Posts Tagged ‘3d video’

NDON: Now you can squash or stretch the vibrant images that pop out of the TV screen, thanks to a new 3D system developed by Japanese researchers. 

In a demo, a 3D image of the Earth was squished like a soft rubber ball and then stretched wide across the screen. 

Six motion-detector cameras are used to monitor the viewer’s fingers and tiny clips attached to their index fingers vibrate when they ‘touch’ an image, reports the Daily Mail. 

The multiple cameras are angled so that there are no blind spots. 

The breakthrough i3Space device was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology ( NIAIST) in Japan. 

A spokesman said: “This system recognises the user’s behaviour and offers tactile feedback and the illusion of using the tactile sense of force. It is the first time you can feel images in the air.” 

The team believes i3Space could be useful for surgeons to practise techniques before an operation and also has great potential in gaming. Perhaps one day it could even make a Star Trek-style ‘holodeck’ a reality. 

It builds on an interface called the GyroCubeSensuous, which the institute developed in 2005. This palm-sized device used gyroscopes and rotary force-feedback to simulate the virtual sensations of push, draw and buoyancy. 

AIST will present the technology in September at ‘CEDEC 2010′ – Japan’s Biggest Conference for Game Developers. 

Read more: 3D TV: You can stretch, float images – Computing – Personal Tech – Tech – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/3D-TV-You-can-stretch-float-images/articleshow/6460041.cms#ixzz0yLhMv89o

Sony and Toshiba are reportedly in a race to develop quality 3D technology that you can watch with bare eyes, though they seem to be concentrating on this benefiting television screens. There are some pricing and tech issues, but there’s no reason to think at least an expensive model will be ready in a few years, perhaps just in time for Sony to market its product as a tie-in with a 3D Blu-ray release of its Spider-Man reboot.

Don’t expect to see that superhero movie in the format without glasses on the big screen, though. Given how long it took (and is still taking) for theaters to convert to digital 3D-capable screens, I don’t see the industry going too crazy for any further advances requiring more costly equipment upgrades. Not anytime soon. So the big issue here is that 3D TVs will keep improving and adapting to consumer satisfaction while cinemas will have to deal with what they’ve recently invested in for a long time. And people will have another reason to stay home: the 3D in their living room will be better and more comfortable.

Despite some spin made by blogs like Superhero Hype and Splash Page, I have to note that there’s no real connection made by Sony or by AP’s report on this topic between the Spider-Man reboot and its potential to be available in glasses-free 3D. By the time the Marc Webb-directed film hits home video 3D DVDs and Blu-rays will be fairly common, so it’s not a big deal or surprising that this 3D movie would also be available for 3D home video formats. However, it would behoove Sony to mark the film’s home video release as a temporal aim for its tech plans due to it being a Sony title. 

One of the main stumbling blocks to 3D display technology adoption is price and the need to wear special glasses (a pair of active shutter goggles can cost up to $150). While Toshiba has already showcased a 3D HDTVthat can be viewed with the naked eye, FuZhou Rockchip Electronics has done the same with a prototype tablet.

The Supernova X1 tablet, which was spotted at an event in China, is reported to be able to display 3D videos without the need for any eyewear.

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. (MDEA) today announced the launch of its nationwide 3D Experience Tour, which will introduce its unparalleled lineup of theater-like immersive 3D^* DLP^® Home Cinema Televisions to U.S. consumers. The tour packs Mitsubishi’s latest and greatest 3D TV technology into Mitsubishi’s Mobile Marketing Showroom, a 995 sq. ft. 18-wheeled home theater experience that gives viewers across the country the chance to experience the industry’s largest and broadest lineup of 60-inch plus large-screen 3D-capable TVs available today.

“…the best looking consumer-level set we’ve ever laid eyes on.”

The tour will showcase Mitsubishi’s full lineup of very large 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs, including an 82-inch behemoth which offers more than three times the viewing area of a 46-inch screen. All 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs use the same core DLP technology as the vast majority of 3D movie theaters to deliver a cinema-quality 3D sensory experience at home.

Sharing the stage will be Mitsubishi’s flagship 3D LaserVue^® TV, one of the world’s most energy efficient large screen TVs, bettering EnergyStar^® by 50 percent. LaserVue is the only TV that uses advanced laser technology to deliver true cinema-like color, approximately doubling the spectrum of color available in any other TV.

Engadget, the acclaimed technology blog, recently called LaserVue, “…the best looking consumer-level set we’ve ever laid eyes on.”*

For consumers who want fully immersive, cinema-quality 5.1 Dolby^® Digital surround sound without the hassle of extra wires and speakers, Mitsubishi’s 3D Experience Tour will include the Unisen^™ Immersive Sound LED TV series. The Unisen series integrates up to 18 intelligent speakers that use an advanced algorithm to delay and project perfectly balanced, independent sound waves that bring concert-quality audio to the viewing experience, without the clutter of separate audio components.

Mitsubishi will tweet from all locations throughout the tour, including the cities below. Follow the Mitsubishi Mobile Marketing Showroom on Twitter to find out when it will visit your area at www.twitter.com/Mitsubishi3D.

August 26-28- Detroit, MI

September 12-13- Norwalk, CT

September 17-26- Northern New Jersey

October 15-17- Boston, MA

October 22-24- San Antonio, TX

October 29-31- Dallas, TX

November 5-7- Albuquerque, NM

November 12-14- Tulsa, OK

November 19-21- Dallas, TX

The 3D Experience Tour will highlight Mitsubishi’s fourth generation of 3D-capable TVs and introduce local consumers to demonstrations of fully immersive entertainment that rivals going to the movie theater, sitting on the sideline of a game or being a character inside a video game. Mitsubishi has spearheaded the 3D movement into the home, selling 3D-capable TVs since 2007, being first to demonstrate 3D TV at retail and also showcasing 3D directly to consumers for over two years.

“3D is moving quickly into broadcast, theatrical and gaming content as consumers seek to immerse themselves in the games, movies, and sports programming they love,” says Max Wasinger, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. “The Mitsubishi 3D Experience Tour brings this experience to towns and cities across America so that consumers can experience for themselves the eye popping, jaw dropping difference our cinema-quality DLP technology makes in 3D entertainment. This year represents the third consecutive year that we have used our mammoth big-rig Mobile Marketing Showroom to tour the U.S. and demonstrate 3D TV as it would be experienced in the home. We’re excited to again hit the road and introduce our unparalleled 2010 lineup of large screen, immersive 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs to America.”

About Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc., manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of premium quality 1080p 3D DLP Home Cinema TVs and Unisen^™Immersive Sound LED TVs, along with the world’s first laser TV: LaserVue^®. Recognized as the world leader and innovator of large display high-definition televisions, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America builds products that lead the industry in quality, performance and ease-of-use. For additional information about MDEA, visitwww.mitsubishi-tv.com.

*See http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/mitsubishis-laservue-hdtv-makes-triumphant-75-inch-return-beco/

LaserVue is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. Unisen is a trademark of Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.

DLP is a trademark of Texas Instruments. Dolby and Dolby Digital are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.

* For support of all 3D formats, Mitsubishi 3D-Ready TVs will require the use of a 3D source device that outputs the 3D checkerboard format or a 3D source device coupled with the Mitsubishi 3D Adapter. In all cases an emitter and matching 3D active shutter glasses or DLP Link active shutter glasses are required in order to view 3D content.

* The Mitsubishi 3D Adapter may be used to display 3D content only when connected to a Mitsubishi 3D-ready TV, Mitsubishi 3D TV or Mitsubishi 3D-ready LaserVue TV. A 3D source device coupled with the Mitsubishi 3D Adapter is required to support display of 3D games, 3D broadcasts from terrestrial/cable/satellite and 3D Blu-ray disc content.

ORLANDO, FLA. and PHILADELPHIA:Panasonic took 3D production to the people, so to speak, by supplying pre-production models of its new 3D camcorder to wedding videographers. Panasonic said this week that two production companies shot weddings in 3D with the AG-3DA1. The HD-3D camcorder was introduced in April at the NAB show in Las Vegas, where Panasonic accepted $1,000 deposits on it. The dual-lens camcorder becomes available Aug. 27.

Bruno White Entertainment in Orlando shot two weddings in 3D at Disney World. BWE’s Kyle Frazer handled the AG-3DA1. He said the “learning curve on the camcorder wasn’t intimidating… The 3DA1’s mix function made it easy to handle convergence and avoid frame violations.” 

Bernie Mitchell, president of Silver Platter Productions in Knoxville, Tenn., was involved in the shoots: “It’s a very flexible camcorder: we extended it up on a monopod to get some really nice high angle shots, and in one sequence, we actually lay on the ground and shot a nice, low-angle shot framing the bride and groom in a doorway.” 

Michael Brand, ( pictured) principal of Pennsylvania-based Lafayette Hill Studios, also shot two summer weddings with the 3DA1. “I was taking 3D still photos 25 years ago, but until now I couldn’t envision 3D video for weddings,” he said. “You’re not going to take a beam splitter to a church!… The camcorder handles details and blacks beautiful. Because you can adjust convergence so easily, you can produce gorgeous 3D video that is immersive, not gimmicky. It didn’t take me long working with the camcorder to learn where I had to stand for the best shots.”

Both Brand and Frazer are editing the 3D footage on Final Cut Pro with the Dashwood 3D Plugin. 

An 84″ video wall system has been unveiled by Sunny Ocean, a new display solution that doesn’t need the aid of the usual 3D glasses for enjoying 3D entertainment. With 3D technology being the main focus this year, the new solution should be a dandy to check out.
Sunny Ocean shares that 3D images and videos can be viewed at any angle of a room and should be great for commercial and outdoor use.

This includes large spaces and venues which would require high resolution displays for the public to enjoy.

The said 3D video wall from Sunny Ocean actually debuted in Singapore at the Youth Games.

International sales and distribution agreements for the new 3D display will start at the IFA next month in Berlin.

This new 84″ Display from Sunny Ocean follows their initial offering, a 3D projector that was on hand at the CeBIT 2010 which required no glasses to operate.

Ridley Scott is expanding his depth into 3D with a bid for an ownership stake in one of the top manufacturers of 3D glasses and projection systems -MasterImage 3D. He has named his new production company Scott Three Productions ,  and is planning on the set of Alien prequels to be shot in 3D.Scott is hoping that the new increase of 3D and digital theaters will make MasterImage 3D a much stronger competitor over the dominant 3D tech companies like RealD and XpanD. MasterImage 3D sells equipment outright to movie theaters, and does not demand royalties for each ticket sold.

The real question now is if Scott’s investment will make him rethink his reluctance to re-release the original Alien or other classic Scott movies like Blade Runner in 3D. Let’s hope not.

It seems there is a drive to be the world’s first porn movie shot in 3D. Chinese director Christopher Sun has a 3.5 million erotic epic on his hands, Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, being shot in Hong Kong and slated for release next Year. There is also a film titled Kama Sutra, Produced by Mark Dorcel (apparently the “Hugh Hefner” of European porn), with Hustler, the movie is called Kama-Sutra and stars Brigitte Lahaie.

Meanwhile, Italian director Tinto Brass has announced he would produce a 3D remake of his 1979 erotic film Caligula, while Hustler plans to release a pornographic spoof of 3D science fiction film Avatar, the top-grossing movie of all time which has earned some 2.7 billion US dollars worldwide since its release.

Saori Hara, 22, one of the two female Japanese stars, said the film’s technical complexities made it tougher than her previous movies.

She said: “I have to work harder to not let the audience down. I hope people all around the world will see this movie.”

Leading man Hiro Hayana, 35, said starring in his first erotic film was daunting — but had no complaints about a scene in which he must satisfy 100 women.

He said: “I felt like the king of the world.”

Sony’s Blu-ray flashed onto the scene, beating out a format war with HD-DVD, and almost as quickly faded into potential antiquation, as critics noted a lack of compelling value proposition. The picture was better than DVD, but not dramatically better, and consumers have been diving headlong into the convenience of online streaming, a choice that sacrifices true HD, convenience over quality.

Along these lines of desolation and has been status, Blu-ray has caught an edge that seems to have momentum to catapult it back: stereoscopic 3D. In this new arrangement, 3D could very well position Blu-ray as a must have in millions of living rooms, while Blu-ray drives 3D conveniently into homes.

Critics of Blu-ray blasted the technology as over-engineered, yet those very same advanced capabilities has been the advantage in delivering 3D home video, which requires storing and moving massive amounts of data. There is no comparison between web streaming and Blu-ray in this arena, Blu-ray easily surpasses.

A single Blu-ray disc can hold an entire 3D movie at full 1080p HD resolution, and the players can pump that data to the screen with no problem. With Web streaming, the consumer doesn’t need a lot of storage space, but few broadband services have the speed to handle a dual load of 1080p video for the left and right eyes — required for 3D.

Don Eklund, Sony Pictures’ executive VP for advanced technologies estimates a player must be able to handle 50-55 megabits per second (Mbps) for 3D with full HD for both eyes. An Akamai Technologies study pegged average broadband speed in the U.S. (including consumer, corporate and mobile) at just 3.8 Mbps. AT&T’s DSL maxes out at 24 Mbps.

Blu-ray’s stakeholders tout the image quality, but in terms differentiating features for consumers, the 3D element has the upper hand in driving sales.

Panasonic stole the floor on the opening day of BroadcastAsia 2010 in Singapore with their elaborate 3D display that features movie set-like props and the latest 3D equipment.

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