenandtherighteyetokendonotdifferinwidth,butinrelativetiming.The
righteyetokenisdelayedrelativetothesyncreferenceby260sascomparedtothetiming
ofthelefteyepulse.Anotherwayofinterpretingthisistosaythatthetimingbetween
pulsesfortherightperspectiveimageperiodis520s(2260s)lessthanthetiming
betweenpulsesfortheleftperspectiveimageperiod.
AspectsofthisprotocolappeartobethesubjectofUSPatentApplication2008/0151112A1.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
14
Discussion
Asmentionedabove,oneofthemaindifferencesbetweenthevariousprotocolsisthenumberof
tokensassummarisedinTable1.
Table1:Thenumberoftokensusedbythevarious3DSyncprotocols.
Glasses
Tokens
Glasses
Tokens
NuVision
DLPLink
Xpand
Samsung2007
Elsa/H3D
Samsung2010
CrystalEyes
NVIDIA
Panasonic
Sony
Itisworthnotingthatthe4tokenprotocolsarecapableofbeingusedtoimplementreducedduty
cycleoperationoftheglasseswhichisnecessaryforsomedisplaysforoptimalperformance.Theuse
ofa4tokenprotocolwouldthereforeseemtoofferthemostflexibility.
Thereisalotofvariationintherelativecomplexityofthevariousprotocolssomeuseasimple
singlepulseforeachtokenwhereasothersuseacombinationofpulsesandsomeusemorepulses
thanothers.Theglassesthatuseamorecomplextokenarelesslikelytobemistriggeredby
spuriousIRsignalsandrejectotherIRsignals,howeveramorecomplextokenalsohasmorechance
ofbeinginterferedbecauseithasalongerperiod.
Somethingthatisnotrevealedbytheseresultsisthetoleranceforsignaltimingvariationofthe
variousglasses.Aconsiderableamountofadditionaltestingwouldbeneededtoestablishthisand
thenitwouldonlybevalidforaparticularsetofglasses.Obviouslyinputfromthemanufacturers
wouldbenecessarytoestablishthistolerancecorrectly.Oneexampleofthistoleranceisthatthe
NuVision60GXglassescansuccessfullysynctotheXpandprotocol,buttheXpandX103glasseswill
notaccepttheNuVisionprotocol.
Tighttolerancewouldmeanthatapairofglasseswouldbelesslikelytobetriggeredormistriggered
bytheprotocolmeantforanotherpairofglasses.
Anotherreasonforwantingtoestablishprotocoltimingtoleranceistoworkoutwhetheroneglasses
protocolmightdriveormistriggeranothersetofglasses.Thisisimportanttoknowsothatitcanbe
determinedwhetheraTVcansuccessfullyoutputmultipleprotocolstodrivemultiplebrandsof
glassesatthesametime.
Thecrosscompatibilityofprotocolsisalsodeterminedbythesimilarityofthenumberandtimingof
thepulses.Forexample,ithasalreadybeenestablishedthattheXpandandSamsung2010protocols
wontcoexistbecausebothprotocolsuseathreepulseprotocolwithsimilarpulsewidthsbutwith
oppositepolarity.Amoreextensiveanalysisofcrosscompatibilitywillbethesubjectofafuture
publication.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
15
Conclusion
Theanalysisofthevarious3DSyncIRprotocolshascertainlybeenaninterestingrevelationintowhat
isnormallyaninvisibleprocess.Theresultshaverevealedaconsiderableamountofvariation
betweenprotocolsandalsosomeoverlap.Itishopedthattheresultsofthispaperwillprovide
usefulbackgroundinformationtowardsthedefinitionofasinglestandardforactiveshutterglasses.
Pleasenotethattheprotocolmeasurementsoutlinedinthedocumenthavebeenprovidedfor
researchanddiscussionpurposesonly.Theprotocolmeasurementsmaybesubjecttoerrorand
shouldnotbeusedasanactualtechnicaldefinitionoftheprotocols.
Acknowledgements
WewishtoacknowledgethesupportofiVECinconductingthisresearch.
Productnamesandtrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.
References
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Online:http://www.3dmovingpictures.com/chopper.html
Dated:14November2006.Accessed:29March2011.
2. ChristophBungert(2005)ShutterglassesComparisonChart
Online:http://stereo3d.com/shutter.htm
Dated:1April2005.Accessed:29March2011.
3. AndrewJ.Woods(2011)TheIllustrated3DReadyHDTVlist
Online:www.3dmovielist.com/3dhdtvs.html
Dated:28March2011.Accessed:29March2011.
4. Petrus(2011)UniversalsutterglassescontrollerinMTBS3DForums.
Online:http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=55149#p55149
Dated:10Jan2011.Accessed:29March2011.
5. GregoryR.Basile,FrankJ.Poradish(2006)SystemandMethodforSynchronizingaViewing
DeviceUSPatentApplication2008/0151112A1,dated22Dec2006.
Woods,Helliwell(2011)ASurveyof3DSyncIRProtocolsWhitePaper.
16