IRIDAS will debut the 4th generation of its acclaimed DualStream Stereo 3D functionality at NAB 2010 this year.

DualStream is IRIDAS’ advanced stereoscopic architecture built into the SpeedGrade, FrameCycler and MetaRender product lines and has been under continuous development since its inception in 2003. At NAB this year, the new DualStream NX technology will take a leap well beyond playback and basic stereo adjustments, to provide a host of advanced analysis, manipulation and automation technologies in a completely redesigned task-oriented user interface.

DualStream NX allows the user to automatically compensate for typical errors in geometric alignment, including vertical offsets, rotational differences and zoom mismatches. This significantly reduces the amount of time for artists to prepare material for dailies review. At the same time a sophisticated algorithm automatically matches the color between left and right eyes to compensate for differences in the camera colorimetry or hue and brightness shifts introduced by the optical system, such as a mirror rig.

“Matching colors and geometry between eyes has traditionally been the most time consuming part of prepping stereo dailies”, said Patrick Palmer, COO of IRIDAS. “With DualStream NX, this work can be done in seconds, freeing time for creative work and giving people instant access to headache-free review.”

Finding a good algorithm to match the colors proved a formidable task: “When we analyzed hours of footage that our clients shot in the last year, we realized that the differences go beyond a simple color cast and luminance differences”, said Michael Gallo, CTO of IRIDAS. “Mirrors employed in typical S3D rigs introduce non-linear color differences, depending on the brightness of the objects in the scene. So we had to look at various luminance zones and compensate for the non-linear color response.”

Combined with IRIDAS’ Universal RAW technology, which supports digital cinema cameras directly, the turnaround time for preparing stereoscopic image review is near zero now.

DualStream NX also includes a full suite of creative S3D tools such as keyframeable parallax adjustments, floating window and a complete stereoscopic color grading feature set. In addition, DualStream provides comprehensive S3D workflow functions such as stereo conform and automatic or manual handling of left/right assignments. For stereoscopic VFX shots, the DualStream timeline now allows you to selectively replace parts of a clip for individual eyes with other material, greatly simplifying the interaction with compositing packages and other external tools. Through alpha channel compositing and per-clip keyframeable parallax adjustment, FrameCycler and SpeedGrade are ideal platforms for stereoscopic subtitling work.

For the new DualStream NX toolset, IRIDAS completely revamped the user interface by utilizing the new Merula UI engine. ”We started with a blank canvas and evaluated typical S3D workflows. We looked at logical steps that we wanted to guide users through when setting up their stereo projects. The result is a clean user interface that is organized logically and uses the terminology that people are familiar with.”

DualStream NX will debut in SpeedGrade DI and FrameCycler DI 2010 R1, which will be launched at the NAB show in Las Vegas, April 12-15 (Booth SL 7927).

www.iridas.com