The venue was an AMC Theatre in New York’s Time Square and the presentations were shown with Sony 4K digital projection on what, to my eyes, appeared to be a 40-foot or larger screen.

I started the day with the preconceived notion that shooting native stereoscopic 3D is always better that 2D-3D conversion and ended the day with a different point of view.

Barry Sandrew, founder of Legend 3D, whose company did the conversion of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, made the case that, whether you like conversion or not, it is and will likely remain a necessity if the 3D business is to thrive and grow. He called that idea, “essential to this industry.” He said there are advantages to the idea of experienced directors shooting in 2D: “It’s what they’re comfortable with.” There is no need for big rigs on set and conversion can save as much as thirty percent of the overall budget. Sandrew and others argued that more could be done in post in 3D than even in 2D.

Speaking in a different panel, James Stewart, 3D producer and director of Geneva Films, made a similar case. “The audience doesn’t care how you get there,” he said, and for those who are adamantly opposed to conversion he cautioned: “We’re about to see a lot of very bad live action natively shot 3D.”

Here in no particular order are other highlights from the event:

David Naranjo, Mitsubishi’s director of product development and Eric Anderson, vice president of content & product solutions for Samsung both made the case the television manufacturers will be offering stereoscopic 3D as simply one other feature available in TVs, much like picture-in-picture or Internet capability is now. If you want to watch a program in 3D your TV will have it. They both predicted that, at least in the near term, 3D will be an event-based concept in homes.

Echoing that idea, Pierre Routhier, Technicolor’s vice president of 3D strategy, said, “If you put everything ever made in stereoscopic 3D on television it would run for about two weeks.”

Speaking about glassless 3D for the home, Phil McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer for Hewlett-Packard, said there is a working 24-inch by 24-inch display in the lab today. The downside? The monitor currently requires a room full of electronics. There is more work to be done.

Dianne LaGuardia, Sony’s senior manager for digital cinema marketing, estimated there will be 21,000 3D screens in movie theatres worldwide very soon and said the 15,000-screen mark will be reached by the end of this year.

Steve Schklair, founder and CEO of 3ality Digital Systems, and a true stereoscopic pioneer, said it’s time to realize that the world has changed. “We’re now longer showing this to [just] the true believers,” he said, adding that arguing about which technology is better and fighting over native versus conversion is pointless. “The technology exists to create good 3D,” he concluded. “We should be focused on creativity. On telling a good story.”

BY NICK DAGER

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Everything you need to know about entering the third dimension

Get your glasses on and prep the popcorn because today marks the launch of Sky’s new 3D service, including films, sport and a range of original programming. If you’re thinking of taking the plunge into the the third dimension, but you’re not quite sure where to start then have a read of this first…

Do I need a new TV?

Yes, you’ll need to get a 3D-capable TV, currently only available from a handful of manufacturers including Sony, Panasonic, LG and Samsung. Most of the 3D TVs on the market are already fully set up for 3D images, but some are only 3D-ready meaning that you’ll need to buy a separate 3D tuner and glasses to make the jump into the third dimension. Be sure to check with the retailer when you buy.

What’s the difference between active and passive 3D technology?

Passive polarized 3D systems use cheap glasses that are similar to the ones that you get in the cinema. This means that each eye sees a slightly different picture, which your brain then combines into one image, creating an illusion of depth.

Active shutter 3D glasses are battery-powered and cost around £60-100 per pair. The idea here is that the display for each eye flickers quickly so that each eye sees alternate frames of 3D content.

Although down to personal choice, active 3D systems are widely considered to offer superior picture quality. Passive 3D tech is currently only offered by LG (on its 47LD950), while all of the other sets available use the active shutter system. Sky’s 3D TV service will work with both formats.

Will I need a new Blu-ray player?

Yes, if you’re planning on watching any of the new Blu-ray 3D discs then you’ll need to get yourself a 3D-capable player. You can play 3D Blu-rays on a standard deck, but they’ll only play in the conventional 2D format.

Will I need a new HDMI cable?

As long as you’ve got a high-speed HDMI version 1.3a cable, then you should be fine. Although the latest HDMI 1.4 cables have been designed for 3D compatibility, Sky’s hardware doesn’t currently support them so it wouldn’t make any difference anyway. HDMI 1.4 will probably take some time to roll out, so that most AV equipment won’t be compatible for a while yet. If you can, it’s probably best to save your pennies for now and stick with your current HDMI lead.

Do I need to buy the glasses separately?

Most 3D TVs will be supplied with at least one or two pairs of compatible glasses and for those that are not, most retailers will probably be offering a deal to bundle these with the TV. If you need extra glasses, either for when friends come round, or to keep the whole family happy, then you can buy these separately.

Where can I get 3D stuff to watch?

As of today (1 October), you’ll be able to watch 3D broadcasts on Sky with a line-up including sports and movies. We picked out some of the highlights that you can expect to see and the good news is that if you’re already signed up to Sky World with an HD subscription, then you won’t need to pay any extra for the new 3D channel. If you’re a newbie then you can get the Sky World pack with Sky+HD from £61 per month.

Virgin Media has also just announced the launch of its 3D Movies on Demand service, available to anyone with a Virgin HD or HD+ box. There’s only one film on offer at the moment – StreetDance 3D – with more titles coming soon. It’ll cost £5.99 for a 24-hour rental.

You can also make use of the new Blu-ray 3D format, although there’s not that much available yet we’ve pulled together a selection of titles that are coming soon.

Can I get 3D on Freeview?

Not at the moment. There are currently no plans to introduce free-to-air 3D broadcasts, but this could be a possibility in the future depending on the success of Sky and Virgin’s 3D platforms.

Can I use my 3D glasses to watch my friend’s TV?

It depends on which TV they’ve got. If your pal has LG’s 47LD950 – the only passive 3D TV currently available – then you’re in luck. Chances are, they’ll have a spare pair of specs for you anyway as the TV comes with four sets. If not, then you can pick up a pair yourself for next to nothing.

When it comes to active 3D tech, you can only use glasses that match the brand of TV that you’re watching. So, for example, you can’t use a pair of Sony specs on a Panasonic screen and vice versa. Most of these TVs only come with one or two pairs of glasses, so you might have to buy extra (around £60-100 each) if you and mates intend to descend mob-handed on your new best friend and his lovely new telly.

There are also a few brands, including Xpand and Monster that have launched universal 3D glasses that will supposedly work on any manufacturer’s set. Out advice is to try before you buy.

Will older films be converted to 3D?

Yes – just as many older films have been given a high-def makeover, it is also possible to convert them to 3D. However, not everything is well suited to three-dimensional viewing so while some things could look great, a film with a lot of fast cuts and rapid shifts between long shots and close-ups probably won’t fare so well.

Lucasfilm has just announced that all six films in the Star Wars saga are set for a 3D release, starting in 2012. As the films will be released in order to match the narrative timeline, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace will be first. Following a cinema release, it’s only a matter of time before the films turn up on Blu-ray 3D.

Can I watch 3D TV without special glasses?

Not yet, no. Although glasses-free (autostereoscopic) 3D is already in use in some hand-held devices such as the Nintendo 3DS, it’s not really suitable to TV in it’s current form as you need to be perfectly central to the image to get the 3D effect and the image quality tends to be quite low. If the boffins at the big manufacturers do manage to come up with some way of displaying 3D images effectively on a TV, it certainly won’t be ready for use in the home for some time yet.

30 September 2010 10:00 GMT / By Libby Plummer

original post: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/35912/guide-to-3d-tv-at-home