3D MVC Option

[sapstar]

I just posted a thread, but for some reason seems to be removed.

I was saying, I am not changing any modes in the TV. I have to tell the media player to play SBS. I think the media player can't recognize the mkv file as 3d until I put sbs or tab in the file name. Once I put it, it then see it as 3D and automatically my TV changes to 3D mode in 1080p 24hz and plays the movie in 3D. The quality of 3D is exactly same as what I get for the same movie disk in my PS3. This is by no means 2D to 3D conversion (which by the way R6S can do, but I can tell there is no pop out effect what so ever).

This player has the same chip (realtek 1186) as the mede8er which is known to play mvc 3d mkv files. But the price of R6S is 1/3rd of Mede8er.

[sapstar]

I have done some more tests on my R6s as below.

1. I added .3d.sbs to a 2D movie and it produces completely distorted picture. But sends frame packed video to my tv.
2. I added .3d.tab to the 3D MVC movie. It still produces 3D movie but a lot faded out and lacks the pop out effect.

Only if I name the MVC 3D MKV file with .3d.sbs, it is producing quality 3D output. I am pretty much convinced that the output is definitely full 3D as it should be, but not sure how it is doing it and why I need it to set as SBS.

PS. TAB also seems to be working correctly now. I was doing something wrong last time probably. I can see from mede8er forums that even in mede8er, MVC 3D works only by setting TAB or SBS in filename. Also one of the the post says that the MVC encoding in the file takes precedence and the file name is only used to trigger 3D. So I believe the R6S works in the same way.

[trumpet205]

sapstar

That really doesn't make sense. Full HD 3D (FHD3D), which is what most 3D Bluray player will output when decoding MVC, has pixel resolution of 1920 x 2205. This isn't the like H-SBS or H-TAB where pixel resolution is still 1920 x 1080.

It sounds like you are telling your digital player to decode MVC into either H-TAB or H-SBS; that's not FHD3D. Either vertical or horizontal resolution is halved.

MVC encoding, on the other hand, does no such thing, and is basically proper frame packing as it comes off the source Blu-Ray disc.

MVC is a 3D encoding method, not 3D transmission method. It is 2D + delta.

Framepacked (FHD3D) is a transmission method. 3D Bluray player can decode MVC into H-TAB, H-SBS, or checkerboard if you have older 3DTV that doesn't support FHD3D. Some older HDMI 1.3 3DTV don't support FHD3D.

[Joe Bar]

I think, it's the same as with the mede8er: naming file <anything>.TB.mkv or <something>.SBS.mkv will trigger 3d decoding and detect mvc automatically. In mede8er tbhere is no filenaming for mvc MKV as well, but it will actually decode 3d mvc MKV if the filernaming is for TB or SBS 3d MKV...

[trumpet205]

I think, it's the same as with the mede8er: naming file <anything>.TB.mkv or <something>.SBS.mkv will trigger 3d decoding and detect mvc automatically. In mede8er tbhere is no filenaming for mvc MKV as well, but it will actually decode 3d mvc MKV if the filernaming is for TB or SBS 3d MKV...

Right.

Problem is, does it get decoded into FHD3D, or H-TAB/H-SBS? Simply being able to decode MVC does not guarantee the output is FHD3D.

[sapstar]

Right.

Problem is, does it get decoded into FHD3D, or H-TAB/H-SBS? Simply being able to decode MVC does not guarantee the output is FHD3D.

Not really sure, but as per mede8er forums it looks like it decodes MVC and transmits FHD3D. I am assuming it is the same for R6S. At least I can't tell any difference between playing the 3D BD disk in my PS3 and the 3D quality I get using the media player.

[SiliconKid]

The bottom line is that your media player IS decoding the MVC and playing it correctly.

On a technical level it would be nice to know exactly what transmission method it's using, but if you can't tell a difference visually then really, who cares ?

If it's decoding it to HSBS and transmitting it as that, and it looks perfect to you, then that's good enough.

The mere fact that it can decode the MVC and transmit ANY form of working 3D to the TV from that is far more than most other options are capable of right now.

For me, personally, none of those standalone media players are an option because they don't have a UI that is anywhere close to good enough for me. I'm an XBMC user so my standards for media UI are very high and those cheap media players are out of the question as a result.

[sapstar]

The bottom line is that your media player IS decoding the MVC and playing it correctly.

On a technical level it would be nice to know exactly what transmission method it's using, but if you can't tell a difference visually then really, who cares ?

If it's decoding it to HSBS and transmitting it as that, and it looks perfect to you, then that's good enough.

The mere fact that it can decode the MVC and transmit ANY form of working 3D to the TV from that is far more than most other options are capable of right now.

For me, personally, none of those standalone media players are an option because they don't have a UI that is anywhere close to good enough for me. I'm an XBMC user so my standards for media UI are very high and those cheap media players are out of the question as a result.

I use XBMC as my main media player too and use R6S just to play 3D. I tried integrating stereoscopic player with XBMC. But realised that it doesn't support hardware decoding of MVC and I was always running around 90 - 100% cpu. So this wasn't an option for me as I was using HP Microserver for xbmc and can't upgrade my processor for 3D. The other option was to buy and integrate TMT6 or Power DVD and extract 3D blurays as ISO's (atleast doubles the file sizes). I will need to get AnyDVD for the cinavia fix. So this was really expensive option and I may need to keep up with upgrading software every year or two (paying for them again). Didn't just want to spend ridiculous amount of money just to get 3D working on xbmc. Also reading about xbmc's support for 3D online, it looked like it's nowhere in the pipeline to support 3D mvc. I found some information online that realtek 1186 based devices are supporting makemkv extracts of 3D. Considered mede8er, but have seen couple of posts online regarding R6S. So decided on getting it and currently is working well for me.

So for now, I use XBMC for almost everything, PS3 for bluray disk playback/netflix/lovefilm and Egreat R6S for MVC 3D Mkv. Switching between them is a breeze with my logitech harmony .

[Batiatus]

To say MVC 3D support isn't in the pipeline for XBM is false. XBMC uses FFmpeg decoding for media playback, so it's up to those guys to get MVC decoding going. Once it is the XBMC guys will integrate it. Last I read it is being worked on but isn't the highest priority. But as more and more people get into MVC 3D the work will progress. Since various media players are now starting to support MVC the demand is getting there.

[SamuriHL]

It's more than just a decoder issue. The renderer is the bigger problem and not even madVR is working on that yet.

[sapstar]

To say MVC 3D support isn't in the pipeline for XBM is false. XBMC uses FFmpeg decoding for media playback, so it's up to those guys to get MVC decoding going. Once it is the XBMC guys will integrate it. Last I read it is being worked on but isn't the highest priority. But as more and more people get into MVC 3D the work will progress. Since various media players are now starting to support MVC the demand is getting there.

It would be great if 3D is fully supported in XBMC. But at this time, I just need an alternative. I guess it will be definitely over an year before XBMC starts supporting 3D properly.

[docchris]

I've been waiting more than 3 years and there seems to have been zero development in this area

[SiliconKid]

@docchris:

That's hardly surprising given that proper 3D support in XBMC only recently materialised in XBMC v13 and MVC has only very recently started to become a focal point for the majority of users who care about 3D.

Like me, you were way ahead of the curve 3 years ago I'm afraid, and those of us who play on the edge of the tech will always have to wait long periods of time for the mainstream to catch up and get onboard.

[sapstar]

@docchris:

That's hardly surprising given that proper 3D support in XBMC only recently materialised in XBMC v13 and MVC has only very recently started to become a focal point for the majority of users who care about 3D.

Like me, you were way ahead of the curve 3 years ago I'm afraid, and those of us who play on the edge of the tech will always have to wait long periods of time for the mainstream to catch up and get onboard.

XBMC still doesn't properly support what it does in terms of 3D. The hsbs and htab titles don't automatically switch my TV to 3D mode. I have to manually change the mode. But when I use other media players, the switch is automatic. So I don't use XBMC for any form of 3D at the moment.

[SiliconKid]

@sapstar:

Not auto switching your TV to 3D isn't really XBMC's fault.

For that to happen, your TV needs to be sent frame packed data so that it knows it's 3D.

XBMC sends your TV raw 2D frames for HSBS and HTAB and your TV decodes that to 3D, which means there is no way for XBMC to signal your TV to go into 3D mode.

Apps that leverage video drivers to do hardware level 3D playback actually send frame packed data to the TV, which triggers 3D mode.

What XBMC is doing in terms of HSBS and HTAB is pretty standard for software players.

Many factors influence auto switching, as you can see here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=188369