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Live2D drawing technology from Cybernoids adds a little 3D spice to your hand drawn images
While 3D graphics have been filling our eyes in cinemas and video games way before Nemo ever got lost, we've typically had to settle for computer generated artwork. Live2D from Cybernoids is a drawing technology that hopes to change that. The software lets animators and game creators give hand drawn 2D images rudimentary 3D qualities. In the video above you can see the character turn her head, and the image -- based solely on the 2D version -- twists and adapts in real-time. There are two versions of the software, one based on polygons, and the other vectors, and there is support for consoles and smartphones -- but no details on specifics at this time. The developers admit it's only suitable for limited movement, such as in dialog-based games, for now, but hope to have the tools to handle full 360 degree motions over the next two years. At least, for now, its way way further down on the creep-o-meter scale.
Stream TV strikes deal with Hisense, outlines plans for real glasses-free 3D display
Stream TV has been touting its Ultra-D glasses-free 3D tech for quite some time now, but we've still yet to see anything resembling a marketable product. The company's already snagged one manufacturing deal, but in the latest announcement of a partnership with Hisense it's revealed the specs of an actual device -- a 42-inch 1080p display. If you think the details end there... well, you'd be right, although the numbers do suggest something tangible is indeed in the pipeline. We might find out more at IFA 2012 where Stream TV will be showing off its latest gear, so here's to hoping. And, if you'd like more info on the Stream TV / Hisense agreement, the full PR is available after the break.
Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile's 2D videos to another dimension
Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that will let any phone grab pictures and video with some of that third-dimension spice. Using a small attachment with cleverly positioned mirrors, the widget sits atop your phone's plain old 2D camera and breaks the incoming image into two. Once the data has been grabbed, you then send it off to Fujitsu's servers, whereupon it'll be converted into a 3D format. This isn't the first 2D-to-3D idea, but the main advantage, of course, is that your poor phone doesn't have to do all the leg-work -- but it undoubtedly comes at the expense of some quality. The gadget will get properly announced at the IEEE ISCE conference in Harrisburg on June the 4th along with pricing and availability. In the meantime you can step into the Japanese dimension -- i.e. the press release -- below for more info.
Stream TV launching glasses free Ultra-D 3DTV tech at CES, again
We don't recall seeing Stream TV's Elocity 3T autostereoscopic 3D TV on shelves after our CES demo last year, but to be fair, we don't get out much. Not to worry however, as the company will be back at CES 2012, this time touting Ultra-D "next generation 3D without glasses display technology" that it claims will surpass all 3D experiences to date. Lofty claims, but it's also banking on its tech for realtime 2D-to-3D conversion of any video content, with plans for the brand to reach TVs, converter boxes, tablets, PCs and more. Check out the press release after the break to drink in more hype, we'll be in line to see what's real at its press conference January 9th.
Clash of the Titans sequel will be another 2D-to-3D conversion, and Inception too?
After a poor response to the first Clash of the Titans movie and its substandard 3D effects, courtesy of a rushed conversion process, you'd think they would never try that again, and you'd be wrong. Director Jonathan Liebesman, fresh off of Battle:LA is helming sequel Wrath of the Titans and says was talked into doing the conversion process again (but shooting with that in mind, Piranha 3D-style) on this flick by a series of demos including, Christopher Nolan's Inception. This is notable both because no 3D re-release has been announced for the visually engrossing flick, but also because Nolan himself has suggested 3D would be a bad choice due to the dimming effect of the glasses. Warner Bros. could only manage to tell Cinematical "At this time, the plans for Inception 3D cannot be confirmed," leaving the possibility of a return alongside Star Wars, Titanic and others to twist in the wind for now.
ViewSonic ViewFun 3D Show photo frame hands-on
Do you love 3D? Do you love pictures? Do you love 3D pictures? The ViewFun 3D Show picture frame from ViewSonic may just be your fix you've been dreaming of. The $179 photo viewer jankily converts 2D stills to 3D (and videos, too, apparently, although we didn't get to see a demo) and eliminates the use for those funky glasses. The images remind us of holograms we used to find in cereal boxes, except bigger. The 8-inch frame sports capacitive buttons on the bezel that light up on contact. Along the left side of device, you'll find a USB 2.0 port, SD slot and power button. In order to stand this thing up, the company packed a pull-out plastic kickstand that felt pretty flimsy. Oh, and the remote control we demoed had improper button mapping, which made it virtually useless. Peek the gallery below the fold for a bunch of shots of this thing on the CES show floor. %Gallery-113455%
Samsung readies 23mm-thick 3D Blu-ray player for CES unveiling
Samsung's obsession with making the world's thinnest Blu-ray player hasn't abated and the company's now announced plans to slim things down even further with a 23mm-thick unit to be unveiled at CES 2011. What we know of it so far is that it'll be able to both play back native 3D content and convert 2D to "quasi-3D," it'll come encased in a metallic, wall-mountable chassis, and it'll feature the now familiar trimmings of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter integration. Pricing and availability are obviously still under wraps, but CES is next week, you can wait that long, can't you?
Dialog Semiconductor pushes 2D to 3D conversion chip for phones and tablets
We'll go ahead and put a lid on your swelling excitement level, most likely with two simple words: "parallax barrier." You see, Dialog Semiconductor's DA8223 is being hailed as the world's first real time 2D to 3D video conversion chip for portable devices, but it requires a parallax barrier display. On the upside, that means that there are no glasses required for viewing, and pretty much any 2D content could be tricked into being 3D for the viewer; the downside, of course, is that it probably won't immerse your senses, overwhelm your eyes or otherwise revolutionize your life. That said, it's still suitable for both tablets and smartphones, and according to the company, it "requires virtually no software development and uses a tiny fraction of the battery and compute power of competing application processor based software-approaches." If all goes well, the chip will be hitting mass production in the latter half of 2011, which gives you right around six months to prepare yourself for the third dimension. On your phone.
Nikon debuts Android-powered stereoscopic picture frame, 2D to 3D conversions for a monthly fee
2D to 3D conversion techniques -- whether cinematic or otherwise -- don't have us jumping for joy, but Nikon's new NF-300i display sounds like a concept we could get behind. It's a 7.2-inch digital photo frame running Android 2.1 on an autostereoscopic (glasses-less) screen, which sports a special double-density lenticular lens to display images at full WSVGA resolution (800 x 600) whether in 2D or 3D modes. It pulls down images from the cloud to 4GB of internal storage over wired ethernet and 802.11 b/g WiFi, or via USB port if you happen to have MPO files just sitting around for some reason. The notion is that Japanese users will sign up for Nikon's new My PictureTown 3D conversion and hosting service for ¥19,550 (about $244) a year or ¥1,995 ($24) a month and get all their JPEG vacation photos spirited to the device in glorious 3D, and that's also the only way you'll likely ever see one of these screens -- Nikon's loaning, not selling the NF-300i as part of those membership fees.
James Cameron, Piranha 3D actor Eli Roth speak up in support of 3D conversions
After Clash of the Titans and Avatar: The Last Airbender, we're leery of any movies rocking the converted-to-3D tag, but a few directors (not coincidentally, ones with 3D productions in the making they'd likely appreciate us buying tickets to see) claim the process itself isn't the problem. Among other comments (including discussing the upcoming return of Avatar to theaters exclusively in 3D, sequels and a new 3D flick on the way from Guillermo del Toro) with MarketSaw, our friend Jimmy C said "[Titans] showed a fundamental lack of knowledge about stereo space, in addition to the shoddy work that comes from rushing." Of course, we'll have to wait to see what the converted version of Titanic looks like, currently undergoing a process taking between 8-12 months. Eli Roth is in Piranha 3D, which debuts next weekend and is also a film that was filmed in 2D and converted in post, but he claims it's different from M Knight's flick because they planned ahead: "You can shoot digital 3-D and it looks great, or you can shoot film and convert and it looks great - but only if you planned to do it that way from the start...With Piranha 3D, the very title of the film is Piranha 3D," he continues. "It was written that way and photographed to be converted. This means that when you're setting up a shot, next to the camera is a technical adviser from the 3D company who tells you exactly what light won't work for the 3D, how far the subject has to be from the lens if you want it to look good when it pops out of the camera, etc...It's not easy and it's not instant and when it's a last minute rushed decision we can see it immediately. But to associate Piranha 3D, a film which spent years planning this, months shooting it with the technicians on set checking the convertibility of every shot, and so far 8 months working on the conversion, is not fair." Check Bloody-Disgusting for the rest of his comments, and listen to Cameron in his own words on MarketSaw -- we'll see how audiences and critics react over the coming weeks and months.
Samsung 3DTVs put to the test with World Cup, Monsters vs. Aliens and... iCarly?
Of course we've talked 3D to death and back, and we've seen several reviews and previews, but Technologizer took some time out to grab a more "man on the street" impression of the technology. With a mini focus group intact they checked out the Samsung Experience in NYC, taking time to focus on the top of the line 55-inch C9000 LED LCD HDTV. With not much 3D content (the initial viewing was before the world Cup started) they checked out some regular 2D content converted by the display into 3D, while viewers were surprisingly receptive to The Daily Show and Transformers 2 that way, iCarly and American Idol didn't fare quite as well. Still, viewers seemed excited by the 3D Blu-ray movie pack-in, and a short time later, some German 3D fans were impressed by the World Cup presentation, though like our impressions the effect varied based on the camera angle. Ultimately, none of the people asked seemed ready to buy a 3DTV yet, citing lack of content and prices as their main reasons. click through for the full impressions, we'll wait a week or so and see if there's a followup when there's two or more 3D channels and Blu-ray 3D movies to watch.
Cowboys Stadium 3D scoreboard experiment doesn't go so well, turned off in less than seven minutes
You know 3D has a long way to go when even Jerry Jones can't manage to sell it for longer than seven minutes: the vaunted real-time 3D scoreboard display experiment at last night's Cowboys game was turned off to loud cheers after just six minutes and fifty seconds of being active. The problem, as usual, was glasses: most of the 80,000 people in attendance didn't bother to put on the headgear required to see the 3D effect, and instead saw a blurry anaglyph image -- which they then booed. What's more, some who wore the glasses complained that the 3D effect caused nausea, although probably not as badly as the Cowboys' 20-17 loss to the Chargers. HDlogix actually has the tech to do glasses-free 3D, but it simply doesn't work when scaled up for the world's largest HD monitor -- a problem they'll have plenty of time to solve when the Cowboys fail to make the playoffs with another couple December losses.
Acer launching 3D laptop in October, nerd specs required
3D laptops? Sure, why the hell not... after seeing a desktop shoved into a vase at Computex we guess anything goes. According to Campbell Kan, VP of mobile computing at Acer, we can expect a 15.6-inch Aspire 3D laptop by the end of October. The laptop will run Windows 7 and support native 3D content (something that's becoming steadily more available) while running software that converts 2D content into 3D with presumably mediocre effect. Unfortunately, viewers must wear those bulky, stereoscopic glasses for the full experience. But if anyone stares, just frantically scribble something into a Moleskin with a deep furrowed brow -- they'll assume you're an artist. A glasses-free version is in the works too though that's TBD if you want to wait.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) returning in 3D to theaters, DVD & downloads next year
Not satisfied with simply colorizing and restoring old black & white films, Legend Films is making the jump to 3D, teaming up with PassmoreLab to bring Night of the Living Dead (the original 1968 flick, now colorized, not the 2006 3D remake) to 3D screens near you. By that we mean, really near you, after a limited run in theaters starting April 1, 2009 the new version is coming to DVD and downloads (including allegedly hilarious commentary from former MST3K talent, if that's what you're into.) Legend Films prez Barry Sandrew is calling it the first full-live action feature film to be converted from 2D to 3D, now that a film most have already seen making the jump, is this enough for you to buy into the 3D hype?
