With most flat panel TV vendors expecting to see new growth opportunities blossom from 3-D TV, the likelihood grows that 3-D image/video capturing capabilities will become a nice-to-have feature for digital video camera suppliers in the next several years.
Anticipating the trend, Ambarella, Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip vendor that specializes in low-power, high-definition video compression and image processing solutions, unveiled Monday (Nov. 22nd) a 3-D video pre-processor, called S3D. Designed to work with Ambarella’s camera SoCs such as A5 (enables 1080P30 resolution) or A7 (enables 1080P60 resolution) – announced last month, the combination will enable full HD 1080p 3-D video recording and high-resolution 3-D photography, according to the company.
The goal of the combined S3D with Ambarella’s A5 or A7 camera SoCs is to enable a consumer-friendly 3-D digital video camera – priced at less than $200 – capable of shooting 3-D video “that looks really good on 3-D TV,” said Chris Day, vice president, marketing and business development at Ambarella.
Ambarella’s 3-D camera solution also supports the display of 3D video and still images on the camera’s 3D LCD display.
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Chris Chute, research manager at IDC, estimated that 250,000 digital cameras featuring 3-D (with two lens assemblies for capturing stereoscopic images and video) will have shipped in 2010. That number “will grow to around 6 million units in 2014, or five percent of the digital camera market,” he projected. IDC’s numbers only cover cameras — not camcorders, according to Chute.
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Asked about the most important elements for 3D cameras, IDC’s Chute pointed out “the ability to view content instantly on the device via auto stereoscopic LCD. This feature is an absolute requirement.”
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In-Stat’s Abraham, on the other hand, noted that “price will be important as it always is in consumer products.” She added, “Video quality will be as well [important] especially with some consumers saying 3D gives them headaches or nausea. The better the quality the less likely that is to happen.”
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Read the full story here: http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4210925/3-D-digital-video-cameras-on-the-horizon-