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3D posts

HDI's laser-driven 3D HDTV hits production, should ship next year

by Darren Murph posted Oct 30th 2009 at 4:28PM

When we first caught wind of HDI's "world's first laser-based 3D HDTV," we were cautiously hopeful that it'd be ready to go (at least as a prototype) at CES 2010. Looks like we may actually get our wish, as the company has today announced that its magical set has reached the manufacturing stage. What's it all mean? It means that the set is being fast-tracked for release in 2010, meaning that you're just months away from having stereoscopic 1,920 x 1,080 content in your living room... provided there's actually any programming to view, that is. Of course, it'll handle the 2D stuff too, and the twin RGP LCoS micro-display imagers in there ought to provide plenty of crisp imagery regardless of the source. We're still not sure if the Woz-approved 100-inch version that's being shown to curious onlookers is the size that'll be pumped out to the mainstream, but we're hoping for at least a few smaller siblings for those of us with last names other than Kennedy, Gates, Buffet and Ellison.

Continue reading HDI's laser-driven 3D HDTV hits production, should ship next year

Details of 3D cable demo at Cable-Tec emerge

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 28th 2009 at 11:08PM

Cable-Tec Expo 3D cable demo
Our friend Mari at the official Motorola Blog just got back from checking out the 3D demo at Cable-Tec and was able to dig up a few extra details in addition to sharing her impressions. Overall she said the circular polarized and active shutter demos both "looked good" but each was driven by a different set-top-box so it was hard to do a fair a to b comparison. This also makes us continue to wonder how compatible these two 3D display technologies are -- we suspect they are compatible and that this was just to prove that both IPTV and QAM worked as delivery methods. The most interesting tidbit is the fact that, thanks to new Multiview Video Encoding techniques, the 3D stream only requires about 30 percent more throughput than the same image in 2D. This isn't as much as Panasonic is claiming the new 3D Blu-ray spec will require, which is estimated at 50 precent. One other thing we're left wondering is what the frame rate of the demo was, but earlier this week CableLabs did confirme that the demo is 1080p and that the SCTE has already added 1080p at 60 fps to its encoding standards. We assume the frame rate had to be at least 30 fps per eye though, because otherwise the flicker would probably be noticeably annoying.

Samsung's 30-inch 3D AMOLED TV won't make you dizzy, will leave you poor and silly

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 28th 2009 at 4:34AM

Feeling that 3D craze yet? No? Well what if we told you that Samsung was bringing stereoscopic 3D to its magnificent AMOLED panels touting a million-to-1 contrast? Today in Japan it's showing off its 30-inch AMOLED 3D television with Full HD panel measuring just 2.5-mm thick. Although much is lost in the Korean language press release, Sammy is claiming that itd panel plus shutter-glasses technology helps to reduce the dizziness felt by some 3D viewers. The set's just a prototype at the moment but its price will certainly invoke financial vertigo whenever it might hit the manufacturing lines. One more very serious picture after the break.

Continue reading Samsung's 30-inch 3D AMOLED TV won't make you dizzy, will leave you poor and silly

Televisa broadcasted the first soccer match in 3D

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 27th 2009 at 1:31PM


Football and Basketball aren't the only sports to benefit from a 3D presentation and we're sure our friends to the south were excited to see their favorite in 3D. Televisa -- the largest media company in the Spanish speaking world -- presented the America versus Guadalajara soccer match this past Sunday in 3D to theaters in Guadalajara and Monterrey. Said broadcaster also plans to give the same treatment to the Primera División Apertura tournament finals as well -- whatever that is but it sounds impressive. We have had the pleasure of experiencing our favorite sport in a 3D theater and have to say it was very enjoyable, so if you have the opportunity don't pass on it.

Hollywood Theaters upgrading screens to Sony 4k projectors

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 27th 2009 at 12:24PM

Sony 4K projector
With some help from Sony, Hollywood Theaters is upgrading to 4K digital cinema, some of which that will do 3D. The project kicks off over the next few months when 13 locations will get the upgrade that consists of 167 screens all of which will all be going digital. On top of that, 53 of those screens will also support 3D movies thanks to RealD and circular polarized glasses. Of course we won't be happy until every theater in the US is digital and 3D, but this is a decent step in the right direction.

Ready or not, the latest 3D technology is coming home

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 26th 2009 at 2:06PM Featured Story

ESPN 3D camera
Avid readers of Engadget HD are up on the latest 3D display and display technologies, but the same can not be said for the general masses. And before you start on the whole "I'm not wearing any stupid looking glasses," because no matter what you say, there are more people paying extra to go 3D movies than ever and the reason is simple; it's because this isn't like the crappy 3D you saw during the Super Bowl last year -- or that our parents grew up with. No, the 3D that Sony, Panasonic, and others are promising next year is like nothing you've seen. We've come a long way since the old anaglyph red and blue glasses that come in cereal boxes. So if like most, you could use a refresher on the 3D technologies and when you might get to use them, you should head on over and check it out.

3D cable TV to be demoed at Cable-Tec Expo next week

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 19th 2009 at 3:39PM

CableLabs LogoAt this point we know what you are thinking and we can say that you are wrong, we aren't about to rename the site to Engadget 3D -- not yet at least -- but we are getting excited about 3D and there isn't much more exciting then the idea of broadcast 3D. We say that because although we love movies, we're not crazy about 3D movies, but we are very very crazy about 3D sports which obviously requires broadcast 3D. So while we have a long way to go until we can enjoy our favorite sport at home in 3D, a demo by CableLabs at the Cable-Tec Expo next week is a great first step. The demo will be on a real cable plant and will fit on a single existing size cable channel. That's about all the details we know right now, but we'd assume it's using H.264 instead of MPEG-2, and we can only hope it is 1080p30, or better, to each eye. One other nuget in the article is that the broadcast will work with both circular polarized and active shutter glasses, which is something we've wondered about. Also on display will be 3D TVs from LG, Hyundai, Sony and Panasonic.

Hitachi exhibits 10-inch glasses-free 3D display

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2009 at 8:19PM

Hitachi's face-recognizing, power-saving plasma may have been the outfit's show-stopper at CEATEC, but this little bugger here showed some pretty fantastic potential as well. The 10-inch 3D display, more formally known as the Full Parallax 3D TV, one-upped most every other 3D display at the show thanks to its ability to showcase dimensions sans any glasses. Unfortunately, the native resolution is just 640 x 480, and yes, it really is just 10-inches in size. In due time, the outfit hopes to scale up to screen sizes that may actually be appealing to end users by utilizing multiple projectors (each of which with a 800 x 600 resolution), though a 4K x 2K 3D display (of the glasses-free variety) is still probably a couple of trade shows out. At least.

[Via 3D-Display-Info]

Samsung showing off 55 inches of 240Hz 3D LCD glory

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 14th 2009 at 5:49AM

Look, we know this 3D thing is as likely to sink as it is to swim right now, but we have to hand it to Samsung -- it's pursuing the idea with some pretty hefty ambition. A 55-inch 1080p panel with a true 240Hz refresh rate is a decent base on which to build your paradigm-shifting new offering. Using a set of "shutter" glasses, which rapidly alternate between blocking out the left and right eye, the set is capable of delivering the full 240Hz quality, debatable as its benefits may be. Of course, the value or otherwise of a TV like this is going to be found only by experiencing its output in person, so if you're somewhere near Seoul this week, head on down to the IMID 2009 conference to get an eyeful of an early model.

Timeframe for the 3D infiltration? 3 - 4 years, says Panasonic president

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 8th 2009 at 12:28PM


Apparently even one of the main proponents of the 3D at home movement is still able to see its shortcomings, as detailed in this Wall Street Journal article. Prez Fumio Ohtsubo sees a 3-4 year time period before 3D gains wider acceptance, while the company continues to work on implementing it in smaller televisions, portable devices and glasses-free 3D. Combine that with the still miniscule amount of 3D content and the extra expense for compatible hardware, and we can see why Panasonic is unwilling to put all its eggs into one glasses-filled basket. All that aside, this time next year, expect to see 3D highest among the list of features on high end, large HDTVs where contrast ratio, Hz, widgets and other bullet pointed items currently reside.

Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 11:29PM Featured Story


We can't say for certain how good it feels to hoist this big-faced behemoth onto one's shoulder, but it's the first time we've seen Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 3D camcorder out and about since its fabled introduction at NAB earlier this year. Strategically placed beside a 3D Avatar trailer demo, the camcorder looked exactly like the press shot we saw of the prototype before, though there's still no formal word on when it'll be used to film your friend's Bar Mitzvah (or anything else half as cool). A boy can dream, yeah?

Gallery: Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC

Panasonic's 50-inch 1080p 3D plasma spotted, watched at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 10:26PM Featured Story

At this point, Panasonic's 50-inch 3D plasma is just another one joining the fray, but considering how highly hyped the technology behind this was, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to throw our eyes on it for a bit at CEATEC. The 1080p panel was strikingly thin (or well mounted to give that impression), and the viewing angles were fantastic. The glasses that Panny provided, however, were relatively annoying (no surprise there). It should be noted that the actual spectacles sit pretty far off of your face, which simultaneously enables those with actual glasses to partake in the 3D experience while frustrating those without by giving them a cute blue rim that refuses to leave the periphery. As for image quality, the G-Force demo looked downright stunning, with depth being easily perceived and fast moving action whisking about seamlessly. Still, we're having a hard time believing a family of four would sit down and use these glasses for a two-hour presentation, but hey, we're not going to give up on the marketing squads just yet.

Pixar talks about what it took to upgrade Toy Story to 3D

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 6th 2009 at 5:54PM


And some people didn't know it is possible to make an old movie look good in HD, and here Pixar is going back and making 15 year old movies 3D. Evidently Pixar has always thought about how its movies would look in 3D and decided to go back and make it happen with the first two Toy Story movies. The timing is due to the fact that Toy Story 3 is right around the corner, but while fans wait to see it, they can go to the theater and relive the first two like never before. What's interesting is that the original data took about 4 months to convert just to make it compatible with Pixar's current technology, and after that was done, it took another 6 months to convert each movie to 3D. The other interesting nuget is about how the distance between the two cameras help determine how "3D" an image will look -- an interesting read even if you're not interested in 3D.


[Via TVSnob.com]

Poll: Would you rather see live 1080p or high quality 3D from your cable / satellite provider?

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 4th 2009 at 2:45PM


The technology exists, or will soon, the only question is how or if it should be used. We know it won't require a huge stretch for your provider to deliver 1080p broadcasts, and CableLabs is right in step with others trying to figure out how to bring 3D home, but as a viewer which one would you rather see? As always, write-in votes are allowed so don't be afraid of the comments section.

Poll: Would you rather see live 1080p or high quality 3D from your cable / satellite provider?

Survey says consumer won't pay that much extra for 3D

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 11:07AM

3D camera
You know what the least accurate type of survey is? One where you ask someone what they'd pay for something, because we don't know about anyone else, but the answer is almost always, "as little as possible." So it isn't much of a shocker that when asked, only 43 percent of those interested in 3D at home, said they're willing to spend an extra $200 for a 3D capable HDTV. Of that same group who actually wants 3D, only 33 percent would be willing to spend an extra $50 on a 3D capable Blu-ray player -- no clue why these two numbers aren't the same, guess the respondents didn't think about where the 3D content would come from. Although these numbers aren't encouraging, we wonder if a similar survey was ever conducted for 1080p HDTVs. We say that because at this point most consumers wouldn't think about buying a 720p HDTV and 3D is a much bigger upgrade.




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