Technology

2010 could be the year for 3D with 3-dimensional at-home TV...the next leap in the marketplace, maybe more incentive for Indy to make the leap as well.

The flat, familiar, two-dimensional television image at the center of your home theater is about to take on the lifelike illusion of depth. At least that's the way the future looks through the spectacles of Hollywood studios, TV networks and consumer electronics manufacturers as they prepare to launch a massive effort to bring 3D from the silver screen into your living room.
"2010 will be the year in which 3D is brought to the home," DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg says. He's so bullish on the technology that he's committed his studio to make 3D versions of all of its future movies.

Now there's a stampede to 3D TV. Vizio just announced a 47-inch 3D-capable set for $1,999. Consumers will spend $17 billion on 3D TVs in 2018, research firm DisplaySearch forecasts. And manufacturers — and entertainment producers — are scrambling to tie themselves to the technology as it takes center stage at the massive Consumer Electronics Show, which opens here Thursday.

Discovery, Sony and Imax said Tuesday that they'll jointly create the first full-time 3D cable channel, which could be available as early as the end of this year.

It initially will be heavy with science and nature programs from Discovery and Imax. The mix will change as the partners produce, and license, 3D versions of general entertainment movies and shows.

"Two years ago, people were still saying that 3D (TV) probably won't work," says Sony CEO Howard Stringer. "The momentum of 3D in the last six months alone has been quite striking. And even though there are not hundreds of movies (in 3D), there's a kind of rolling rhythm to this. The more success we have, the easier it is for us to upgrade movies to 3D, and there are events that can be exciting, like 3D concerts and video games."

This week, ESPN announced plans to launch an all-sports 3D network on June 11, starting with World Cup soccer and eventually including the Summer X Games (extreme sports) and college basketball and college football. ESPN 3D will have at least 85 live 3D sporting events, the Disney-owned network promises.

Billionaire Mark Cuban says his cable channel HDNet will soon shoot most of its prime-time and weekend shows in 3D. The top-quality versions will initially appear on cable and satellite on-demand services.

"We hope to really grow this part of our business," Cuban told USA TODAY in an e-mail. "There won't be a ton of 3D ready sets out for a while, but that's OK. As we grow our content base, the market will come to us."

Cuban is also owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Some NBA games will appear on the new ESPN 3D channel.

"3D is like putting somebody in the Jack Nicholson (courtside) seat," says Steve Hellmuth, the NBA's executive director for technology and operations.

The NFL is also experimenting with 3D. The Dallas Cowboys issued 80,000 pairs of 3D glasses at a home game this season so fans could watch a few plays on a 72-foot-high Mitsubishi video board.

The push for 3D in the home goes beyond TV. Acer and Asus have unveiled computers that display 3D. There's broad interest in 3D video games.

"Everybody is excited about the potential of moving 3D onto virtually every platform that has video in it," Katzenberg says.

You'll need a brand new TV, though, to watch shows in 3D. Cable, satellite and phone company TV customers also may need a new set-top box.

Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Vizio and LG are among the manufacturers poised to unveil 3D-capable televisions and Blu-ray players this week at CES.

Some analysts say the new sets will be a hit. By 2014, 45% of all U.S. households will have a TV that can handle 3D, up from just 3% this year, research firm Futuresource Consulting forecasts.

The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that nearly 2.2 million 3D TVs will be sold this year.

Movies have helped to prime potential buyers. About one in four adults surveyed online recently have seen a 3D movie or event in the past year, the CEA says. And 53% said they want to watch 3D television shows at home. One in four said they plan to buy a 3D TV within the next three years.

Following the migration from black-and-white to color, and analog to digital high definition, "3D is the final frontier for television," says Panasonic Vice President Bob Perry.

For now the various 3D technologies all involve wearing glasses. You're typically watching two separate images; the technology tricks your eyes into seeing depth. Efforts are underway to permit you to watch 3D without glasses, but it'll likely take years before the technology is ready for prime time.

With profit margins that are thinner than a flat screen, it's no wonder TV manufacturers are banking on 3D as a way to get consumers to open their wallets. Still, it may be difficult to persuade people to embrace 3D. The critical challenges include:

Many consumers only recently bought a new HDTV and Blu-ray player. So they might not be exactly thrilled about replacing those models so soon, especially if it costs a lot to do so.

In-Stat analyst Michelle Abraham found that 25% of consumers would not pay extra for a 3D TV over a non-3D TV. Another 43% indicated they'd only pay a premium of less than $200. Just 11% would spend $400 to $999 extra and only $3% would plunk down an additional $1,000 or more.

TV manufacturers aren't expected to price sets in the stratosphere, compared, say, with when HDTVs first became available. "You won't need to take out a mortgage or home-equity loan," says Panasonic's Perry.

But 3D will go into higher-price sets, at least initially.

And some of the latest 3D glasses aren't cheap. For example, high-tech XpanD glasses cost about $50, and you'll probably need a pair for each family member. You can probably expect TV makers or third parties to sell glasses in bundles.

Retailers and TV makers are left with another problem: how to show off 3D in stores. For example, it may prove difficult for stores to hang on to the pricey glasses shoppers will use to judge the pictures, and to keep them clean. "We have to make sure we have a good consumer experience at retail," says John Revie, senior vice president for visual display marketing at Samsung.

As the half-billion dollar epic Avatar has shown, it can be expensive to produce 3D movies. Broadcasting live sporting events also isn't cheap. ESPN, for example, has to hire a whole new crew and set of announcers to broadcast in 3D.

How such costs get passed to the consumer remains to be seen. It's unclear whether your TV provider will charge a premium to watch a 3D channel or pay-per-view event, or give it away to drum up interest in the new technology.

3D televisions are only as useful as the material you have to watch on them, of course. Pieces of the content puzzle are coming together, albeit slowly, with movies, sports and possibly concerts leading the charge.

The industry is buoyed by the appetite consumers have shown for 3D movies at the local multiplex, even at the cost of a few extra bucks per ticket. "They all thought it was more than worth it," Katzenberg says. "Everybody is winning in this."

But gee-whiz 3D effects aren't enough.

"You can no longer take a bad movie, add 3D and make it passable," says Rick Heineman a vice president of RealD in Beverly Hills. "Instead of trying to thrill people by putting the movie in their lap, you use 3D to draw them inside the movie." RealD recently integrated its technology in products from Samsung, Sony, JVC and others.

Hollywood is set to release a slew of new 3D flicks in the coming months. Katzenberg says Avatar, made in 3D from the rival Fox studio, is the "afterburner to push this (3D) rocket ship into orbit."

Last month, the Blu-ray Disc Association adopted an industry standard that studios can use to release 3D fare on the popular discs, possibly beginning this summer at yet-to-be-determined prices. The discs will be backward-compatible, so you'll be able to play them on conventional Blu-ray players, too, albeit in regular HD, not 3D. And the newly agreed-upon 3D "specification" allows every Blu-ray 3D product and movie to deliver the high-definition "1080p" standard to each eye.

"We don't have six ways to do 3D Blu-ray. We have one," says Andy Parsons, the chairman of the association.

Hollywood may go back to the future to come up with fresh 3D content. The studios are testing the waters to see which older films that were released in 2D could be converted to 3D, as Disney is doing with the Toy Storyfranchise. You can only imagine what The Wizard of Oz or Indiana Jones might look like in 3D.

But the 2D to 3D process "is not perfect, and (it's) labor intensive," says Ahmad Ouri, chief marketing officer of Technicolor. Ouri believes the conversion process will take off if 3D Blu-ray discs prove to be a hit.

HDTV didn't happen overnight, and neither will 3D TV. But 3D TV has one huge thing going for it. As Maria Costeira, CEO of 3D glasses maker XpanD, puts it, "Life is in 3D."
 
Last edited:

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Chuckle, thanks for making me use the scoll feature on my mouse by posting the hole article...LOL.

My only trouble with the 3D-TV, is STINKING GLASSES!!! Oye!.

Now, I am fixated on the set, (which can be good for some when the wife comes in during the big game and asks for the lawn to be mowed.....and no, I don't mean that in code), instead of the environment around the entertainment.

TV should enhance life, not consume it. Do we really need an add for Clearasil in 3-D Hi-Def 60" wide?
 
Pale Horse said:
Chuckle, thanks for making me use the scoll feature on my mouse by posting the hole article...LOL.

Scroll Wheels...AH! Technology!(y)

Pale Horse said:
My only trouble with the 3D-TV, is STINKING GLASSES!!! Oye!.
While at InfoCOMM last year there were some EXCELLENT 3-D Projectors, (still requiring glasses) and Sony ran an impressive display where a single projector shot separate images on multiple sides of a cube. Combine these technologies with a display that includes/suspends the 3D lens as a (virtualy sheer)"curtain" and we have something!

Pale Horse said:
Now, I am fixated on the set, (which can be good for some when the wife comes in during the big game and asks for the lawn to be mowed.....and no, I don't mean that in code),
damn!

instead of the environment around the entertainment.

TV should enhance life, not consume it. Do we really need an add for Clearasil in 3-D Hi-Def 60" wide?

What pretty pictures you paint! (;) ) Would it be anything like ads for Fresh'n Up gum?
 
Google Earth

From The Sunday Times January 10, 2010

Google Earth helps find El Dorado
For nearly 500 years, explorers have hunted in vain for a lost city— now with Google Earth, it may have been found.

It is an astonishing find — one that builds on recent archeological work in Brazil and northern Bolivia and the availability of Google Earth images of deforested sections of the Amazon. Since the 1980s anthropologists have begun to uncover evidence of advanced civilisations who lived in the Amazon basin: this latest development trumps them all.

The breakthrough has been eight years in the making. In 2002 Martti Parssinen, a Finnish historian and archeologist and one of the report’s co-authors, was called by a fellow expert, Alceu Ranzi, who had noticed geometrical shapes dug into the earth while flying over the Amazon and hoped that Parssinen would investigate these shapes with him.

“He understood they weren’t natural structures,” remembers Parssinen. “He realised they must have been made by indigenous people.”

According to Parssinen, Ranzi had already tried to enlist the help of scientists in the United States, but had been rebuffed. “They just wouldn’t believe him,” remembers Parssinen. “But I realised, because of other work I had done in the area, that this could be something very important. It was extremely exciting to receive that phone call.”

It was even more exciting, says Parssinen, to fly over the areas that Ranzi had noticed. “When I saw the shapes then, it was an amazing feeling,” he says. “All the old theories said that this area of the Amazon could only ever have supported hunters and collectors. No one believed that a large civilisation could have existed there. We realised that this discovery could change history.”

The authors published one report in 2003 and then waited for three years for permission to start excavating the area. The use of Google Earth satellite images in pinpointing the exact sites has made their job easier than previous archeological work in the region. But their find is, by any measure, impressive.

The implications of the discovery are wide-ranging. “This really is the beginning of a reassessment of the history. We are only beginning to understand Amazonia,” says Parssinen.

Grann believes this discovery will lead not only to a reassessment of the potential of pre-Christopher Columbus Amazon peoples, but also to an increasing archeological interest in the region. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “The authors of the latest study estimate that scientists have found, in this particular area, only 10% of the geometric earthworks and ruins that are actually there. It will take decades for scientists to uncover the full extent of this and other ancient Amazonian civilisations.”
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
From The Sunday Times January 10, 2010

That is a fascinating piece of news, Rocket. Technology eroding the mysteries of the world, yet at the same time creating new mysteries - a whole new city and possibly a new culture to investigate.
 
Gel regenerates teeth

Regenerate bones/teeth, how do you get it to stop?

A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano. This technology is the first of its kind.

The gel or thin film contains a peptide known as MSH, or melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Previous experiments, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that MSH encourages bone regeneration.

Bone and teeth are fairly similar, so the French scientists reasoned that if the MSH were applied to teeth, it should help healing as well.

To test their theory, the French scientists applied either a film or gel, both of which contained MSH, to cavity-filled mice teeth. After about one month, the cavities had disappeared, said Benkirane-Jessel.

Advertisement | ad info
Benkirane-Jessel cautions that the MSH-containing films or gels only treat cavities; they don't prevent them. People will still need to brush, floss and use mouthwash to help prevent cavities from forming in the first place.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37978810/ns/health-oral_health/
 

RedeemedChild

New member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Discovery, Sony and Imax said Tuesday that they'll jointly create the first full-time 3D cable channel, which could be available as early as the end of this year.

It initially will be heavy with science and nature programs from Discovery and Imax. The mix will change as the partners produce, and license, 3D versions of general entertainment movies and shows.

Thanks so much Rocket Surgeon. I'm very much interested in all of this 3D news. I've been watching the SONY 3D television advertisments airing through-out the FIFA 2010 coverage. You can rest assured I'll keep my eyes open for the new television 3D channel from Discovery, SONY and IMAX.

Now if only the 3D television designers could come with a glasses free method of watching the programs without those glasses like Nintendo has done with the 3DS.

Below is a demonstration of a glasses free 3D television:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0SyuEjBEMN4&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0SyuEjBEMN4&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

I'm sure if any of you are Metal Gear Solid fans but below are trailers of both Metal Gear Solid 3DS and Kid Icarus 3DS.

Metal Gear Solid 3DS
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQdc60KhNgc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQdc60KhNgc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>


Kid Icarus: Uprising 3DS
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a7detDcmMKY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a7detDcmMKY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
 

Montana Smith

Active member
The ghost of the big bang captured by a new space telescope:

1234422855-image-big-bang-ghost-captured.jpg


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100705/tsc-image-of-big-bang-ghost-captured-4b158bc.html
 

HovitosKing

Well-known member
I've always been a fan of 3D movies in the theater and on DVD/regular TV. BUT, a friend of mine said he checked out a 3D-TV on display at Best Buy the other day and wasn't impressed. I saw a Samsung 3D on display at my own local Best Buy yesterday, and after 10 minutes I was less than impressed too. No different imo than a regular TV, considering both require glasses and 3D content on the screen. I saw nothing special about it, the Samsung was no more "3D" than any HD flatscreen with a 3D blu ray in it. PLUS, I got a really horrible headache that lasted the rest of the day from watching the Samsung for 10 minutes, something I've never experienced after watching tons of 3D movies on my regular TV. Yeah, this will be a hard sell. Frankly, I just won't spend that kind of money on something I don't need. But if you're going to buy one, I would strongly recommend sitting in front of a demo for a while before making the final decision. You can thank me later.
 
George Lucas Angry About Real Life "Lightsaber", Threatens to Sue

After losing the "Stormtrooper Prop Helmet" suit, does he stand a chance?

WickedLasers Spyder III Pro Arctic Laser

George Lucas has demanded Wicked Lasers stop producing their device or face a lawsuit. Our advice to them -- watch out for the Rancor pit! Lucas says there's only room for one jedi lightsaber in town; Wicked Lasers says claims are ridiculous

15521_Wicked_Lasers_Blue_Laser.png


George Lucas has threatened Wicked Lasers to change their design or prepare to be sued. Lucas's firm Lucasfilm Ltd. sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company threatening legal action if the conditions are not accepted. Lucasfilm states, "It is apparent from the design of the Pro Arctic Laser that it was intended to resemble the hilts of our lightsaber swords, which are protected by copyright..."

As to the Lucas mess, the letter gave Wicked Lasers five days to promise changes, and it seems the company is unwilling to comply. Thus it seems likely that Lucasfilm will sue it. Liu, though, says he hopes that it won't come to that. We're guessing George Lucas is searching for a good Sarlacc pit to throw them in now, as we write this.

http://www.dailytech.com/George+Luc...+Lightsaber+Threatens+to+Sue/article18964.htm
 
Montana Smith said:
Since the lightsaber hilts were originally made out of camera flash bulb units, can Lucas even claim to own the rights to them?
There's a part of the film Flash of Genius which comes to mind:

Kearns reads the opening sentences of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, arguing that not a single word in the book originated in the mind of the author. Yet, it was Dickens's arrangements of the words that made the novel a work of literary genius.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
There's a part of the film Flash of Genius which comes to mind:

Kearns reads the opening sentences of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, arguing that not a single word in the book originated in the mind of the author. Yet, it was Dickens's arrangements of the words that made the novel a work of literary genius.

Perfect point.

George will argue that he added the wiper-blades, thereby making his flash bulbs unique. ;)

Like Duchamp's Urinal!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_(Duchamp)


(He even signed it "Mutt" !)
 

RedeemedChild

New member
HovitosKing said:
I've always been a fan of 3D movies in the theater and on DVD/regular TV. BUT, a friend of mine said he checked out a 3D-TV on display at Best Buy the other day and wasn't impressed. I saw a Samsung 3D on display at my own local Best Buy yesterday, and after 10 minutes I was less than impressed too. No different imo than a regular TV, considering both require glasses and 3D content on the screen. I saw nothing special about it, the Samsung was no more "3D" than any HD flatscreen with a 3D blu ray in it. PLUS, I got a really horrible headache that lasted the rest of the day from watching the Samsung for 10 minutes, something I've never experienced after watching tons of 3D movies on my regular TV. Yeah, this will be a hard sell. Frankly, I just won't spend that kind of money on something I don't need. But if you're going to buy one, I would strongly recommend sitting in front of a demo for a while before making the final decision. You can thank me later.

I agree with you HovitosKing. I don't think I'd buy any of these current 3D televisions at all. I'd prefer to buy the 3D without glasses televisions once they go on sale.

That is also why the Nintendo 3DS will be a far more better choice (not to mention affordable) when it comes to 3D gaming. The fact that you can control the 3D effect is very good for those who might have health concerns and it helps to allow the user to adjust the visuals to their eye's liking so that they can actually see the 3D effect.


More Info: http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=11661
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Behold Taranis, the Celtic god of thunder!

753075926-142-5m-combat-aircraft-unveiled.jpg


£142.5m combat aircraft unveiled

It may look like the stuff of science fiction but this unmanned jet could be the combat craft of the future.

Named Taranis, after the Celtic god of thunder, the £142.5 million prototype has been unveiled by the Ministry of Defence.

Dubbed the "pinnacle" of British engineering and aeronautical design, it is the size of a light aircraft and has been equipped with advanced stealth technology making it virtually undetectable.

Almost invisible to ground radar, it is designed to travel at high jet speeds and cover massive distances between continents.

The plane is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance on enemy territory using onboard sensors.

And it has been designed to carry a cache of weapons - including bombs and missiles - giving it a potential long-range strike capability. It can be controlled from anywhere in the world with satellite communications.

Experts say the cutting-edge design is at the forefront of world technology and as advanced as any US development.

Gerald Howarth, minister for international security strategy, said: "Taranis is a truly trailblazing project.

"The first of its kind in the UK, it reflects the best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage."

The jet was unveiled at a ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire. Flight trials are due to start next year.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100712/ttc-142-5m-combat-aircraft-unveiled-e1d36ba.html
 

RedeemedChild

New member
Agent Crab said:
What about people who don't like 3D or have bad eye sight from 3D?

Here is the good news Agent Crab. The Nintendo 3DS features a 3D On or Off switch for those who would like to turn off the 3D effect due to health concerns.

miyamoto-on-3ds-20100706065941078.jpg


Below is an excerpt:

Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld will have a 3D off switch, so that users will be able to play games in both 2D and 3D.

Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata revealed that the technology is there to toggle between 2D and 3D after he was questioned on the health benefits of prolonged 3D use among children.

medium.jpg


In an interview with Forbes, Iwata promised that those who don't want to play games in 3D do not have to, despite this being the big selling point of the 3DS.

Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/gamin...-come-with-3d-off-switch-688297#ixzz0tVMGZK00
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Amazing...now if only they could funnel that money into Derry/"London Derry" to ease the troubles.

Or they could just fly this money pit over there and level it!

Yeah, just been watching film of the rioting. Northern Ireland leant the Northumbria police 20 armoured Land Rovers last week, to assist with the capture of Raoul Moat (who gone on the run after declaring war on the police). It looks like they needed the vehicles back pretty sharpish.

And here's hoping we can actually sell some of these aircraft to the US!
 
Last edited:
Top