News Stories

Glasses-free 3D TVs may be coming to airlines

4.25.2011

 

[by Mike Luttrell, TG Daily]

You’ll soon be able to watch 3D movies from 30,000 feet in the air.

A start-up company called MasterImage 3D is reportedly very close to signing a deal with multiple airlines to bring its display technology to TV monitors across entire fleets of aircraft.

Hollywood Reporter notes that the company just received $15 million in funding from Samsung, which is sure to start pouncing on the emerging glasses-free 3D market.

We met MasterImage 3D at the CTIA trade show last month and were blown away with its eye-popping 3D effects, easily outdoing the technology on devices like Nintendo’s 3DS and HTC’s upcoming 3D mobilegadgets.

The company is also eying deals with automakers to bring glasses-free 3D displays to in-car entertainment systems.

This could help bring the 3D medium to prominence. Manufacturers have had difficulty selling 3D hardware to individual consumers, but by getting other corporate customers to get on board, it will make the medium stronger.

Numerous advocates for 3D have said it will be just like when black-and-white content shifted to color. Moves like this supplement that theory.

See the original post here: http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/55544-glasses-free-3d-tvs-may-be-coming-to-airlines

Salisbury Man Brings Civil War Photos to 3D Life

4.23.2011

[Philip Lelyveld comment: 3NET is producing a 3D Civil War program, and the Civil War Trust offers teachers training, including 3D content.]

[by Tony Hurst, www.wboc.com ]

A Salisbury programmer has created a new iPad application to display 3D versions of some of the most famous photos taken during the Civil War.

Programmer Mike Silvers teamed up with the former communications director of the Library of Congress to create the app, which was released during the 150th anniversary of the war’s beginning.

Matt Raymond, formerly with the library, chooses and sends the photographs to Silvers. Then Silvers has the complicated task of transforming the flat images into a 3D rendition of the original scenes, and writing the programming to create the app.

Raymond says he hopes the program, titled “History 3D: Civil War,” will be a learning tool for school kids.

Most of the photos in the app were shot by well-known photographers like Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner.  The images are from the original negatives owned by the Library of Congress.

There are just over 20 pictures in the first edition, and Silvers says more are on the way.  The app costs $1.99, and the 3D glasses needed to can be ordered online.

See the original post here: http://www.wboc.com/story/14498033/civilwar

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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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