From Mitsubishi: How 3d works Part 2 [VIDEO]

From Mitsubishi: How 3d works Part 1 [VIDEO]

3D Success Still Coming Into Focus

As we move further past the one-year anniversary of the first 3D TV sets launched in the U.S., it’s clear 3D hasn’t leapt to the forefront of consumer technology market. But it hasn’t fallen completely into the background, either.

The recent announcement by Nintendo that it would dramatically cut the price of the Nintendo 3DS could be seen as another tough break for 3D products. In fact, Nintendo’s newest handheld gaming system overcame two of the most commonly cited objections for 3D–high prices for hardware and the need to wear glasses. Read more…

HTC EVO 3D (Sprint)

Awesome yet baffling, breathtaking but frustrating, the HTC EVO 3D ($199 with contract) is a super-cool, super-powerful phone that requires some patience. As the first glasses-free 3D phone in the United States, the EVO 3D was a conversation starter everywhere I went with it. I’m going to treasure the 3D photos I took of my daughter. but Internet connection problems, bits of missing hardware and software, and a very narrow 3D viewing angle makes this a phone for adventurous early adopters rather than the masses.

Physical Design
The HTC EVO 3D is a big phone, slightly bigger than even the original HTC EVO 4G ($149, 4 stars) at 5.0 by 2.5 by .45 inches (HWD) and 5.9 ounces. The textured back is comfortable in the hand. A bump on the back shows the dual 5-megapixel cameras for recording 3D images and video. The phone’s front is indistingushable from many other black slab phones, when it’s off; it’s a 4.3-inch screen with four silkscreened Android touch buttons below it. Read more…

3D TV penetration to grow 50% in 2013

Spurred by rapid consumer acceptance, the 3D TV’s market penetration is projected to exceed 10 percent in 2011 and 50 percent in 2013, overtaking connected or Internet TVs. Consumer demand has also prompted local technology companies in Taiwan to develop and release new lines of 3D and Internet-enabled televisions in the second half of this year.

Leading these companies are Chimei Innolux (CMI), which announced plans to adopt active 3D TV panels for its large-size LED TVs, and BenQ, which will adopt passive 3D panel technology for its 3D TV product lines. Read more…

3D Systems Sponsors T-Splines 2011 Design Contest

3D Systems Corporation announced today that it is sponsoring T-Splines, a leader in innovative 3D design software, in an exciting contest that encourages product designers, jewelers and architects to create and make in 3D. Read more…

XPAND to Supply Active 3D Glasses for Mitsubishi Televisions in North America

XPAND, the global market leader in active 3D technology for home, cinema and education applications, will supply two models of XPAND 3D glasses for 3D capable televisions manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Visual Solutions America, Inc. One will feature a single pair of 3D glasses designed for Mitsubishi 2011 television models with a built-in 3D emitter. The second will include a single pair of 3D glasses with an external emitter, offering a complete single viewer 3D solution for any Mitsubishi 3DTV. Read more…

Is 3D in trouble… again?

With the disappointing box office results for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu Panda installments, reports that 3D is in trouble have flooded a number of industry publications.

“Pirates of the Caribbean’s’ Low 3D Numbers in U.S. Could Be Wake-Up Call to Hollywood” read one Hollywood Reporter headline, with the story adding, “This summer will put 3D to the test…”

Variety also reported Pirates had the lowest 3D opening since Avatar brought the technology back strong in late 2009.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, who pushed 3D as the alleged salvation of the industry in the first place, told Hollywood Reporter that it’s “right smack in the terrible twos,” and that it’s “really heartbreaking to see what has been the single greatest opportunity that has happened to the film business in over a decade being harmed.”

Katzenberg said a year and a half ago “there was genuine excitement, enthusiasm and reward for the first group of 3D films that actually delivered a quality experience.”

Of course, converting a terrible movie to 3D isn’t going to make it any better, something audiences are wary of with movies like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender being converted to 3D, and both Pirates and Panda already felt played out, 3D or not. (Variety reported that according to the BO experts, Pirates probably wouldn’t have done better if it was completely released in 2D.)

Katzenberg also tap danced around the fact that 3D movie prices are very expensive in today’s economy.

“Quite frankly, there’s no industry in the world that doesn’t attempt to move the customer to a premium experience,” he told the Reporter. “I don’t care whether you make shoes or wine or iced tea or cars, everybody tries to create multiple price points. So why shouldn’t we be in the same business of offering our customer a premium experience at a premium price – as long as we deliver them a premium value?”

And even though DreamWorks is part of the problem with Kung Fu Panda 2, Katzenberg also insists, “We are not the problem,” claiming the technology is getting better every film, and the costs of the movies are much cheaper than three years ago as well.

Of course, nobody’s mentioning that 3D didn’t last long the first two times it was around in the fifties as well as in the brief two years or so it came back in the eighties, not to mention many haven’t bought the hype surrounding it this time around.

Both Hollywood Reporter stories also state that overseas 3D is still doing very well, the “appetite” for the technology being “virtually insatiable in such territories as Russia, China and Brazil.”

Variety reports that with 3D box office grosses fluctuating wildly, “it seems audiences haven’t been embracing the format to the extent they did when Avatar set the 3D gold standard,” but of course that’s a very tough benchmark to reach.

See the original report here>>

Video: Biggest 3D TV debuts

MonolithIC 3D Inc. Releases Open-Source Simulator For 2D And 3D-ICs

MonolithIC 3D Inc., the leading innovator in monolithic 3D-IC technology, has developed and released a simulator for 2D and 3D-ICs. The simulator, called IntSim v2.0 (beta), is available at www.monolithic3d.com, the company’s website.

Zvi Or-Bach, President and CEO of MonolithIC 3D, said, “We are delighted to release IntSim v2.0 for users to evaluate 2D and 3D implementation alternatives and understand and optimize monolithic 3D chips. We’ve made the software open-source so it can be continually developed and improved over time by a community of users interested in 3D-IC technology.” Read more…