The Shadow (Camera) Knows

But it’s also a challenge. Some of the important camera positions on court don’t have room for the second camera operator who would normally be required on a 3D rig. Enter 3D shooting guru Vince Pace, whose Shadow D rig was used on ESPN’s X Games broadcast from Los Angeles in July. Essentially, as Aagaard described it, it’s a standard video camera with two 3D cameras mounted on top of a special housing built around the 2D lens. The rig is programmed so that, when the camera operator makes adjustments to the 2D lens, they are automatically translated and applied to the 3D cameras and lenses. Pace and NEP Broadcasting were brought in to help produce the 3D broadcasts, he said. 

To help address similar challenges, Panasonic announced the formation of a “3D Innovation Center” to open this fall at Panasonic’s headquarters in Secaucus, NJ, dedicated to reviewing technology and establishing guidelines for best practices in 3D acquisition, production, post, and delivery. A Los Angeles branch will also be established. (A similar Panasonic “3D Innovation Center” was established in Japan earlier this year.) 

The company also took the opportunity to remind attendees that a whole raft of stereo-3D products just hit the market, including its AG-3DA1 3D camcorder ($21,000), which started shipping last week. The new BT-3DL2550 3D LCD monitor ($9,900) is also available now, and the AG-HMX100 live 3D switcher ($5,800) should be available later in September.

3D Home Movies

Also new was the company’s recently announced 3MOS consumer-level 3D camcorder, the $1399 HDC-SDT750 [pictured above]. Think of it as an AVCHD camcorder that comes with a special “3D conversion lens” attachment. Basically, the conversion lens captures two separate images, recording them to the camera’s MOS sensors in a side-by-side configuration. Connected to a compatible 3D TV (via HDMI mini cable or SD memory card), the footage will be played back in stereo 3D. If you twist off the converter, you’re ready to shoot a standard HD image in 2D. 

Will the HDC-SDT750 become popular with pro stereo videographers as a sort of inexpensive “crash cam,” the way light and inexpensive HDV cameras caught on as a source for B-roll that could sometimes be intercut with footage from much more expensive HD cameras? Probably not — Panasonic 3D technology performed very well in the company’s special stereo exhibit room at the U.S. Open, but footage captured with the SDT750 was an obvious step below professional-level footage, in part because of the consumer-quality imager and also because the side-by-side acquisition method limits the recorded imagery to just half of HD’s horizontal resolution. However, a live display showing footage being captured in real time with the AG-3DA1 was very convincing in terms of pleasing 3D effects, albeit under tightly controlled shooting conditions.

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Buffalo is set to drop their latest 3D-enabled external Blu-ray writer ‘BP3D-PI6U2-BK’ for the Japanese market. This new external drive is equipped with a USB 2.0 connection interface and comes bundled with CyberLink’s PowerDVD 9 software which enables Blu-ray 3D playback as well as 2D to 3D conversion of DVD movies. In terms of performance, the drive provides write speeds of 6x for BD-R (SL/DL), 2x for BD-RE (SL/DL), 8x for DVD-R/+R and DVD+RW, 6x for DVD-R/+R DL and DVD-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM and 24x for CD-R/-RW. The Buffalo BP3D-PI6U2-BK will become available in Japan later this month for around $338.

Sharp will release a feature-rich 3D Blu-ray player in November this year. Dubbed as the Sharp BD-HP90S, the slim Blu-ray player is able to play 2D or 3D Blu-ray discs and connects to a Wi-Fi network for accessing BD-Live contents from the web wirelessly. There is also a USB port that allows media playback from external drives. The Sharp BD-HP90S 3D Blu-ray player is priced at £379.99 or around $584

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During National 3D Demo Days, ESPN 3D will broadcast continuous 3D programming to retail stores across the country, including live coverage of the Miami vs. Ohio State football game on Saturday, September 11, at 3:40 p.m. ET.

When:
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 2–3 p.m. (ET)

• “The Current State of 3DTV” Webinar: For reporters interested in learning more about this growing category, CEA’s Chief Economist and Director of Research, Shawn DuBravac, and Senior Research Analyst, Ben Arnold, will present current market research regarding 3D technology and discuss early impressions from sales associates and consumers seeing this technology at retail for the first time.

Friday, September 10 – Sunday, September 12

• National 3D Demo Days during regular store hours at retailers nationwide.

Where: For a list of participating National 3D Demo Days retailers, visit www.digitaltips.org/3D

Webinar Registration and Information: Contact Laura Hubbard, 703-907-4326 or lhubbard@CE.org

About CEA
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $165 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services.  Find CEA online at www.CE.org

If you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please visit www.CE.org/listremove/

MANILA, Philippines – Inside a suite at Astoria Plaza in Ortigas, kids hunkered down in front of a large LED TV mesmerized.

They are among the first to experience the latest LG LX9500, a full LED 3D slim TV that belongs to the Infinia Live Borderless lineup of LG Electronics Inc.

LG, the world’s No. 2 TV brand by revenue, has set an aggressive sales target for 3D TV to build a leadership position in an emerging market where competition is expected to heat up.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant targets sales of 400,000 3D TV sets this year or a 25 percent share of the young 3D TV market to 3.4 million units in 2011.

To do this, LG plans to unveil a full lineup of 3D TV models with new technology improvements in the second half of next year, targeting retail consumers.

And it starts with the introduction last March of the world’s first full LED 3D TV, the LX9500, in Korea. This cutting-edge Infinia model will be available here this month.

The 55-inch unit will carry a whopping P269,990 tag price. Expensive, yes, but there is a lot of tech wizardry involved. This is one TV that doesn’t deserve to be called the “idiot box.”

Full LED slim

According to local LG executives, most LED TVs from other brands only have LED panels around the edges of the screens. The Infinia, in comparison, has a full matrix of LED panels that could light up the entire TV screen to offer the most uniform brightness and spectacularcolors.

In the case of the 55-inch model, 1,200 LED panels are illuminated directly behind the screen. Each LED panel can automatically turn on and off as needed, a unique lighting control over each area of the screen that results in exceptional brightness and more vivid color reproduction at a 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio.

LG officials also explained that with more LED chips and this backlighting structure, the LG LX9500 full LED 3D slim TV can cut its energy use by up to 70 percent compared with conventional TV models in this category.

Having a 22.3-mm slim body and a 16-mm or 0.63-inch thin bezel also gives the Infinia LX9500 another bragging right. LG shrunk its bezel to 16 mm across all sizes of the LX9500, making it look more borderless compared to other brands’ bezels that typically measure at around 36 mm or 1.43 inches. Its slender profile makes it graceful enough to be hung on a wall. The LX9500 is also available in 47-inch model.

LG executives said having a super-narrow bezel helps push the 3D experience to the very edge of the screen for a fuller and more expansive cinematic 3D effect.

Using TruMotion 400Hz (480Hz) technology, the LX9500’s 3D eliminates blurring of images especially when showing fast-paced sports, games and high-speed action movies, and instead delivers clear and smooth 3D picture. The LX9500 also has a full HD 1080p specification.

LG crafted the LX9500’s screen from a single layer of glass that features anti-reflection quality and perfect opacity. It has a protective coating that makes it scratch-free, dust-free, kid-friendly and easy to clean, said LG officials. When not in use, the smoked glass screen becomes a piano black color that blends seamlessly with the bezel that is also in black.

Connectivity

The Infinia LX9500 is supported by a wireless multimedia hub for Internet access and cable-free connection to digital devices. This intelligent TV can access Wi-Fi networks with just one small USB adapter to use online services from NetCast (broadband TV), Skype (video call function with optional video camera), and perform wireless AV Link.

Aside from Internet connection, the Infinia wireless media hub also connects to DLNA-ready notebooks, Blu-ray player, camera, and mobile phone.

This model has USB 2.0 ports for watching HD DivX movies from portable hard disk drives, viewing photos in JPEG or 3D MPF formats, or listening to MP3 music. It also has an HDMI 1.4 ports to connect other devices.

Green TV, black goggles

The Infinia is LG’s most environment-friendly TV to date. With its localized dimming feature, intelligent sensor, zero-energy standby mode and innovative screen-off function, the Infinia has been awarded an EU “Flower” Eco-label and EuP energy-efficient status.

You still need 3D glasses to enjoy this 3D TV, though manufacturers are working on models that will no longer require them.

The LX9500 employs shutter glasses that add depth by alternatively blocking one lens at a time in sync with the screen’s refresh rate.

The glasses are comfortable enough to wear for an extended period and recharge via USB for up to 40 hours of uninterrupted viewing.

The 3D goggles sync seamlessly with the LX9500, which has two infrared transmitters that help create viewing angle of 120 degrees, LG officials said.

Aside from 3D goggles, LG also matches the Infinia LX9500 with the BX580 3D Blu-ray player, with 3D playback supporting all current 3D video and 3D photo formats.

Future-ready

The growing interest in 3D TV is expected to drive sales from only 200,000 units last year to 2.5 million units this year, and 27 million units by 2013, the research company DisplaySearch said. By 2014, this market is expected to surpass 80 million units.

“In 2009, we saw the first 3D-capable TVs… now we are seeing the hype turning into real products,” said Paul Gray, director for TV electronics research of DisplaySearch.

As one of the global leaders in flat panel and audio-video technologies, LG’s strategy includes plans to offer a diversified lineup of products in screen sizes from 42 inches to 150 inches utilizing both polarized and shutter-type glasses and to launch a family of 3D products, including LED LCD TVs, Plasma TVs, Blu-ray disc players, and the world’s first Full HD 3D projectors.

“By building a full lineup of 3D TVs and cultivating alliances with content and device providers, LG will set a higher benchmark in the global 3D TV industry,” said Havis Kwon, executive vice president and head of LG’s LCD division.

“Our goal is boosting market share in 3D TVs and you can clearly see that, as our target for 3D market share is 10 percent above our LCD TV sales target,” he added.

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At IFA, Panasonic showed its upcoming HDC-SDT750 3D video camera, which will allow people to shoot their own 3D home movies, Panasonic said.

The HDC-SDT750 uses a detachable lens to be able to shoot in 3D; when the lens is removed the camera can record in ordinary 2D using its standard lens. The camera will be available in October, and Macworld has reported the price will be US$1,400.

More 3D movies on Blu-ray will of course also help, and in time for the holiday shopping season Panasonic will be able to bundle its products with the mother of all 3D movies, James Cameron’s “Avatar,” it said.

Content partners were also on hand in Berlin to show there will be more 3D content. Games publisher Ubisoft demonstrated upcoming 3D game Shaun White Skateboarding. It also promised that half of the titles it releases in 2011 will be in 3D.

Eurosport said the company has been learning the 3D ropes by shooting different sports and events, including the Tour de France cycle race, equestrian events and motorsports. In 2011, it will start broadcasting sports in 3D to homes.

IFA attendees will also be able to watch the US Open in 3D at Panasonic’s booth, the company said.

Sony also underlined the need for good content. Sony, Discovery and IMAX will launch a 24/7, dedicated 3D TV channel in the US early next year with content that lends itself well to the format, namely natural history, space, science and technology, motion pictures and children’s programming, the companies said.

Sony agrees that sports will likely be one of the key drivers of adoption, and it’s working closely with both Sky and ESPN on their 3D television channels, according to CEO Howard Stringer.

There will be more sports talk at IFA on Friday, when an ESPN executive takes the stage to outline what 3D programming the network will air next year in the US, and also talk about some of the lessons it has learned so far.

In the long and impressive cinematic history of James Cameron, there is one film he refuses to put on his resume but is reminded of every so often: “Piranha 2.”  The young auteur was hired to direct the sequel years before he made the landmark “Terminator” in 1984, but was fired after only a few days of work.  Not enough for a credit in the “Titanic” creator’s mind.  Now, with “Piranha 3-D” in theaters and purposely shot in the immersive medium Cameron has rejuvenated with “Avatar,” the subject of the killer fish and their potential for cinematic mayhem has reached the visionary once more.  Needless to say, he’s hardly a fan.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Cameron bluntly said, “I tend almost never to throw other films under the bus, but that is exactly an example of what we should not be doing in 3-D. Because it just cheapens the medium and reminds you of the bad 3-D horror films from the 70s and 80s, like Friday the 13th 3-D. When movies got to the bottom of the barrel of their creativity and at the last gasp of their financial lifespan, they did a 3-D version to get the last few drops of blood out of the turnip. And that’s not what’s happening now with 3-D.”

Cameron went on to note the medium is in a “renaissance” right now.  

”[The] biggest and the best films are being made in 3-D,” the Oscar winner told the magazine. “Martin Scorsese is making a film in 3-D. Disney’s biggest film of the year—’Tron: Legacy’ —is coming out in 3-D. So it’s a whole new ballgame.”

The filmmaker has been on something of a media blitz the past few weeks in anticipation of the re-release of “Avatar” this past weekend.  Unfortunately, the demand for the blockbuster’s return wasn’t what either he or 20th Century Fox expected.  In just 881 3-D and IMAX theaters, “Avatar” grossed $4 million which put it outside of the top ten movies at the weekend box office.  With $2.751 billion in worldwide theatrical revenue alone, neither party is crying over the result. For more on Cameron’s thoughts on the “Avatar” re-release, check out his exclusive interview with HitFix’s Drew McWeeny below.

The US Open will be broadcast in 3D for the first time when the annual tournament begins next month, but yet again its availability will be extremely limited.

Panasonic, which has a big 3D content deal with DirecTV, will be supplying all the equipment and production costs for the 3D coverage. The event will thus only be aired in 3D to DirecTV customers.

3D coverage of the US Open will air on n3D, a channel that only DirecTV carries. However, Panasonic has also teamed up with big box electronics retailers like Best Buy to showcase coverage of thetournament on in-store 3D TVs as well.

Panasonic has taken a much more active approach in 3D content than any of the other TV manufacturers. It has singlehandedly made it possible to broadcast prior PGA events as well as Nascar races, in the TV medium. It also is responsible for a lot of the equipment used in DirecTV’s studio-based 3D series.

It is possible that the US Open may also be streamed live online. That would require viewers to have a special kind of computer monitor as well as proprietary 3D glasses from Nvidia. So far, though, it has only been confirmed for DirecTV customers.

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No matter your age, there’s a good chance that a View-Master was lying around either your bedroom or a friend’s. The iconic red goggles are the perfect childhood diversion—cheap and briefly amusing. They also have a long history.

The principle that makes the View-Master a bit of quasi-3D fun is a fundamental one behind all our vision. Stereoscopic viewers—simple devices that essentially make you go cross-eyed to perceive photographic depth—have been exploiting this principle since the 19th century. All it takes is a basic optical effect the brain teaches itself early on: when two images from slightly different angles are viewed by our eyes, we combine them into a unified perception. The Victorians, with their pipes and smokestacks and monocles, used to laze about and amuse themselves with the first stereoscopic toys! Oh my! A vivid image of a savage tribesman! Fast forward a century, and the idea gets an interesting makeover.

In the 1930s, amateur photographer William Gruber teamed up with Sawyer’s Photo Services, a small firm that produced souvenir postcards. But postcards were boring, even in the 1930s. What wasn’t boring was Gruber’s ingenius, custom-made stereoscopic photo setup, which combined two Kodak Bantam Special cameras onto a single tripod. Calibrated correctly, the dual-cam system produced a pair of images that could be turned into a rudimentary 3D scene through stereopsis.

Realizing that he had a hit on his hands, Gruber put together a prototype that would allow people to take their favorite scenes with them. He debuted his creation at the 1940 World’s Fair in New York—a year later, he had sold 100,000. The device’s simplicity and quick fun caught on even quicker—soldiers used it to train during WWII, families toured national parks from their homes, and after landing the humungous Disney license, lots of kids stared at 3D stills of Mickey.

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