[Philip Lelyveld comment: Sony created this fact sheet in response to recent stories (original here and a follow-up here) critical of the Sony digital projection experience in theatres.  Thanks to Wendy Aylsworth for the link.]

[by Sony]

Sony projection systems are designed to deliver a bright image, with stunning resolution, for the moviegoer.

Hopefully, the below information will clarify the inaccurate information that is currently circulating on the web.

General:

• Sony projection systems are capable of both 2D and 3D projection with a 3D lens or 2D with a 2D lens.
• 3D projection utilizes RealD technology.

Lens technology:

• Sony projectors do not rapidly alternate two images. Our system displays both left and right eye images at the same time, all the time.
• Polarized glasses allow the viewer to continuously see the left image with the left eye and the right image with the right eye, thereby mimicking the way our eyes naturally see in 3D.
• Some other systems alternate the images, but Sony systems do not.
• Sony 3D systems are not the only ones with two beams of light. Any double-stacked system would have two beams, as would a RealD XL cinema system on other projectors.

Lens change:

• It takes less than 20 minutes for a trained technician to change the lens.
• Sony has a system in development to make the change even simpler.
• If there are cases where it is not possible to change the lens, the 3D lens will play back 2D content.
• If the system is setup for 4.5fL (studio recommended) in 3D, it will play 2D content at about 14fl without glasses and filters, which falls well within the SMPTE spec of 14fL +/- 3flL.
• RealD filters for Sony systems only reduce the light by about 20%, because light out of the Sony projector is already polarized, unlike our competitors.
• Removing the 3D glasses has the most effect on the visible light.
• Changing a lens does not require entering the projection system. Lenses are changed from the front of the projector.
• There is no security risk, nor is there danger of shutting down the system.
• Projector operators are required to login, on all digital cinema systems, by the DCI Specification.

Financing:

• While we are not at liberty to discuss the details of specific customer transactions, most of our customers work with integrators, using the well-known Virtual Print Fee (VPF) model.
• We sell our projectors to those integrators.
• Sony is also an integrator, offering VPF agreements directly to exhibitors.
• We do not negotiate the exchange of projectors for pre-show advertising.

See the original web post here: http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/mkt-digitalcinema/resource.solutions.bbsccms-assets-mkt-digicinema-solutions-SonyDigitalCinema4KTheFacts.shtml

See the full text of the patent here: http://patents.com/us-7944465.html

[Press Release]

Zecotek Photonics Inc. (ZMS – TSX Venture, W1I – Frankfurt),a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for medical, industrial and scientific markets, today announced that patent number 7,944,465 has been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its glasses-free 3D auto-stereoscopic display system.   The U.S. patent grant adds to a growing number of global patents and patent applications which serves to significantly strengthen Zecotek’s worldwide patent position in its innovative photonics technology.

“Protection of our intellectual property is of the highest priority to Zecotek and receiving the U.S. patent for our glasses-free 3D display system represents a key step in the commercialization of this unique technology,” said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc.  ”With a number of significant technical barriers preventing the development of a true 3D display, the U.S. patent protects our innovative glasses-free approach to 3D display technology.  Our 3D auto-stereoscopic display offers a real volumetric 3D viewing experience with one of the widest viewing angles and the highest resolution compared to competing technologies.  We will continue to pursue full commercialization of this technology with a strategic partner.”

The new patent covers the use of equipment for the reproduction of static and moving 3D stereo representations with the capability of recording and transmitting stereo representations of 3D scenes.  Zecotek’s “patented” Real-Time 3D Display System is based on the auto-stereoscopic principle, but with substantial innovative.  It has the capability of simultaneously presenting to multiple users both 3D and 2D images on the same screen with separate views and at different viewing angles.  The 3D display system provides comfortable conditions for viewing a volumetric representation without eye strain.  The viewing of such 3D images does not require the use of any supplementary means such as glasses, does not drastically limit the position of the viewer with respect to the display, and allows simultaneous viewing of the 3D display by many viewers from a sufficiently wide field of view.

Patents have now been granted to Zecotek for its 3D display system in the United States and Australia. Patents have been filed and are pending in Japan, China, Korea, India, Russia and major countries in Europe.

About Zecotek’s Real-Time 3D Display System 
Zecotek’s 3D Display System is based on the auto-stereoscopic principle, but with substantial innovative and patented improvements and represents a new and unique generation of 3D displays. It has the capability of simultaneously presenting 3D and 2D images on the same screen, and for separate views at different viewing angles. Zecotek’s true, auto-stereoscopic 3D2D display system requires no eyewear and has an effective viewing angle of 40 degrees with 90 concurrent perspectives allowing for multiple views at the same time. Another unique feature of the Zecotek system is constant motion parallax within the viewing angle. Motion parallax eliminates the sense of imbalance and dizziness during normal observation which can occur with polarized and shutter glasses used with other commercial systems.

About Zecotek 
Zecotek Photonics Inc (TSX-V: ZMS; Frankfurt: W1I) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance crystals, photo detectors, medical lasers, optical imaging and 3D display technologies for commercial applications in the medical diagnostics and high-tech industry.  Founded in 2003, the company has three distinct operating divisions: medical imaging, medical lasers and 3D display and labs located in Canada, Singapore and Russia.  Zecotek commercializes its novel, patented and patent-pending bio-photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances and joint ventures with multinational OEMs, distributors and other industry leaders.  For more information, please visit www.zecotek.com.

See the press release here: http://www.usetdas.com/TDAS/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=17602

[by Adrian Pennington]

The recently-released feature documentary about the 2010 TT motorcycle race was made using a combination of Red camera footage, stills, hi-speed and timelapse photography, 2D conversions and HD broadcast rushes, writes Adrian Pennington.

TT3D: Closer to the Edge was shot over five days of the Tourist Trophy race on the Isle of Man, putting immense pressure on the production team to capture the action.

Principal photography of the April theatrical release was made with two P+S Freestyle units using twin Red cameras and Ultra Primes and Optimo zooms. “There was no way we could cover the 37.5 mile circuit over the whole five days with two units so we had to get creative,” explains Chris Parks, project stereographer and partner in Vision3. “We needed to be in the right place at the right time and operate at break-neck speed since this was very much a one-take only situation.

“We used a lightweight rig, and shot up to 35 set ups a day which for 3D is pretty radical,” he reports. “We put the cameras on dollies with sliders, on a steadicam, a steadicam on rickshaw dollies – anything to get the camera moving around quickly and rapidly in line with a documentary feel.”

The production deployed an array of other acquisition techniques. Timelapse was shot at one second intervals on a pair of stills cameras rigged side by side; a high speed unit used Photron Ultima APX cameras at 2000fps and HD video from a camera mounted on one of the bikes for a point of view shot was post converted. The feature also uses footage from 27 XDCAM HD cameras shot by production outfit North One as part of its ITV4 coverage, also post converted.

“We tried to make a virtue of the different formats rather than worry about them all looking the same,” says Parks. “We knew North One would capture any aspect of the story we missed so we could combine our footage with the best of theirs to complete the narrative.”

Parks crafted the 3D to the mood of the race which can be at times exhilarating and tragic as every year a number of racers and members of the watching public incur fatal accidents during the event.

“It is a very emotional occasion with enormous adrenalin rushes and real lows since death is always present,” says Parks. “We chose to reflect that in high contrasts by using much more depth during the high points to give the 3D a tangible feel. If you get 3D right it makes your hair stand up on the back of your neck.

“When there are low points we slackened the 3D off, making the scene less stimulating much in the way a DP might use lighting to flatten a mood or provide a less saturated feel in contrast to more upbeat sections. With interviews to camera we wanted the audience to concentrate on the rider’s words, so we reduced the 3D effect at those points also.”

Devising solutions

For sports action a long telephoto lens would normally be used to get in close and achieve a shallow depth of field but that style is almost the antithesis of ‘good 3D’ in which the foreground and background are more distinctly separated.

“Longer lenses tend to create a ‘cardboardy’ 3D effect but we wanted to try and get that sense of movement and shallow depth of field so we designed one shot on a side by side rig with 560mm zooms at an 18 inch inter-axial in order to capture bikes coming over a hill,” explains Parks. “3D is at its most effective when the shot is wide and close but we had to balance that with the requirements of health and safety. We were fortunate to get access to some amazing positions.

“The biggest challenge was staying mobile with heavy equipment and a slimmed down crew, having to work quickly and change lenses quickly so as not to miss anything,” Parks says. “We had to devise solutions to make the filmmakers vision a reality. Hopefully we proved that as long as it’s planned properly and executed well then anything is possible in 3D.”

Post production editorial had their own independent cutting room at Goldcrest running two Avid Media composers off a Unity. They also transcoded the Red material in-house to Avid DNxHD36 for editing. 4K London provided the DIT service on location then handed a copy of the raw rushes to editorial.

Editorial also used a JVC 46″ 3D monitor to review 3D cuts. Editor Beverly Mills cut in 2D then Martin Corbett the assistant editor performed a 3D offline conform in the other Avid, checking frame sync and applying a basic convergence setting to make the material watchable.

Vision3’s Angus Cameron provided editorial advice on problematic shots, cutting for 3D and built up a master database for the online of stereo work to be completed. Post was done at Technicolor where the producer was Kim Honeyman, colourist Paul Ensby and stereo work by David Johnston. Work was mainly completed on Baselight with additional stereo fixes on Smoke. An LG 46″ 3D screen was used for prep and a RealD projection for the depth grade and final approvals. The post conversion of around 50 shots was handled at Dimenxion. Deliverables included a 2D and 3D DCP. The film was made through Cinema NX, the film financing and production company supported by the Isle of Man Government. TT3D: Closer to the Edge is directed by Richard de Aragues and produced by Steve Christian and Marc Samuelson

See the original story here: http://www.tvbeurope.com/main-content/full/racing-to-capture-3d-action

[by StereoscopyNews.com]

At Computex 2011, Asus unveiled its news 3D EEE Pad MeMo featuring a very bright 7-inches 1024×600 display with autostereoscopic 3D (no glasses needed!). The screen technology is stated as “parallax barrier 3D overlay”.

The EEE Pad MeMo 3D tablet  has a 5 megapixels camera on the back and a 1 Mpixel front camera. Expect Full HD video available through the integrated HDMI port.

Read more and watch several hi-res pictures and the 4 minutes video interview in Engadget. Price and availability date are still unknown at this point but we expect a 500 to 700 $ price and an end-of-June release date.

See the original post here: http://stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/3d-technology/software-a-hardware-tools/1589-asus-3d-tablet-released-at-computex-2011.html

[by ComputerAnd VideoGames.com]

The producer of FIFA 12 3D has told Official Nintendo Magazinethat EA’s forthcoming 3DS football game will feature downloadable content available via SpotPass.

“We are not utilising StreetPass but we’ll have a day one kit and roster update to make sure we are fully authentic for the new season and SpotPass is one of the ways that you can download the update,” Matt Prior told ONM.

Prior added that he’s more interested in making sure the gameplay is solid than utilising all of 3DS’s features.

“We looked into all of the unique 3DS features early in the development cycle but with our first foray into FIFA on the 3DS we wanted to make sure we got the fundamentals right and focused on getting the core game solid while at the same time innovating in key areas.

“We did this by developing a lot of content and modes and developing the gameplay with unique 3DS features which we have done with the addition of touchscreen shooting. We wanted to focus on getting those things right and creating a very solid and fun gameplay experience.”

One thing EA won’t be supporting with FIFA 12 3D is online multiplayer. Still, EA believes that it will be the best 3DS football game yet.

See the original post here: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/303843/news/fifa-12-3d-to-support-spotpass/

[BY SUSAN KING, LOS ANGELES TIMES]

Director Greg MacGillivray knows a thing or two about shooting large-format films in tough locations: For 1998′s “Everest,” for example, he designed a lightweight, all-weather Imax camera to take up the highest mountain on Earth. But he says his new Imax movie, “Arabia 3D,” opening Friday at the California Science Center, was his hardest endeavor.

“At times we were in 120-degree heat” in the Saudi desert, recalled MacGillivray, 65. “When we would change rolls, which is every three minutes, we would actually put a tent over the camera. We had a tent that was tied down and then we would lift it up and over the camera, so that the camera assistant could change film in the tent where dust wasn’t blowing around.

“That worked fine, except that it would get to be 130 degrees inside the tent, so he would come out sweating. There were these huge sandstorms that curtailed filming. I tried to film in them and got nice shots, but you end up not knowing where you are.”

The first major film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, the 45-minute movie spans 2,000 years of history and the three “golden ages” of Arabia: the Nabatean Empire, the Islamic Age, and the current era of oil wealth and technological development (which also touches on women’s struggle for equality).

The country and its history are seen through the eyes of Hamzah Jamjoon, a Saudi native and 26-year-old MFA film student at Chicago’s DePaul University.

He sets out across the country to explore its history and cultural and geographic diversity.

The Oscar-nominated MacGillivray, who also produced “Arabia 3D,” said the film “was a different kind of hard” than the Everest film.

“We didn’t have to climb up to the top of Everest with a camera” this time, he said, “but dealing with permits and the size of the country and getting actually permissions and keeping them” was difficult.

Obtaining “the helicopter permit so we could shoot aerials – it took us over a year of actual day-to-day to work, hundreds of meetings. I had a guy living in Riyadh, the capital, for three months banging on doors every day. . . . They don’t have any infrastructure” for filmmaking.

MacGillivray said the genesis of the film was the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Some Arab American business people were embarrassed by the fact that 15 out of the 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabians and Osama bin Laden was from Saudi background,” he said.

These businessmen approached MacGillivray’s company, MacGillivray Freeman Films, about making an Imax movie for Western audiences that would help shed light on Arabs and the Muslim culture. MacGillivray acknowledged that he was worried at first they would want to turn it into a propaganda piece.

“I said I think I can do it if I get complete freedom and complete autonomy and don’t have to go through the government and things don’t need to be approved by the king,” he said. “They said we can assure you of that. They gave me complete autonomy to figure out the story.”

MacGillivray had never been to Saudi Arabia. So he set out with his wife and longtime collaborator, Barbara, the researcher for the screenplay, to visit the country as well as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Oman.

Not only did they fall in love with the landscape, they were also taken with the warmth of the Saudis. And MacGillivray came up with “a way to fashion a film that could communicate in a 45-minute sequence what being an Arab is and what Islam is and try to get across the fact that they are not much different from us. They have a lot of things they are working on like women’s rights, and there is progress being made there.”

However, women still are not allowed to drive or vote and must have a male guardian regardless of their age. The lack of equality is one of the main reasons MacGillivray selected Helen Mirren to narrate and included Nimah Nawwab, a women’s activist and poet, in the film.

“I always wanted a woman to narrate from a kind of women’s perspective,” he said. “That is why Nimah is a central character. . . . She could tell her true feelings in terms of women’s rights and what she wants out of it. She’s traveled the world and knows what (Saudi) women can’t do. She realizes that it’s changing but she wishes it would change more swiftly.”

Saudi Arabia has one Imax theater, in Al Khobar on the Persian Gulf at the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Center, and MacGillivray is hopeful that it will open there this year.

One businessman funding the film recommended Jamjoon, who graduates this summer, to MacGillivray as a crew member. But MacGillivray was taken with the young man and his movie star looks and thought he would be a perfect on-screen guide.

“Having him travel around the country in a kind of travel movie sense gives the audience more of a sense of time and place,” said MacGillivray.

Making the film, said Jamjoon, “has opened the door to what I really want to do in life.”

“It has been one of my dreams to make a movie about Saudi and Islam and the Arabian people,” he said. “Sadly, there are a lot of misconceptions about Muslims and Arabians in the media. I feel the need to make it easy for Western audiences to look at the Arabian culture and see the beauty of it instead of looking at it and getting scared.”

See the original post here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/31/2243197/heat-bureaucracy-made-arabia-3d.html

[by ECN]

According to the latest Quarterly Large Area TFT LCD Shipment Report –Advanced LED+3D, 3D LCD TV panel shipments increased to 1.9 million units in Q1’11, jumping 104% Q/Q. This growth represents a 3.9% penetration among all LCD TV panels shipped. In addition, panel manufacturers are aggressively working to further increase 3D TV panel penetration in 2011, targeting 16.8% penetration in Q4’11, and 12.3% for 2011.

Table 1: LCD TV Panel 2D/3D Shipment Share*

See the original post here: http://www.ecnmag.com/News/2011/05/3D-LCD-TV-Panel-Shipments-Grow-104–in-Q1’11,-DisplaySearch-Reports/

[by PressZoom]

Visitors will be propelled into a 3D journey across the solar system when they step inside the “NASA Exploration Experience” at the Strawberry Festival in Troy, Ohio, June 4-5. The exhibit demonstrates the countless rewards made possible back on Earth by NASA’s 50+ years of science, discovery and technology development.

The traveling exhibit, which uses 3D imagery and the latest interactive video technology to immerse visitors in the experience, will be located on the levee along the Great Miami River. The NASA exhibit will be open to the public on Saturday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday, June 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibit is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.

On Saturday at 9 a.m., NASA will participate in the festival’s parade, displaying its 30-foot shuttle float. Following the parade the float will be located in the NASA exhibit area.

“We hope visitors to the NASA Exploration Experience will be excited and astonished by the impact of space exploration on their everyday lives,” said Rocky Lind, communications manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “In the past five decades, NASA research and development has resulted in more than 2,000 breakthrough tools and technologies. These contributions are everywhere, in every walk of human life – from medicine and surgical procedures, to transportation systems and basic food safety and public safety solutions.”

In addition to highlighting many of these innovations, the “NASA Exploration Experience” 3D movie presentation demonstrates the physiological and technical challenges involved in sending human explorers on extended journeys to Earth orbit and beyond.

The exhibit will feature a moon rock that was retrieved by astronaut Jack Schmitt during the Apollo 17 mission. It is one of eight lunar samples made available for the public to touch.

Visitors will also see how NASA and its government, industry and academic partners around the world are developing robust science missions to new worlds and new destinations, and building next-generation launch vehicles to extend humanity’s reach across the solar system. This cinematic experience, narrated by Peter Cullen – the voice of “Optimus Prime” from the popular “Transformers” movies and cartoons – ponders the thirst for understanding that drives human voyages of discovery, and offers breathtaking glimpses into a busy future in space.

NASA employees will be on hand to answer questions and discuss how America’s space exploration activities continue to refine existing technologies and contribute new breakthroughs in areas such as power generation, computer technology, communications, networking and robotics.

Visitors can take away unique souvenirs of their NASA experience. They can either step into a Mark III spacesuit and take a photo of themselves in astronaut gear with their own camera, or stop by the “Picture Yourself in Space” photo booth for a free photo taken as an astronaut.

For more information about the traveling exhibit and NASA’s exploration mission, visit: exploration.nasa.gov

See the original post here; http://presszoom.com/story_166399.html

[by BusinessWire]

(Philip Lelyveld comment: two 3D exhibits described below)

The SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies program is home to the latest developments in technology, including haptics, displays, robotics, and artificial intelligence. This year will feature 23 of the latest innovations selected by a jury of industry experts from more than 100 submissions. Topics range from displays and input devices to collaborative environments. SIGGRAPH 2011 takes place 7-11 August at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

“The SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies program is unique in its interactive approach that allows people to experience the most cutting-edge developments first-hand,” said Cole Krumbholz, SIGGRAPH 2011 Emerging Technologies Chair and co-founder of Koduco Games. “This year, conference attendees will experience the latest achievements from industry and university research labs.”

A preview video of the SIGGRAPH 2011 Emerging Technologies program is available.

—-

Volumetric Display Based on Vibrating Mylar Beam Splitter and LED Backlit LCD

Lanny Smoot, Quinn Smithwick, and Daniel Reetz; Disney Research

This new volumetric display produces full-color, high-spatial-resolution aerial images in front of the apparatus. It is based on a new optical element: the large, tunable-resonance, edge-driven, varifocal beam splitter.

This new display technology uses a circular Mylar beam splitter and adds a tension-adjusting metal hoop pressed against its surface. The beam splitter is adjusted, with high Q, to a specific resonance frequency. Three rim-mounted impulse drivers apply low-amplitude sinusoldal drive. Due to the high Q, the diaphram’s sympathetic vibration is large. The beam splitter folds the optical path, and the system includes a fixed-curvature concave mirror to create real images that appear out in front of the apparatus.

It produces high-quality 3D images that occupy a one-third-meter cube 1/3 meter out in front of the apparatus. The image is viewable over a 30-degree viewing angle.

Potential Future Use: Advancements in 3D displays will impact many fields from medical research to gaming.

—-

True 3D Display

Hidei Kimura and Akira Asano, Burton Inc.; Issei Fujishiro and Ayaka Nakatani; Keio University

This research team was the first to use laser-plasma technology for a true-3D display device that allows users to draw 3D images in midair. Now the team has developed a much more compact and precise display, called SRV (Super Real Vision)-5000, based on advanced laser technology. One remarkable feature of the new device is its enhanced resolution: from 300 points per second to 50,000 points per second. It displays 3D objects more faithfully in real time and increases the range of possible applications.

Potential Future Use: Advancements in 3D displays will impact many fields from medical research to gaming.

See the full post here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110526006888/en/SIGGRAPH-2011-Emerging-Technologies-Interacting-Future

[by isurfWebster]

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer — picnics at the park, swimming at the beach and the latest 3D blockbuster movies coming soon to a theater near you.

There has been confusion about the affect of eye health from 3D viewing, which is not harmful. The Kentucky Optometric Association offers tips on how to minimize eye strain while watching movies and things to look for when viewing 3D that might signal an eye problem.

First, since 3D viewing is based on the eyes converging in front of or beyond the screen, viewing those images can potentially create eyestrain and headaches. Consumers can reduce the conflict by sitting at a greater distance from the screen.

Second, a viewer lacking binocular vision simply won’t see 3D. Although this doesn’t pose any problem viewing the screen, it serves as a vision screening that something is abnormal with the viewer’s binocular vision.

“That means 3D actually has a benefit,” said Dr. Joe Ellis, a doctor of optometry in Benton, Ky., and president of the American Optometric Association. “It can alert people to undetected vision disorders and eye diseases that, if caught early, are fully treatable.”

The KOA recommends seeing a doctor of optometry for further evaluation if consumers answer yes to any of the following questions:
• Is the 3D viewing experience not as vivid as it is for others watching the same picture?
• Do you experience eyestrain or headaches during or after viewing?
• Do you feel nauseous or dizzy during or after viewing?
• Are you more comfortable viewing 2D TV or movies instead of 3D TV or movies?
• Is it difficult for your eyes to adjust back to normal after watching 3D TV or movies?

For more information, visit www.3Deyehealth.org, and to find an optometrist in your area, please visit www.kyeyes.org.

See the original post here: http://www.isurfwebster.com/news/local-news/7447-optometrists-offer-tips-on-watching-3d-movies.html

About the Kentucky Optometric Association:
Doctors of optometry are located in 106 counties in Kentucky. They are highly qualified, trained doctors on the frontline of eye and vision care who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in a patient’s overall health and well-being by detecting systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Prior to optometry school, optometrists typically complete four years of undergraduate study, culminating in a bachelor’s degree. Required undergraduate coursework for pre-optometry students is extensive and covers a wide variety of advanced health, science and mathematics. Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral study concentrating on both the eye and systemic health. In addition to their formal training, doctors of optometry must undergo annual continuing education to stay current on the latest standards of care.

iSurf News
Information provided by the Kentucky Optometric Association
Posted by Karen Orange – iSurf News