Originally Posted By: gonk
There are some issues involved.

1. Nobody knows how the PS3 will do 3D with an HDMI v1.3 transceiver chip. HDMI v1.4 (and particularly v1.4a) does add some 3D support, although in theory I think that v1.3 is capable of supporting the bandwidth. The most common theory I've seen is that the PS3's 3D will be 1080i-based, not 1080p-based, and that it will somehow be able to pass through a v1.3 transceiver that wasn't designed for 3D. Because the PS3 has that Cell processor under the hood, it can do some fairly CPU-intensive gymnastics to produce a 3D-friendly signal that can then be fed through the existing output.

2. There are some v1.3 displays that are said to be 3D capable. How that will work remains to be clearly defined.

3. There are some new products announced that are listed as being HDMI v1.3 while also supporting 3D. Those products are actually using v1.4 chips, but they were developed without having a formal v1.4 certification process. Thus they are v1.3 products that are intended to support some v1.4 functionality.

4. There are two dangers that may arise if people try to feed 3D through v1.3 receivers and processors. The first is bandwidth: even though v1.3 is spec'd to handle enough bandwidth for 3D, that doesn't mean products' internal architecture was built for it when all they had to worry about was 2D 1080p/60. There's no way to readily identify if this could be a problem or not with a v1.3 product. The other is video processing. Some units (like the Onkyo 885 and 886) will automatically bypass video processing when fed a 1080p/24 signal. Other units can't do that, and 1080p/24 comes out 1080p/60. Can the former units be "trained" to bypass a 1080p 3D signal? Can units that don't know to bypass 1080p/24 be "trained" to?

The best solutions for folks who want to have 3D at home are a v1.4 receiver or processor or find 3D sources that offer two HDMI outputs (one for video and one for audio) so the video can go straight to the display.


1. Sony has said it will be 1080p, and will NOT be simulated 3D, but fully compliant 3D. This means it will work, and we do know that HDMI 1.3 is enough for 3D in terms of bandwidth, and it will depend on certain products. If products were designed to fully handle the bandwidth needed in their infrastructure a firmware update should be satisfactory IF there is proper video processing. The PS3 is a powerful device. The guys at Oppo are also saying a firmware update will "likely," handle the 3D issue.

2. They are designed for firmware updates. Mitsubishi specifically states that the TVs were designed for it, and that all it will take is a firmware update. So HDMI 1.3 is more than capable again, if the processing is there and the infrastructure was designed for full bandwidth.

3. I know the Panasonic BD players coming out are in fact NOT using a 1.4 chip, they're just updated 1.3 chips. They had no 1.4 chip to use at the time of making their spec units.

4. You're right, if they didn't prepare for it there is no telling. However, a device won't get a firmware upgrade for 3D use if it won't work. So that should take care of everything. Most devices should be ok. The video chips needed aren't that powerful (something that could run DCDI should be more than capable for instance).

The primary reason for 1.4 is the addition of Ethernet, and to me it's not that big of a deal. 3D has been tacked on to improve 1.4 sales. Why? Because 1.4 was originally announced a long time ago and no one gave a damn. Throw on 3D and it's all of a sudden a big deal.

The fear that 1.3 will be obsolete is just that a fear. Chances are high that upgrades could handle the 3D issue for a lot of people. I personally see no need to add Ethernet to my HDMI, and I don't even know how much use that can even be.