Tile format: A novel frame compatible approach for 3D video broadcasting

The success of the 3D TV broadcasting service largely depends on the technical, economical and user experience aspects. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that one of the keys for the successful deployment of 3D TV is the offer of a service which permits a seamless transition to 3D by exploiting the existing infrastructure and guaranteeing 2D backward compatibility towards legacy receivers, whilst only requiring a moderate increase in the transmission bandwidth. To this end, the DVB has just drafted the first phase of the 3D TV specification and has selected a number of frame compatible format arrangements for the multiplexing of 3D in a standard video sequence. In this paper we propose the novel Tile Format frame compatible arrangement and analyze its advantages over other existing solutions in terms of both image quality and backward compatibility. Furthermore, we detail a real 3D TV broadcasting trial which is currently being conducted in our country and is based upon the proposed video format.