Santa Fe International Workshops will host a new hands-on training series on stereographic 3-D cinematography Aug. 28-30 at the VER 3D and Digital Cinema Arts Center in Glendale, CA. The program will combine an overview of key 3-D technologies with intensive sessions using the latest tools of 3-D cinematography. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Application’ Category
German, Swiss researchers develop new 3-D TV display that causes less eyestrain
Researchers said viewers will be able to lie down on the sofa to watch the screen; they can turn their heads in any direction and the image won’t change.
German and Swiss researchers have jointly developed a new kind of home 3-D broadcast display technology that they claim provides high-quality stereoscopic images picture quality while causing far less strain on the eyes than 3-D viewing techniques now used in the United States and elsewhere.
Infitec, a provider of virtual reality 3-D technologies based in Germany, has partnered with Optics Balzers, a Swiss company that specializes in 3-D filters, in the new venture. They have secured investment capital from EUREKA, a 39-member group of countries united to support research projects, and have built a new full-resolution, LCD-based 3-D set called the Dualplex Display to receive and display the images in 3-D using polarized glasses. Read the rest of this entry »
3-D films show signs of consumer fatigue
Shifting strategies, Samsung is pushing its BD-C8000 portable Blu-ray player, which provides access to the Internet via an HD set with downloadable widgets and apps.
It seems like it’s been a long time since “Avatar” launched the current 3-D movement by taking in $2.73 billion at the box office, but that was only last year. This year has not been so successful with the flop of “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” and “Step Up 3D,” the dance film.
With 3-D tickets priced as high as 50 percent more than comparable 2-D films, analysts have expressed doubts about whether consumer appetite for the format can be sustained.
“The studios and theaters are overpricing 3-D films, and there’s too much of it out there,” Richard Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research, told the Financial Times. “They are converting all of their movies into 3-D without any regard to quality.” Read the rest of this entry »
Panasonic unveils 3-D home audio system
The slim design of the SC-ZT2 minimizes unwanted sound reflections while ensuring a captivating 3-D TV viewing experience.
First there were 3-D TV receivers, and then 3-D Blu-ray Disc players. Now Panasonic, one of the more aggressive 3-D vendors to date, has introduced the SC-ZT2 wireless home theater audio system designed specifically for 3-D viewing.
The idea behind the SC-ZT2 is that audio pops out of the speakers to match the extra dimension of 3-D TV. The SC-ZT2, available now, offers 7.1-channel sound from two speakers, each of which houses four tweeters and a long-stroke woofer. When paired with the company’s DMP-BDT350 3-D Blu-ray player, the SC-ZT2 provides HD surround-sound audio without the need for speaker cables running across the room.
The system is compatible with Audio Return Channel, which allows the reception of audio signals from the TV through a single HDMI cable. This new feature simplifies setup by eliminating the need for a separate optical audio connection. It supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD 7.1-channel surround sound. Read the rest of this entry »
Visual Data develops 3-D pipeline for post projects
Visual Data Media Services, a full-service post-production house, has unveiled a 3-D
Visual Data Media Services can turn around 3-D post projects in as little as 24 hours.
production pipeline for feature films and TV that features streamlined workflow processes for the creation of promos, trailers, mobile platforms and display projects. Among the technology used is Digital Rapids’ StreamZHD encoding platform.
The new 3-D pipeline is the latest service offering from Visual Data. Other services include editorial, color correction, subtitling, encoding and digital cinema packaging.
Among the first 3-D projects completed at Visual Data’s Burbank, CA, facility was a multiformat promo produced by Jeffrey Lerner (Blue Collar Productions). The client had a tight turnaround time for the project, which included complex material with varying frame rates, and a mandate to deliver the best quality 3-D image possible. The Visual Data team delivered everything needed within 24 hours. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN uses Pixel Power to brand World Cup 3-D telecasts
A master control operator sitting in a small room in Building 13 at ESPN’s Bristol, CT, campus electronically inserted 3-D commercials and other graphic elements manually to enhance the broadcasts.
As ESPN viewers around the country watched the World Cup matches live from South Africa in stereoscopic 3-D, a master control operator sitting in a small room in Building 13 at the sports network’s Bristol, CT, campus electronically inserted 3-D commercials and other graphic elements manually to enhance the broadcasts.
Televising one game in 3-D most days of the four-week tournament (for a total of 25 games in 3-D), ESPN accepted live 1080i HD feeds via a dedicated fiber line, with satellite backup, from World Cup host broadcaster HBS and used a Pixel Power BrandMaster master control switcher and Abekas Mira server (controlled by a DNF Control device) before sending the game out to the various satellite and cable carriage partners. Read the rest of this entry »
Panasonic helps consumers shoot it like they see it
The new HDC-SDT750 stereoscopic 3-D camcorder lists for less than $1400 and should whet consumers’ appetite for home movies in 3-D.
For that growing number of consumers complaining about the lack of consistently available 3-D programming to watch on their new 3-D TV set, Panasonic wants them to go shoot it themselves.
After introducing the first professional 3-D camcorder earlier this year, Panasonic has turned to the consumer market, introducing the HDC-SDT750 stereoscopic 3-D camcorder for a list price of $1399.95. It will be available in October and, according to the company, provides consumers with yet another reason to buy a new 3-D-capable TV set.
The new camcorder includes a 3-D conversion lens that enables it to shoot 3-D video content. It can also record full 1080p HD video (in the AVCHD compressed format) when the 3-D conversion lens is unattached. The camcorder features three 1/3in MOS sensors, a Leica Dicomar lens and a 12x optical zoom. Read the rest of this entry »
If 3-D makes you happy
Sony’s new MVS-8000X production switcher handled the 2-D/3-D production in single-mode 3Gb/s.
An intimate live show by Sheryl Crow was captured in New York City on Wednesday by All Mobile Video’s new 53ft Epic 3-D production truck, in both 2-D and 3-D, for a future edition on the PBS series “Soundstage.” The production is one of the first 2-D/3-D events captured with a single truck and represents a model of how to produce events more economically than using two separate trucks.
Sharp ships 3-D camera module for mobile devices
The current 3-D camera cell phone module (developed by Sharp) internally processes image data output by compact left and right cameras.
Sharp began shipping samples this month of a new add-on 3-D camera module that allows users of mobile devices such as cell phones, digital cameras and netbooks to record 3-D HD images. According to the company, it’s set to go on sale by the end of the year.
The new Sharp external plug-in module captures 720p full-motion video in 3-D, an industry first for consumer mobile devices, according to the company. Images can be viewed auto-stereoscopically (single viewer, no glasses) on 3-D-capable mobile devices or on a larger screen using polarized glasses. Read the rest of this entry »
SMPTE 3-D conference provides roadmap for 3-D landscape
At a conference hosted by the SMPTE, Panasonic gave a presentation on its new 3D-A1 camcorder, revealing that it made some compromises inside the camera to make 3-D production easily accessible to a wider production community.
At the recent engineering conference hosted by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) in New York City, a number of camera technologies for acquiring stereoscopic 3-D images, both established and future-forward, were presented to a highly attentive audience. For the engineers in attendance, eager to get a handle on the tidal wave of information now becoming available and to see innovation in its prototype phase, it provided a good look at the merging worldwide 3-D landscape and how science is helping to bring “comfortable” content to movie and TV screens around the world.
The international strength of the SMPTE membership was in full view; the conference brought presenters from Russia, France, Spain and the United States to weigh in on the first day of the two-day meeting. Read the rest of this entry »
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