Archive for June, 2010
by Michael Grotticelli June 22nd, 2010
MasterImage 3D has sold more than 300,000 Hitachi Wooo cell phones and portable media players with auto-stereoscopic 3-D display screen technology in the Japanese market.
While many studios and content providers have been focusing on large plasma TV and IMAX displays for showing the latest 3-D movies and other content, Younghoon Lee, founder, chairman and CEO of MasterImage 3D, is thinking small — really small — as in cell phone viewing on a 3in screen.
Since 2004 Lee has been working to develop his own manufacturing process that he says improves upon other techniques for producing auto-stereoscopic LCD screens; with the right amount of left-eye/right-eye alignment between the 3-D panel and the TFT LCD display to enable a single viewer to get the desired effect without using special 3-D glasses. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: auto-stereoscopic, display, MasterImage 3D, single-user, TFT displays
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli June 15th, 2010
ESPN crews are working with a live 3-D HD feed from World Cup host broadcaster HBS in South Africa via a small master control room in Bristol, CT. Photo courtesy Engadget.com.
ESPN’s dedicated 3-D channel went live on the air last week, starting with coverage of 25 World Cup matches from South Africa, and, if you like 3-D TV, it went off well technically. There were a few glitches, and graphics were sorely lacking, but it’s clear that these early days of 3-D TV are proving to be a lot less painful than the early days of HD production.
Taking a live 3-D feed from South Africa, the new channel is based at the sports network’s main HD production facility in Bristol, CT, and is managed by a temporary and rather small 3-D control room that was hastily built within last six weeks, according to the technology website Engadget. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3D TV, AT&T, Comcast, DIRECTV, ESPN, U-Verse, World Cup
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, News |
by Michael Grotticelli June 7th, 2010
Dolby's proposed specification for how to transmit 3-D content to the home favors the side-by-side technique for leveraging an existing 2-D infrastructure.
At the 2010 NAB Show, Dolby Laboratories announced a new open specification for broadcast 3-D delivery that details how 3-D images can be encoded and carried using frame-compatible techniques through a conventional 2-D broadcast infrastructure. The company said that the specification, now available for review, is fully compatible with currently used side-by-side and over/under approaches, although it favors side-by-side transmissions to maintain the highest-quality HD resolution, especially with interlaced signals. The spec also includes accommodations to enable the transmission of full-resolution 3-D (1080p/60 HD) in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3DTV, autoscopic, content, delivery, distribution, Dolby, production, SMPTE, Stereoscopic 3D
Related Topics: Acquisition, Application, Broadcast, News |
by Michael Grotticelli June 4th, 2010
A side-by-side transmission uses less bandwidth than the frame-sequential method.
There are currently two key methods for delivering 3-D content to the home. Most 3-D sets being sold today rely on the method called “frame-sequential display.” Part of the main 3-D Blu-ray specification, this delivery method consists of a sequence of alternating frames meant for each eye.
Frame sequential lends itself to the active-shutter-based technology used for today’s 3-D TVs. The active-shutter glasses used for viewing must sync with the 3-D TV set to allow the correct eye to view the correct image at the precise time. The active-shutter glasses turn opaque and switch the eyepiece so the viewer can process the correct image at the moment it is intended. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3D technology, DIRECTV, ESPN, Frame Sequential, side by side, transmission
Related Topics: Acquisition, Application, Broadcast, News |
by Michael Grotticelli June 3rd, 2010
Among its many advantages, plasma technology has never had an issue with motion blur.
While LCD TV models now vastly outsell plasma TV sets for DTV and HDTV viewing in the home, technically speaking, plasma may offer better 3-D images due to its faster processing speed (refresh rate) and higher contrast ratio.
The eye perceives higher quality when there’s a big visual difference between blacks and whites. This is the contrast ratio, and plasma technology generally provides a greater contrast ratio than LCD technology. Blacks are deeper on plasma screens than on LCD screens because LCDs use tiny crystals to block the light when creating black, which still allows traces of light to get through. Even if an LCD screen could go to all the way to black as well as a plasma screen, it can’t do it as fast. Plasma screens can go to black 60 times faster than LCD, making it measurably better in this area. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3DTV, LCD, Liquid-crystal display, Plasma, television, viewing
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Products |
