Image transfer apparatus and method

1. An image transfer system, comprising:

an input configured to receive a signal from a source, the received signal comprising two non-stereoscopic images for different respective viewpoints of a virtual environment, wherein the two non-stereoscopic images do not form a stereoscopic pair;

a first output configured to transmit a signal comprising the two non-stereoscopic images formatted as a stereoscopic image to at least a first 3D display that does not support a dual-view mode;

a signal splitter logic operatively coupled to the input and the first output, the signal splitter logic being configured to:

identify one or more supported video modes of the at least the first 3D display, and

operate the system in either a first mode or a second mode in accordance with the one or more supported video modes, in which the first mode provides a 3D display signal and the second mode provides one or more dual-view control signals;

an entertainment device operable to generate the two images for different respective viewpoints of a virtual environment; and

two or more active shutter glasses, in which the active shutter glasses comprise a receiver operable to receive one or more selected from the list consisting of:

i. an infra-red signal transmitted from the image transfer system,

ii. a radio signal transmitted from the image transfer system, and

iii. a radio signal transmitted from the entertainment device;

in which the system is configured to identify itself to the source of the received signal as capable of dual-view display of the two images, and configured to identify itself to the first 3D display as a source of a conventional 3D TV signal.

2. An image transfer system according to claim 1 , in which the apparatus is arranged to transmit extended display identification data to the source of the received signal, the data indicating that the apparatus is capable of dual-view display of the two images, and in which the apparatus is arranged to transmit extended display identification data to a recipient of the transmitted signal, the data indicating that the apparatus is a source of 3D TV signals.

3. An image transfer system according to claim 1 , comprising a transmitter operable to transmit the dual-view control signals to at least two active shutter glasses, the dual-view control signals arranged to allow respective wearers of the glasses to only view a respective one of the two non-stereoscopic images.

4. An image transfer according to claim 3 , in which the transmitter is operable to transmit radio control signals to two or more active shutter glasses paired to the transmitter using a wireless protocol.

5. An image transfer system according to claim 1 , comprising:

a second output; and

wherein the signal splitter logic is configured:

to extract and separate the two images from the received signal;

to format each of the two separated images for reception by a respective conventional 2D display; and

to output to the first output and the second output a respective one of the two separate images.

6. An image transfer system according to claim 5 , comprising:

an audio splitter logic; and in which

the audio splitter logic is operable:

to extract and separate two stereo audio signals from a surround-sound signal forming part of the received signal comprising two images; and

to output to the first output and the second output a respective one of the two separated stereo audio signals.

7. An image transfer system according claim 1 , comprising:

a second output; and

wherein the signal splitter logic is configured to detect a whether a display connected to each output is a 3D display; and in which

the input is operable to receive a signal comprising a true stereoscopic pair of images for display on a 3D display; and

the signal splitter logic is configured:

to duplicate the signal for routing to the two outputs,

to output the signal to a display detected as a 3D display, and

to convert the signal to a monoscopic signal for output to a display detected as a conventional 2D display.

8. An image transfer system according to claim 1 , comprising:

a digital video broadcast receiver for receiving digital video broadcast signals; and in which

the receiver is operable send received digital video broadcast signals to a source of the received signal comprising two non-stereoscopic images.

9. An image transfer apparatus system according to claim 1 , in which the active shutter glasses are operable to receive control signals from a display device or from one of the image transfer apparatus and the entertainment device.

10. A method of image transfer for an image transfer apparatus, comprising the steps of:

receiving a video signal from a source, the received video signal comprising two non-stereoscopic images for different respective viewpoints of a virtual environment, wherein the two non-stereoscopic images do not form a stereoscopic pair;

transmitting to a first output a video signal comprising the two non-stereoscopic images formatted as if they were a stereoscopic image to at least a first 3D display that does not support a dual-view mode;

identifying one or more supported video modes of the at least the first 3D display;

operating the apparatus in either a first mode or a second mode in accordance with the one or more supported video modes, in which the first mode provides a 3D display signal and the second mode provides one or more dual-view control signals;

identifying the image transfer apparatus to the source of the received video signal as capable of dual-view display of the two images;

identifying the image transfer apparatus to the at least first 3D display as a source of a conventional 3D TV signal;

generating the two images for different respective viewpoints of a virtual environment; and

receiving one or more selected from the list consisting of:

i. an infra-red signal transmitted from the image transfer apparatus,

ii. a radio signal transmitted from the image transfer apparatus, and

iii. a radio signal transmitted from an entertainment device.

11. A method of image transfer according to claim 10 , comprising the step of transmitting the dual-view control signals to at least two active shutter glasses, the dual-view control signals arranged to allow respective wearers of the glasses to only view a respective one of the two non-stereoscopic images.

12. A method of image transfer according to claim 10 , comprising the steps of:

transmitting extended display identification data to a source of the received signal, the data indicating a capability for dual-view display of the two images; and

transmitting extended display identification data to a recipient of the transmitted signal, the data indicating that the transmitted signal is a source of 3D TV signals.

13. A method of image transfer according to claim 10 , comprising the steps of:

extracting and separating the two images from the received signal;

formatting each of the two separate images for reception by a respective conventional 2D display; and

transmitting to the first output and a second output a respective one of the two separate images.

14. A method of image transfer according to claim 10 , comprising the steps of:

detecting a whether a display connected the first output and a second output is a 3D display;

receiving a signal comprising a true stereoscopic pair of images for display on a 3D display;

duplicating the signal for routing to the two outputs;

transmitting the signal to a connected display detected as a 3D display; and

converting the signal to a monoscopic signal for output to a connected display detected as a conventional 2D display.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recorded with a computer program, the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method of claim 10 .