Posted on September 4th, 2009 by Marcela.
Categories: Technology, Screens, 3 d, education.
BSkyB to launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel next year
Service will use standard Sky+ HD set-top boxes but will require new ‘3D ready’ television set and special glasses
BSkyB filiming the English National Ballet in 3D. The ballet was filmed using high-definition 3D cameras, which use two lenses to record separate footage for each eye. Viewers then wear special polarising glasses which give the impression the picture is in three dimensions. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
BSkyB is to launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel offering movies, entertainment and sports programming in the UK next year.
The satellite broadcaster, which recently said that 3D TV could be a reality within several years, has stepped up its roll-out programme after a major boost in the numbers subscribers to its Sky+ HD set-top boxes, which are capable of broadcasting 3D services.
BSkyB, which has doubled the number of customers with Sky+ HD boxes in the last year to 1.31m, said that it will launch a channel offering 3D movies, entertainment and sport.
However, to watch 3D programming customers will also require a new “3D ready” TV set, which are expected to be on sale in the UK next year, and special glasses.
At a recent demonstration BSkyB used a Hyundai TV which retails at £2,500, although the broadcaster hopes that ultimately 3D TV sets will not cost much more than a standard HD plasma screen.
BSkyB also confirmed today that it will launch a “pull” video-on-demand service using the broadband capability in Sky+ HD boxes. Until now Sky has only been able to offer what is termed “push” VoD services – such as the Sky Anytime service – and the Sky+ personal video recorder.
The new “pull” service aims to broaden consumer choice by allowing programmes to be watched on-demand in the way other services, such as on cable operator Virgin Media’s TV plartform, offer extensive libraries of shows.
“3D is a genuinely ’seeing is believing’ experience [and] next year we will make our HD boxes work even harder for customers by launching Europe’s first 3D TV channel,” said Brian Sullivan, the managing director of Sky’s customer group. “[We are also] introducing a comprehensive video-on-demand service to complement Sky+ and the current Sky Anytime service.”
Posted on May 26th, 2009 by Marcela.
Categories: Products, Technology, 3 d, media, Home Theatre.
Format war looms over 3D TV
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last month was overrun with companies demonstrating 3D television systems for the home. But despite the impressive viewing experiences on offer, the spectre of a lengthy battle between competing formats hangs over the latest shiny offerings.
TV studios and hardware companies alike are now building on the public’s rediscovered love of 3D movies. Satellite broadcaster Sky recently treated press to examples of soccer games and boxing matches filmed in 3D by strapping two regular cameras side by side, and Panasonic last week started to make 3D Blu-ray video discs at its Hollywood factory.
However, anyone interested in a 3D system for the home must pick between three or more very different and incompatible technologies. At present, material designed for one system usually cannot be played on another.
Polarised views
One approach – already well established for virtual environments used by engineers and surgeons – involves a home theatre projector running at high frequency to deliver left and right images in rapid succession.
The viewer wears LCD spectacles that alternately block the left and right eye view to ensure that each eye only sees the correct viewpoint – timing is synchronised via a wireless link with the projector.
Panasonic’s 3D offering uses a plasma screen to flash the alternate left and right images, and should be on sale in the near future.
South Korean firm Hyundai uses an LCD screen to display left and right images simultaneously, using a filter over the screen to polarise the two images differently. The viewer wears polarising spectacles to see 3D image.
Twin cameras capture a UK soccer game for later 3D viewing, but which technology will become the standard?
This system is already on sale in Japan, where limited 3D TV broadcasts started last year, and has also been adopted by Sky.
‘Confusing’ situation
Experts say that the sudden appearance on the market of incompatible rival technologies could hold the 3D home movie back.
“With several competing technologies – and none of them adopted as industry standards – the fragmentation could seriously impede progress, generate confusion and slow consumer uptake,” says Sarah Carroll, at consumer electronics research firm Futuresource Consulting.
The closest the industry currently has to a standard is Panasonic’s campaign to add 3D playback to the Blu-ray standard.
If other manufacturers get on board, the move could lead to a single format for discs or broadcasts that any 3D or even 2D TV set can play. So far they have put development of competing technologies first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_shutter_glasses
Posted on September 4th, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: useful technology, 3 d.
Along with a few other tech journalists, I spent a couple of hours today over at the Westchester Country Club, which is gearing up for The Barclays PGA Tour event. What the hell was I doing there? Well, as part of a marketing deal with the PGA Tour, Mitsubishi is the “official large outdoor video display provider” of the Tour, and the PR team wanted us to see some of these displays in action–along with the Tour’s ShotLink technology, which tracks players’ shots almost down to the centimeter (the info is then displayed on those giant Mitsubishi scoreboards). That’s all sorts of interesting if you’re a golf fan, but things got a little sexier when Mitsubishi representatives took us into a hospitality suite, handed us each a pair of fancy 3D glasses (a little smaller than the ones shown in the photo), and showed us a demo of some new 3D-imaging technology the company’s working on.
The demo was run from a massive Dell desktop and output onto a large DLP set. In an effort to inject new life into the fading rear-projection category, the company’s pitch was that the 3D technology worked with existing DLP TVs and projectors (due to DLP’s native 120Hz refresh rate, which allows you to split it into 60/60 for 3D) but not with LCD and plasma displays.
Most of us were pretty impressed by the demo, which included clips from movies, commercials, and sporting events. There was real depth to the 3D, and you got that 3D-feeling of objects poking out at you from the screen. All the demo material had been shot in 3D, but the kicker to the whole presentation was that Mitsubishi apparently has a Blu-ray player in its labs that can convert existing 2D movies into 3D on the fly. Better yet, according to company representatives, it may be available early next year.
I’m pretty skeptical that the technology is going to show up anytime soon, and I have my doubts that converted 2D content is going to look all that great in 3D. But the 3D movement is gathering more momentum, as other companies such as Samsung and Philips continue working on ways to bring 3D into the home. Ideally, you wouldn’t have to wear glasses (Philips is trying to integrate 3D right into the display), but I have a feeling you’re only going to get a true Imax-like 3D experience with some eyewear.
While Mitsubishi wasn’t ready to talk pricing, one would expect to pay a premium for a special-featured Blu-ray player. That said, Mitsubishi hinted that it was in discussions with one game console manufacturer to integrate its 3D technology into the system. The Wii’s not capable of such feats, and Microsoft’s in the HD DVD camp, so one would have to assume it’s Sony and the PS3.
I know, I know. It’s all rampant conjecture. But eventually, HD and 2D just aren’t going to cut it. We may be a few years away, but there’s chatter out there. Anybody out there itching for 3D at home?
Posted on July 2nd, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new, Screens, 3 d.
Philips 3D Solutions brings the 3D viewing experience to you without the need for special 3D glasses. Philips WoWvx technology grabs the attention of the viewer. The 3D display has a large viewing zone and is suitable for simultaneous use by a number of viewers. 3D is the next big thing since the introduction of color displays. 3D provides a richer, more exciting, more informative, and more entertaining end-user experience in various fields!
3D is cool!
Having a night in with your friends? There is no better way of watching the latest movies, the coolest shows, and the most important sporting events, than in an exciting 3D mode!!
3D is going to be big!
There are great opportunities for consumers, as well as business and the professional market. Just imagine what 3D can do for the visualization of your product.
3D is the next big thing!
Hollywood is already shooting some big productions in 3D. They also know that soon, everybody will want to see their favorite movie in 3D!
Grab viewers attention and bring your content alive with WoWvx technology!
Imagine what Star Wars would like on a 3D screen! It’s like being there, in a Galaxy far far away yourself! And try to resist that freshly squeezed glass of orange juice springing out of the screen!
Posted on March 21st, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: 3 d.
“This solution allows La Geode to introduce the biggest, brightest, and finest high-definition 3D and 2D digital image covering a very large part of its 1,000 m2 hemispheric screen,” says Laurent Dondey, general manager at La Géode. “This project started with a visit at ‘IMAX Tycho Brahe’ – the dome movie theater and planetarium in Copenhagen – where we were very impressed and inspired by the courageous and successful first move made by Steen Iversen’s team and Barco’s Eric Braux in implementing giant digital projection for 3D programs. We discovered the right way to strategically enrich, diversify, and render less dependant our programming.”
Ever since the implementation of the Barco system solution at the Tycho Brahe planetarium in Copenhagen, there appears to be a strong interest in digital 3D among museums and themed parks with giant screen domes. Barco’s 3D digital display system enables La Géode to diversify its offering and provide a new experience to its patrons, as well as differentiate its offer from standard theaters. La Géode will split its screen time between digital and large format film presentations.
La Géode plans to show 3D programs three to four times a day, high-definition (HD) children animation programs, documentaries for special rendezvous of La Géode, music and video concerts, satellite video transmissions for sports and cultural/musical events, and sessions for graphic and new digital image creators with schools and labs.
