Sony To Start Shipping Passive 3D TVs? OLED Coming!!

According to Reg Hardware, Sony is set to start shipping passive 3DTVs and in fact are already doing so to China.

I looks like Berlin's IFA Technology Show in September will be the launching point of the sets in Europe.

Sony HAS NOT officially announced this development yet, but Noriaki Negishi (Deputy President of Home Entertainment, Sony) said they will be aggressively marketing the technology within 12 months.

He added: "Our engineers don’t really like [passive] because it has half the resolution of active shutter 3D, but consumers appreciate the convenience of passive."

I think this is a great move on Sony's part as their active matrix glasses (the bigger, expensive ones that hold batteries and do all the 3D heavy lifting) were tending to slow down sales. LG is having great success with their passive S3D TVs - so much so that Panasonic announced that they too are entering the passive market.

What's next for Sony? OLED (organic, plastic and flexible layers)! They will be shipping OLED TVs next year that are much brighter than LEDs.

Negishi on OLED: "2013 will be the year when we will really fight back with new technologies"

Personally I like the passive technology in that it is much more comfortable - especially for prescription eyeglass wearers. Also - no batteries to worry about. While it is true that the resolution is cut down due to the nature of the technology, I tend to subscribe to the fact that our brains will merge the two images into a higher resolution approaching full HD anyway. Somebody prove me wrong. I know it looks darn good. Add in OLED brightness and flexibility and we have a winner!

Thanks for the heads up Yves!

Source: Reg Hardware

Panasonic's Lumix 3D1 Offers 1080p Stereo Video

Panasonic has just announced their brand new consumer 3D camera for the masses, the Lumix 3D1.

There was a rumor (apparently a very credible rumor) about this pending release that even included a photo of the camera, so you may already be up to speed on a lot this camera has to offer.

So yes, you can shoot both in 2D and in 3D, just like the Fujifilm W3 that I own.

The twin lens' feature 25mm ultra-wide angle lenses and 4x optical zoom, that results in 8-megapixel 3D photos and some pretty darn good videos racking up 1,920 x 1,080 resolution 60i quality 3D HD video. Further, it's optics delivers about 169% more viewing space compared to other 35mm cameras on the market. Photographers will love that feature.

Add in the Panasonic iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, MEGA O.I.S, AF Tracking, Intelligent Scene Selector, Face Recognition and Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Exposure and Intelligent Handheld Nightshot and you have a great little camera full of today's tech. Don't forget the 3.5″ Smart Touch screen at the back - Not sure if you can use the touch function for auto-focusing on a subject like the Lumix GH2, but I sure hope so.

I am still the proud owner of a Panasonic GH1 camera (that I promptly hacked) that records AMAZING video at 1080p 24fps at 50 to 100mbps. I will be upgrading soon to the GH2 as that is now hackable too.

The Lumix 3D1 is slated for release next month at a SRP of $499.99.

RIDGELINE Airing Live 3D/2D Rock Theatre Featuring THE PARLOTONES Globally On July 16

DRAGONFLIES AND ASTRONAUTS Will Air Live From Johannesburg On DirecTV’S 3D Channel n3D, Powered By Panasonic

(Los Angeles, CA) – Ridgeline Entertainment, lead by Emmy Award Winner Doug Stanley, has partnered with South Africa’s top selling rock band, The Parlotones, to broadcast a live, multi-platform 3D/2D event simultaneously to cinemas, televisions and the internet. Dragonflies and Astronauts is a rock theatre event that weaves a narrative through The Parlotones 16 top 40 hits in South Africa. It will be broadcast LIVE in 3D on DIRECTV’s 3D channel, n3D, powered by Panasonic in the United States, and live on 3D in Nu Metro Cinemas across South Africa. The event will also be available live in 2D on DIRECTV, YouTube and Facebook for fans across the globe to watch.

The performance will broadcast from the Teatro at Montecasino at 4:00pm EST/1:00pm PST on Saturday, July 16th on DIRECTV channels 103 in 3D and 239 in 2D, on The Parlotones YouTube page at www.youtube.com/theparlotones, and on the band’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theparlotones.

"Our team at Ridgeline Entertainment has been working very hard with the Parlotones, Sovereign Entertainment and the extremely creative minds at Catalyst Entertainment in order to bring Dragonflies and Astronauts to fruition. It is an honor to be able to present Dragonflies and Astronauts in both 2D and in stunning 3D exclusively through DIRECTV. Their unique broadcast platform is the only way that we could have accomplished this 3D/2D dual format simulcast,” says Executive Producer Doug Stanley.

The Parlotones will support Coldplay during their South African tour this fall, and return to America for additional headlining tour dates in October. Live Design, the live cd/dvd combo from their sold out performance at the 20,000-capacity Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg, is now available in the U.S.

www.youtube.com/theparlotones
www.facebook.com/theparlotones
www.the-parlotones.com

For more information, please contact:
Sandee Fenton / Fresh and Clean Media / 310.313.7200 / sandee@freshcleanmedia.com

DIRECTV offers more 3D programming than any other television provider in the country. n3D, powered by Panasonic (Ch. 103), the nations first 24/7 3D network, is available at no additional cost to millions of DIRECTV HD customers. In addition to exclusive 3D coverage of special events such as the 2011 French Open and the 2010 MLB All-Star Game and the n3D channel also gives customers access to exclusive, original 3D programming such as DIRECTV’s award-winning series Guitar Center Sessions; the 2011 DIRECTV Celebrity Beach Bowl and Guy’s Big Bite in 3D. The 3D programming available both on n3D and DIRECTV CINEMA™ are all powered by Panasonic. DIRECTV also offers 3net and ESPN 3D as part of its 3D programming platform. For more information on n3D, powered by Panasonic, please visit www.DIRECTV.com/3D.

Looking forward to seeing more and more S3D content announcements for the home and Internet in the coming months. Stay tuned!

3D Geek Alert: Stereoscopic 3D Hack Being Developed For Panasonic GH1 And GH2!

Attention all indie filmmakers using or considering DSLR for your camera - GREAT news! There is a high probability that ALL GH1 serial numbers will soon be hackable and the GH2 will follow!!

First some history...

User 13 (Vitaliy Kiselev) from the DVXuser forums was able to hack into the Panasonic Lumix GH1 camera's firmware back a couple of years ago and make this available to any owner. The change was dramatic (increased bitrate amongst other hacks) and turned the GH1 into a gorilla for full HD video. I know - I own one, it is hacked and it is simply the best for the money. The nickname for these modified cameras are GH13 in honor of user 13. You can search for videos made with this hack on various sharing sites by using Gh13 or GH1 hack.

Panasonic caught on and changed their firmware so that only a certain range of serial numbers can be hacked - BUT that is changing as you read this. According to the DVXuser forums, a call is being made for donations to fund Vitaliy's hack for ANY GH1. You read that right, no matter what serial number of GH1 you have, it can and will be freed with this new hack once it is made available. The current price of a new GH1? $250. Amazing.
Further, Vitaliy will be able to use the information from this effort to break into the newer Panasonic Lumix GH2!! This is outstanding news. If this camera is broken open and freed to it's upper limits I assure you that the results will be stellar for Full HD filmmaking.

So now it is up to Vitaliy to make the hack and he needs donations to fund the work. He needs to buy two GH1's, the first will be bricked once the firmware is dumped and then the second he will actually work on. He will also need Gh2's down the road. You can make a donation here.

FURTHER STILL, there is reasonable expectation that Vitaliy can hack the GH2 to allow for a jam-sync - allowing stereoscopic 3D syncing to take place between 2 cameras!! Yes, this is possible and actually the GH1 is doing it now through this site. Two GH2's in sync will be amazing to work with!

As an advocate of indie filmmaking, these developments are HUGE. If you are interested, I invite you to make a donation to the effort.

More on this developing story when I get it!

Sony Announcing A New Consumer 3D Camera At CES?

Apparently so! Photorumors has obtained a list of Sony cameras that will be making an appearance at this year's CES.

The 3D camera is bolded and in red below...

Here is the full list:

- Cybershot DSC-W510: 12MP, 2.7 in. screen, sweep panorama function
- Cybershot DSC-W530: upgrades to a 14MP sensor
- Cybershot DSC-W560: adds SteadyShot and 720p HD video
- Cybershot DSC-W570: adds 16MP, 5x zoom (25mm on the wide side)
- Cybershot DSC-WX9: high end model, 16MP Exmor R CMOS, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video, 3D, 10fps, background defocus feature, HDMI
- Cybershot DSC-WX10: top of the line, f/2.4 lens, manual WB, very high speed AF
- Cybershot DSC-H70: 16MP CCD sensor, 3 in. LCD, 720p HD video, sweep panorama
- Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R CMOS sensor, 3 in. LCD, 1080i video 3D, HDR, 10 fps
- Cybershot DSC-HX7: 16MP Exmor R sensor, 3 in LCD screen, 1080i video, sweep panorama, background defocus feature, 10 fps
- Cybershot DSC-T110, DSC-TX10 – very small point and shoot camera, no other details available

- Bloggie MHS-FS1: 5.1MP, 4x digital zoom, HD video up to 120min, 2.7 in. LCD screen, 4GB internal memory, AF
- Bloggie Duo MHS-FS2: adds LED light and a front facing 2 in, LCD screen
- Bloggie 3D MHS-FS3: adds 3D movie recording and stereo mic

I just bought a 8GB Sony Bloggie Touch (MHS-TS20) which I love for portability and day shooting. Of course you may have heard me shouting on Facebook and Twitter that I just scored a brand new Panasonic Lumix GH1 which I was stunned to find out had a hackable serial number (I promptly and successfully hacked it to 50 mbps and higher! 1080p at native 24p - no mud and gorgeous results). There is a current stereoscopic 3D project using TWO of these hacked GH1's that you can read more about at Beampath.

Can't wait to hear more from CES! Should be mountains of 3D news soon.

BREAKTHROUGH! Independent 3D Filmmakers Pay Attention: 1080p 3D Shot With Panasonic Hacked GH-1's !!

Hey independent filmmakers out there - you know who you are! Or perhaps you have always dreamed of creating your own S3D 1080p videos on a super tight budget. Now perhaps you can!

Right away I will let you know that there is good news, some more good news and bad news.

The first piece of good news is that the bright minds over at Beampath have successfully synced two firmware hacked Panasonic Lumix GH-1's (affectionately now known as GH-13) on the "C" setting with the Nikon 10-24mm with iris controlling adapter all on a beamsplitter that has been optimized for the cameras. THIS IS HUGE. Huge because these are (or were) very affordable cameras. For more info on what equipment they are using check out this post. For more info on the firmware hack check this out.

Which leads me to the bad news - Panasonic saw that the GH1 had been hacked to open up its capabilities to the max and did not like that at all. So they released an update that effectively cut off the hack with all their new factory GH1's. Naturally the price of the older models shot up on eBay. It is very hard to find an available and hacked GH1 nowadays.

However, the second piece of good news is that Panasonic has announced their GH2 (coming in November I believe) which has some great specs, but not quite as good as the hacked GH1. I will wager that Tester 13 (the infamous hacker who broke into the GH1 firmware) will be trying his luck (or mastery) with the GH2 firmware soon - so keep it on MarketSaw for more info on that when and if it happens. The 3D hack controller for the GH1 will work for the GH2 too, just not the firmware hack itself.

Enough with the background. On with the results!! Check out the side by side video below and if you have the NVIDIA 3D VISION setup as I do, download the file here (side by side 3D - click link and 'save as') and watch it on your 3D monitor. Looks great! I had to slightly decrease horizontal parallax but once this small tweak was done it really looked spectacular. All this from a very affordable 3D setup.

Watching this is stereoscopic 3D really heightens the level of detail here as your brain merges the information from both eyes. Amazing!



So how affordable is this setup? Here is the cost breakdown of what was used with this video (Appreciate your help with this piece David!):
Camera bodies - $600 X 2
Lenses - $745 X 2
Nikon adapters - $30 X 2
Hack controller - approx $50 in parts, batteries
Beamsplitter - $1999 (not sure what latest 3DFilmFactory price is - BUT - lots of guys build their own. figure $350 for the mirror)

TOTAL - $4,799. But, this can be done MUCH cheaper w/ used lenses and a DIY beamsplitter.

I am totally stoked about this news. I am so very close to pulling the trigger on buying either a hacked GH1 (you can find them on eBay or Craigslist) or waiting on the GH2 with a future hack. I will add the second camera later in 2011 so I can shoot in 1080p 3D. Just so we are clear here - you can shoot a feature film using this Panasonic system. I am not kidding. Not just home movies. Check out what these guys are doing with a hacked GH1 in 2D! And that is just one example.

I already have a Fujifilm FinePix W3 Digital Camera that I will be reviewing very shortly - that option should not be overlooked for your first consumer 3D camera. It is wonderful too! Stay tuned...

3D Geek Alert: Hackers Take Aim At Bringing S3D To The Panasonic GH1 !

Oh man, I hope these guys succeed! Would love to set up one of these rigs myself as I plan on getting into independent S3D filmmaking in the near future.

So what are they doing exactly? Beampath3D is using two Panasonic Lumix GH1's (a micro 4:3 system) in a beam splitter rig and they are currently trying to achieve constant, reliable and perfect syncs. Further, they have taken their work and have pinged the genius hackers over on dvxuser for collaboration, so I expect something to break sometime soon on the sync issues.

Says David Cole of Beampath3D: "This is not our first rodeo with DSLR 3D rigs. In fact, our first rig was 5D MII-based. We failed to achieve adequate sync with the 5D's and all hope that the Magic Lantern firmware enhancement would come to our rescue has faded. But, there is good cause to be optimistic about the GH1. Most importantly, the GH13 firmware has opened up a world of possibility in image quality and customization of camera functionality to enhance 3D. Secondly, even with our current setup, it does work... sometimes."

Some of you may recall that a user by the name of "Tester 13" hacked into the Lumix GH1 and opened a pandora's box of options for the cool Micro 4:3 system. How about 50Mbps MJPEG @ 1080p (while the off-the-shelf camera is governed to 720p)? And you can shoot very very well in AVCHD too.

Check out this footage from a hacked GH1 (now affectionately dubbed "GH13" after Tester 13) - click HD and go full screen for the best viewing:



Keep in mind the Lumix GH1 is only a $1149 camera! You can't beat that value today in my books.

Here is the breakdown of exactly what equipment Beampath3D is using in case you want to chime in:
1. 2X GH1’s with the GH13 hack.
2. 2X SanDisk Extreme 16GB cards.
3. 2X Olympus 9-18mm lenses (among other lenses).
4. 3D Film Factory Mirrorbox (aka beamsplitter). We’re using the INDIE RIG, but the 3D-BS MINI RIG would be ideally suited to the GH1.
5. Peter Wimmer’s free 3D Camera Sync Tester software running on a PC with an old-style CRT display.
6. Dual-trace oscilloscope. Just about any dual-trace scope will work, but we’re using a Hantek DSO-2150 USB-based scope. They are cheap and effective.
7. Breakout cables for the Mic/Remote jack.
8. Breakout cables for the AV Out/Digital jack. We cut the computer-plug ends off of two spare GH1 USB cables.
9. Twinned shutter-release remote switch, which places the appropriate resistance value to toggle recording onto the remote pins of each GH1 simultaneously.
10. Twin power control. This is the heart of our attempt to sync the GH1s and it MAY be destructive to the cameras (however we’ve been at this for two months and have yet to have a single hiccup). We’re eternally switching the external power input to both cameras, while leaving the cameral power switches in the ON position. A diagram of our simple power control is available.

All of this makes for some pretty cool 3D hacking and a great 3D Geek Alert. Can't wait to see their results! Perhaps even adopt their set up myself - at least until the RED Scarlet comes on stream anyway :-) More info when I get it!

3D Geek Alert: Now Companies Are Innovating! Simple New 3D Lens For Panasonic's G Series On Its Way!!

Wow. Love this elegant solution for capturing 3D at home! As we have seen in the past, if you wanted home 3D you had to buy an all in one unit and foot the bill accordingly. Moreover, while they are indeed 3D cameras, they were one dimensional with regard to flexibility.

Now enters Panasonic with a truly wonderful innovation! I do not know how well if performs yet, but on a purely high level the new 3D Lens for the LUMIX G Micro System Series (a Micro 4:3 system) seems to hit all the needs of today's consumers.

The system utilizes two integrated optical systems within a single lens assembly feeding left and right eye images to a single (and flexible) CCD to be processed by Panasonic's 3D image system. The interchangeable lens assembly is very compact too. The result should be very elegant: No time lags or distortion between left and right eyes, even when shooting moving objects

Screen Digest says that by 2014 there will be 3DTVs in about a quarter of all homes in major markets. That is an impressive figure. Someone has to provide consumer solutions to capture all those family moments in 3D and Panasonic is definitely stepping up (Canon and Sony will also probably do something similar for their interchangeable lens camera systems, but they will most likely be beamsplitters by design, and therefore bulky).

I am loving the innovation I have been seeing lately in consumer home 3D electronics. Impressive thinking is taking place. I will more than likely be picking up one of these G series cameras now that 3D is involved. :-)

Source: Screen Digest, ‘Bringing 3D Home: the opportunities for 3D broadcast’, 2010

Stereoscopic 3D Technology Awards Coming October 5, 2010; Call For Nominations Now On

Jim here. The International 3D Society is now accepting nominations for its Stereoscopic 3D Technology Awards to be held October 5, 2010 at 7pm at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The 3D Technology Awards honor technological achievement in the stereoscopic medium -- mainly cinema, television, special venue, themed attractions, video games, PC and other media. The Society announced today that it is accepting entries from the 3D professional community to be voted upon by a blue-ribbon 3D Technology Awards panel. The first 3D Technology Awards of its kind, the program will recognize individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on the advancement of stereoscopic arts and technologies from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 2009.

"The International 3D Society is seeking to honor the contributions of engineers, scientists, and inventors who have helped to create the stereoscopic medium," said 3D Awards Committee co-chair and Oculus 3D President Lenny Lipton. "We are interested in calling attention to work that has been done in the recent past to advance the technology of the 3D moving image."

Buzz Hays, Society Chair and Senior Vice President of the Sony 3D Technology Center, Sony Corporation of America, added, "For those of us who have worked in 3D, it is nice to see our colleagues recognized with awards presented by their peers."

"All of us working in this exciting 3D environment today realize we are standing on the shoulders of giants who created the very technologies which make stereoscopic 3D possible," said Jim Chabin, President of the International 3D Society. The organization is a professional community dedicated to advancing the arts and technologies of Stereoscopic 3D.

The 3D Technology Awards Show will feature MasterImage3D passive glasses and technology. Rules, regulations and entry forms are available online at http://www.international3dsociety.com/awardstech.html. There is no entry fee for submissions. The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2010. Nominees will be announced prior to the show.

International 3D Society sponsors include Signature Sponsor XpanD and Founding Sponsors MasterImage 3D, Panasonic Hollywood Lab and IMAX.

AWESOME! About time this took place. I am really looking forward to seeing the outcome of the show! Best of luck to everyone involved.

The French Open Will Be Shown In 3D! In Europe Anyway...

Jim here. Panasonic is partnering with France's Federation Franchaise de Tennis, Eurosport and Orange to provide The French Open in glorious 3D. Specifically center court games.

The 3D action will take place between May 23 and June 6, 2010 on Panasonic S3DHD TVs in selected retail outlets. France will enjoy much more coverage at the retail level and if you happen to live there, Orange will be broadcasting the 3D event to their own TV channel.

Eurosport is assisting by taking the Orange S3D feed and delivering it to 3000 retail stores in 58 European countries outside of France on Panasonic's VT20 S3DHD Plasma TVs.

I am impressed with the collaboration of these large corporations in delivering the goods. Everyone loves a good tennis match and I think 3D is a perfect way to show it off. Would have love to have seen Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe battle it out again this way! Hmmm... Converting classic sports moments in 3D? :-) Let's get on it!

And get that French Open 3D broadcast over to North America!

Report from NAB 2010: S3D is Everywhere!

Michael here reporting from NAB 2010 in Vegas. Saturday and Sunday featured the all-3D Digitial Cinema Summit, in which every S3D topic under the sun was presented and discussed by distinguished S3D professionals. Especially valuable to me was the real-time stereo footage (shot by 3ality Digital) which helped demystify stereo shooting. Errors were intentionally introduced, then fixed, as the audience of 600 something attendees watched with their Real-D glasses.

But that was just a tiny slice of the S3D smorgasboard that was presented. There were some fireworks too, as speakers voiced multiple conflicting opinions regarding 3D conversion. To get an idea of all that was discussed, check out the program here. The only really newsworthy item to come out of the Summit was a new, compact 3D camera from Sony. I was surprised to see it, as the Summit was about S3D education and discussion of where S3D is now, where it's headed, and where it will be in the future.

Today I watched a presentation of the making of Alice in Wonderland, as well as got to see the showfloor. S3D is absolutely everywhere. Panasonic had 6 of their $21,000 AG-3DA1 cameras available for attendees to try out by shooting a special backdrop with a live actor. I played with them for a while, and now I really wish I owned one. Sony has a gigantic S3D LED display, as well as a huge S3D broadcast truck in their booth. And just about every broadcast-related company was showing off their 3D solutions.

Off to the side of the Summit room were some demos of various 3D broadcast formats, including side-by-side, top/bottom, and 720P60 feeds of the same footage. I talked to TDVision today, and they wanted it to be known that they are throwing down the gauntlet against the half-resolution formats that were spoken about and demoed at the Summit.

Ethan Schur of TDVision spoke out against these half resolution 3D formats:

We choose service compatible 2D + Delta over frame compatible (top/bottom and side-by-side) because you don't disenfranchise the 2D users (2D version is included), you get the full HD quality, and you can watch it on any TV in the best quality possible . We shouldn't be sacrificing quality. Who wants to pay all this money for a 1080P television, a nice Blu-ray disc and all these kind of things, and then you are only watching half the pixels?

The problem is that a lot of people in their homes still have old set-top boxes from 2003 and before that, and that people are saying I don't want to make a big investment in 3D, I just want to shoehorn whatever I can into these old clunker set-top boxes. You can't keep your set-top box forever. These boxes can't even do 1080P."

I agree...I want full S3DHD. It seems some people think it may take until 2013 or so (as was said by one speaker at the Summit) until we get Full S3DHD broadcast. I hope it happens faster than that.

I'll be back on the show floor tomorrow to see if there's anything cool that I missed, then it's back to LA.

3D Geek Alert: First Batch Of Panasonic S3DHD TVs Sell Out

Jim here. Not surprising and not really something to laud about because we simply do not know how many were actually bought yet - BUT - all of Panasonic's S3DHD TVs were sold out in the first week of release this month.

They were sold in bundles which is good because everyone loves a good combo. $2900 got you a 50" S3DHD Plasma, 3D Blu-ray Player and one pair of 3D glasses.

Look for increased sales of the systems throughout the year, especially when the 3D AVATAR Blu-ray comes out (hopefully in November, in time for the holidays).

It won't hurt the ratings or 3D TV sales when The Masters is televised in S3DHD - complete with the infamous return to golf for Mr. Tiger Woods this April 5-11, 2010.

S3DHD Gamers Rejoice! NVIDIA Bringing 3D Gaming To Panasonic 3DTVs

Jim here. NVIDIA announced today a partnership with Panasonic and will be joining the "Panasonic Touch the Future Tour" to show off the graphics card maker's new 3DTV Play - a software solution that allows consumers to connect their new S3DHD TVs to compatible GeForce powered computers. Of course, Panasonic just launched their lineup of new VIERA 3DTVs this month.

So what does this mean to consumers? It means you have the power and versatility of S3DHD PC gaming on much larger screens. Further, the active shutter glasses that come with each VIERA 3DTV also works with NVIDIA's GPUs.

Take a look at the features (coming later this spring):
• Can be run on GeForce GPU-based desktop or notebook PCs equipped with an HDMI or DVI connector
• Full support for all HDMI 1.4-compatible 3D TVs, including Panasonic VIERA Plasma full HD 3D TVs
• Enables 1080p24, 720p60, and 720p50 3D formats
• Advanced NVIDIA software and graphics drivers automatically convert more than 400 games to stereoscopic 3D in real time, without the need for special patches.
• Enjoy full HD Blu-ray 3D playback with real-time GPU accelerated decoding and playback on GeForce GPUsi
• Watch streaming 3D movies
• View 3D photographs directly on the 3D TV
• NVIDIA 3DTV Play software will be available later this spring and sold separately with an anticipated U.S. MSRP of $39.99. It will also be available for free for current NVIDIA 3D Vision™ customers.

“NVIDIA is all about raising the bar of PC gaming, and gamers are going to love playing in 3D on one of the new Panasonic VIERA 50-inch full HD 3D TVs,” said Phil Eisler, general manager of 3D Vision technology at NVIDIA. “This is truly one of those ‘must experience to believe it’ moments, and we are ecstatic that consumers will have the chance to try it for themselves on any of our 15 stops across the US.”

Want to try all this excitement first hand? You can! Check out these tour cities and dates and make it on your calendar:
Tour dates and locations are:
3/15 - 3/17 New York, Penn Pavilion, 401 7th Ave at 33rd St
3/15 - 3/17 Chicago, Tribune 445, 445 S. Michigan Avenue
3/15 - 3/17 Los Angeles, Hollywood and Highland, 801 Hollywood Boulevard
3/20 - 3/22 Boston, Copley Place, 2 Copley Place
3/22 - 3/24 Detroit, Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway
3/22 - 3/24 Scottsdale, Fashion Square Mall, 7014 East Camelback Road
3/25 - 3/27 Philadelphia, King of Prussia Mall, North Gulph Road
3/29 - 3/31 Minneapolis, IDS Tower, 80 8th Street South
3/29 - 3/31 San Francisco, One Market Plaza, 1 Market Street
3/31 - 4/2 Washington, Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave, NE
4/6 - 4/8 Dallas, Grapevine Mills Mall, 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway
4/6 - 4/8 Seattle, Top of the Market, 93 Pike Street, Suite 307
4/7 - 4/9 Atlanta, 595 North, 595 North Ave, NW Atlanta
4/12 - 4/14 Houston, The Warehouse, 4108 Dupont Street
4/15 - 4/17 Miami, Ice Palace, 59 Northwest 14th Street

Want another reason to go? You will have a chance to win a complete Panasonic full HD 3D home theater system—featuring a Panasonic VIERA® 50” full HD 3D TV, a Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Disc player, and a pair of Panasonic 3D Eyewear. One of these systems will be given away at EACH market listed above! If that isn't motivation I don't know what is. After you come back from the event, let me know what you think!

NVIDIA is a sponsor of MarketSaw

It's Starting! S3DHD TVs Are Being Sold RIGHT NOW!! ...And MLB's All Star Game Will Be In S3D

Jim here. Panasonic has created a new $2,900 S3DHD television bundle to be sold exclusively at Best Buy stores. It includes a Panasonic 50" TC-P50VT20 S3DHD TV ($2,500), a S3DHD compatible Blu-ray player (DMP-BDT300, $400) and a single pair of 3D glasses (TY-EW3D10U, $149).

Best Buy held a media event to publicize the immediate availability of these TVs - it is definitely NOT vaporware. Pictured are the first people to buy the bundle in Manhattan's Union Square.

Panasonic plans subsequent S3DHD TV releases for 54", 58" and 65" later this year.

Regarding S3D content, DirectTV promised at the Best Buy event that the first of their 3 new S3D channels would be running by June and that the 2010 MLB All-Star game will be in S3D! Fox was on hand as well and said that ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS would soon be out in S3DHD. They did not comment on the availability of AVATAR in Blu-ray at the event.

Samsung already has S3DHD TVs on sale through Amazon (Our write up is right here).

Awesome that these S3DHD TVs and Blu-rays are out there RIGHT NOW! Also, with all the competition heating up it is only a matter of time before we see those prices drop. But in all honesty, I thought the prices would be much higher to begin with. I am very pleased.

Source: Cnet

Samsung To Offer 3D Blu-rays of Shrek, Monsters Vs. Aliens; Plus More 3DTV News

Michael here. According to Reuters, Samsung has announced that anyone who buys one of its 2010 3D TVs - which are coming out this month - along with their 3D Blu-ray player will get a kit that includes viewing glasses and a 3D version of Monsters vs. Aliens.

They also stated that the Shrek series will be available in 3D in the second half of 2010.

Meanwhile, Sony announced that they will begin selling 3DTV's in Japan on June 10, and internationally soon after. Sony expects its 46-inch model, which includes two pairs of 3D glasses, to sell for 350,000 yen ($3,875). According to Reuters this is 52 percent more than its latest regular LCD TV with a comparable screen size.

Oh, and Panasonic will officially launch sales of its 50 inch 3DTV tomorrow at a Best Buy store in Manhattan. Whether it will be available at other stores tomorrow is unclear.

Every significant TV manufacturer will be bringing out their 3D TV's within the next few months. Now the question is when those 3D Blu-rays will arrive. Hopefully we hear announcements of titles like Beowulf, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Ice Age 3, Coraline, Journey 3D, Up and of course Avatar soon. It would be a shame to have those TVs out there without a good number of 3D Blu-rays. We know the technology is ready...now we just need to wait for the studios to make their moves.

Best Buy - Listen Up: LLLLETS Get Ready To DEMO!

Jim here. Big box electronics retailers heed warning: No more just standing around citing specifications and pointing at flat screens! You are going to need to do more than always say "This is the set I have at home and it is great".

With the advent of S3DHD televisions you are going to have to demo it, or not have access to them! So says Panasonic. When the VT25 lineup of S3DHD plasmas come on stream in May, retail employees will have to be well versed in the technology and be able to effectively demo what the consumer will be buying.

Said Bob Perry, SVP Marketing at Panasonic: "To us, all of our retailers are really important, but if a retailer cannot properly display it we will not allow them to sell it."

From Twice.com: Panasonic sees 3D as a key differentiator for plasma technology, since it has an inherently rapid switching capability that is necessary to deliver the rapidly alternating full 1080p images to each eye of viewers equipped with special active shutter glasses.

"We believe that when they go into retail and see our 3D plasmas, the average consumer will say, "That looks better" he said. "We aren't going to trash LCD, but are going to make sure the consumer knows that if they want the best 3D experience so far, it is going to be available from Panasonic plasma."

3D TV will be a central part of Panasonic's focus in its previously announced upcoming 15-city "mini-CES" showcase that will use three touring "show booths" with a wide range of products, to hit each of the East, West and Central regions of the country, hitting heavily trafficked venues in the nation's top designated market areas.

...the tour is part of an intensive advertising and promotional blitz for 2010, estimated at around $100 million, that will see Panasonic spend twice as much on advertising some product categories, over the previous year, he said.

I am so glad that Panasonic is putting its foot down on this. Customer service at some of these retailers can be abysmal; I had a guy telling me a few days ago at one of these stores that 3DTVs will be around NEXT YEAR sometime. I hope other manufacturers follow suit. Consumers deserve the best information possible on what they are buying. S3D deserves it too.

Panasonic Sets Price for 50 & 54 Inch Viera Plasma 3DTVs

Michael here. A major TV maker has priced a flat panel 3DTV for the first time. Panasonic has announced that its 1080P Viera VT2 series 3DTV sets will be available in Japan on April 23. The 50 inch model, the TH-P50VT, will retail for approximately 430,000 yen, or $4,800. The 54 inch TH-P54VT will cost 530,000 yen, or $5,900.

This is quite expensive, but hopefully we'll see the prices drop fast as competitors enter the fray and the demand for S3DHD in the home increases with high profile 3D Blu-rays such as Avatar.

Sony's PS3 and NVIDIA's 3D Vision Are The Tip Of The S3D Gaming Spear!!

Jim here. Wow - CES really has our heads spinning with stereoscopic 3D (S3D) announcements and product unveilings! Not the least of which is S3D gaming...

Of note is Sony's PS3. From what I can see, Sony plans on using the Playstation 3 as the centerpiece of their company's S3D products, and justifiably so. The PS3 has the ability to update its firmware over the Internet whenever it needs to - and that includes 3D.

There will be two firmware updates in 2010 for the PS3: The first will add S3D GAMING functionality to the console. The second will bring S3D MOVIE functionality. To the best of my knowledge, these updates will be FREE and will certainly support their awesome new lineup of S3DHD televisions - including the new HDMI 1.4 spec.

Those firmware updates will obviously be preceded by game developers SDKs (Solution Development Kits) for the industry. That way we can anticipate a nice selection of S3D content for consumers when the time comes to upgrade.

Well that pretty much sums up the consoles as Microsoft is practically standing still with regards to S3D. However, in Microsoft standard operating procedure you can use a third party's solution to achieve it - for example, Next3D's fine technology for the XBOX 360.

So what about PC S3DHD gaming? NVIDIA of course. NVIDIA's 3D Vision solution is amazing. I use it everyday and I am still dazzled over the effects. I don't know where ATI is while all this S3D excitement is going on - if they don't act fast they will miss this boat.

Take for example DRAGON AGE ORIGINS. I have been playing this for a while now and I am STUNNED at how well the 3D looks. Sure, the menu systems and cinematics are not in 3D - I don't care about that anyway. But once in the game, you can freeze the action to give instructions to your characters in 'stop time' - AND you can swing the camera around a full 360 degrees, panning, tilting and zooming (no dollying :-) in full 3D. And it is remarkable. It really is. It is something you have to witness for yourself as no amount of verbal disclosure comes close to the enjoyment I get out of this game in S3DHD.

Further, at CES NVIDIA announced their 3D Surround technology which enables S3D to be displayed on three monitors side by side for a wraparound effect. Or, if you have the inclination, three projectors on one very wide screen - this eliminates the monitor frames from your field of view. All of this essentially gives you 6 million pixels at 120Hz. Their new GF100 or Fermi GPU is really supposed to rock with 3D too!

NVIDIA showed off their 3D Vision technology with new Blu-ray 3D software players as well, including Arsoft's TotalMedia Theatre 3 and Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra. They played trailers for Disney's TOY STORY 3, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, ALICE IN WONDERLAND and others.

Of course they had existing S3D games on display like AVATAR, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM (I am still playing this one - look for a review soon!), DARK VOID and JUST CAUSE 2 to name a few.

On the stunningly cool side, NVIDIA gave the world's first sneak peek of YouTube 3D, running on a new S3D demo version of Adobe Flash Player using the NVIDIA 3D Vision shutter glasses. Once this is up and live for the world, there will be MASSIVE S3D user generated content out there. Next3D will also provide a repository for user 3D clips. Can't wait! Exciting times for the 3D industry.

These are the two 3D innovators that you should keep your eye on the most as a consumer. Sure Panasonic is right up there too (I have my eye on that 152" screen hah!), but for end to end commitment to S3DHD as a large company, I would watch Sony and NVIDIA right now. Trust me. :-) Oh and Next3D is a definite up and comer...

Sony audience photo by Amy-Mae Elliott
Next3D is a sponsor of MarketSaw

CES 2010: 3D is Everywhere! Plus 4K TV's & AMOLED from Samsung!

Michael here. I've been walking around the show floor of CES 2010 today, and 3D has been everywhere: Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, JVC, Sharp, Toshiba, and more are all showing off their 3D TV lineups.

Four things caught my eye so far today : Samsung's AMOLED 3DTV's and the 4K TVs from LG, Panasonic and Toshiba.

The Samsung AMOLED has organic pixels which produce their own light. The displays are 31 inches diagonal and produced incredible images despite being only a few millimeters thick. I believe that OLED-type TVs are the wave of the future - it is only a matter of time until they are produced in larger sizes. I'd love to have one to coat an entire wall of my apartment!

See the Samsung OLED 3DTVs below:

Sony was showing off 3D OLEDs as well. Sony's screens were said to be 24 inches diagonal.

4K TVs are also drawing big crowds. So far I have seen a 152 inch Viera plasma from Panasonic, an 84 inch display from LG, and a 54 inch display from Toshiba. All are extremely impressive: you can easily imagine that you are not looking at a screen, but through a window into another world, or perhaps at a piece of artwork hanging on a wall.

The Toshiba was especially interesting as it demoed the processing power of its Cell processor, which was able to upgrade 2K content to psuedo-4K in realtime. The small screen size was also impressive: the smaller the screen, the more condensed the pixels have to be.

Of course, OLED 4K 3D TVs (at 48 or 60 fps) would be the holy grail!

CES 2010: Panasonic & Samsung Unveil 3DTV Lineups!

Hi, Michael here at CES 2010. 3D is obviously THE big thing at the show this year. I just got out of the Samsung and Panasonic press conferences, and both made 3D a big - if not the biggest - part of their presentations.

left: a banner promoting Samsungs 3D LED TVs.

Samsung:

Samsung brought out Jeffrey Katzenberg, whose Dreamworks Animation is partnering with Samsung (along with Technicolor) to bring out a 3D Blu-ray of Monsters Vs. Aliens later this year. He said that we "stand at a watershed moment for the entire 3D industry." He's certainly right about that!

Samsung plans to introduce a comprehensive lineup of 3DTVs, including full HD, shutter glasses-based 3D-capable LED, Plasma, and LCD TVs. It is also bringing out its own 3D Blu-ray players. It touted its 3D tech as having "the slimmest screens" and "the deepest 3D." The 3D LED's (models 9000, 8000, and 7000) are less than 0.3 inches thick (less than the width of a pencil). Their 3D plasma will be 1.4 inches.

Samsung's tech also includes a processor which will convert 2D to 3D in real time. The speaker said that converted material will help tide us over until there is plenty of S3D content to fill its screens.

Panasonic:

Panasonic unveiled their new 65, 58, 54, and 50 inch 3D, shutter-glasses-based, full HD Viera Plasma televisions. These televisions have been built from the ground up to provide the best possible 1080P-per-eye 3D image. Panasonic has shortened the luminescence time for each pixel using fast-decay phosphors so that there is no crosstalk between frames. The brightness level has been increased to make up for this reduced display time.

Shutter glasses will come packaged with each 3D Viera TV.

Panasonic also announced the PP-BDT350 3D Blu-ray player, which incorporates HDMI 1.4 technology. According to Panasonic, HDMI 1.4 is required for Full HD per-eye 3D viewing.

Jon Landau spoke about the benefits of 3D (and asked everyone to go see Avatar). Watch below:



Tomorrow the main show floor opens. Stay tuned to MarketSaw for the very latest S3D news from CES 2010!