[Press Release]

New students pursuing their dreams of a career in animation at The DAVE School this January will be taught by award-winning artist, writer and director William Vaughan.

Vaughan’s career of nearly two decades includes work for video games, toymakers, national advertising campaigns and animated films such as Pixar Animation Studios’ recent short “Partly Cloudy”. In print, he has been published in major computer graphics magazines and contributed to 17 books.

He will share his expertise with students in The DAVE School’s Block 01 course, which covers 3D modeling, lighting, texturing and demo reel presentation techniques. The DAVE School, located on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, is one of the most advanced 3D and visual effects training institutions serving the animation and film industries. Recent graduates’ work can be seen in movies that include “Thor”, “The Green Lantern” and “Captain America”.  …

The DAVE School (Digital Animation and Visual Effects), located on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida in Sound Stage 25, includes a 35,000 square foot facility that offers three labs, a shooting stage with a 65′ x 25′ green screen, and a state-of-the-art motion capture system.  …

See the full story here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/acclaimed-3d-artist-william-vaughan-to-teach-at-the-dave-school-2011-12-28

[UberGizmo]

After announcing that it was going to show off its 55″ OLED at CES 2012, it looks like LG has another ace up its sleeve. The company announced in a press release that at CES next year, it will be unveiling the world’s largest 3D Ultra Definition (UD) TV. It is 84″ in size and boasts a resolution of 8 million pixels (3840 x 2160) – four times the resolution clarity of existing full HD TV panels. It will also features LG’s Slim and Narrow Bezel Design and is touted to provide the most convincing 3D viewing experience currently available outside of a movie theater.

The 3D UD TV will also feature 3D Depth Control to allow users to customize their viewing experience by controlling the 3D effect, and 3D Sound Zooming will give users immersive 3D sound as well. The TV will also have access to LG’s Smart TV ecosystem which consumers can use to enhance their TV experience or just pass the time when there’s nothing to watch. It also features a 2D to 3D conversion engine and support’s LG’s new Magic Remote. Look out for more details when we keep you posted about CES 2012.

Read the original post here: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/12/lg-84-3d-ultra-definition-tv-ces-2012/

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Press Release

[Big Picture Big Sound]

Remember when Blu-ray players were super expensive? Neither do we. Now, it’s not just HD-capable Blu-ray players that are affordable, but also ones that add 3D playback into the home.

A perfect example is LG’s BD670 Blu-ray 3D Player. We just found this model listed on Amazon for a cool $109.99. This is $90 off the list price, which makes this purchase a no-brainer. In fact, it’s so inexpensive, you may want to snag an extra for another room in the house. After all, the price includes free shipping, too! Take a peek for yourself on the BD670′s product page:

• LG BD670 Blu-ray 3D Player with WiFi Streaming: $109.99 Shipped – save $90

The BD670 promises plenty of AV goodies inside this slim chassis. The most obvious is that it can play back both 3D and 2D Blu-ray discs. Of course, it also welcomes (and upscales) your standard-def DVDs and can also play audio CDs.

If those options aren’t enough, the BD670 offers up a wealth of audio and video streaming, via LG’s Smart TV platform. That means that this small player can tap into tons of other entertainment options, such as Netflix, VUDU, YouTube, and much more. Just remember that subscriptions and/or monthly fees may be necessary, depending on the service.

Those web features should be fairly easy to access, however, because the BD670 has built-in WiFi. Other features include DLNA certification and support for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and dts-HD Master Audio. …

Se the original post here: http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/Blu-ray-Player-Deal-LG-BD670-Blu-ray-3D-Player-with-WiFi-Streaming-109-99-Shipped.shtml

[Mobile Magazine]

According to an article in Korean ETnews, that is retold by Phandroid, the Samsung Galaxy S III may sport a 3D-capable screen. There were several wishful renderings of Samsung’s new flagship phone swirling around in the Internet recently, all of them were mildly dismissed by Samsung.

…

Samsung Galaxy S III is expected to show at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February-March 2012.

Read the full story here: http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/12/28/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-going-3d/

[Business Insider]

…

So, how was it?

Both disappointing and enthralling.

But first, this is NOT a review. It’s just an early look at a product that hasn’t yet shipped (they expect to ship them sometime in Q1, 2012, so by April 1, although first units might start shipping in February). The software isn’t done, and Eric showed me a few things that they are working on for the future.

You’ll have to wait for an official “review” of the final camera.

So, why was it disappointing?

Well, if you just want the ultimately sharpest photo, this isn’t a camera for you (it won’t do 22 megapixel photos like my Canon 5D MKII will, and the images are generally good enough for on-screen use but if you want to blow them up to wall sized images, this isn’t a camera for you).
If you like having a huge choice of lenses, this isn’t a camera for you.
If you want to shoot action sports, this isn’t a camera for you.
If you want to see through the viewfinder to choose your own focus point, this isn’t a camera for you.
If you want the best low-light performance, then this isn’t a camera for you.

But why is it enthralling?

It let me see the world in a new way. I no longer needed to worry about focus. In fact, I quickly learned that there’s a kind of photo that only works on the Lytro: one where you can get very close to the subject and just shoot, without any worry about where the focus is.

Plus, coming sometime after the camera ships you can turn each image into a 3D image. I saw some examples from Eric’s computer on my 65-inch Vizio 3D TV and they rocked.

…

Read the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/my-first-photowalk-with-lytros-lightfield-camera-2011-12

[Press Release]

Consumer behavior and TV set maker strategies are resulting in widely diverging TV product ranges across the world. While the industry is truly global, regional differences are increasing. For 3D, the most enthusiastic regions are Western Europe and China, while the mix of 3D in North America actually declined in Q3’11, according to the Q4’11 NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly TV Design and Features Report.

”We were surprised to find that 3D appears to be a far more popular feature in China than North America, and the penetration rate was two times higher in the last quarter,” said Paul Gray, Director of TV Electronics Research, NPD DisplaySearch. “Our report also indicates that North American and Japanese 3D penetration is lower than the Middle East.”

The report finds that North American consumers favor large, inexpensive TV sets with fewer features, unlike other regions. Chinese consumers are enthusiastic about richly-featured sets with 3D, LED backlighting and smart TV capabilities.

The report also examines the growth of smart TV in different regions and reveals that there are several emerging markets where fixed broadband appears to be leapfrogged by consumers. In Saudi Arabia, Poland, the Philippines and Indonesia, there are 10 to 15 times as many 3G subscribers as broadband. These consumers still want to view internet video on their TVs, but the usage is totally different in developed markets where the TV is connected directly to a wired broadband line.

This theme of simultaneous new technology adoption is also clear in digital broadcasting. While developed markets have not only introduced digital terrestrial and largely completed analog switch-off, a second generation of digital broadcast (DVB-T2) is now being adopted in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The report uniquely forecasts the prospects for DVB-T2 reception in TV. It finds that a critical mass of countries have now adopted or committed to DVB-T2. Shipments of DVB-T2-enabled sets are expected to grow from 3.4 million in 2011 to 64.7 million in 2015.

”By 2015 the number of DVB-T and DVB-T2 sets shipped will be equal,” added Gray. “The decision by the Russian and Indian governments to move to T2 has given the industry a huge boost in confidence, and it will kick-start a virtuous cycle of rapid adoption and cost reduction.”

The report finds the new digital transmission technology is not only being introduced in mature markets like the UK and Sweden, but also in Nigeria and Kenya.

The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly TV Design and Features Report is a quarterly update of the issues and rapid shifts in TV feature developments. The 250+ page report examines and forecasts video processor and signal processing IC market development, including 120/100 and 200/240 Hz frame rates as well as market shares for major IC vendors. In addition, the report also features forecasting for MPEG-4 decoding and the digital broadcast environment around the world, including forecasts for the following technologies: DVB-T2; TV connectivity, such as wired and wireless networked TVs; LED backlighting; 3D-capability and implementation; remote controls and chassis design; and power consumption.

See the original press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/DisplaySearch/3DTV/prweb9063643.htm

[Reuters]

Attendance was at its lowest mark since 1992, when only 1.17 billion tickets were sold in the U.S. and Canada. With less than a week left in 2011, about 1.23 billion movie tickets have been purchased — 106 million fewer than last year, 279 million fewer than 2009 and 108 million fewer than 2008.

Those who did buy tickets, meanwhile, grew older, with numbers of younger audience members continuing to dwindle.

…

3D CAME OF AGE, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

More than 40 movies were released in 3D in 2011, meaning the format is more of a standard feature than theatrical event now.

There were big hits like “Harry Potter” and “Transformers” — but audiences would have flocked to those under any cirumstances. Similarly, they would have avoided the spectacular misses — “Conan the Barbarian,” “Mars Needs Moms,” “Hugo” — under any circumstances, as well.

Of course, in a global downturn with double-digit unemployment, those $2-to-$4 up-charges probably mattered. And, for the most part, it would have to be admitted that with only a few exceptions, the third dimension was hardly worth the price.

Also read: Huge Success of ‘The Lion King’ Re-release Has Studios Studying Their Libraries

Worse, 3D drove up ticket consumer cost at a bad time. Admission prices have stabilized after peaking at $7.89 in 2010, according to the National Association of Theater Owners — but these prices are still well above the $6.88 they averaged in 2007, right before the start of the recession.

There is, however, the upside of found money, with Disney’s under-$10 million 3D conversion of the 1994 family film “The Lion King” rendering $94.2 million upon theatrical re-release over the summer.

And next year will see a flurry of re-releases — not only Disney classics like “Beauty and the Beast,” but “Star Wars” and “Titanic,” too, so the format could end up moving the needle for the industry in major way, after all.

…

Read the full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/28/idUS46731772420111228

[Audiophile Audition]

THX has provided equipment and setup assistance to a special eye clinic just opened in Beaverton, Oregon by Pacific University’s College of Optometry.  It is the nation’s first 3D eye exam room to help people with depth perception problems, and hopes also to provide information to the 3D industry to improve the methods they use to display 3D to audiences. The clinic is already discovering what it is about viewing 3D that causes some people to have eye problems.

The room is designed to deliver the best 3D experience that the technology can deliver. It has a 50-inch flat screen and will soon have a 90-inch screen for projected 3D movies. An optometrist says you can’t perceive 3D unless both your eyes are seeing well and working well together. The recent surge of 3D movies is revealing depth-perception problems with some people. They don’t see the depth, or they get vertigo or even nausea. If they have eye misalignments, that can often be fixed with proper prism prescription lenses and or eye exercises. The eyes of Hollywood are on the Beaverton clinic now to discover what their 3D research learns, since no other clinic is doing this.

Read the original post here: http://audaud.com/2011/12/audio-news-for-december-27-2011/

[Philip Lelyveld comment: three good, brief, in-depth technical reviews of 3D TVs]

[3DTV.com]

[Eastday]

China’s first 3D TV channel will start a trial run on January 1, a spokesman from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said. After the test-run stage, the channel will be officially put into operation during Spring Festival later in January.

The satellite channel will offer 3D programs daily from 10:30am to midnight. Producing the 3D channel’s content will be China Central Television, Radio and Television Beijing, Radio and Television Shanghai, Radio and Television Tianjin, Radio and Television Jiangsu Province and Shenzhen Television Station.

The programs will include animation, sports, documentaries, TV dramas, entertainment and live broadcasting of big events such as CCTV New Year’s Gala and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

To watch the 3D programs, consumers need to buy a 3D TV set and install Capable TV’s high-definition set-top-box. The channel will charge no viewing fees during its early phase of running.

…

Read the full story here: http://english.eastday.com/e/111228/u1a6280365.html

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[Wall Street Journal]

In a move that may cause headaches — real ones — for millions of people, China is about to launch a 3D television channel. That has the government sounding nearly as excited as any Hollywood executive exploiting 3D to make extra bucks.  …

So will 3D TV flop in China, or is it just crazy enough to work? On one hand, China’s growing class of wealthy consumers may be a receptive audience. Such TV sets are already selling faster than the dearth of 3D content would suggest. IHS iSuppli analyst Kathleen Zhang estimates there were more than five million 3D TV sets shipped in China this year, and that shipments next year could reach around 12 million units.

But the key may lie in how good the 3D content on TV is, and how quickly that content expands. (3D-TV owners can also make full use of their sets by investing in 3D DVDs and a capable player, but even the rich may balk at buying too many pricey 3D movies.)

So far, the people buying 3D sets aren’t making much use of the bundled glasses. They’ve been willing to buy the 3D sets because their prices aren’t too far off from TVs that are 2D-only, and they may be able to make use of the extra function in the future, Ms. Zhang says.

China’s new 3D channel will initially have just four-and-a-half hours of new content each evening, …

Read the full article here: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/12/28/chinas-latest-tech-dream-3d-tv/