Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

At this years 82nd Annual Academy Awards the battle between 2D and 3D was truly on. James Cameron’s 3D epic ‘Avatar’ was up against his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow’s 2D war-zone drama ‘The Hurt Locker’. Avatar was nominated for nine awards in total but only won three of its categories. It won Oscars for; Best Art Direction, Cinematography and Visual Effects.

The majority of people expected Avatar to come out victorious in the Best Picture and Director categories, however ‘The Hurt Locker’ blew Avatar away and won the ceremonies two big Oscars. Read the rest of this entry »

Following U2 and Walt Disney Co.’s “Hannah Montana” in trying to capitalize on the popularity of the format, Phish rock band plans to release a 3D concert film, too, in US theaters on April this year. Specific release date not announced yet.

Earlier 3D concert films gained good results like Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert” and “U2 3D”.

With more than 16 3D films to be released this year, more and more theaters around the globe are rushing to upgrade their systems and make it 3D equipped.

* “Phish 3D” follows the band during its Festival 8 concerts in Indio, California, last October, according to the statement. The band, formed in 1983, is known for shows that include improvisations in jazz, rock and bluegrass.

*source: TODAY3D

Cameron settling down? Not at all. He is already preparing for a fresh underwater 3D drama called Sanctum. Not only is it a more intimate and much smaller project than Avatar, but it’s Cameron’s chance to prove that 3-D can be used well in movies that aren’t big blockbusters.

Sanctum is being directed by Australian filmmaker and Tropfest winner Alister Grierson and features an Aussie cast including: Rhys Wakefield (7’s “Home and Away”), Allison Cratchley (7’s “All Saints”), Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing), Alice Parkinson (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Daniel Wyllie (Animal Kingdom).

Inspired by a real experience that producer Andrew Wight went through, Sanctum will show how he ended up trapped with 14 other people in a cave system for two days. “It’s really a character driven piece and the 3-D should only be part of enhancing the experience,” Cameron says.

Following the success of Sky UK’s first ever live 3D broadcast, Sky Deutschland are now preparing to bring the same experience to German audiences. The Manchester United vs Arsenal Premier League clash received nothing but praise from its 3D admiring audience. Now Sky are hoping for the same positive response from German sports fans, as they prepare to broadcast a 3D Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburger SV to a select audience in Munich, on March 14th. Read the rest of this entry »

Soon, Philips will launch more of its 3D television. And these 3D TV’s will be paired with XpanD’s active shutter glasses.
At the held CES last January 2010 in Las Vegas, XpanD launched its lineup of 3D glasses. The company claims to have hold of 90% of Asian cinemas and more than 50% in Europe and 75% in France specifically.

“In many respects, the cinema market represents an endurance test for the glasses. Our glasses are required to perform beautifully multiple times a day, many days a week, and they must also be comfortable, easily cleaned and robust. Having proven our technology in the cinema sphere, we’re addressing the consumer market by adding extra style to designs, making available new colours, entering OEM partnerships with great companies such as Philips, and also pursuing our own retail strategy to support consumers who need additional glasses,” explained Maria Costeira, CEO of XpanD.

At CeBIT, which is currently running in Hanover, Germany, ASUS announced its plans for a 3D monitor. ASUS revealed that later this year it will be releasing the 27″ full HD 3D PG276 Monitor. The 3D capable display utilizees NVIDIA 3D Vision technology and will display full HD images at 60 frames per second.

Prior to the release of the 27″ ASUS PG276 later this year, a 23″ and a 23.6″ version of the display will be made available. No price or official release date has been stated with the upcoming ASUS technology just yet.

‘Despicable Me’ is the upcoming 3D animation film from Universal Pictures (see the trailer here). ‘Despicable Me’ focuses on the world’s #2 super villain, Gru, whose evil attempts are always thwarted by Vector, the #1 super villain. In an attempt to outdo Vector, he begins plotting to steal the moon while he hides underground in a suburban neighborhood living with his minions. ‘Despicable Me’ stars Steve Carell, Jason Segel and Russell Brand and will be hitting the big screen in 3D worldwide on July 9th, 2010. Watch the trailer for it here.

The final installment from the much loved Shrek franchise is set to open the New York 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. ‘Shrek Forever After’ is the first Shrek movie to incorporate the 3D format. The Tribeca Film Festival will begin on April 21^st and the movie will be screened on the opening night and will run till May 2^nd. Other information on the Tribeca’s listings will be revealed on March 10^th and March 15^th. Shrek Forever After stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz and is expected to be released on May 21^st.

Yesterday Pioneer USA introduced its new line of 5.1 channel AV receivers to the world. The new receivers are known as the VSX-820-K and the VSX-520-K. Both models come 3D ready and utilize the new HDMI 4.1 specification which provides HD connectivity for the 3D Blu-ray specification which will be hitting the consumer market in the near future. They also utilize the Dolby ProLogic IIz decoder for HD audio formats. Both the VSX-520-K and the VSX-820-K receivers are available for $299.