The Cameron Pace Group (CPG) is pouring significant investment into building a new camera system for 3D TV from the sensor up. Company co-founder and CEO Vince Pace also says the European market represents a “lucrative” opportunity for his business.
Pace has elaborated on the ‘smart camera’ system he announced that CPG was building at NAB to reduce the complexity and cost of 3DTV production.
“We are building this from the sensor up. The onboard engine is dealing with sensor input and that data will be fed back integrated into systems on an OB truck. We are building a remote control panel (RCP) which will also integrate with other RCPs, and we’re talking to routers with this system so we can put up all the cameras on an outside broadcast unit for evaluation.
“We are staffing up to help deal with it and we are headed toward a goal that’s achievable. It will take electro- mechanical and software GUI expertise and CPG is one of the few companies capable of achieving this.”
Pace will outline his vision for 3DTV production at TVB Europe’s 3D Masters event on June 15 (http://www.tvbeurope.com/3d-masters) and believes the opportunity in Europe for CPG is a lucrative one.
“Our first bridge into the market is the FUSION mobile unit (two of which PACE built for NEP Visions sports production for ESPN in the US, with a third truck underway). Those vehicles have capacity for 10 camera pairs (using CPG’s Shadow D rig and Shadow Vision software), we QC all the camera systems for sync and stereo content and then hand them over to a production unit ready for action so that the OB supplier can concentrate on distributing the signals. That formula is a very powerful one and makes every mobile unit provider capable of mapping 2D and 3D assets and producing good 3D.”
CPG is not just focussed on live events, but productions of all genre. “In two to three years, a significant percentage of shows will be available to watch in 3D,” he says. “It will start with [large studio-based reality shows] an American Idol or Dancing with the Stars and migrate to episodic shows.
“The next crossroads is when glasses go away and displays become commodities and 3D is no longer mentioned as something unusual.”
www.cameronpace.com
