OmniTek 3D Toolset Adopted by Films@59

LONDON, August 24, 2011 -

Bristol-based post production house Films@59, recently shortlisted for Best Production House at the Broadcast Awards 2011 and a long-term user of OmniTek video test and measurement equipment, have recently enhanced their facilities with the purchase of a 3D-capable OmniTek OTR 1001.

Films@59 provide a complete package of post production services for HD and SD video across a range of genres including documentaries, animation, drama and natural history. They have four dedicated digital grading suites and eight high-end finishing suites.

The company have for several years been using OmniTek TQ and XR systems in their finishing suites to satisfy their requirement for high-end measuring tools. They found that the OmniTek systems fitted perfectly into both their suite set-ups and their workflows and, over the years, have added additional facilities such as dual-link support, advanced audio and logging in support of their Digital Intermediate (DI) and high-end grading work.

They have recently been involved in a high-end Stereo 3D (S3D) wildlife documentary project, in support of which they purchased an OmniTek OTR 1001 with the additional 3D Toolset. Ian Burling, Head of Technical Services at Films@59, commented:

“When looking for a test and measurement solution to complement the high end S3D finishing tools, the OTR 1001 with its S3D analysis toolset was the only option providing all the features needed to complete a stereoscopic project successfully, whilst ensuring we had the stability and the excellent support we have come to know from several years living with the TQ & XR products and OmniTek as a company.”

The OTR 1001 is a 1RU version of OmniTek’s successful OTM 1000 and OTR 1003 combined waveform analyzer and test signal generator systems that was launched in May 2011. The 3D toolset for these systems was added as the VIEW_3D software option in July, alongside v2.2 of the OTM/OTR software application at the heart of their operation.

The VIEW_3D software option doesn’t just offer the disparity /depth maps and histograms of other S3D video analysis tools but also a range of displays that give the user a true picture of how the S3D video will be perceived by the viewer. In particular, the VIEW_3D option includes a Depth Plan that gives in real-time a ‘helicopter view’ of each 3D image scene with the various components of the scene positioned as seen by a viewer of the film. It also offers the complementary Elevation display (i.e. the scene as seen from one side).

OmniTek’s 3D depth displays are generated by combining horizontal disparities automatically extracted from the S3D video with information provided by the user about the screen size on which the video is to be projected and the distance the viewer is expected to be sitting in front of the screen. You can also easily run ‘what if’-type investigations of how the perceived depths will vary for users watching on different screen sizes, simply by entering the different screen sizes and viewer distances.

The VIEW_3D option also provides a range of facilities for checking that the luma and chroma levels in the left- and right-eye images match. In particular, it adds to the Picture display a Checkerboard image made up of alternate sections from the two images and the option to alternate the picture displayed between the right- and left-eye images. It also adds ‘3D modes’ to the Waveform, Vectorscope and (Pixel) Histogram displays that show the traces obtained from the right-eye image (shown in cyan) against those obtained from the left-eye image (shown in red).

Also shown on OmniTek’s various 3D displays are details such as the XYZ coordinates in the viewer’s world of the point in the display picked out by a crosshair cursor - and an important feature of the OmniTek system is that the displays are linked such that the crosshair cursor is in the equivalent position on each display. As a result, the information you see as you move from display to display is all about the same point in the image.

A full description of the facilities that are offered is given in Section I of the OTM and OTR user guides (v2.2 or later), while examples of the displays that are offered are shown at the end of this release.

About OmniTek:

OmniTek is an innovative test and measurement company formed in 2001, specialising in the development of video analysis equipment for SD, HD, 3G and digital cinema applications. In 2008 OmniTek was awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for innovation on its XR system.

Additional information is available from www.omnitek.tv

Steve Carpenter, OmniTek, +44-(0)1256-345900, steve.carpenter at omnitek.tv