NHNZ in project to develop 3D TV

NHNZ has hundreds of hours of high definition television which could be converted to 3D. Photo / Thinkstock

Documentary maker NHNZ is working with a Korean company to develop cost effective software able to turn high definition television into 3D programmes.

While the conversion of 2D to 3D television was possible, the results were not particularly reliable and it cost "an absolute fortune", NHNZ general manager John Crawford said from Korea yesterday.

So NHNZ had partnered with Korea's largest government funded research company and technical giant ETRI to develop the software, using its documentaries as a test.

"If ETRI pull this off, and we are very confident that they will, they will be the first to create software with cost-effective conversion capability."

Mr Crawford said countries which had launched 3D television channels were very short on content.

While NHNZ had made 20 hours of 3D programming, it had hundreds of hours of high definition television which could be converted to 3D if there was a cost effective way, he said.

"There is not a lot of 3D TV programming made."

If the new software worked, it would give NHNZ a leading edge against other similar production companies and benefit it economically even when the system was sold on the open market, he said.

"We'll have the tecnology first."

Mr Crawford and technical and IT systems manager Wayne Poll were in Korea this week to take part in workshops with ETRI.

Initial tests looked promising and during the workshops they would be advancing the software using NHNZ's Life Force series due to its huge diversity of high definition imagery.

"It'll really put the technology through its paces."

The Korean scientists would visit Dunedin in October to continue the testing.

"We're hoping to have the process completed in 12 months but its small steps."