Systems and methods for managing distribution of 3D media

1. A content server for managing distribution of three dimensional (3D) visual media to a client over a network, the client having a display, the content server comprising:

a server processor configured to:

receive, over the network, an indication of a plurality of supported 3D modes of the client;

transmit a command to the client over the network, the command comprising a first field to indicate a width of at least one of a right eye region or a left eye region of a display buffer of the client, a second field to indicate a height of at least one of the right eye region or the left eye region of the display buffer, and a third field to indicate one of the plurality of supported 3D modes; and

provide the 3D visual media to the client over the network for presentation on the display of the client based at least on the display buffer indicated by the command.

2. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of supported 3D modes comprises at least one 3D mode of the plurality of supported 3D modes for each video resolution supported by the coupled display.

3. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the client is configured to conform the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode by modifying at least one frame of the 3D visual media.

4. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to provide a remote user interface to the client and receive a remote user command, and wherein the client is configured to conform the remote user interface and the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode and to composite the conformed remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media, the client being distinct from the server processor.

5. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to provide a remote user interface and a z-axis offset to the client, and wherein the client is configured to conform the remote user interface to the z-axis offset and the enabled 3D mode.

6. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to:

determine a plurality of supported graphics buffer operations of the client;

provide a remote user interface and at least one of the plurality of supported graphics buffer operations to the client;

the client being configured to apply the provided graphics buffer operations to the remote user interface and to conform the remote user interface to the enabled 3D mode.

7. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to provide a 3D remote user interface to the client.

8. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to provide a 3D remote user interface to the client, and wherein the client is configured to conform the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode and to composite the 3D remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media.

9. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the client is coupled to the display over a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), and wherein the client is configured to establish the plurality of supported 3D modes by querying an extended display identification data (EDID) of the coupled display and to send an HDMI vendor specific infoframe (VSI) corresponding to the enabled 3D mode to the coupled display.

10. The content server of claim 1 , wherein the server processor is further configured to:

enable a flatten mode of the client;

provide a remote user interface to the client;

the client being configured to conform the 3D visual media to the flatten mode and to composite the remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media.

11. A method for use by a content server having a server processor to manage distribution of three dimensional (3D) visual media to a client over a network, the client having a display, the method comprising:

determining a plurality of supported 3D modes of the client;

transmitting a command to the client over the network to configure a display buffer of the client for the 3D visual media, the command comprising a first field to indicate a width of at least one of a right eye region or a left eye region of the display buffer, a second field to indicate a height of at least one of the right eye region or the left eye region of the display buffer, and a third field to indicate one of the plurality of supported 3D modes; and

providing the 3D visual media to the client over the network for presentation on the display of the client based at least in part on the display buffer.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of supported 3D modes comprises at least one 3D mode for each video resolution supported by the coupled display.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the client is configured to conform the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

providing a remote user interface to the client;

receiving a remote user command;

the client being configured to conform the remote user interface and the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode and to composite the conformed remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

providing a remote user interface and a z-axis offset to the client;

the client being configured to conform the remote user interface to the z-axis offset and the enabled 3D mode.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a plurality of supported graphics buffer operations of the client;

providing a remote user interface and at least one of the plurality of supported graphics buffer operations to the client;

the client being configured to apply the provided graphics buffer operations to the remote user interface and to conform the remote user interface to the enabled 3D mode.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

providing a 3D remote user interface to the client;

the client being configured to conform the 3D visual media to the enabled 3D mode and to composite the 3D remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the client is coupled to the display over one or more data connections;

the client being configured to establish the plurality of supported 3D modes by querying the coupled display using at least one of the one or more data connections.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

enabling a flatten mode of the client;

providing a remote user interface to the client;

the client being configured to conform the 3D visual media to the flatten mode and to composite the conformed remote user interface and the conformed 3D visual media.

20. A computer program product comprising instructions stored in at least one tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the instructions comprising:

instructions for configuring, over a network, a display buffer of a client device by at least transmitting a command to the client device, the command comprising a first field to indicate a width of at least one of a right eye region or a left eye region of the display buffer, a second field to indicate a height of at least one of the right eye region or the left eye region of the display buffer, and a third field to indicate one of a plurality of supported three-dimensional modes associated with the client device; and

instructions for providing three-dimensional visual media over the network for presentation on a display associated with the client device based at least on the configured display buffer of the client device.