"HARDWARE: Philips shuts down 3D TV division"

Philips glasses-free 3D display technology had been praised by industry analysts who had seen prototypes. Unfortunately, the display could only be used for showing 3-D images due to the permanently attached lenticular lens and its 2D-plus-Depth format had little content available. Furthermore the $13,000 price tag for the new displays was too high for consumers. Philips autostereoscopic display eliminated the need for special 3-D glasses by attaching a lenticular lens to the front of a 42-inch high-definition (1,920- by 1,080-pixel) LCD panel. Philips said its Consumer Lifestyle TV business will not be affected. That unit will continue to evaluate 3-D TV technology should Philips decide to reenter the market.

"MEDIA: Monsters vs. Aliens enabled by Intel's InTru3D"

Monsters versus Aliens, the 3D animation movie, showcases Intel's InTru3D technology for the first time, and is just the first of a continuing series of 3D movies from DreamWorks Animation LLC enabled by Intel.

"InTrue3D is a major effort and alliance we have with DreamWorks--Monsters versus Aliens is just the first InTru3D movie," said Hitendra Naik, Visual Computing Marketing Manager at Intel. "InTrue3D is our trademark that consumers can see for themselves in movies that were created from the ground up using state-of-the-art technology from Intel, with DreamWorks providing the creative talent to bring 3D to theaters."

Intel's extensive involvement with 3D technologies included printing 150 million pairs of ColorCoded glasses for the recent Superbowl halftime 3D show. Intel also already had a lasting relationship with Pixar Animation Studios, to which it supplies the server farms that render Pixar animations in 3D. So when DreamWorks got started with 3D animations, they naturally came to Intel for its already proven track record in 3D.

"The key thing is that 3D adds another level of complexity to the whole process of animation, which was already demanding more and more hardware support to do accurate rendering. With 3D the work is more than doubled, since you have to process the images for the left and right eye separately," said Naik. "DreamWorks approached us at Intel in terms of their needs for hardware and technology, telling us that they knew that otherwise they were going to hit a roadblock soon."

As a result, Intel now supports DreamWorks with its server farms that performed the 3D rendering, with Monsters versus Aliens being the debut of that collaborative effort with Intel. However, Intel's InTrue3D effort is not confined to supplying the rendering engine hardware, but the company also supplied the software expertise to optimize 3D rendering on Intel's servers in the most efficient manner possible.

"The other thing that we are adding, besides the rendering hardware comes from our software services group," said Naik. "We have a team of software architects, which are working with Dreamworks on their animation and rendering pipeline to take maximum advantage of our multi-core architecture. InTrue3D is a combination of the processing power of our servers, plus the software engineering that we provide, ultimately giving the creative forces at DreamWorks the freedom to create these 3D movies."

Monters versus Aliens opens worldwide today, but is just the first of DreamWorks' 3D movies to showcase Intel's InTru3D technology. Both Pixar and DreamWorks have pledged to not only release all their future movies in both 2D and 3D formats, but to go back and re-render their animation catalog in 3D, with most existing titles to be available in 3D by 2010.

"MEDIA: Pixar/Dreamworks Releasing all Future Films in 3D"

Both DreamWorks Animation and Pixar have reported that all of their future movies will be released in 3D. Beginning in May, Pixar productions will be released in 3D at the same time astraditional 2D versions with Rapunzel, King of the Elves and Toy Story 3 all coming up soon. Pixar also said it will be re-releasing its first two Toy Story pictures in 3D versions.

"HARDWARE: World's First 3D Rig to Use Red HD Cameras"

The direct-to-video Red digital cinema camera is now available in a stereo 3D version from Liquid Pictures Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia). The world's first 3D rig to utilize Red's 4520-by-2540 pixel movie format is available in models that shoot on land, underwater, and even for macroscopic subjects. 
A team of engineers at Liquid Pictures is currently ramping up a manufacturing line as well as upgrading its 3D rig to using Red's new Epic and Scarlet models offering image widths up to 6000 pixels. Liquid Pictures is also readying models that use Sony F35, Phantom HD, and Phantom 65 cameras.

BOTTOM LINE: Direct-to-video using Red's camera don't sacrifice depth of field the way traditional video cameras do. Directors can work with the same control over how much is in focus in scenes the same way that they do with traditional film cameras. Red's cameras are also less expensive--as cheap as renting the most expensive film cameras. All these factors should encourage more 3D cinema productions

"HARDWARE: 3D-TV scheme seeks to replace regular TVs"

As TV makers ready 3-D models, a company called Dynamic Digital Depth claims its automatic 2-D-to-3-D conversion algorithms could help replace conventional TVs. Parent company DDD Group plc (Santa Monica, Calif.) argues that several dozen 3-D movie titles are not enough to persuade wary consumers to buy a dedicated 3-D display. By including automatic 2-D-to-3-D conversion for regular TV, PC games and even the user's own images, the company says 3-D TVs may be poised to eventually displace regular TVs altogether.

BOTTOM LINE: 3D technologies have come into vogue, then gone out-of-style repeatedly--even before the invention of photography. DDD is seeking to turn 3D into an enduring reality by allowing the viewer to switch it on or off at will. DDD's 2D-to-3D conversion algorithms should bridge the gap between relatively rare native 3D content today and the voracious appetite of 3D early adopters. If it can be incorporated cheaply enough, then every future TV could become 3D enabled. I believe that 3D is here to stay, but the public is fickle and in the end it will be up to viewers to support 3D by actually using the button that DDD is seeking to put on every remote control. Look for 3D TV models from every major maker by 2010, many of which will be available by Christmas 2008.

"MEDIA: Fist Full of Pixels 3D debut"

Check out this 3D music video by Fist Full of Pixels (make sure you have your red&cyan glasses).

"MEDIA:Avatar debuts in iMAX 3D"

More details are leaking out about the 3D science fiction animation called Avatar. The animated film portrays exotic life and scenery that is literally out-of-this world especially in iMAX 3D. Director of the Titanic, James Cameron, claims to have spent 10 years crating this, his latest stereoscopic movie. Weta Digital, known for its work in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong" has incorporated new computer generated image method that transforms real environments and characters into photorealistic 3D scenes rich with imaginative vistas. Avatar tells the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. An Avatar is a human mind in an alien body, and stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Michelle Rodriguez.