[TechCrunch]

Is this finally the beginning of Japanese Android phones being made available outside their home market? Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomoyesterday announced it has inked a deal with French telco Orange to bring a Sharp Android handset to Asia and Europe.

The handset in question is a pretty nice one, the AQUOS PHONE SH80F (pictured), that Sharp introduced (together with Docomo) in Japan back in May.

In Japan, the device is called “AQUOS PHONE SH-12C” and comes with Android 2.3, two 8MP CMOS cameras, 3D video recording in 720×1280 resolution, a 4.2-inch naked-eye 3D display with 960×540 resolution, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and an HDMI connection.

I’m assuming that for the European version, Sharp will axe the infrared connection, e-wallet function, and digital TV tuner (no details yet).

Orange says they will introduce the AQUOS PHONE SH80F in France as early as October 6, before rolling it out in “Asia and Europe”. The company has over 200 million customers worldwide.

Sharp, the market leader in Japan’s mobile market (over 25% share), has been talking about exporting its handsets for years.

Read the original post here: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/30/orange-to-bring-sharp-3d-android-phone-to-asia-and-europe/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

[Box Office Mojo]

3D Feature release schedule (see the original list here.)

[Studio Daily]

With No 4K Content Available, Vendors Stress Upconversion Technology

With the CEATEC Japan trade show taking place next week, Sharp started ramping up its campaign to introduce 4K consumer TV sets in 2012. The company will exhibit an LCD TV set with a display that promises four times the resolution of current HD panels — which suggests a screen resolution of 3840×2160. That’s about 8.3 million pixels, which falls a little short of true 4K in the production and post-production sense, but is close enough for marketing purposes.  …

Panasonic will be at the show, too, pushing hard at 3D — VIERA televisions, DIGA Blu-ray players and recorders, and a LUMIX twin-lens 3D camera. And Toshiba will likely be promoting its recently unveiled glasses-free displays, which we recently reported on. No word on what Sony will be showing in the video realm; its recently unveiled Tablet S will likely have a strong presence.

Read the full post here: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/Sharp-May-Launch-4K-Sets-for-Consumers-in-2012_13479.html

[DVB Europe]

How can 3D television signals be analysed automatically to provide quality of broadcast service? Mike Knee, consultant engineer, research & development at Snell (pictured) is working on the answer, and provides a short overview of his work here.  …

Manual monitoring of 3D is more difficult than 2D because operators need to wear glasses or accept limitations of autostereoscopic displays. So there is a burgeoning interest in automatic monitoring of 3DTV.  In this article we look at how various aspects of 3D television signals can be analysed. …

Format Detection  …

Depth or Disparity Analysis  …

Left-Right Swap Detection  …

2D to 3D Conversion Detection  …

Read the full story here: http://www.tvbeurope.com/newsletter-3dmasters-content/full/getting-machines-to-watch-3d-for-you

[DVB Europe]

[3D TV]

… I ran into a very interesting report from Below The Line (via IBC), which mentions more professional methods of stereo 3D conversion; and goes into detail regarding how the process works.

What is also interesting about this piece is how it describes the advancements stereo 3D conversion has made from the way it was as recently as 2010.

“we’re seeing a rise in stereo conversion. Converting standard 2D images into stereo 3D has come a long way since 2010’s Clash of the Titans, with the final installment of the Harry Potter saga providing a great example of tasteful and effective stereoscopy,” according to BTL’s Eric Philpott. …

Read the full story here: http://www.3dtv.com/news-reviews/more-details-regarding-stereo-3d-conversions-technology-is-growinng.php

[Press Release]

…

TrueVision® is a real-time, stereoscopic, 3D high-definition visualization system for micro¬surgery. It will be integrated into Leica Microsystems’ surgical microscopes to display the surgical field of view on 3D flat panel dis¬plays in the operating room. TrueVision® com¬bines 3D visualization with guidance software applications focused on improving accuracy, efficiency, and outcomes for both surgeons and patients. It also enables surgeons to record surgery in 3D and to stream live video of the surgical field, making it an unparalleled teaching tool.

Leica Microsystems is presenting the TrueVision® line of products at the annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons in Wash¬ington DC, October 1-6, 2011, Booth# 548. It is the debut of a collaboration which is expected to bring integrated 3D visualization and guidance for microsurgery into the main stream as a standard of care.

“We are very pleased to have Leica Microsystems as a worldwide partner,” says Forrest Fleming, CEO of TrueVision 3D Surgical, “As a world leader in surgical microscopes, Leica adds significant distribution and technology resources to our current sales efforts globally, and accelerates commercialization of the TrueVision brand in 3D computer-aided surgery.”

“TrueVision products are a great add-on to our product portfolio,” says Silvio Bracone, Vice President of the Medical Division of Leica Microsystems, “we are very excited to cooperate and drive superior technology in the OR com¬bining our almost 40 years of know-how in surgical microscopy with TrueVision’s 3D technology.” The com¬prehensive worldwide agreement will have a phased approach for specific product developments over a three year term. Specific details of the agreement are not disclosed.

Read the original post here: http://www.azooptics.com/News.aspx?newsID=14447

[All Africa]

In this second article, we continue to look at highly paying opportunities that are conducted behind the scenes but without which; a bankable production cannot be made.

…

3D animation combines science and art, and careers in the field are around the film and gaming industries.

Education options range from certificate to master’s degree programmes, providing training in the modelling and rendering of animated characters and environments. To understand this, you can refer to cartoon films or the much prized blockbuster, Avatar. Avatar is all about 3D animation but it cost a whopping $300m to produce. You can guess what the creative minds took home.

Landing a job in 3D animation depends on demonstrable quality of work more often than a requisite degree or certificate.

A good demo reel is key to being hired. The more prestigious a job or employer is, however, the more likely that applicants will need to have completed some form of postsecondary education.

Read the full story here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201109300208.html

[Geek Sugar]

Feel like something’s missing from the selection of smartphones currently on the market? Perhaps it’s that crucial dash of Disney magic. Disney Japan announced the debut of two Android-based smartphones for release in the country later this year.  …

The DM010SH touchscreen smartphone features 3D capability, an 8MP flash camera, and 1GHz processor within its tiny 4-inch frame; it should hit store shelves this October. …

Read the full story here: http://www.geeksugar.com/Disney-Announces-Smartphones-Japan-19267995

[Silicon Era]

There are a few ways to distribute 3D screenshots for Nintendo 3DS titles. Some publishers send images you can copy onto a SD card to view in 3D via the system’s photo application.

Nintendo has a better solution for Super Mario 3D Land. Go to this page:http://tinyurl.com/6curhfs with your Nintendo 3DS browser to cycle through screenshots of Mario running into the gate of Bowser’s castle and tightrope walking through a ring of coins.

Super Mario 3D Land comes out on November 13.

See the full story here: http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/29/3ds-browser-lets-you-view-super-mario-3d-land-screenshots-in-3d/