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Tag: 3d

  • HDI 100-inch Laser-Based 3D HDTV Reached the Manufacturing Stage

    HDI‘s September announcement of their potential new standard for switchable 2D/3D television technology came on the same day several major manufactures announced plans to release new plasma televisions with 3D capabilities via shutter glasses.

    HDI was the first to announce it has entered into a manufacturing agreement to mass produce 100-inch Laser-Driven 2D/3D Switchable Dynamic Video Projection Televisions.

    HDI’s 2D/3D switchable system delivers 2D image with a 50% greater resolution than today’s digital cinemas, and derives its “greater-than-high” definition stereoscopic 1920 x 1080p "3D" image quality from two RGB laser-illuminated Liquid Crystal on Silcon (LCOS) micro display imagers.

    At full 1080p HD, the HDI screen refreshes at 360 fields per-second on each eye, the fastest refresh rate on any mass produced television or projector, as the company claims.

    HDI says they have completely eliminated the adverse effects, such as migraines, dizziness, nausea, and motion sickness, long associated with inferior and expensive shutter glasses and substandard 3D technology.

    HDI says their displays draw 80% less power than existing 2D plasma displays of the same size, offer a 95% reduction in manufacturing pollution, and a 100% reduction in harmful chemicals and radioactive components currently used in existing televisions.

    At 10-inches thick, HDI’s 100-inch diagonal display weighs 75% less than equivalent Plasma and LCD displays, and is anticipated to have a street price potentially 60% less than current 2D flatscreen Plasma and LCD displays.

    According to HDI co-founder Ingemar Jansson, "The first production-run of 100-inch HDI Ltd. 2D/3D switchable displays should quickly put product into a multitude of B2B and public demonstration venues."

    He’s mum as to when leading American retailers will be able to put units into homes, but stresses that the simplistic and inexpensive design and manufacturing techniques required to produce HDI Ltd. televisions, "will have product in the marketplace faster than one would expect," and adds, "either with the HDI logo or that of another leading manufacturer."

    Offering a thought on the fact that California appears poised to be the first state to ban power-guzzling big-screen TVs, Jansson states, "In light of the energy efficient products emerging from companies such as Apple, the lobbying efforts of the Consumer Electronics Association strikes me as almost criminal in promoting antiquated technologies that the ‘Grid,’ and the planet, simply cannot sustain."

  • New Opportunities for IPTV

    INTERVIEW. In a wide-ranging interview with Biz-news.com, Benjamin Schwarz, chief technology officer for CTO Innovation Consulting Group, who has 20 years of international experience in consulting and in Telco & Media organization, gave an insight into the IPTV development.

    He also talks about the new opportunities the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa gives IPTV. He is convinced the World Cup would witness a tremendous shift to new and highly advanced 3D video demonstrations.

    Content key to IPTV

    Acquiring content for IPTV has become reasonable and content owners are now recognising operators as legitimate in their business, Schwarz revealed.

    He said while a few years back it was impossible to engage in VoD negotiations, with time this has changed for the better.

    “In VoD negotiations ‘minimum guarantees’ are still a stumbling block whereas a few years ago they were in an impassable barrier,” he said.

    Benjamin Schwarz

    Technology due-diligence requirements are also relaxing and majors are beginning to realise that in smaller markets where piracy is rife it’s better to have a little revenue-stream even if it means letting go of the precious ‘minimum guarantees’ rather than having nothing,” Schwarz added.

    He explained that through the years it has become much easier to get content for IPTV operators through the technological developments.

    “A new content aggregation business is coming into existence with specialist VoD outfits like Grey Juice Labs or bigger live TV aggregators like Avail Media. There are even highly specialised consultancies like 3Vision in the UK.

    “So all in all, it’s a lot easier to get access to content now than it was just a few years ago,” said Schwarz.

    Focusing on the growth of IPTV in terms of market and technology, Schwarz said once Telcos got their offers in place, most markets would have a significant IPTV user base of 10 to 30 percent of households.

    He also noted that in future there would be a shift between telcos and content operators.

    IPTV continues to make positive strides

    Meanwhile, strategic technological alliances seem to be the required solution to the array of challenges that were faced by IPTV’s early adopters, Schwarz said.

    Schwarz believes the challenges have since lessened significantly since suppliers such as Microsoft, Cisco, Motorola and Thomson offered a complete end-to-end solution, and other smaller vendors have already integrated with others.

    He said early IPTV adopters faced huge challenges in access to content while the second challenge was the technical difficulty in delivering a Quality of Experience (QoE).

    “The first challenge has all but gone; the market has a lot more actors in it now, and access to an entry-level channel line-up as well as a decent VoD catalogue is within most operators’ reach,” said Schwarz.

    He said standards such as those of the Open IPTV forum have had a much positive impact. However, unlike with content, the technological challenge still remains in South Africa .

    “User expectations of quality are getting higher all the time. So, even as we learn to reach the targets, they are being pulled further away all the time,” said Schwarz.

    He said an example of this could be observed in the user interface.

    “Users interface design is good example of such a moving target. We’re getting so much better all the time, yet never quite good enough,” he said.

    Two most prevalent issues in the projects were recently seen at the CTOiC in 2009 – Over-The-Top (OTT) & Hybrid.

    The OTT issue has many sides. Some content operators want to deliver OTT directly to Network operators’ customers.

    “This is for example, what Joost failed to do, but in many cases they work together as is the case with the BBC’s iPlayer and VirginMedia” said Schwarz.

    However operators with walled garden approaches view OTT as a necessary evil because it will enable only just enough and subscribers won’t churn, – not a feature more.

    TV widgets from the entities like Yahoo! confuse the picture further. Set makers are adopting different stances with their new connected TVs in this raging war.

    “I don’t know how the dust will settle on this. I suppose users, the market will have to decide,” said Schwarz.

    2010 World Cup to showcase advanced IPTV technology

    The forthcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will see a leading international forum of the electronic media industry demonstrating highly sophisticated technology aimed at improving television communication and quality.

    Schwarz said the 3D video would precisely demonstrate how serious IBC would execute its latest technological advancement in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 London Olympics.

    “This year IBC showed some great 3D video demonstration, so I definitely think that will be important. I imagine that the coming World Cup in your country (South Africa) will be too soon; we’ll probably see some demos around that event though.

    “London’s Olympics in 2012 will be the real launch of 3D. Satellite and Cablecos might be first to market but for once they won’t steal the show from IPTV because the extra bandwidth required is pretty small so it will be a level playing field,” said Schwarz.

    Schwarz believes a lot of venture capital would be channeled towards this technological development as evidenced by the on-going huge debate on the social aspect of television.

    Turning to IPTV system, Schwarz said since the landscape of electronic technology was changing at an ever-increasing pace, he was convinced that some of the Content Operators who use CTOiC would survive while the old would find the going tough.

  • Sony Develops 240fps Single Lens 3D Camera

    Sony announced the development of a single lens 3D camera technology capable of recording “natural and smooth” 3D images of even fast-moving subject matter such as sports, at 240fps.

    The new technology combines an optical system for single lens 3D camera which captures the left and right images simultaneously, together with existing high frame rate (HFR) recording technology to realize 240fps 3D filming.

    In existing half mirror 3D camera systems with separate lenses for the left and right eyes, the parallax range is adjustable, enabling the depth of the 3D images to be modified.

    However, when operating the zoom and focus functions of such systems, the sensitivity of the human eye, in particular to differences in the size and rotational movement of dual images, as well as any vertical misalignment or difference in image quality has meant that complex technology has been required to ensure that each camera lens is closely coordinated, and there are no discrepancies in the optical axis, image size, and focus.

    According to Sony, the introduction of a single lens system resolves any issues that may occur as a result of having different optical characteristics for each eye. Furthermore, they say, by using mirrors in place of shutters, incoming light can now be simultaneously separated into left and right images and recorded as it reaches the parallel light area (the area where diverging light from the point of focus on the subject matter becomes parallel) of the relay lens.

    The separated left and right images are then processed and recorded with the respective left and right image sensors. As there is no difference in time between when the left and right eye images are captured, it is possible for natural and smooth 3D images to be captured, even of scenes involving rapid movement.

    Sony has made some optical tests that have shown that a frame rate 240fps represents the limit of human visual perception, and beyond that it becomes difficult to detect differences in terms of blur and “jerkiness” of moving images (where images that were continuous are now seen as a series of distinct snapshots).

    The company assures that with the new technology even when polarized glasses are not used, viewers will still be able to see natural 2D images, as the disparity of the images for left and right eyes are within the range that human eyes can recognize as a blur.

    A prototype model incorporating this technology will be demonstrated at “CEATEC JAPAN 2009”, to be held in Chiba city, Japan, from October 6th.

  • Panasonic Develops 50-inch Full HD 3D PDP

    Aiming to bring Full HD 3D TVs to the market in 2010, Panasonic steps up its efforts in developing the related technology. The company has just developed a 50-inch Full HD 3D compatible plasma display panel (PDP) and high-precision active shutter glasses that enable the viewing of theater-quality, true-to-life 3D images in the living rooms.

    The new PDP and glasses evolved from Panasonic’s Full HD 3D Plasma Home Theater System that was developed in 2008 and comprised of a 103-inch PDP and a Blu-ray Disc player. The prototype PDP has a 50-inch screen, which is expected to become the most popular size for home theaters.

    This 50-inch PDP uses Panasonic’s newly-developed high-speed 3D drive technology that enables rapid illumination of pixels while maintaining brightness. The panel also incorporates a crosstalk reduction technology allowing for minimizing double-image (ghosting) that occurs when left- and right-eye images are alternately displayed.

    As PDPs are self-illuminating device with full motion-picture resolution, they offer fast response time and are suitable to display fast-moving images. The high-speed 3D drive technology involves the development of new panel materials and LSIs that accelerate the pixel illumination while maintaining brightness.

    Panasonic also developed the crosstalk reduction technology using phosphors with short luminescence decay time and illumination control technology to reduce double-images that occur when left- and right-eye image are alternated on the panel. This technology contributes to achieving high-quality clear pictures with high-contrast and accurate color reproduction. As the new technologies can also be applied to improve the quality of 2D images, they have expanded PDP’s potentials for further evolution.

    To reproduce 3D images, Panasonic uses the Full HD x 2 frame sequential method that displays time sequential images, alternately reproducing discrete 1920 x 1080 pixel images for the left and right eyes on the display frame by frame. The frame sequential method is widely used in showing Hollywood 3D movies in theaters.

    The active shutter glasses employ Panasonic’s technology that controls the timing of opening and closing the shutter in synchronization with the left- and right-eye images alternately shown on the PDP. According to the company, this technology enables significant reduction of crosstalk that degrades the image resolution in 3D display. The glasses are designed to fit for a wide range of users from children to the elderly.

    Panasonic has been working to develop its original Full HD 3D technology to create synergy between PDPs, which excel in moving picture resolution and color reproduction, and Blu-ray Disc players, which are able to faithfully reproduce high quality Hollywood 3D movies.

    The company continues to work on developing 3D products, targeting to launch the products in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. in 2010.

    Prototype Full HD 3D TV and glasses will be displayed at CEATEC JAPAN 2009 to be held from October 6 to 10 in Chiba City, east of Tokyo.

  • First Portable 3D Monitor for Viewing Without Glasses

    The Swiss brand nvp3D introduced the FreeD Multi-Media Player – the first portable autonomous 3D monitor for viewing without glasses.

    This device is autonomous, that means there is no need of a computer connection to view. The content – videos and photos – is displaying on 7-inch monitor from the SD card. Autonomy of the player is limited by the battery to approx. 2 hours.

    nvp3D have been using larger autostereoscopic screens for more than two years but their price remains high and it wasn’t easy for people to acquire content. Now, the company assures its device is priced accessibly for the public at large – already loaded with several short 3D films, it is offered on their site for 450 Swiss francs (~$425).


     

    The Swiss company, based in La Croix-sur-Lutry near Lausanne, actually specialises in 3D documentaries, thus to develop a solution for providing access to 3D content for viewing on the screens, they have worked jointly with manufacturers like Pavonine (Korea), Vestel (Turkey) and Inlife (China).

    They piloted the new player in the final development phases for Inlife, inventor of the product. Initially designed by Inlife as a Photo Frame, the player has evolved in the direction of a 3D video reader.

    “As a small Swiss business, we are please to have been involved in the development of this product, which marks a turning point in the history of 3D,” said Philippe Nicolet, director of nvp3D.

    The company’s www.freedvision.com is, as they claim, the first site dedicated to the world of 3D without glasses. It offers free downloads of content in the appropriate format, to be transferred to the SD card of the autostereoscopic monitor.

    At first, the company will provide videos produced by nvp3d, but they hope very quickly to expand the offer to other source of both videos and photos from amateurs and professionals alike.

    The site will also post general info on the world of 3d without glasses.

    The city of Lausanne, that has lent active support following the release of its first 3D film about the town, will obtain a few FreeD Players to introduce its residents to the new technology, and to serve as a 3D souvenir for honoured guests.

    Swiss Watch TV, owner of the nvp3D brand, is currently seeking investors to finance a project to create live 3D television in Switzerland.

  • Sky to Launch 3D TV in 2010

    Sky has announced that it will launch the UK’s first 3D channel next year. The channel will offer a broad selection of the available 3D programming, which is expected to include movies, entertainment and sport.

    The service will be broadcast across Sky’s existing HD infrastructure and be available via the current generation of Sky+HD set-top boxes. To watch 3D, customers will also require a new ‘3D Ready’ TV, which are expected to be on sale in the UK next year.

    “3D is a genuinely ‘seeing is believing’ experience, making TV come to life as never before. Just like the launch of digital, Sky+ and HD, this is latest step in our commitment to innovating for customers,” said Brian Sullivan, Managing Director of Sky’s Customer Group.

    Sky became the first TV company in Europe that has successfully broadcasted a live event in 3D TV. On 2nd April 2009 they broadcast a performance by Keane live from Abbey Road Studios via the company’s satellite network to a Sky+HD set-top box and domestic 3D Ready TV.

    Sky has also confirmed the launch of a comprehensive ‘pull’ video-on-demand (VOD) service next year, to provide Sky+HD customers with additional choice and control to complement Sky+ and the current Sky Anytime ‘push’ VOD service. This new service will use the broadband capability of existing Sky+HD boxes.

    The jump from 2D to 3D

    TV has traditionally only been able to deliver a single image to a television screen. For all the innovation that we’ve seen in TV (including the move to colour, the migration to digital, and more recently, the launch of high definition services), all of these developments have only been able to work within the parameters of a single incoming TV feed – a 2D experience.
    So even though HD delivers an intensity and richness which results in exceptional clarity and detail, it is still based on the same underlying picture delivery mechanism as previous TV formats.

    3D TV is possible because of a series of major breakthroughs (principally in camera, post-production, encoding, set-top box and TV set technology) which means that domestic TVs are now capable of processing an image in a way that can deliver the depth information to the brain – much like the human eye – and hence add a further dimension to HD.

    For the first time, two images can now be merged and played out simultaneously on the same domestic TV display. Polarising glasses are currently used to help direct the correct left or right full colour on-screen image to the corresponding eye. The brain then processes each feed to create a single image, providing a level of depth and focus which means that the content is able to move to and from the foreground and therefore becomes three-dimensional.

  • Panasonic makes Tsuyuzaki new CTO


    The executive who helped Panasonic develop its Blu-ray discs and 3D FullHD TV technologies has been named as the new chief technology officer of Panasonic Consumer Electronics North America.

    Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic’s Hollywood Laboratory managing director, is replacing Paul Liao who is leaving the company to be the new CEO of Cable Television Laboratories.

    Tsuyuzaki has served in the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory as managing director since 2005.

    Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, chief technology officer of Panasonic Consumer Electronics North America

    While in the post he directed the company’s next-generation entertainment R&D activities in the US, including the development of the Blu-ray Disc format and 3D FullHD TV technologies.

    Tsuyuzaki is well known in Hollywood studio circles, furthering Panasonic’s ties with the software and creative communities.

    He is regarded as the consumer electronics industry’s chief champion of Blu-ray.

    A participatant in various panels, conferences and seminars with his studio counterparts, he has talked up the format in both the trade and the consumer media.

    He also masterminded several big Blu-ray Disc promotions.

  • 3D Heading For Home Screens – Likely To Be Games First


    More than 10 per cent of TVs sold worldwide could have 3D capability by 2011, rising to 16 per cent or 2.8bn sets by 2015.

    That’s the prediction of research by Screen Digest, which suggests that technological advances mean today’s 3D cinema viewing experience will soon be possible at home.

    The researchers’ forecasts are, however, dependent on a unifying standard emerging that works across all technologies.

    If that fails to materialise, Display Search downgrades its estimates to 3D-capable sets accounting for just three per cent of sales by 2015 – or 500m units.

    At present the most reliable technology will require consumers to invest in a new TV and wear special 3D glasses.

    But Screen Digest believes that autostereoscopic technology will eventually become most popular as it has one major advantage: no glasses.

    Stressing that the 3D market is in its infancy and that mass uptake is a long way off, the report says that 3D requires twice the broadcast bandwidth of today’s two-dimensional viewing experience.

    For this reason, Screen Digest expects Blu-ray Disc to provide the main method of distribution, as its hi-def content capacity bypasses the bandwidth issue altogether.

    Since Screen 3D films attract a premium of up to 50 per cent on cinema tickets, the researchers note that Hollywood Studios have a vested interest in getting 3D entertainment into homes.

    Marie Bloomfield, analyst at Screen Digest, said since no-one wants a costly replay of the hi-def disc format war, industry associations are already working together to establish a viable roadmap to make that happen.

    She said that due to higher bandwidth and incremental production costs, when it does come to the small screen, 3D TV programming will be the reserve of paying customers only.

    "What 3D offers the Studios and pay TV operators is an opportunity to charge a premium for content – perhaps even more so than high definition," she said.

    "But as it is emerging in the middle of a recession, the home 3D market is in a Catch 22 situation.

    "Consumers will not be persuaded to invest in new equipment to experience 3D until there is enough content; and content production will not ramp up until there is a significant audience.

    "3D in the home will therefore be a slow burn, remaining a niche business for the foreseeable future."

    3D movie production has increased rapidly.

    In 2008, there were seven films; in 2009 there will be 17 and a further 28 are due to be released in 2010.

    Compared with live action, animated films are much easier to adapt to 3D and Disney and DreamWorks Animation have been quick to grasp the opportunity.

    Together they account for more than half of the 3D film release slate.

    It is more challenging to produce 3D TV programming on broadcasting budgets, yet nonetheless several broadcasters have launched trials around sporting events.

    In conclusion, Screen Digest predicts that it may be 3D games and not movies or TV that arrives in the home first.

    Gaming is an early adopter market, consoles and software could be upgraded relatively painlessly and gamers are more willing to adopt peripherals such as glasses, all of which make it an ideal home entry point for 3D technology.

  • Can Vuzix Transform Video Glasses From Geek To Chic?


    Ever fancied a pair of those video glasses but felt you’d look a bit silly? Well Vuzix has come up with a set that would easily pass for wrap-around sunglasses.

    The US company claims its Wrap 920AV is the most advanced video eyewear yet produced – offering the viewing equivalent of a 62-inch screen seen from 3m away.

    David Lock, director of Vuzix’s European operations, spoke to smartphone.biz-news at the Showstoppers event on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona.

    Click below to see a video interview with David Lock:


    He said unlike its competitors, Vuzix has concentrated on providing the best consumer viewing experience with its existing four models – rather than focusing on look and style.

    But he said the new Wrap glasses transformed the whole video eyewear from "geek to chic".

    Certainly consumer interest in this type of product seems to be hotting up – helped no doubt by the growing demand for mobile video.

    Since its launch in Europe last March, Lock said Vuzix has sold USD $500,000 worth of video glasses.

    Typical buyers range from commuters to parents buying them for teenage children to watch video on their iPods during car journeys.

    Aside from the new Wrap, it offers fours models ranging from 44" to 62" in 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats.

    The iWear VR1440 is aimed specifically at gamers.

    With removable earphones and HD 2D and 3D viewing, the glasses run off a single AA alkaline battery that provides between 5-11 hours of viewing depending on the model and use.

    The eyewear can be used with a growing list of smartphones and mobile devices.

    But if the Wrap’s more fashionable look sounds appealing, Lock said the spec’s ability to allow viewers to experience augmented reality would be just as big a selling point when they are launched in the Fall.

    Essentialy that means the glasses’ "see-thru" lens design allows users to see what is around them while watching a video display or experiencing augmented or mixed reality on mobile devices such as the iPhone.

    He is enthusiastic about the possibilities that offers – such as being able to walk around a city wearing the glasses while following directions from a GPS map on the widescreen lenses.

    We tried out the glasses at Showstoppers and the quality is impressive – what might still put some people off are the prices, which begin at USD $199 for the most basic model.

  • Growth Towards 3D HDTV Gains Pace


    Panasonic has submitted a proposal for a 3D Blu-ray standard to the Blu-ray Disc Association.

    The standard would offer guidelines for creating "left/right-eye two-channel full HD images".

    Hiroshi Miyai, Panasonic’s director of AV developments, said that the changes should be quite simple, claiming that the discs would simply need some kind of flag to identify image data, equipment and other elements supporting 3D imagery.

    "We really don’t need any other major changes," he said.

    Panasonic’s submission comes as Korea’s LG announces its intentions to bring 3D TVs to some markets in 2009.

    Choon Lee, vice president director of LG’s Digital TV Research Lab, gave no specific information about the launch details other than that one or two unspecified markets will be getting the technology.

    He said the tech itself would undergo a slight change to existing Blu-ray technology and use the media to keep costs to buyers down.

    In Japan, viewers receive two hours of 3D programming daily over satellite broadcasts.