3D Television

[kf0rt]

Anyone seen it?

Wifey and I were at the local Costco this weekend picking up vittles and sundries and they had one set up with a pair of the special glasses on a fixture a few feet in front of the set. Had to take a peek -- pretty impressive for the minute or so I watched. It really looked 3D.

The old red/green glasses trick never worked on me 'cuz my left eye has always been pretty weak, but this really worked. I notice that Comcast now has a 3D channel.

I'm guessing that this will probably be a flash-in-the-pan gimmick that won't really catch on, but it's pretty cool.

[KG4CGC]

Precursor to holographic entertainment. I imagine that will become the default style of monitor for all applications like the CRT and later the LCD platforms. It will be just as normal as large LCD monitors for computing are now. I think it looked like we were going the way of the wall of pictures for a while but hanging up multiple screens like in Fahrenheit 451 and support for it would not be around long enough (nor be supportable for market of a new media) before holographic entertainment.

[NQ6U]

Personally, I'd rather see program producers take the money that they would spend on creating 3D programs and put it into hiring writers. I've seen lots of 3D movies (the XYL loves them) and, so far, have not seen one where the third dimension did anything to move the story along. It does add a pretty cool wow! factor but, for me, that wears off in about 20 minutes.

[kf0rt]

I wonder about the commitment....

For instance, been into surround sound here for a few years and if you pick up the network HD "live" feed of most TV shows, it will have 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Same show delayed on Comcast's OnDemand service has the HD picture, but the sound is stereo. And, it doesn't appear that much effort is put into the audio on these shows anyway. Home-based surround sound is pretty mature these days and the movie studios take it seriously in action flicks. Not so much on anything else.

Think you're both right... Costs nothing to add 3D to a TV, so it will become a standard feature. But, I doubt it will add much to the story line -- a visual gee-gaw. There will probably be some really well-engineered features (thinking "Avatar") that will really use the technology to full advantage, but it won't be real common just because of the production costs.

[W3MIV]

It will sure as hell be a "flash in the pan" with me.

[kf0rt]

It will sure as hell be a "flash in the pan" with me.

Me too, I'm thinkin'....

If this doesn't take off with NFL broadcasts or porn, it probably has no future.

[NA4BH]

I saw the 3D stuff at Sams today. Pretty cool, but not worth the price (YET).

[W3WN]

Farenheit 451.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

I was impressed by the glasses free model I saw but some say this will not make it to the living room for another 10 years.
Flash in the pan? that is what was said about stereo sound a few years ago.
3D TV is expensive right now but will hit the market soon enough.
The current US HiDef TV system flat out sucks and needs to be replaced anyway, why not do 3DTV? the DTV transition went so well why not another fiasco?

[NQ6U]

Flash in the pan? that is what was said about stereo sound a few years ago.

It's also what they said about Quadraphonic sound a few years later--and they were right.

It can be very, very hard to predict how new products are going to fare in the marketplace. When Apple released the iPod, for instance, most everybody in the tech world (including me) shugged it off: "Meh, another MP3 player, BFD." Consumers proved us all wrong.

[w6tmi]

Anyone seen it?

Wifey and I were at the local Costco this weekend picking up vittles and sundries and they had one set up with a pair of the special glasses on a fixture a few feet in front of the set. Had to take a peek -- pretty impressive for the minute or so I watched. It really looked 3D.

The old red/green glasses trick never worked on me 'cuz my left eye has always been pretty weak, but this really worked. I notice that Comcast now has a 3D channel.

I'm guessing that this will probably be a flash-in-the-pan gimmick that won't really catch on, but it's pretty cool.

I would think so too, but alot of money is being put into it, most of the studios & post production digital houses are pretty well gearing up for it, and I guess as they come out in the theaters alot want to have that same experience at home.

It's viable, and really is 3D and looks sharp, but it depends on how the "prosumers" fund the rush that will allow it to become a "consumer" level thing.

[W1GUH]

It's a wonder that video games haven't been 3D. It's next to trivial to implement & LCD glasses (like IMAX 3D) could be dirt cheap to a mass market. OTOH, companies like Rockstar (GTA, Red Dead Redemption) have spent heavily on writers, actors, scenery artists, and that is obviously a better place to put development $$$$$$$

I would LOVE to see good travelogues in 3D. And IMAX 3D on TV. You can keep those sucky computer generated non-shows where the characters are getting very, very tiresome in their same-ness.

Wonder when 3D video cameras will come on the scene? 3D still photography with a digital camera is very easy. Next time I'm out taking pix I'll take some stereo shots & post 'em. Don't even need special glasses to see the 3D if you're good at crossing your eyes.

[NA4BH]

It's a wonder that video games haven't been 3D.

I would LOVE to see good travelogues in 3D.

I don't play video games, but that would be cool. And Travelogues would be awesome (stuff like Sunrise Earth too).

[N7RJD]

Me too, I'm thinkin'....

If this doesn't take off with NFL broadcasts or porn, it probably has no future.

I'm thinking not so much NFL.:rofl::rofl:

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

There were quite a few 3D games in the mid 90 era.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_cU-zY57wY&feature=player_embedded#!
The little model helicopter I like to play with uses 2 identical TV cameras that can be synced together and transmit stereooptic images.
The idea predates even color TV.
I bought the thing on a closeout at Toys R us.

[NQ6U]

Hello.

There were quite a few 3D games in the mid 90 era.

Yeah, and they were all famous for giving their players headaches and motion sickness, too.

[kf0rt]

Wonder when 3D video cameras will come on the scene? 3D still photography with a digital camera is very easy. Next time I'm out taking pix I'll take some stereo shots & post 'em. Don't even need special glasses to see the 3D if you're good at crossing your eyes.

Check this out, Paul:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/723055-REG/Panasonic_HDC_SDT750K_HDC_SDT750_3D_Camcorder.html

[kf0rt]

Hello.

I was impressed by the glasses free model I saw but some say this will not make it to the living room for another 10 years.
Flash in the pan? that is what was said about stereo sound a few years ago.
3D TV is expensive right now but will hit the market soon enough.
The current US HiDef TV system flat out sucks and needs to be replaced anyway, why not do 3DTV? the DTV transition went so well why not another fiasco?

Actually... 3D in the home isn't real expensive, and is available now. Most of the bigger flat panel displays are 3D capable, but the glasses seem to run about $100 a pair. I'm not getting the impression that this technology is very expensive. 3D isn't a new signal type -- it's carried on the normal HD stuff.

Stereo was very common 40+ years ago.

[KA5PIU]

Yeah, and they were all famous for giving their players headaches and motion sickness, too.

Hello.

Yes, this is correct.
The trouble is that the image was being created by the glasses themselves, early ones had 2 LCD units so if you moved your head the image did not follow.
The other trouble was keeping the image and sound in sync.
This toy helicopter suffers from all of that and more but I use it in a most unusual manner.
Both cameras have IR sensors for focus, but fixed lenses.
I mounted a IR LASER to one of the cameras and pick off audio rate from the focus detector.
from as much as 3k' I can get audio from window panes.
I can park the thing on some house and listen to you all day.
It is the transmitter that is the trouble, part 15 toy grade.

[kb2vxa]

"Stereo was very common 40+ years ago."
Working for Datatek at the time I was in on the ground floor from the control room side, that is they manufacture audio, video, switchgear and test equipment, they suddenly had double orders for the major broadcast networks. Having an FM stereo adapter on hand I re-tuned it to the 15KHz pilot tone and connected it to my TV and stereo amp, at first stereo was derived from mono and sounded rather unnatural. That is to say background had a spatial effect but that was about it. Now it's true stereo and digital to boot so like the old Vagina Slimes cigarette ads said "You've come a long way baby."

As an aside, remember scrambled subscription analog broadcasting? It had it's roots in stereo audio, the 15KHz video sync was removed and converted to a sine wave pilot tone on the audio. On the receive side it operated a Schmidt trigger to recover the sync and a pin diode to reinsert it on the video, the pilot tone recovered the audio each channel being 180 degrees out from the other. Only one channel provided the sound but it was inaudible on the set itself being they canceled each other out. Nothing was actually scrambled, without sync pulses video cannot lock and without "stereo" there is no audio. Yeah, there were plenty of pirate boxes around... muahahahahaaaaaaaa.

[W1GUH]

Now here's a real stereo camera...

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:OQAiIaqtPlaO2M:http://www.image-acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/stereo-realist.jpg

I've got one. Those babies are built to be driven over by a truck.