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ATSC commences 3DTV standard development, better get your glasses ready
The Advanced Television Systems Committee recently commenced development of a 3D broadcast TV standard which would let legacy devices to receive 3D signals without blowing their tiny electronic minds. In a year's time, it's planning to have a completed rulebook, allowing for 3D broadcasts with left- and right-eye views in a single channel, also enabling mobile and non-real time delivery -- meaning you've got one less device to replace when you decide to make the switch to 3D. Whilst many of these standards already exist (and are in use) the ATSC is now looking to get everyone in North America singing from the same sheet. Now's about the time to invest in some better glasses.
Vuzix Wrap 1200 brings 3D to the glasses for $500
3D glasses are nothing new -- we've been tossing on RealD specs at the theater for at least a couple of years. But in typical Vuzix fashion, the Wrap 1200 brings a pair of displays directly to the glasses, simulating a 75-inch 3D screen. Tiny 852 x 480-pixel monitors display native 16:9 content on the three-ounce specs, and iPhone and component video cables are included in the box, letting you plug in to a variety of content (there's no HDMI support, however). The display supports side-by-side and anaglyph 3D, and you can also revert back to 2D content if things don't pan out as expected. The Vuzix Wrap 1200 is rated at three hours of playback with the pair of included rechargeable AA batts, or you can substitute lithium ion batteries for up to seven hours of use. Jump past the break for the full rundown from Vuzix, or hit up the source link to grab your own pair for $500. Update: Originally, we reported that the Vuzix Wrap 1200 only supports anaglyph 3D, when it is in fact capable of side-by-side display as well. The post has been updated to reflect this correction.
Hitachi's 50-inch P50-GP08 3D TV could be its Japanese swan song
If the P50-GP08 is indeed Hitachi's last domestically produced TV, it would make for a pretty worthy finale. Unveiled today, this 3D TV features a 50-inch plasma screen capable of beaming images in full HD, 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1. The beast also packs five TV tuners, a 500GB removable HDD, a quartet of HDMI ports and a motion sensor that turns off the set after a preset period of time (between five and 60 seconds). Best of all, everything can be controlled from the comfort of an iPad or iPhone, thanks to the Wooo Remote app, scheduled for release later this month (see an image, after the break). According to AV Watch, the P50-GP08 should start shipping on August 27th for about ¥220,000 (around $2,875), though there's no word yet on whether it'll ever make it to markets overseas.
3D glasses vending machine lets you be fashionable in the dark
There are certain things worth paying to upgrade: earbuds, perhaps, and maybe even Spotify. But when it comes to buying fancy 3D glasses for the sole purpose of looking cool in a pitch-black theater -- well, aren't we already spending enough on popcorn and Funyuns? EX3D doesn't seem to think so. Starting August 13th, moviegoers in San Diego will be able to trade in those freebies for fashion at a 3D glasses vending machine. At $22 - $30 a pop, these "affordable" and "stylish" glasses may be a boon for those who wouldn't be caught dead wearing the same specs as their friends. Of course, you can also use these babies out of the theater on a passive 3D TV. As for us? We'll stick with the freebies, thank you very much. Jump past the break for the full PR.
Amazon also bundling Resistance 3 pre-order with PlayStation 3DTV
It appears as though GameStop won't be the only retailer to reject Sony's new Motorstorm: Apocalypse-only PlayStation 3DTV bundle. Like its brick-and-mortar competitor, Amazon will also toss in a copy of Resistance 3, which was originally slated to be the 3D display's pack-in title. So, just to recap, that's a 24" 3D television, 3D glasses, HDMI cable, MotorStorm: Apocalypse and Resistance 3, all for 500 smackers. Sure, it sounds like a good deal but, frankly, we're holding out until Amazon ponies up a free copy of Tangled. [Thanks, Steven]
Sony and others looking to standardize active 3D glasses
Like it or not, the world's biggest technology companies are convinced that active 3D (the kind that uses powered, liquid crystal glasses) is the next big thing; so much so that they're willing to put all of their techno-eggs into the same business-basket in order to prevent cross-manufacturer incompatibility killing the cause. One of the few universal truths of the technology world is that the key to a burgeoning format's success is unification and compatibility. Proprietary technologies breed platform fragmentation, and when products aren't compatible with each other, people don't use them, and the format dies. Take USB, for example: USB is successful as a standard because everyone uses the same connectors and licenses the same underlying technologies. You can take a USB keyboard made by one manufacturer and plug it into a motherboard built by another, and it works. The same cannot be said, however, for the majority of 3D glasses in the world, and that's a big problem for a lot of big companies.
Gamestop bundling Resistance 3 with PlayStation 3DTV anyway (if you preorder)
In an effort to prove that Sony ain't the boss o' them, Gamestop will be bundling Resistance 3 with each pre-order for the now-MotorStorm-infused PlayStation-branded 3DTV, launching this November. It's also possible that Gamestop is simply honoring its existing pre-orders while sweetening the pot to attract new buyers, but where's the fun in that? As weird as pre-ordering a television set is, having two 3D-capable games certainly adds a little extra something to deal, and when you're spending $500 on anything it's important to get your money's worth. It will be interesting to see if other retailers follow suit, but considering the fact that this is a 24-inch 3DTV, we doubt potential buyers will have room for anything larger than another disc. [Thanks, MLC!]
Sony replaces Resistance 3 with MotorStorm: Apocalypse in 3DTV bundle
If you live in a dorm room, or an efficiency in Manhattan, or a tiny Harry Potter staircase closet, you were probably chuffed to bits when Sony announced their 24-inch PlayStation-branded 3DTV/Resistance 3 bundle during this year's E3. Now though, it looks like denizens of diminished domiciles will be doing a lot more wicked jumps, and lot less alien shooting. Responding to inquiries regarding this Amazon listing, which shows Sony's PlayStation 3DTV bundled with MotorStorm: Apocalypse instead of Resistance 3, Insomniac Games confirmed the switch in a tweet, apologizing for any inconvenience. According to a statement made to Gamespot, MotorStorm: Apcalypse will also support the full-screen-but-also-split-screen functionality touted by Resistance 3, however no information about why the games were switched has been given as of yet.
2012 London Olympics to feature 3D broadcasts from 10 venues?
There's no word from the official Olympics host broadcaster OBS, but equipment manufacturer EVS is already confirming the 2012 London Olympics will be covered in 3D. According to The Hollywood Reporter, at least 10 Olympic venues are on deck for 3D cameras with broadcasts for "a few of the main events" planned. In the UK the rights holder is the BBC who has already toyed with 3D broadcasts a bit, but it's hard to tell what that could mean here in the US. NBC has shown no inclination towards 3D itself, but it is owned by Comcast who has been more than willing to put special events produced by its (now part of NBC Sports) Versus channel in 3D from time to time. With the Olympic Games less than a year away we should hear more soon and, as the article remarks, have an idea how this might affect the sales of 3D-capable TVs around the world.
LG launches Nano LED backlit LW9800 HDTVs
While LG's 2011 HDTV lineup has been largely a success so far -- we found a lot to like in the LW5600 we reviewed and quarterly earnings seem to justify its 3D and LED technology -- some wouldn't be satisfied without an LED backlit (rather than edge lit) option. That issue is solved now with the new LW9800 series, shown off here in Korea as the LW980S. Announced in two sizes, 55- and 47-inches, both feature "Nano LED" local dimming with as many as 2,300 sources in the larger one and 480Hz motion technology. They also include other LG standard features like Cinema 3D, Magic Motion gesture remote control and its Smart TV menus as well as built-in WiFi, but the big draw here is the deep blacks and a claim of the industry's highest 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Check the press release after the break for a few more details while we wait to get our eyes on the new models in September at IFA 2011.
AT&T abruptly drops ESPN 3D from U-verse during the X-Games citing high price, low demand
Support by AT&T U-verse for the fledgling ESPN 3D channel always seemed halfhearted, while it was one of the providers to carry the channel at launch it was the only one at that time to levy a $10 fee for the privilege of viewing. The good news for subscribers is that $10 fee is gone, but the bad news is the channel has exited stage left along with it yesterday, before the last night of ESPN's big X-Games broadcast in 3D with no apparent warning. AT&T's reason for the move follows after the break, which lays out the case that even despite interested viewers chipping in their Hamiltons it has decided with there's not enough demand to support the "high cost" of ESPN 3D. Slow down on ringing the death knell for 3D everywhere however, since AT&T is still hanging onto its 3D VOD movies, for now. Its willingness to make the rare move of dropping one of the sports leaders offerings definitely speaks to the niche status of 3D, but experience suggests this comes down to a dollars and cents decision across the entire swath of the ever growing ESPN / ABC / Disney family. [Thanks, Larry]
Samsung studies 3D viewing discomfort, finds out bloggers don't read
Judging by the headlines today, Samsung's 3D R&D department made a huge mistake, just check them out: "Who Could Have Guessed: 3D Hurts Your Eyes", "Samsung-funded study finds 3D video causes extra eye strain, fatigue", "Samsung study finds that 3D video causes eye strain, fatigue". It seems obvious that Samsung's research grant financing a UC Berkeley study published in the Journal of Vision was wasted, except for one minor issue -- all of those headlines are wrong. "The zone of comfort: Predicting visual discomfort with stereo displays" is actually trying to find out why 3D-related eyestrain happens. That it can and does happen with poorly formatted video, whether 2D, 3D or otherwise, is already known. Scrolling down beyond the abstract reveals the prof's data actually indicated a wider comfort zone than 3D video producers commonly assumed with their percentage rule of thumb. It's a Friday night and you don't have to pick thumbing through dry descriptions of experiments over whatever your plans are, but that's why you have us. Shockingly, companies desperately hawking 3D tech are busy making it better instead of undermining their own products, but you'd have to actually read the study to find out for sure.
Indy 500 documentary comes to 3net this fall
Even with ESPN 3D firmly into its second year (and recently reupping sponsorship from Sony) there's still not that much content to go around so we're very interested in a new Indy 500 documentary coming to 3net. Indycar Entertainment plans to premiere On The Inside Line: The Indy 500 this fall on the Discovery / IMAX / Sony backed network, bringing the behind the scenes happenings leading up to the race for drivers Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Simona de Silvestro and Will Power. If you don't want to slip on some specs it will be viewable later on in HD on Discovery Channel, but while we wait for (frequent) live 3D race coverage this will be as good as it gets.
Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs 'sold' in first year, half were bundled with hardware
If we're looking at sales figures of 3.5 million units in the first year for a new laptop, smartphone, or camera, then we might be impressed. But 3D Blu-ray discs? When half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player? Man, that's gotta sting. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn't make their debut until later in the year. Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren't looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we're not really surprised that discs aren't exactly flying off the shelves. Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we'll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology's lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come.
CBS considering a 3D cable network?
So far the broadcast networks have been reticent to do anything when it comes to 3D, a bummer if you want to watch any of the content a network like CBS has locked up (pro football, NCAA Tournament games, prime time TV shows) in 3D on your new 3D TV. However, Multichannel News sources indicate CBS is considering a 24-hour pay-TV network that would air 2D-to-3D converted programming. Reportedly it's working with conversion technology from DDD, but another executive claimed everything was "very preliminary" so it's hard to know what details could be in place if it actually launches. We haven't seen any converted 3D that has us lusting over a post-converted version of CSI, but if this cracks open the door to live 3D sports simulcasts, we may be able to get behind it.
Samsung sews up 60 percent of the 3D TV market
In the face of claims by LG that customers prefer its passive 3D technology, Samsung's pointing to the scoreboard. Recent NPD data shows its plasma and LCD 3D TVs account for 60 percent of those sold between May 22nd and June 18th, and more than half of those sold for April to May. One question would be how many of those are actually set up to watch 3D but with its slew of free glasses promotions, we have to expect most of those owners have the proper equipment. Of course the other question is how many total sales does that amount to but those numbers weren't revealed. The press release is after the break for further dissection, we'll check back later in the year to see which side customers are choosing -- if they're choosing based on 3D at all -- then.
Samsung re-ups free 3D glasses promotion but tightens the strings this time
Back in May Samsung kicked off a promotion guaranteeing two free pairs of glasses with any of its 3D-capable HDTVs, and after that expired it has followed up with a similar deal. Key differences this time around are that instead of getting the glasses from Samsung, buyers should be able to pick up the two pairs at the retailer when they buy their TV. The 3D Starter Kit with glasses and movie is still available as well, but this should fill in the cracks on other models and promotions. The only downside is that now it's not guaranteed to cover every 3D capable model and it appears to be up to the retailers to participate, so doublecheck what accessories are coming along if you're buying a new Samsung HDTV any time soon.
LG claims 4 out of 5 viewers prefer its 3D to Sony or Samsung, whips up some new ads
The next shot in the active glasses vs. passive glasses 3DTV war has been fired by LG, claiming survey results showing 4 out of 5 viewers polled preferred its technology to those offered by Sony and Samsung. According to the press release, all the displays were tested by Morpace Inc. in May at their default settings without any branding shown. Our experience with the LG LW5600 HDTV was that the passive solution was comfortable and bright, but did suffer a bit of artifacting on edges and text that we haven't spotted on active shutter glasses 3DTV. Hit the source link to pore through the data that's been made available or check out the press release and video after the break, while they argue over preference we're pretty sure the biggest challenge is convincing users to choose 3D in the first place.
LG's DM50D HDTV / monitor promotes a passive 3D lifestyle
LG is talking up its forthcoming DM50D 3D monitor -- not a lot, mind you, but just enough to get us interested. The company offered up a largely spec-free press release on the forthcoming set, heralding the adoption of passive 3D glasses, "Flicker Free" capabilities borrowed from its Cinema 3D TV line, and double the brightness of conventional 3D sets. The display has a built-in DTV turner, HDMI capabilities for connecting with 3D-capable consoles and the like, and the ability to view images and videos directly from a USB flash drive. It'll be hitting Europe in July, with more of the world getting a crack at it later. Peep the 2D release after the break.
Westinghouse first 3D HDTV hands-on (video)
It's official: everyone has a 3D HDTV. No, not every consumer -- not even close -- but with Westinghouse's official entry into the 3D market earlier this week, nearly every television manufacturer, both large and small, has brought at least one 3D product to market. We took a look at the 47-inch Westinghouse W47S2TCD at the CEA LineShows in NYC today, and were actually somewhat impressed with its performance, especially from a distance of more than six feet. Passive displays still don't offer the same level of quality as 3D sets that use active glasses, but they're often more affordable, and adequate for most consumers. Our biggest issue with this display is with backlight bleed just above the Westinghouse logo, which is especially noticeable with darker content or when navigating through system menus. The TV carries a MSRP of $1,200, but Westinghouse says to expect a street price of "well below" $1,000, which should help it compete with other budget sets. It uses passive technology and ships with four pairs of glasses, though the manufacturer claims that you should be able to use other polarized glasses, including those RealD specs you'll forget to return after dropping $19 on your next 3D IMAX movie. Jump past the break for a hands-on video from the show floor.%Gallery-126917%
