Before you can create a 3D Blu-ray disc, you must have 3D video content that is encoded in a new file format called MVC.

The MVC format

MVC stands for Multiview Video Coding.  It is  an amendment to the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video compression standard developed with joint efforts by MPEG/VCEG that enables efficient encoding of sequences captured simultaneously from multiple cameras using a single video stream.

In layman’s terms, the MVC format includes a full-frame 2D AVC stream, called the Base View, and a secondary offset stream called the Dependent View.  MVC streams are backward compatible with H.264/AVC, which allows standard 2D Blu-ray players and software to decode stereoscopic video streams.  They play the Base View and simply ignore the additional information contained in the Dependent View.

The MVC format is highly efficient and the Dependent View only adds about 50% extra bit rate to the overall stream.

Source Files and the encoding process

Depending on which encoder you use the allowable file format or codec will vary, but one constant is that you will need 2 full-frame HD streams - one contains the left eye view and the other contains the right eye view.

For example, the NetBlender MVC Encoder accepts Quicktime, AVI and YUV files (see the products section for details).  You will need to create 2 full HD streams in one of these file formats.  The encoder interface requires you to select the appropriate stream for each eye.  You make bit rate selections and start the encoding process.  Since MVC encoding  is really an extension of AVC encoding for Blu-ray, the encoding process is essentially the same - apart from the need for two input video streams.

The output of the encoding process is a little different.  The NetBlender MVC encoder outputs three files.  One file contains both the base view and dependent view streams interleaved in a single file (”my3dfilm.264″).  Additionally, it also outputs the base view as a single file (”my3dfilm0.264″) and the dependent view as a single file (”my3dfilm1.264″).  Which file combination you use will depend on your authoring system.  DoStudio uses the base view and depend view files and does not use the interleaved file.  The 2-file input allows for higher bit rates during muxing.  The single interleaved file is useful for QC because it can be played by some of the leading Blu-ray softplayers (Corel WinDVD, Cyberlink PowerDVD).

Who makes MVC encoders for Blu-ray?

Currently the major players in the Blu-ray encoder space have released, or are planning to release MVC encoders: Cinema Craft, Sony, Sonic Solutions, and of course, NetBlender.  NetBlender’s DoStudio MVC encoder is available now.