3D HDTV

The HD World Conference closed its doors this past Thursday October 15, 2009 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NY. It was a two day event dedicated to HD, from content creation to production, editing, and distribution.

One of my objectives for this conference was to update my coverage of Mobile DTV and IPTV, and to also discuss the technical details of 3D as it is being implemented for the home. I engaged in several discussions regarding the production and the distribution stages of 3D, with emphasis on the issues that affect the quality of the final viewing by consumers.

I also covered...

Panasonic will demonstrate prototype Full HD 1080p 3D televisions and will exhibit an expanded range of tru2way solutions, including tru2way-based broadband cable set-top boxes and its tru2way-intergrated consumer VIERA HDTVs at this year's Cable-Tec Expo® -- the cable industry's engineering show of the year -- beginning today through October 30 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

In addition to the Panasonic booth (#14053), the company's presence will be supplemented by a Panasonic Full HD 3D Home Theater-equipped tractor trailer exhibit from its nationwide 3D tour fleet to demonstrate 3D for show goers. The Full HD 3D system, which will reach the market next year, utilizes...

Here again, the US consumer electronics industry as well as broadcasters find themselves and their consumers in a technical/marketing quandary because of lack of foresight, planning and just plain incompetence. This time it may really hurt. It didn't take any genius to foresee the possibilities of in-home 3D years ago, particularly in light of the economic success of digital 3D movies over the past three years. Since movies derive more than 55% (and climbing) of their revenues from in-home distribution channels (disc, VOD, PPV etc.), it doesn't take much prescience to predict 3DTV possibilities. Did the salient organizations react? Yes. Being unencumbered by the thought process, their reaction was something like a bunch of night drunks during a bar raid.

A couple of years ago a few manufactures started marketing "3D ready" rear projection units with no particular performance standards or technology in mind. Then about a year and a half ago...

3M's Optical Systems Division today announced that 3M has developed a new, field sequential 3D optical film for handheld devices-enabling true auto stereoscopic 3D viewing on mobile phones, gaming and other handheld devices without the need for glasses.

The company's 3D optical film can...

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced its plans for incorporating 3D into the widely successful Blu-ray Disc format. The rapid and enthusiastic consumer adoption of Blu-ray Disc, coupled with the format's technical capabilities and capacity make it the ideal format for bringing a vibrant 3D experience to consumers.

The BDA, comprised of...