Summary

As digital broadcasting services have been rapidly deployed, many service operators are introducing more realistic broadcasting services such as three-dimensional television (3DTV). Recently, several research activities in Europe, Asia and North America for the 3DTV service have been completed. Moreover, some 3DTV service trials have been executed for various broadcasting media including terrestrial, cable and satellite TV. Recommendation ITU-T J.900 describes the services and system requirements for stereoscopic 3DTV service over hybrid fibre and coaxial (HFC) based networks. For providing cable 3DTV services, there are several technologies to be considered; 3D video format, video quality, service signalling, contents delivery, transmission efficiency and so on. Although a wide range of 3DTV technologies have been developed, 3D video services and content markets are still premature. Therefore, it is necessary to define the service and system requirements of 3DTV broadcasting for vitalization of 3D video services and related content markets.