Nikon Corp and Nikon Imaging Japan Inc will start a service of converting a normal image into 3D and displaying it on a digital photo frame viewable with the naked eye.

The announcement was made Oct 26, 2010, and the service, “my Picturetown 3D,” will be launched in early December 2010 in Japan.

The service will be provided as part of Nikon’s “my Picturetown” service, which enables to share and store image files on the Internet. 2D images converted into 3D on the my Picturetown can be displayed on the “NF-300i,” a digital photo frame dedicated to the my Picturetown 3D service.

It is possible to share 3D images among digital photo frames. And Nikon will deliver 3D image and video contents to the NF-300i.

The NF-300i has a 7.2-inch LCD panel and lenticular lenses on it. 3D images can be viewed within a distance of about 1m. The resolutions of 2D and 3D images are both 800 x 600. As external interfaces, it has an Ethernet port supporting 100Base-TX, a USB port and a wireless LAN capability compatible with IEEE802.11b/g.

The NF-300i comes with Android (ver 2.1) as a software platform and a dedicated application software that enables to show 2D and 3D images and play movies.

The fee for the service is ¥1,995 (approx US$24.49) per month or ¥19,950 per year including rent for the NF-300i and a fee for converting up to three 2D images into 3D per month. Nikon does not intend to sell the digital photo frame separately.

(Thanks, Thomas Edwards, Fox, for the story)

The NF-300i, a dedicated digital photo frame on which 3D images can be viewed with the naked eye

by Tomohisa Takei, Nikkei Electronics

original post: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20101027/186890/

American company Viewsonic, renowned for developing plasma displays, HDTV technology, CRT monitors and projectors has now just announced it’s latest offering in the form of the 3D 720p Camcorder. It seems with the lead up to the holiday season, we have a lot to look forward to with not only this, but another device the 22-inch Multi-Touch Monitor geared up for the European market.

According to Darren Murph at Engadget, the new pocket camcorder “3DV5” will be a 720p shooter with incorporation of 2.4-inch autosterescopic display and 10 megabytes of internal memory which can be expanded. Users will be able to make their own 3D movies with the touch of a button and function of switching between 2D and 3D recording modes, with the benefit of then plugging it directly into a 3D HDTV (via HDMI) or, with the advantage of watching it on-screen without the need for 3Dglasses. For those of you who wish to upload your recorded videos, can do so by logging directly onto YouTube‘s 3D using the supplied “anaglyph” glasses.

In a recent statement from Viewsonic’s European Product Marketing Manager “James Coulson,” he said, “Everyone has watched 3D movies at the cinema, and lots of people are considering purchasing a 3D compatible display, whether a TV, monitor or projector. However, there is a lack of available 3D content, and people want to create 3D content that they will be able to watch for years to come. The Viewsonic 3DV5 makes it easy for anyone to create future-proof, high quality 3D home movies and also shoot in standard 2D. As well as being easy to use, the camcorder is also excellent value for money, and will make a great gift this Christmas.”

For £150 ($238), will you be purchasing Viewsonic’s latest pocket camcorder? Let us know. Check out Engadget for more information.

October 30, 2010 | Maddy Rowe

original post: http://www.onlinesocialmedia.net/20101030/viewsonic-releases-3d-720p-camcorder-to-create-3d-movies/

Fully immersive, life-size 3D projection is now possible in the home. The world’s first 3D projector adapter, the Optoma 3D-XL adapts existing DLP projectors enabling them to display 3D.The adapter will be available from January 2011.

Compatible with 3D broadcast signals such as Sky 3D in the UK; 3D Blu-ray players and 3D games from the Sony® PS3 the 3D-XL simply connects between a 3D source and a DLP projector. The huge, greater than 100”, 3D projected images in the home provide a fantastically immersive experience that is just not possible with the small screen of a 3D TV and amazingly the total cost of this jaw-dropping 3D experience is a fraction of the cost of 3D TV’s!

original post: http://stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/stereoscopic-displays/non-cinema-projectors/1015-optoma-3dxl-converts-2d-projectors-to-3d.html

————–

• Huge screen, fully immersive 3D projection at home
• 3D Blu-ray, 3D PS3 games & blu-ray & Sky 3D
• 14 compatible projectors in the Optoma range
• The world’s first 3D projector adapter
• Available from January 2011

Amazing, fully immersive. life-size 3D projection is now possible in the home. The world’s first 3D projector adapter, the Optoma 3D-XL adapts existing DLP® projectors enabling them to display 3D.

Compatible with 3D broadcast signals such as Sky 3D in the UK; 3D Blu-ray players and 3D games from the Sony® PS3 the 3D-XL simply connects between a 3D source and a DLP projector. The huge, greater than 100”, 3D projected images in the home provide a fantastically immersive experience that is just not possible with the small screen of a 3D TV and amazingly the total cost of this jaw-dropping 3D experience is a fraction of the cost of 3D TV’s!

original post: http://www.optoma.fr/projectordetailshccs.aspx?ShowMenu=HE&PTypedb=Home%20Entertainment&PC=3D-XL

Although shot in 3D, the visual impact is negligible /

Billing itself as the climactic chapter in the hugely successful horror franchise (yeah, right), “Saw 3D” offers the usual elaborate torture porn set pieces that its fans have grown to know and love.

Upping the ante in terms of the number of “traps” — eleven, boast the publicity materials — and inconsequential 3D, this seventh installment does at least provide a reasonably satisfying conclusion to the series in the unlikely event they choose to give it a rest.

Directed by longtime series editor Kevin Greutert, who graduated to his current position with “Saw VI,” the film is consistent both stylistically and thematically with the previous editions. It begins with a typically twisted sequence in which two men faced imminent evisceration have to decide whether to sacrifice one of themselves or their two-timing girlfriend.

(Considering the huge base of young men who constitute the franchise’s core audience, you can pretty much guess how it goes.)

From there, two parallel story lines emerge. The first involves a best-selling, self-help guru, Bobby Dragen (Sean Patrick Flanery), who runs support groups for former Jigsaw sufferers despite the fact that his own tale is fictional.

The other involves Jigsaw’s evil accomplice Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who continues the twisted genius’ legacy even while pursuing personal vendettas against Jigsaw’s widow (Betsy Russell) and seemingly the entire police department.

Unlike most of the previous installments, which featured a diverse set of victims, “Saw 3D” concentrates mainly on Bobby’s efforts to save his wife by running a gauntlet of grisly “games” threatening his girlfriend and hapless associates.

The filmmakers’ cleverness seems to be lagging here, as most of the traps lack the Rube Goldberg-style cleverness that marked the series, although the blood and guts quotient certainly remains high.

And while Jigsaw is undeniably old-school, isn’t it about time he graduated from cassette tapes to CDs to deliver his ominous messages?

It’s unfortunate that the creators killed off their villain so early in the series, since Mandylor’s Hoffman is an exceedingly bland stand-in. That’s demonstrated about halfway through the film in a flashback sequence in which the charismatic Tobin Bell makes a brief appearance, providing more electricity to the proceedings in a few minutes of quiet conversation than all of the horrific episodes combined.

Although shot in 3D, the visual impact is negligible, with viewers only occasionally having to duck the odd bit of viscera or entrails thrown their way.

Longtime fans will certainly appreciate the return of Cary Elwes’ Dr. Gordon, a character who was tormented by Jigsaw in the original film and who here is instrumental in the clever final plot twist.

original post: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69T02Y20101030

We have been given a barrage of release dates in the past few days as studios hurriedly fill out their 2011 and 2012 release slates. Lionsgate has finally chimed in with a set release date for its reboot Conan, which will hit theaters on August 19th of 2011.

That same date is also shared by Robert Rodriguez‘s family friendly sequel Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, as well as the teen oriented reboot Fright Night.

Its doubtful that Conan will receive the R rating shared by its first theatrical incarnation Conan The Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even back in 1984, Universal was smart enough to know that both Conan andSchwarzenegger appealed to kids and adults alike, giving the sequel Conan the Destroyer a PG rating.

We may see Conan take a similar approach, toning down its violence and sexuality for a PG-13 rating. Which would put it in direct competition with Fright Night. Then again, the advanced photos coming in have already shown enough nudity to get the reboot an R. If that’s the case, the weekend of August 19th will be rounded out quite nicely, with a late summer film for every demographic.

Director Marcus Nispel has shot a more faithful adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s fictional world, and with Conan we should get a more accurate portrayal of the character, as played by Jason Momoa.

Conan comes to theaters August 19th, 2011 and stars Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang,Ron Perlman, Rachel Nichols, Leo Howard, Saïd Taghmaoui, Bob Sapp. The film is directed by Marcus Nispel.

original post: http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEbQV1gIkWp4ei

It has been a roller-coaster year for 3-D and the technology’s most fervent evangelist, Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of DreamWorks Animation. In the first few months of 2010, Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time with $2.8 billion in ticket sales. It seemed that 3-D had made a critical and business breakthrough into the mainstream.

But in April Clash of the Titans hit theaters. Audiences got a horrifying glimpse of what it can look like when a studio slaps a movie into 3-D after it has been filmed. Characters looked like “bad, cardboard cutouts,” said one reviewer. A 3-D backlash set in. Critics asserted the average $3.25 extra ticket price chases away moviegoers. Online publication Slate argued the ratio of per screen revenue for 3-D versus 2-D was shrinking dramatically. Roger Ebert wrote for Newsweek, “Why I Hate 3-D (And You Should Too).” Doubly insulting were 3-D movies like Cats & Dogs and Piranha–lousy and expensive to see, says analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG research. When you do that, he adds, “you run the risk of alienating your core consumer base.”

All nonsense, responds Katzenberg, the 59-year-old DreamWorks chief executive. Putting on his rose-colored glasses, Katzenberg believes that within the next 20 years everything we look at, from billboards to movies to cellphone screens, will be in 3-D.

“There are naysayers out there,” he says. “There are people who are in 100% denial about this. But it’s over. Game over. Touchdown. 3-D won.”

Katzenberg, of course, is extremely motivated to make that audacious prediction, hyperbolic or not. Every DreamWorks Animation movie is now in 3-D. His latest, Megamind, hits theaters Nov. 5. His company needs widespread acceptance of 3-D to flourish.

Earnings have jumped from $15 million in 2006 to $151 million for 2009, while revenues rocketed from $395 million to $725 million. For the past six years DreamWorks has averaged one movie per year in the top ten by domestic box office. By the end of 2010 DreamWorks Animation has a good chance of landing three in the top ten. Shrek Forever After and How to Train Your Dragon are already ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.

The movie industry welcomes Katzenberg’s evangelizing because it badly needs those extra revenues. DVD sales have shrunk 19% since 2006. 3-D is beginning to slowly make up for that loss, constituting nearly 20% of the $8 billion in box office revenues so far this year, up from 11% in 2009, according to Screen Digest. The production cost of a 3-D movie is 10% to 20% higher than that of a regular film. But it could pay off. Jackass 3 (in 3-D) earned 40% more in its opening weekend than Jackass 2.

Meanwhile whole markets are growing around 3-D in the home. Eyewear companies like Oakley are rolling out lines of 3-D glasses that will sell for as much as $150 a pair. Nintendo has a 3-D handheld game system in the works. So far this year consumers have spent $1.2 billion on 3-D television and DVD players, but that growth will stall without more home 3-D content.

Katzenberg has a long history in Hollywood. In the late ’80s he helped Michael Eisner turn Disney around as head of the company’s studio. He later started DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and took the animation division public in 2004. (DreamWorks SKG is now its own ministudio with a distribution deal with Disney.)

“I was blown away by how visceral the experience was, how exhilarating it made me feel,” says Katzenberg, his signature Diet Coke nearby in his office at DreamWorks’ Glendale, Calif. campus. “This is an opportunity . . . to make our movies more engaging and interesting, more emotional and unique.”

But the technology wasn’t advanced enough. The Polar Express could be shown in 3-D only on Imax screens. So Katzenberg started talking to anyone who would listen about the promise of mass-market 3-D. That included filmmakers like James Cameron, theater owners and technology experts.

“He’s a 3-D ambassador like no other,” says Greg Foster, president of Imax. “He picks up the phone and calls theaters individually.”

Katzenberg brought studios and exhibitors together to craft a cost- sharing solution to pay for digital 3-D-enabled projectors. Today 15% of screens in the U.S. can show 3-D movies, with 500 more added every month.

Katzenberg is mystified by the sharp knives that are being pointed–prematurely, in his view–at 3-D. “We’re only two to three years into the adaptation of this technology,” he says. He concedes that some of the gripes are legitimate, particularly complaints that 3-D glasses dim the image on the screen. But he says that the next generation of digital projectors, using lasers instead of lightbulbs, will mitigate that problem.

As for people like Ebert who complain about the look of 3-D movies, well, Katzenberg feels there isn’t much he can do about that. “Okay, I get it. He aesthetically finds it intrusive to his movie-watching experience,” says Katzenberg. “He can see Megamind in 2-D.”

Other complaints he dismisses out of hand, especially anything to do with the price hike for 3-D tickets. Katzenberg insists there’s been no price resistance from audiences and in fact believes that in a better economy theater owners would be able to charge even more. Katzenberg points out that consumers can always see the movie in 2-D. “We’re not saying if you don’t fly first class you can’t fly,” he says. “We have coach.”

Hollywood could shoot itself in the foot if it continues to release eyeball-challenging movies like Clash of the Titans. But the industry seems to be getting the message. Warner Bros., which released that movie, recently announced it’s abandoning its effort to convert the next Harry Potter movie into 3-D, saying it couldn’t meet quality standards. Just what Katzenberg wanted to hear.

by Dorothy Pomerantz

original post: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1108/focus-jeffrey-katzenberg-dreamworks-3-d-evangelist_print.html

Digital cinema is seeing dramatic growth in Latin America. As of September 2010, the region had roughly 830 to 850 3D digital screens (almost double the amount one year ago). Sixty percent are concentrated in Mexico (with a majority 42%) and Brazil.

Compared with last September, the countries with the highest increases in the number of 3D projectors are Colombia (a fourfold rise, from 15 to 60), Argentina (tripled, from 23 to 75), the whole of Central America and the Caribbean (tripled, too: 31 to 90), Brazil (from 75 to 150), and Venezuela (from four to 12).

For films released both in 3D and 35mm, 50% of box office, on average, comes from 3D showings (even when 3D screens account for only 7-10% of the commercial screens in the country).

However, the number of 3D screens is still limited. Mexico, the biggest Latin American 3D exhibition market, has only 23 multiplexes with two 3D screens (and four with three digital projectors). A quarter of the 16 Argentine multiplexes with 3D screens have two in the same theatre (the highest proportion in the region). Central America and the Caribbean as a whole have 15 multiplexes with two 3D screens, and three locations with three digital projectors. Brazil has only five multiplexes with two 3D screens. The rest of the countries have only one or two multiplexes with two or more digital screens.

The combination of the lack of 3D screens and the booming demand for 3D Hollywood blockbusters fosters some tension between cinema distributors and exhibitors in terms of screens for releases, exclusivity conditions, and the length of the run.

Cinemark is the exhibition company with a presence in almost all of Latin America (12 countries), except Venezuela and small markets like Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. Cinépolis has 3D screens in Mexico (its home country), Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and, recently, Brazil. Peru’s CinePlanet is also in Chile, with subsidiary Movieland, and Argentine-Chilean Hoyts (formerly Australian-American) is located in those two Southern Cone countries.

As for 3D systems, excluding the huge Mexico market (where RealD is omnipresent), Dolby has twice as many Latin American 3D installations as RealD (around 300 versus a little more than 150). XpanD and MasterImage have a small presence: 35 and fewer than 10, respectively. Sony is starting to engage the Latin American market, with a dozen 4K projectors each in Mexico and Brazil.

Offering customers an extra attraction, Cinemark has installed its huge “XD” screens since 2009 across Latin America, but in very limited numbers. Other national chains in Brazil and Ecuador want to follow this idea, but the momentum has just begun.

National owners of 3D screens are a wide majority in the Caribbean region, and in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In Brazil, Argentina and Chile, the ratio is around 50-50.

These exhibition companies are the financiers of the digital rollout. In Latin America, there are no virtual print fees, no governmental policies supporting digital-cinema expansion, no banking facilities behind the rollout, no established third parties. Only in Brazil, the government is starting to promote financing the digital rollout through Fundo Setorial and the National Bank of Development (BNDES).

3D content has a strong presence in digital screens in Latin America, except Mexico, where they often project 2D films. (Just recently, the rest of Latin American digital screens began exhibiting 2D movies such as Inception, but digital 2D is still rare).

Alternative content is still seeking a place on Latin American digital screens. Mexico has a little experience in screening operas, sport matches (basically, soccer and football) and rock concerts, and Brazilian, Colombian, Chilean and Argentinean digital screens are beginning to come aboard. The last World Cup was a widespread event on Latin American 3D screens.

3D is also making its mark on the production side. Stronger cinema industries, especially Brazilian but also Mexican and Argentinean, are starting to create important 3D cinema productions.

The following is a country-by country analysis:

Mexico
The Aztec country has around 350 to 370 digital screens (7-8% of total screens). More than 90% of 3D screens are operated by national exhibitors. Some 65% of these belong to Cinépolis, the most important exhibitor in Mexico, while Grupo Mexico–Cinemex and MM Cinemas represent 32%; the rest are run by small exhibitors. Cinemark (as in the 35mm market) is the third important 3D exhibitor, with 6%.

Mexico City represents 30% of all Mexican digital screens. Monterrey has 7% of 3D participation. Tijuana, Puebla and Jalisco each account for 4%.
Mexico has 23 multiplexes with two digital screens and four with three digital projectors each (the highest number in the entire region).

RealD is the most common 3D system in Mexico, with almost 75% of 3D screens. XpanD has 20% of this market, and Dolby 7%. Sony 4K’s presence is still minimal.

Brazil
The big tropical country of Brazil has around 150 digital screens (7% of the total), double the number since September 2009.

60% of these belongs to national companies, but the main 3D exhibitor is Cinemark, with 50 digital screens and the more lucrative 3D screens. The next exhibitors, in terms of number of digital projectors, are Grupo Severiano Ribeiro, with 21, and Grupo Araújo, with 16. However, most exhibition companies in Brazil have no digital screens at all.

Cinépolis, the big Mexican exhibitor, finally entered the Brazilian market in June 2010, opening a multiplex with eight screens (the only Brazilian multiplex with has three digital projectors). The Mexican giant asserts that in half a year it will be one of the main exhibitors in the Brazilian market.

The Brazilian digital exhibition market is concentrated, emulating the 35mm exhibition market. The states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro represent 55% of screens, and São Paulo has a quarter of the total Brazilian digital screens. Nevertheless, in the last year, the new 3D screens were opened mainly in the state of São Paulo more than in the homonym city, with a limited number in several states in inner Brazil.

As for the 3D systems, Dolby is used in around 60% of Brazilian 3D screens, while RealD has 35% and XpanD 4-5%.

Because of the huge expenditures for the digital rollout, the 35mm exhibition market in Brazil has reduced its growth

Argentina
The land of the tango has 75 digital screens (9% of the total), tripling its 3D projectors since September 2009.

National companies own 60% of screens. But Cinemark is leading with 12, and Argentine-Chilean Hoyts and America’s Showcase Cinemas have 11 each.

A quarter of 3D screens are located in a multiplex with two digital projectors (the biggest proportion in Latin America).

The Dolby system accounts for 70% of 3D installations. RealD has almost 22% and MasterImage the rest.

Similar to the 35mm exhibition market, half of 3D screens are in the capital city, Buenos Aires, and its metropolitan area. If we add the area called “Pampa húmeda” (the richest region of the country, which includes Buenos Aires, with around one-third of the national territory), we find there 81% of Argentinean digital screens.

Colombia
Colombia has around 60 digital screens, four times more than one year ago.

National companies have 84% of these screens. CineColombia, the big national exhibitor, represents 43%. Other important companies are national Royal Films and Procinal. Cinemark has nine digital projectors.

RealD and Dolby almost divide the market’s 3D systems: 60/40.

Capital city Bogotá has around 40% of digital screens. Adding the most important cities in the country, Medellín and Cali, the proportion grows to 65%.

Central America and the Caribbean
Central America and the Caribbean, taken as a whole, have around 90 digital screens (tripling the number of one year ago).

Puerto Rico is the leading country, with 35% of regional 3D screens. Costa Rica has 13% and the Dominican Republic 12%. The rest are spread over 13 smaller countries and territories.

Mexican Cinépolis and Cinemark are present in all Central America, with around a dozen 3D screens for each company. On the other side, Puerto Rican company Caribbean Cinemas has digital projectors in all Caribbean islands.

Other countries
The rest of Latin America (Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) ranges from 10 to 30 digital screens in each country. Except for Chile, in all of those markets national companies lead the 3D market.

The rule in the above-mentioned countries is that the capital city, plus one or two of the richest cities, have the highest proportion of digital projectors. Dolby is the preferred 3D system.

The Statistics

Digital screens:
830 to 850 (almost 100% with 3D systems) in 21 countries and territories.
60% of Latin American digital screens are in just two countries: 42% in Mexico and 18% in Brazil

2009-2010:
Colombia: four times more digital screens
Argentina and Central America/Caribbean: tripled
Brazil: doubled

Latin American digital screens are:
7-10% of the 35mm exhibition market in their countries.
Except for Mexico and Colombia, Dolby is the preferred 3D system in Latin America.

Roque González is a research analyst for Fundación Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano and a PhD candidate at Universidad Nacional de La Plata. He works with Octavio Getino in Observatorio del Cine y el Audiovisual Latinoamericano and coordinates the regional research Cine latinoamericano y nuevas tecnologías (Latin American Cinema and New Technologies) for Fundación Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano.

-By Roque González, Oct. 7, 2010

original post: http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/features/cinemas/e3id73c9c33f5de4e11b1cd9b4cbdda54a9

New York-based Oscar-winning film director Ang Lee announced in Taipei Friday that 70 percent of his new 3D movie “Life of PI” will be filmed in Taiwan.

“The filming of the fantasy adventure movie is scheduled to start at the Shuinan Airport in central Taiwan’s Taichung City in January 2011,” the Taiwan-born director said at a news conference.

Speaking at the same occasion, Government Information Office Minister Johnny Chiang said he was very pleased to see Lee return to Taiwan with a production crew to shoot a film after having worked abroad and achieved international fame for more than a decade.

“We hope Lee’s new movie will help our film industry forge new links with the international community,” Chiang said.

Lee said the idea of shooting the “Life of PI” in Taiwan came to him last year when he returned to attend the annual Golden Horse Film Festival.

“At first, I felt a bit uneasy because it will be an epic film with a grand scale and will involve three tricky elements — water, children and animals. I was not sure then whether Taiwan would be an ideal place for location shooting,” Lee said.

Much to his surprise, Lee said, 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. decided to have the film shot in Taiwan and India after an overall evaluation.

In the past few days, Lee and a 150-member production team searched Taiwan for suitable filming sites.

“All crew members have a good impression of Taiwan, which left me feeling flattered,” Lee said.

The film will be a 3D version of the novel of the same name by Indian writer Yann Martel. It tells the story of 16-year-old Indian boy PI Patel’s life story of adventure, survival and faith after a harrowing shipwreck on his way from India to Canada.

The boy drifted in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days before reaching Mexico.

As beaches in the Kenting National Park on the southern tip of Taiwan closely resemble Mexico coasts portrayed in the prize-winning novel, Lee said he will arrange for PI Patel to land at Kenting in the film.

The filming in Taiwan will take place from Jan. 3 to the end of May next year, Lee said, with the movie scheduled to be screened worldwide in December 2010.

A 17-year-old Indian youth has been selected to play the role of PI Patel. (By Amy Huang and Sofia Wu) enditem/ls

Customers of Verizon FiOS TV will have access to a range of 3D feature films available on demand starting next month, with titles such asDisney’s A Christmas Carol and Bolt.

Starting November 16 with Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore, FiOS will be offering a total of ten movies done in 3D. Further titles for November include Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons from Walt Disney Pictures, as well as Center of the Earth, Under the Sea, Deep Sea and NASCAR from Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. In December, FiOS customers can view Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Step Up 3D on demand. More titles will follow early next year.

“Verizon is continuing to develop 3D experiences for our FiOS TV customers, and now that includes access to video-on-demand titles available at their convenience,” said Tricia Lynch, the director of content strategy and acquisition for Verizon. “This selection of 3D movies allows our customers to see what 3D on FiOS TV is really like—with the advanced picture quality and sound that makes FiOS the ultimate home-entertainment experience.”

By Kristin Brzoznowski

original post: http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/27560

Can you manipulate the 3D positioning of video tracks in 3D space?
You can do this in a couple of different ways in Vegas Pro 10. First, you can use the 3D track and parent compositing tools that have been included in Vegas Pro for several versions. These tools enable you to create 3D perspective and manipulate tracks on three-dimensional planes.

Now, with the new stereoscopic 3D editing tools, you can also adjust and add 3D depth to your projects. You can use the Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to change the horizontal offset of your stereoscopic clips and subclips to bring the 3D image closer to or farther away from the plane of the viewing screen. You can use the same filter to create 3D depth on the text and other 2D elements in your 3D project. These elements will still be flat (since they’re two dimensional), but you can use the same tools to place them in front of or behind the screen plane.

Finally, you can use the new Stereoscopic 3D Camera tools in the Track and Parent Motion windows to adjust the depth of tracks that you have placed in 3D space with the 3D compositing tools mentioned above.

Will it be possible to author 3D DVDs or Blu-Ray discs in DVD Architect using video that you created in Vegas?
Yes. Since you can render your 3D projects out in any of the supported render formats, you can render them for import into DVD Architect and then burn them to DVD or Blu-ray disc. However, the current version of DVD Architect does not create 3D Blu-ray discs (3D BD) for Hi-definition 3D on Blu-ray. So, while yes you can burn a Blu-ray disc that contains 3D content, you cannot yet use DVD Architect to create a hi-definition 3D BD disc.

Would it be possible to create a simulated 3D from a standard AVI?
You can use the Stereoscopic 3D adjust filter to create horizontal offset on a 2D clip. This enables you to move the clip back and forth from the screen plane. In some cases, depending upon the nature of the footage you’re using, this may create an acceptable 3D effect, but there is no tool in Vegas Pro 10 for “turning 2D into 3D.”

Does Vegas 10 use a motion tracker?
There is no built-in motion tracker in Vegas Pro 10. However, there are third-party motion tracking tools that work as plug-ins to Vegas Pro. For instance, the new Boris Continuum Complete 7 plug-in from Boris FX works great with Vegas Pro 10 and does a very robust job of motion tracking.

Does Vegas Pro 10 support the Cineform Neo3D codec?
Yes. Vegas Pro 10 can open Neo3D with the free NeoPlayer, or with NeoHD, Neo4K, or Neo3D installed. You can render Neo3D with any of NeoHD, Neo4K, or Neo3D installed.

Can you set up Vegas to always use Stereo 3D when you open a new project?
Yes. In the Video tab of the Project Properties dialog box, set your properties the way you want them. Then, select the Start all new projects with these settings checkbox and click OK. Now every time you start a new project, it will start with the property settings you specified.

Does Vegas Pro 10 support using the NVidia 3D cards as a Secondary Windows Display? Will there be support for Nvidia 3D Vision or Quadbuffer OpenGL for 3D preview?
At this time, we support nVIDIA 3D Vision Pro or 3D Vision for Quadro setups.

How can I render a 3D project with two separate video streams for left and right?
If you want to render your 3D project to two separate files (one for Left-eye and one for Right-eye), then (in the Render As dialog box) click the Custom button. In the Custom Settings dialog box, click the Project tab. Now, select ‘Left only’ from the Stereoscopic 3D mode drop-down list. Next, repeat these steps and in the Project tab of the Custom Settings dialog, select Right only from the Stereoscopic 3D mode drop-down list.

If you’ll frequently need to override your project property settings with this setting in the future, create a custom template with these settings so that you don’t have to perform this customization step every time. When you’re done, click OK to dismiss the Custom Settings dialog box and continue your render as normal.

Do the new stereoscopic 3D tools in Vegas work with generated media or text? For example, can I create a lower third in Stereo 3D?
Yes. You can apply the new Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to a 2D image (including generated text and graphic media) and adjust the Horizontal Offset value to move the image in front of or behind the screen plane. You can also use the new Stereoscopic 3D Camera properties on a track that you’ve set into 3D compositing mode (with either the Track or Parent Motion tools) to move your 3D tracks closer or further away.

In a stereoscopic 3D project, does the Stereoscopic 3D Adjust plug-in filter have tools to make adjustments to parallax?
Yes. You can use the Horizontal Offset slider to move the two images closer together or further apart (thus adjusting the parallax). This moves the resulting 3D image closer to or further from the screen plane (both above and below screen level).

Does Vegas 10 pro support 3D compositing through layering?
Yes. While Vegas has supported 3D compositing for some time, the new dimension added in Vegas Pro 10 is the addition of a stereoscopic 3D camera for 3D track compositing. What this means is that Vegas will compute the 3D track compositing from two different virtual camera positions, creating true stereoscopic 3D output based on the positions and depths of your elements in 3D space.

What software creates these to begin with or is it used with a stereoscopic rig?
There are three stereoscopic 3D scenarios. First, you could have a single file with two streams of video. These files could be created by a single video camera that has two lenses (there are a few of these on the market already). Each lens shoots the image from a slightly different angle and the video from each is stored on separate streams in the resulting video file.
Second, you may have a single file with a single stream of video. The left and right video material is somehow separated in these files, for instance side by side or one above the other. Some cameras shoot this type of file and they can also be created with software tools.

The third scenario — and perhaps most common at this time for Vegas Pro users — is where you have two separate files that were shot on two separate cameras which were mounted next to each other on some sort of 3D camera rig. Vegas Pro 10 supports all of these scenarios.

Can I preview on a professional external monitor while editing a 3D project in Vegas Pro?
Absolutely! You can use the Preview on External Device tools to send your output to your 3D monitor. You can also set your Preview Device preferences to use either the project stereoscopic 3D mode that you established when you set your project up as 3D, or override the project settings and use whatever stereoscopic 3D mode your professional external monitor supports, even if that mode is different than the mode you’re using to preview your project in the Vegas Pro Video Preview window.

Is this 3D technology the old type where you have to wear the blue and red lens glasses to see it, or the new technology for creating it?
Vegas Pro 10 supports both “old” and “new” technologies. The “old blue and red lens type” you’re referring to is anaglyphic 3D technology and Vegas Pro supports red/cyan, green/magenta, and amber/blue anaglyphic modes (red/cyan is the most common and likely the one that you refer to in your question).

In addition, Vegas Pro supports stereoscopic 3D modes that require polarized 3D glasses and even the sophisticated active-shutter glasses that (arguably) give the best-quality 3D viewing experience.

Can you explain the differences between 3D glasses? For example, why are their red and blue glasses and what’s different between these and the ones they use at movie theaters? Are there other types of 3D glasses?
There are three common types of 3D glasses in use now. Each of these glasses do the same basic thing: they filter video information before it reaches your eyes so that your left eye sees something different than your right eye does, thus causing your brain to perceive the image in 3D.

The “red and blue” glasses that you mention are actually red and cyan and they come from a class of stereoscopic 3D called anaglyphic. These glasses work by filtering out specific colors from the video so that the left eye sees a differently colored image than the right eye does.

Another type of 3D glasses uses polarized lenses to filter the video information before it reaches your eyes. These require a special display that polarizes certain pixels for one eye and certain pixels for the other eye.

A third type is called active shutter. These glasses (the most sophisticated of the bunch because they can support high-definition 3D) have lenses that actually open and close extremely rapidly in alternating succession. You use them to watch a video monitor that sends the left and right eye information in an alternating succession that exactly matches that of the glasses so that when the monitor sends out the right eye image, only the right shutter on your glasses is open, so only your right eye sees the image. Then both monitor and glasses switch to the left eye, then back to the right. Of course, this all happens so rapidly that you don’t perceive it and you see a cohesive 3D image.

You can deliver format-agnostic content (like side by side) that can be watched using different technologies. For example, YouTube 3D takes side by side but the playback viewer can reformat it for different monitor technologies. Side by side on a BD or DVD can be watched on a passive polarized monitor or on an active glasses monitor. Vegas Pro 10 enables you to render files that will work with any of these types of glasses.

If a Stereoscopic 3D video is shot with two cameras, can these be any regular cameras?
Yes. There doesn’t have to be anything special about the individual cameras. However, you’ll get the best results if you use the identical model camera for both and use identical settings on the cameras so that the images they shoot will be as closely matched as possible.

You’ll also want to make sure that the cameras are mounted together in a very specific manner so that you don’t have alignment problems. Vegas Pro 10 features the new Stereoscopic 3D Adjust filter to solve many alignment problems, but it’s best not to have the problems to begin with!

Does Vegas 10 import and export 3D-avi files as generated by the Fujifilm W3 camera? Can these be edited on a single timeline and then exported as 3D-avi or side-by-side and individual left & right files. What levels of compression are available?
Vegas Pro 10 supports files from the Fuljifilm W3. These files can be edited on the timeline just like any other files. You can create the side-by-side and individual left & right files. However, Vegas does not render to the 2-stream AVI files. The level of compression is based on the format and template selected.

More info in this PDF:

Editing Stereoscopic 3D in Vegas Pro 10  ( http://sony-589.vo.llnwd.net/dspcdn/whitepapers/vegaspro10_3d.pdf )

source: http://3dcinecast.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-features-of-vegas-pro-10.html