News Stories

World’s first 3D pictures from outer space (anaglyph)

5.23.2011

[by The Telegraph, UK]

These are the world’s first 3D pictures taken in outer space by an astronaut on the International Space Station.

 

Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli snapped the incredible images as he lived and worked in space during his MagISStra mission.

The 54-year-old – who has also tweeted from space before – has now gone one step further and posted 3D images.

He has been working as a flight engineer on the the station since December, but intermittently picked up his standard issue Erasmus Recording Binocular 2 (ERB-2) camera to capture day-to-day life.

His stunning images allow viewers a real insight into life on the world-renowned space station as it orbits Earth 220 miles above.

In one 3D image, American astronaut Scott Kelly can be seen larking around with his spacewalk suit in the zero gravity conditions.

Another shows Paolo hovering in mid air as he preps his own suit ready to venture outside the space station and greet new incumbents.

While Paolo can be seen waking up in his stand up bed on Christmas day in another – all with his family’s gift-wrapped present hovering in front of him.

An image of crew member Cady Coleman shows her rocking a barmy hairstyle as the weightless conditions wreak havoc with her hair as she eats a snack.

Paolo, who now has over 46,000 followers on Twitter, said: “I wish that everybody could have a possibility of being up here, but as this is not possible so far, I’m happy to provide these views and feelings to people.

“Each day I receive between 200-500 tweets about my pictures and they are all extremely interesting.”

The Italian has been charged with carrying out an intensive program of experiments ranging from monitoring radiation to measurements that could improve oil recovery in petroleum reservoirs.

But in his spare time he has taken a stunning series of images – including the Grand Canyon, a swollen Mississippi river and the UK – as well as the world’s first outerspace 3D pictures.

Paolo said: “When I have free time, even only 5 minutes, I just hover in the international space station looking down out of one of the seven windows.

“Earth is a beautiful subject and one of the most magnificent models that a photographer can have.”

Paolo is set to return to the relative normality of Earth alongside his colleges later this week.

The 3D anaglyph images are best viewed with red/cyan glasses.

See the original post here; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8530335/Worlds-first-3D-pictures-from-outer-space.html

Sony 3D digital projector lenses are ruining 2D movies

5.23.2011

[By: Matthew Humphries, Geek.com]

Over the past few years I have been visiting movie theaters less and less. It’s a combination of the rising cost of visiting the theater, coupled with the fact that the quality of the playback isn’t as good as a DVD or Blu-ray on my home HD flatscreen.

With the advent of 4K digital projectors being installed I expected to see a noticeable increase in playback quality that warranted the high price of theater entry. But that quality may be lost due to a lack of care or preparation on the part of the theater chains and a new form of DRM imposed by the projector manufacturer, in this case Sony.

The Sony 4K digital projectors being installed for the past couple of years are capable of showing movies in 3D and 2D. For 3D playback, a 3D lens is fitted on to the projector to allow for rapid alternation of the two required images. To show a 2D movie, you have to remove that lens otherwise it drastically cuts the amount of light being projected which would result in a very dark 2D playback.

The problem stems from the fact many movie theaters aren’t bothering to remove the 3D lens, so these crisp, vibrant 2D digital films lose between 50-85% of their light.

The reason theaters are doing this is more complicated than you may think. It isn’t just down to a lack of knowldge or laziness on the part of the theater and projectionist, although in some cases that may be part of the problem. The real problem is how difficult it is to remove the lens.

On these Sony 4K projectors the removal of the lens requires time, money, and security clearance. That’s right, in order to take the lens off you first need a password which has to be acquired over the Internet. It’s a form of digital rights management for projection hardware.

The next problem occurs if you get the procedure wrong. Enter the password incorrectly, or don’t follow the removal instructions to the letter, and the projector will shutdown rendering it unusable until unlocked by a trained engineer. Theater managers don’t want to risk losing a theater for a few hours, so they take the decision to show a very dark 2D film instead and bypass the problem to the detriment of the paying viewer.

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe has been investigating this issue and found no one wants to talk about it on record. Projectionists are stating what the issues are, theater managers say they have no policy in place for lens removal, and Sony has refused to comment.

If you are visiting a movie theater and are concerned about this, it’s quite easy to tell if you are being shown a dark movie other than just judging the playback with your own eyes. Here’s the key things to look for:

  • The title of the movie listed by the theater will have a “D” after it if it is being shown on a digital projector
  • If you are in a D movie, look at the projector window when seated. If you see two stacked beams of light it is a Sony projector with the 3D lens still on.
  • A single beam of light means no 3D lens, or a different make of projector that doesn’t have the issue

If you see the two beams, then get up and go complain. You paid good money to see the movie, so make a fuss until they either give you back that money or remove the lens. Seeing as its an involved and time-consuming process expect a refund.

See the original post here: http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-pick/sony-3d-digital-projector-lenses-are-ruining-2d-movies-20110523/

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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