Avatar is set to smash box office records and cause millions of people to walk off with 'free' 3D glasses, so in a hail of trumpets and excitement HDMI Licensing has joined the party.
This week HDMI Licensing, which licenses the HDMI specification and does not specialise in inventive naming conventions, said that it was making the 3D portion of the spec available for public download in a bid to drive adoption and development.
What's more, it is going to be updated soon. "The document available for download is extracted from version 1.4 of the HDMI Specification", says the organisation. "The HDMI Consortium intends to release a 1.4a version of the HDMI Specification shortly which will include updates to the 3D portion of the Specification. As soon as the 1.4a version of the Specification is published to Adopters, an update to the 3D portion of the document, available for public download, will also be published."
In December, when it first announced the 1.4a version, the outfit made it clear that it would strive to ensure the integrity of 3D content. "3D is a nascent market and thus continues to evolve quickly", said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing. "We have taken input from leading industry associations and this announcement reflects the HDMI Founders' commitment to continuously and proactively set the foundation for innovations that will deliver the next generation of content. The addition of the new format will secure the application of 3D for broadcasting, in addition to the existing applications for Blu-ray and gaming."
A number of potential users have not yet signed up to use or adopt the specification, and the body expects that by making it freely available it will foster development across a number of industries.
"The HDMI Consortium recognises the importance of standardised 3D formats for movies, gaming and broadcast content and the need for non-adopter companies and organisations to have access to that portion of the HDMI Specification. As the mainstream adoption of 3D is gaining momentum and content providers define and expand their 3D roadmaps, HDMI is ready to support this major market development."