JM Rental, Sony PCL Present 3D Video For FIFA World Cup Super Public Viewing
Third Dimension Sony PCL and JM Rental provided 3D video support for the FIFA World Cup FES Super Public Viewing held on June 19, 2010 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan.
JM Rental and Sony PCL have recently worked together on a number of landmark projects, including the FIFA World Cup FES Super Public Viewing (SPV), held on June 19, 2010 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. A 10,000-person audience attended the show, witnessing a live 3D broadcast of performances by top Japanese singers, followed by a live broadcast of the Japan vs. Netherlands match of the World Cup from South Africa in 2D.
Preparations for the event started over a year in advance, with both companies investing huge capital in order to support it. JM Rental’s investment alone was $8 million in order to purchase more than 200 square meters of 3D LED panels, plus several sets of LCM-4K processors. Sony PCL’s investment covered all aspects of the 3D content production. These investments would culminate in a full trial run at a public warehouse two weeks before the actual show. A local crew of 100, including professional structural, audio, and video technicians were deployed to construct the mega 3D LED screen at the Saitama Super Arena. The crew was able to piece the panels together within 12 hours during the main show of SPV.
At 30 x 23 panels, which were 19.2m wide x 11.04m high, the screen had a pixel resolution of 4320 x 1215 in 3D. It was one of the world’s largest high-definition 4mm LED screens to date. Its 3D images and excellent viewing angles treated guests in every area of the arena to a vivid viewing experience. Sony PCL provided the means to manage the screen’s images via its proprietary content production system, which fed from 3D Live cameras and processed via LCM-4K processors. The 4mm pixel pitch panels used by JM Rental are designed to be an ideal medium for 3D LED, as its color uniformity, excellent contrast level, and viewing angles allow large audiences to enjoy the 3D effect, with none of the issues of motion sickness and sore eyes that some users have reported from other 3D technologies.
“3D LED panels are still relatively new to the market, but they are undoubtedly going to change the way we are entertained. As their use spreads, the general public will be able to more freely enjoy this new dimension in entertainment,” says Kenneth Yip of JM Rental. “We are very pleased and proud to be at its forefront. The Super Public Viewing event demonstrated that, together with Sony PCL, one of the world’s leading experiential content production companies, 3D technology is enthusiastically received by audiences.”
Sony PCL provided the means to manage the screen’s images via its proprietary content production system, which fed from 3D Live cameras and processed via LCM-4K processors.
JM Rental and Sony PCL have been active partners in several other 3D events recently, which provided a platform to put the 3D LED screen through its paces prior to the SPV. All the events used 70 panels of screen, and included “3D World,” created by Sony in South Africa and Sony’s “make.believe” event held in Roppongi Hills in Japan earlier this year, as well as at industry trade shows such as NAB, IFA in Germany, and Broadcast & Cable in Brazil. JM Rental and Sony PCL also supplied around 23m of 3D LED screen and live 3D cameras at Nelson Mandela Square in celebration of the first ever FIFA World Cup to be produced in 3D.
“Sony PCL and JM Rental are [looking to] continually improve our 3D technologies, products, and service,” explains Yip. “JM Rental’s current stock of 3D panels and Sony PCL’s experience with 3D production means that our combined resources will be able to satisfy screens on a huge scale, and [positions us] to apply our 3D knowledge and products to future collaborations.”
“Working with JM Rental on this brand-new technology was very exciting for us,” says Michimasa Sekiguchi of Sony PCL. “3D is the hot topic in visual technology at the moment, so applying it to LED screens is a new challenge, and a highly rewarding one. We are looking forward to helping to create the future of LED display technology.”
