3D Shorts: Taylor Lautner As STRETCH ARMSTRONG; JP Morgan Finally Gets That $700m For Digital Rollout; Realtime 2D To 3D Conversion Tech?
Jim here. S3D news is coming fast and furious (HEY! Time for that franchise to go 3D too!) and I've got 3 more breaking stories for you!
First up, Troy Lautner has just been cast in Universal's STRETCH ARMSTRONG which is a property of Hasbro. The movie is now slated for a S3D release in March 2012. Brian Grazer (AMERICAN GANGSTER) is producing with Steve Oedekerk (BRUCE ALMIGHTY) writing.
This Lautner guy is SUPER busy. He certainly is pushing all the right buttons on his career. Of course S3D is his wisest decision yet! :-)
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Second, the LATimes reports that JP Morgan has FINALLY secured nearly the entire $700 million for the digital rollout of screens across the country. 12000 screens are said to be targeted for the upgrades, which are then able to be outfitted for S3D.
This has been a long time coming. Glad we are almost there!
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Third, Himax Technologies, Inc. claim that they have a real time 2D to 3D conversion solution. Apparently the tech can be applied to TVs, notebook PCs, monitors, digital photo frames, digital cameras, projectors, cell phones, STBs and game consoles.
Dr. Linkai Bu, Chief Technology Officer of Himax Media Solutions: "Our 2D to 3D conversion solution can be easily implemented in a number of hardware platforms, such as Notebook PCs and TVs. Our solution is compact and effective in performing real-time 2D to 3D conversion. Our unique algorithm which utilizes human visual perception characteristics, not only reveals more 3D details, but also offers a more comfortable and enjoyable viewing experience. Several of the world's first-tier PC makers and TV manufacturers are highly interested in adopting Himax's 2D to 3D conversion solution as they believe it will not only help accelerate consumer adoption of 3D displays, but also be one of the key differentiators for their new generation PCs and TVs, some of which are expected to hit the market in the second quarter of 2010, at the earliest."
Himax is filing worldwide patents in relation to this innovative 2D to 3D conversion solution.
2D to 3D real time conversion is one of the holy grails of S3D. It would allow for any legacy input to be pushed into S3D applications. I have NOT seen this technology in action, and therefore I cannot say with certainty it is an elegant solution for real time 2D to 3D conversion. However, if they prove to be successful in their claims, it may become a viable alternative to pure S3D content and consumers will be able to use their existing 2D media and enjoy with their new 3D equipment.
