You are here:
Home Page »
Broadcast Engineering on 3-D
Archive for October, 2010
by Michael Grotticelli October 26th, 2010
 STAN gives camera operators, stereographers and production staff the ability to figure out the correct stereo parameters and camera settings for any given scene. To support the increase in 3-D production for movies and TV, equipment vendors and research organizations are working to solve the mystery of stereographic video image capture.
The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), based in Berlin, has developed a hardware/software system called the Stereoscopic Analyzer (STAN) that helps camera operators in the field and directors on-set figure out the depth of subjects in a scene and how they relate to each other. This includes far and near objects as well as the convergence plane and the depth of focus. Getting these parameters right avoids jarring images that get in the way of a pleasing viewing experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D, cameras, convergence, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, KUK Film Production, production, STAN, Stereoscopic Analyzer, stereoscopic production
Related Topics: Acquisition, Broadcast, Film, Infrastructure, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 25th, 2010
 MasterImage 3D President James Bower (left) and Chairman and CEO Younghoon Lee were at the 2010 3D Technology Awards gala Oct. 19. The International 3D Society, established to advance the art and technologies of stereoscopic 3-D content, recognized a number of industry professionals, organizations and promising 3-D technology with its Lumiere Award at a 2010 3D Technology Awards gala on Oct. 19 at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
The Lumiere Award recognizes individuals and organizations that had the most significant impact on the advancement of the medium from Jan. 1, 1980, through Dec. 31, 2009. They include 3ality Digital, Autodesk, Dolby Laboratories, Steve Hines, In-Three, MasterImage 3D, Nvidia, Quantel, Sassoon Film Design, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Walt Disney Studios and XpanD.
“Recent advances in stereoscopic 3-D are revolutionizing the entertainment industry, and we are proud to acknowledge the medium’s most innovative pioneers,” said Lenny Lipton, 3D Technology Awards committee co-chairman and president of Oculus3D. “The groundbreaking work of these companies and professionals will influence motion-picture storytelling for generations to come.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3Ality Digital, Autodesk, Dolby Laboratories, In-Three, International 3D Society, Lumiere Awards, MasterImage 3D, Nvidia, Quantel, Sassoon Film Design, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Steve Hines, The Walt Disney Studios, XpanD
Related Topics: Acquisition, Application, Broadcast, Film, News, Post Production |
by Michael Grotticelli October 25th, 2010
The 3D@Home Consortium will host a hands-on workshop focusing on the entire 3-D ecosystem on Monday Nov. 8, in San Jose, CA. The event is being presented by display market research firm Insight Media University and will be led by Chris Chinnock. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3D workshop, 3D@Home, education, Insight Media University
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Film, News, Post Production, Professional video |
by Michael Grotticelli October 25th, 2010
 Small, white globes attached to the athlete appear on a video screen and are connected by a computer program, creating a biomechanical 3-D twin of the pitcher on screen. Photo courtesy Greg Short, www.newjerseypitching.com. Sports teams are looking beyond entertainment and embracing 3-D video technology to help players train and play better as well as recover from injuries faster.
Teams are working with 3-D technology to capture human gestures with sensors for biomechanical and orthopedic research. The work is being used to discover the most powerful and least damaging ways that a human body can swing a bat, hit a ball or run fast.
The use of 3-D imaging creates a picture on a computer screen that can be viewed from any direction and in any dimension. Limb angles, accelerations and stress on joints can then be studied in comparison to ball speeds and the g-forces behind them. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D imaging, injury, motion capture, Motion Capture lab, sports, technology
Related Topics: Acquisition, Application, News, Products, Professional video |
by Michael Grotticelli October 21st, 2010
 ISee3D engineers say that a single 3-D image can be captured by rapidly alternating between the two sides and two images of the same subject from slightly different focal points. Teleproduction companies producing 3-D programming continue to look for ways to reduce costs wherever possible, either by combining crews or facilities. One of the reasons is because 3-D uses either a pair of cameras and lenses rigged together or a new especially designed integrated 3-D camera.
Supporting this need to reduce operating expenses, ISee3D, based in Toronto, says it is has developed a way to shoot lower-cost 3-D video with a single-lens camera. According to the company, one needs only cover up one-half of the camera lens, which shifts the focal point, and then cover up the opposite side of the lens, shifting it again. Rapidly alternating between two images of the same subject from slightly different focal points results in a 3-D image. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D, cameras, ISee3D, single lens, video
Related Topics: Acquisition, Broadcast, Film, Infrastructure, News, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 20th, 2010
 The Toshiba 3-D TV sets will initially come in 20in and 12in models and include built-in circuitry to convert standard 2-D images into 3-D. Toshiba said it would be the first on the market with a TV set that displays 3-D images without requiring viewers to use special glasses; however, the 3-D TV models, due to their small screen sizes and Americans’ preference for sets of 50in and larger, will become available to Japanese consumers first.
Today, 3-D glasses are required to watch 3-D programming on TVs sold throughout the world by Samsung, Panasonic and Sony, as well as those currently offered by Toshiba; however, the Toshiba announcement means a technical breakthrough has occurred that might soon end that. The need for 3-D glasses has proven to be a detriment to 3-D set sales in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D, Active Shutter, glasses-free, LCD, sales, technology, Toshiba, TV sets
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, News, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 12th, 2010
 Parents and others with lots of friends (or patrons) can rest a bit easier knowing that they’ll be able to enjoy 3-D TV in their living room (or bar) without having to spend exorbitant amounts on glasses for everyone in the room. That’s because, according to the president of RealD (the company whose disposable glasses are now used in most 3-D theater presentations), passive 3-D HDTV sets will arrive the spring of 2011, ending the need for active-shutter (expensive) glasses. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3DTV, active, glasses, Josh Greer, passive, RealD, shutter, technology, ZScreen
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Film, News, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 11th, 2010
 A company called Spatial View is developing an app and hardware solution that will enable users to watch glasses-free 3-D stereoscopic movies and images on their iPhones and Android cell phones. While the goal of TV is glasses-free 3-D, it’s coming soon for Apple iPhones and Google Android smart phones. New 3-D personal computers that will use active-shutter glasses are also on the way.
Spatial View is developing an app and hardware solution allowing users to watch glasses-free 3-D stereoscopic movies and images on their iPhones and Android mobiles. The 3DeeCentral app for the iPhone will appear first. It is a portal to an online movie store where users will be able to download content designed to work in conjunction with Spatial View’s 3DeeSlide.
The iPhone app has been submitted to Apple for approval, and there’s also an an Android app in development. The 3DeeSlide is a clip-on lenticular lens attachment that works in portrait and landscape modes and also supports touch-through. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D PCs, 3DeeCentral, AMD, Apple, CE market, cell phones, glasses, Google, Hewlett Packard, laptop, Nvidia, smart phones, Spatial View, viewing devices
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Film, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 9th, 2010
Survey after survey continues to show that 3-D-capable TV is not enough to justify buying a new TV set. A full 83 percent of Americans said so in a new study conducted by Deloitte.
Based on a survey of 1960 U.S. consumers, Deloitte researchers found that 72 percent of consumers have cut their overall entertainment budgets, and a large majority is in no mood to upgrade to 3-D technology. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D, content, Deloitte, Nielsen, set sales, surveys, television
Related Topics: Broadcast, News, Products |
by Michael Grotticelli October 8th, 2010
 3-D content is expensive to produce, requiring extra crew and equipment. Pictured is the PACE Fusion rig in use during an ESPN 3-D production of a college football game. Much like the early days of HDTV, consumers with 3-D TV sets are wondering when a sufficient amount of content will be available — so they can stop watching Disney’s animated “Up.”
Several new retail store polls are showing that 3-D TV set sales are tracking about 30 percent lower than predicted (or that consumer electronics manufacturers would like to see), and one reason is a lack of fresh content to watch. With a limited number of Blu-Ray 3-D DVD titles and few live broadcasts, many consumers are justifiably hesitant to buy. On the other side, content creators are hesitant to develop programming because it’s expensive to produce and broadcast, and cable networks can’t get more revenue from advertisers.
If this is a chicken-and-egg scenario, it appears the industry needs a lot more chickens. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 3-D, content, cost, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Panasonic, Sony, sports
Related Topics: Application, Broadcast, Film, News |
-
-
Michael Grotticelli is writer and editor of Broadcast Engineering’s “Beyond the Headlines” and “Sports Technology Update” e-newsletters. Each week, he provides a fresh perspective on the latest in 3-D technologies and innovations as well as report on real-world applications of 3-D in the broadcast, professional video and film industries.
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
