Archive for the ‘3DTV News’ Category

Verizon Unveils Wealth TV 3D

Verizon has added video-on-demand content from WealthTV in 3D throughout its FiOS service network. The channel, called “the premier luxury lifestyle and entertainment network,” has launched its first 3D content with an episode of “Wealth on Wheels Classic.”

“Seeing the classic cars come to life in 3D will make viewers feel like they’re in the driver’s seat,” said Tricia Lynch, director of content strategy and acquisition for Verizon. WealthTV’s 3D VOD program is available to all FiOS TV customers across the country who have a 3D television set, 3D glasses and a high-definition set-top box.

Verizon To Air 3D Yankees Game

Verizon Communications will telecast Major League Baseball in 3D, the company has announced on its official website this week.

Verizon Communications, one of the largest providers of broadband and wireless communication services in the United States, is planning to telecast the matches for its FiOS TV customers across New York state and north New Jersey.

The game between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, which will be on the 10th and 11th of July, will be made available through the YES Network on FiOS TV for Verizon customers with 3DTV sets, 3D glasses and a high-def set-top box.

20% of TVs Sold in US Will Be 3D By 2013

US market research house In-Stat cites upcoming growth of 3D in the firm’s US Consumer Electronic Device Tracker report.

In-Stat claims that “3D is the hottest thing happening in Hollywood” and that excitement over 3D has found its way to the US consumer electronics market. By 2013, the firm says, one in five new TVs sold in the US will be 3D.

The company also predicted that year-on-year 3D TV shipments will grow 231% between 2010 and 2011 and that this will result n a doubling of the US installed base of units for 3DTVs from 2010 to 2011.

World Cup Begins on World’s 1st 3DTV Channel

The World Cup events started this week in Johannesburg, South Africa’s 94,000-capacity Soccer City stadium. The games will be carried on television around the world for the first time in 3D. This global sports event marks the launch of ESPN 3D in the United States, and the first full-time 3D programming channel in the world.

Five of the 10 World Cup venues are equipped for 3D. Eight matches will be broadcast live in 3D to digital cinema theaters in 26 countries. ESPN’s 3DTV channel becomes the first ever programming service dedicated full time to 3D. ESPN will carry 25 of the 64 World Cup games in 3D. They intend to become a pioneer in 3D ads with spots from Sony, Gillette, Disney’s Pixar Studio and in-house promos.

ESPN 3D Prepares For June 11 Launch

ESPN will launch the first 3D channel on June 11, which coincides with the first day of the World Cup in South Africa. The hope is that its reception will be way different from its HD launch seven years ago when it first debuted on some of the smallest cablers out there.

At this week’s 3DTV2010 event in New York City, sponsored by various NewBay Media publications, ESPN Executive Vice President Sean Bratches said in sharp contrast to the small launch of it HD venues, its first 3D channel will be immediately accessible to the largest TV content provider in America, Comcast; and the largest DBS firm in the country, DirecTV, among others.

“We’re very encouraged with the slate of affiliates we have going into the marketplace with ESPN 3D,” Bratches told Mark Robichaux, editor-in-chief of sister publication Multichannel News. ESPN projects that by 2019, 3D penetration in the U.S. home will be less than HD sets, but higher than DVR penetration.

“Being the first mass 3DTV programmer is important to the ESPN brand and to helping advertisers,” Bratches said at a Q&A session, “particularly TV equipment makers like ESPN 3D partner Sony, [to] drive business opportunities.”

NewBay Media publications serving as the event’s co-sponsors included TV Technology, Broadcasting & Cable, TWICE and MCN, among others.

June Playboy Will Have 3D Centerfold

Playboy’s June edition will be on the newsstands Friday, and for the first time ever, the centerfold comes equipped with 3-D glasses.

“What would people most like to see in 3-D?” asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. “Probably a naked lady. I’m not a huge enthusiast of 3-D,” he said in a telephone interview. “I leave real life to go to the movies and 2-D is fine with me.” Spoken like a true grumpy old man.

To offset the sizable extra cost of including 3D glasses with every magazine, Playboy let HBO help out. HBO wanted a new way to promote their hit show, True Blood, so paid for the 3D glasses, and branded them with the show’s logo.

Toshiba’s Glasses-Free 3DTV

Already jumping forward in the 3D tech universe, Toshiba has announced its intentions to release a 3DTV that doesn’t require special 3D glasses to get that 3D effect.

Toshiba’s mobile display division has built the 21-inch auto-stereoscopic high-definition display using the same technology that will power Nintendo’s upcoming 3D handheld. The only major difference is size – obviously.

The company’s technology makes use of an integral imaging system called a “light field” display to create 3D without glasses over a thirty degree viewing angle. The effect without glasses is done using a “multi-parallax” method. This lessens possible eye fatigue and makes the 3D image change depending on where the watcher is while watching the TV.

At this point, the viewer likely has to be sitting in a very specific spot to get the full effect, so expect this technology to be less than impressive in its infancy.

NewSight Japan Shows Off Glasses-Free 3DTV

NewSight Japan gave a demo of their new 70-inch glasses-free 3DTV at Japan Finetech. The new model is said to use “parallax-barrier technology” that renders viewable 3D images without glasses. According to the NewSight GmbH’s description:

“The NewSight parallax-barrier technology allows the viewer to see the 3D image ‘naturally’ in the way people are used to viewing normal 2D displays. The technology subdivides the LCD image into complex repeating segments that, when viewed and then integrated by human binocular vision, presents 3D views of scenes. The special parallax barrier is affixed to commercial-grade LCD displays in a precision assembly process.”

This barrier apparently has a number of precisely placed slits that let each eye to see a different pixel set, creating the illusion of depth, according to Digital Trends’s Ryan Fleming. The drawback is that the person watching the 3dtv has to be seated in a specific area in relation to the screen.

For glasses-free 3D TV to really take off, this will be it biggest hurdle.

3DTV Health Concerns And Warnings

Samsung’s 3D TV’s have now gone on sale, and they are accompanied by a lengthy warning about associated health risks. Clearly the company is trying to cover their bases just in case anything, and we mean, anything, could go haywire.

From Samsung’s official statement:

“If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) lightheadedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults.”

Among the most high risk groups that Samsung points out are: pregnant women, young children, teens, the elderly, people prone to seizures or stroke, people prone to dizziness or motion sickness, people with eye problems, people who are out of shape, and people who have been drinking.

So….who does that leave exactly? And what will the fallout be for the potential 3D gaming industry?

Sharp Developing Glasses-Free 3D for Mobile

Japanese electronics company Sharp has recently announced that they have developed a new 3D touchscreen LCD that doesn’t require special 3D glasses.

They were able to develop the 3D screens without the need for glasses by using parallax barriers. And what does that mean? Both transmissive and non-transmissive columns are used to trick the brain’s visual cortex into see three dimensions when viewed from different angles. I know – my brain hurts too.

Sharp plans to begin mass production of the no-glasses 3D screen during the first half of 2010, with an unknown release date. The Japanese electronics company believes up to 50% of its screens can be 3D-enabled before 2012.

« Older Entries