The SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) yesterday announced that it will establish a task force to begin defining a standard for 3-D home-entertainment applications.

Specifically, the 3-D Home Display Formats Task Force will "define the parameters of a stereoscopic 3-D mastering standard," according to the SMPTE.

The group will explore what kinds of standards will be required in order to ensure interoperability of 3-D content across diverse delivery media (including the Internet, cable/telco/satellite services, and packaged media) and consumer storage and playback devices, according to the organization.

The SMPTE will kick off what promises to be a complex and lengthy process Aug. 19 with an inaugural meeting at the University of Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center in Los Angeles.

SMPTE membership is not required for the opening meeting, and the group invites all interested parties from the content-creation, distribution, and consumer-electronics segments of the industry to attend. Continued participation in the standards process will require SMPTE membership, the organization states.

After six months, the Task Force will generate a report on the challenges, minimum standards, and evaluation criteria that the organisation will then use to guide its standard-making efforts.

By Matthew Miller, Editor in Chief, EDN.com -- Electronic News