News Stories

Nintendo Begins 3DS Demo Tours Around The U.S., Canada

3.14.2011

[by Nicholas Deleon, CrunchGear.com]

The Nintendo 3DS is still a few weeks away from release here in North America (March 27, to be exact), but that doesn’t mean you can’t play with it right now. Nintendohas begun a series of demo events in cities around the country where you can, in their own words, “be one of the first to experience the Nintendo 3DS system before launch day.” What cities are involved?

Four cities get the 3DS demo, and they are:

New York at Grand Central Terminal

Chicago at the Citigroup Center

Los Angeles at Third Street Promenade

San Francisco at Pier 39

And don’t worry: there are similar events in Canada, too.

Nintendo also says that 3DS units will be at select retailers in the weeks leading up to the launch date, so don’t freak out if you don’t live in or near one of those aforementioned cities.

In other 3D news, last night I was on After Dark Radio with Bryan Alvarez (of Figure 4 Weeklyfame), and we discussed all sorts of fun tech topics including, but not limited to, 3D. So if you have a spare moment!

See the original post here: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/03/12/nintendo-begins-3ds-demo-tours-around-the-u-s-canada/

3D Home Theater Features 180-inch Screen (for $350K)

3.14.2011

[by Lisa Montgomery, ElectronicHouse.com]

They say the bigger the better when it comes to viewing movies in 3D. The owners of this renovated basement took those words to heart by having their custom electronic (CE) professional install a whopping 180-inch wide screen that shifts shape to accommodate the aspect ratio of any film they happen to be watching. The CE pros at OsbeeIndustries, Inc., of Harrison, NY, paired the curved, acoustically transparent Screen Research screen with a Digital Projection Titan Reference 1080p 3D video projector, and added an anamorphic lens to the unit so that movies shot in a CinemaScope widescreen could be viewed in their native 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

The family has plenty of media from which to choose. In the short time since their system was installed, their library has grown to include 200 Blu-ray discs, all of which are accessible from any TV in the house via a Kaleidescape media server. They can also access a wide variety of streaming content from a Crestron ADMS server and AppleTV receiver, or view four different sources simultaneously in a quad view, thanks to a Crestron DVPHD-PRO-R video processor.

A “cockpit” positioned between the theater seats holds the Blu-ray player for convenient loading of discs. This is also where the gaming systems and 15-inch Crestron touchpanel (used to operate the entire home theater system) are located. Due to the low ceiling height, the Titan projector was mounted directly above the cockpit to preclude accidental collisions. A second projector is positioned closer to the screen than the 3D projector, so that it can fire around people who may be standing up while playing video games.

Built to house a crowd of as many as 20 people, the 20-by-30-foot space is used “heavily and equally by everyone in the family,” says Osbee Industries, Inc. president Dave Raines. For this reason, the family invested in 15 active-shutter 3D glasses from Xpand. They also made sure there was room for plenty of seating. In addition to two rows of seats and loungers, there’s room up front to toss in a few bean bag chairs.
Big, immersive video deserves an equally engaging audio experience, so Osbee equipped the space with a JBL Synthesis I system capable of pumping out 4,000 watts of power to 12 speakers and four subwoofers, all of which are hidden behind acoustic wall panels. To prevent the sound from the theater from rattling the floor of the rooms above it, Osbee isolated the newly constructed walls and ceiling from the original structure and packed the ceiling and wall cavities with sound-absorbing materials.

Click on the Slideshow button for a larger image off the room.

About this room:
Dedicated theater; renovated basement
20×30 with a 9-foot ceiling (8 feet in the back row)
$350,000 for equipment
Westchester County, NY

System Design and Installation
Osbee Industries
Harrison, NY

Equipment
Digital Projection Titan Reference 3D projector
Screen Research TheaterCurve 180-inch wide screen
JBL Synthesis I sound system
Crestron control system
Crestron ADMS media server
Kaleidescape media server
Samsung Blu-ray player
AppleTV
DirecTV receiver
Nintendo Wii
Xbox 360

 

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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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