[Playstation Lifestyle]

…A newly published patent has revealed that the company has begun work on a new 3D camera that could potentially be a part of the PlayStation 4.

Only just published, what’s most interesting about the patent is that is was originally filed last October – a full year after the Kinect launched and broke Guinness World Records for sales. …

The patent says: …

A system for providing a real-time three-dimensional interactive environment, comprising: a depth sensing device capable of obtaining depth values indicating distances from one or more physical objects in a physical scene to a depth sensing device…

See the full original story here: http://playstationlifestyle.net/2012/02/20/sony-patents-kinect-like-3d-depth-sensing-camera-kinect-for-playstation-consoles/

See the patent here: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220120038637%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20120038637&RS=DN/20120038637

[3D Roundabout]

…

The patented SeeFront 3D technology allows the user to view 3D content without special 3D glasses. An integrated eye-tracking system detects the user’s position and transmits it to the 3D engine. This engine combines the images for the left and right eye in a special way and in real time. An optical filter in front of the display generates a brilliant, compelling 3D impression. As the 3D image is continuously adjusted according to the user’s position, the user enjoys freedom of movement in all directions. The SeeFront 3D technology is perfect for entertainment or professional use by a single viewer with a mobile device, a laptop computer or a desktop monitor.

Under the patronage of the German President, since 2006 the nation-branding initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” has cooperated with Deutsche Bank to reward ideas and projects that make a lasting contribution to Germany’s future viability. …

See the full story here: http://3droundabout.com/2012/02/6350/seefront-3d-receives-landmark-in-the-land-of-ideas-2012-award-for-its-glasses-free-3d-technology.html

[Philip Lelyveld comment: This article goes into technical detail on how the 3D audio experience and museum installation was created.]

[SonicScoop]

…now through April 15, California State University at Long Beach’s University Art Museum is presenting an audio installation of Reed’s Metal Machine Trio. The show provides audience members with an accurate sonic replica of Reed’s experience onstage during an April 2009 performance of the composition,…

Making the 3D recording and subsequently reproducing it in a public installation was a serious test for Arup’s acoustic consultants, applying the company’s extremely deep resources – including a 3D SoundLab in the heart of their TriBeCa offices – to make a unique method for Metal Machine immersion.  …

“Essentially the technique involves having three overlapping figure-of-eight microphones, individually capturing sound in the X [front-to-back], Y [side-to-side] and Z [floor-to-ceiling] axis at the listening location, and a W channel capturing the omnidirectional responses,” says Patel. “The captured signal type is called B-Format.  With the appropriate decoding you can re-create for a listener, either within an appropriate loudspeaker array, or on headphones, the true 3d sound as would be experienced by the listener.”  …

Read the full story here: http://www.sonicscoop.com/2012/02/20/be-lou-reed-for-64-minutes-how-3d-sound-met-metal-machine-music/

[SlashGear]

Nintendo’s 3DS is the company’s fastest device to reach 5m unit sales in Japan, the company has confirmed, beating sales records previously set by the GameBoy Advance. The glasses-free 3D capable portable had found the market tough to break into upon its launch, with Nintendo forced to dramatically slash the price in order to stimulate sales.

At the time, Nintendo’s president issued an apologetic open letter explaining the motivation behind the cuts to early adopters, warning that if Nintendo hadn’t dropped the price then the handheld might not have gained sufficient traction among developers. That move seems to have worked, at least in terms of Nintendo’s immediate competitors; the 3DS is reportedly more popular among them than Sony’s new PS Vita.

See the original post here: http://www.slashgear.com/nintendo-3ds-sets-japanese-console-sales-record-20214373/

[3D Focus]

…

The reference tablet will only offer 3D functionality in landscape mode but the final product will feature switchable landscape/portrait 3D viewing options. Masterimage 3D’s patented glasses free 3D technology relies on parallax barrier technology which works by blocking the left and the right images using a physical barrier unlike lenticular technology which ‘bends’ the light of both images towards the left and right eye. Parallax is cheaper but can suffer light loss, however  that is not an issue with Masterimage 3D technology according to Listz…

“From a traditional stand point, parallax barrier does suffer from light loss compared to lenticular. Ours do not and the reason for that is we do not just use straight stripped parallax technology. We use a patented cell matrix parallax barrier technology. …

“Our number one market is cell phones and tablets. The pure opportunity for the volume is just enormous. If you look at 3D in the home, the barrier has been people have had issues with the glasses for the TVs. You are also seeing more adoption of streaming services like Netflix who just had a wonderful fourth quarter, a lot of which has been usage of Netflix streaming on tablets.  If you believe that streaming is something that already exists, happening on mobile devices and that consumers want to have 3D in the home without glasses, then all three are aligned for 2012/2013 to be a breakthrough year for 3D in the home on tablets.”

Read the full story here: http://www.3dfocus.co.uk/3d-news-2/masterimage-3d-to-reveal-improved-glasses-free-3d-tablet/7446

[Collider]

There had been some concern that Piranha 3DD, the sequel to the surprise hit Piranha 3D, wouldn’t be coming to theaters.  Last month, director John Gulager said there was no need for concern, and that 3D boobs and angry fish were headed our way this year.  Now, two international posters have gone online and they don’t look too bad.  I would think that including “Double the D’s” in the tagline would mean focusing more on the breasts than the piranhas, but the posters are the other way around.  I guess market research shows that fish are a better selling point than boobs.  Market research is never wrong.

See the full story here: http://collider.com/piranha-3dd-posters/146867/

[Press Release]

TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited (“TCL Multimedia” or “the Group”, HKSE stock code: 01070) is pleased to announce that TCL has signed an official agreement with CCTV to become its exclusive 3D Channel partner. The two parties are expected to have deep comprehensive cooperation across the entire 3D field and to stimulate the rapid growth of China’s 3D industry as well as the popularity of 3D Channel and 3D Cloud TV while bringing consumers better and quicker brand-new 3D experiences.

TCL’s cooperation with CCTV features three main aspects. In terms of products and technology, the two parties will work together closely to develop technologies such as 3D displays in efforts to improve the visual effects of the 3D Channel. In terms of content, TCL will provide 3D content to CCTV such as the 2012 CBA All-star Game, which will be shot by TCL with 3D technology and is expected to be broadcast on the CCTV 3D Channel afterwards. In terms of joint promotion, TCL’s sales terminals will become the best promotion and broadcast channels for the CCTV 3D Channel, which will speed up the popularity of the 3D Channel and 3D TVs in the PRC Market.

TCL Multimedia has long been engaged in developing 3D technology and is the leader in the 3D cloud TV industry. As early as 2007, TCL was the first to establish a strong 3D R&D team and became the chairing company of the China 3D Industry Association to take the lead in establishing testing criteria for the image quality of 3D TVs in China. TCL was also the first in the world to have three 3D products in the market at the same time, namely, its naked eye, polarized light and shutter products, giving the Group full coverage of the 3D field. Furthermore, it was the first to launch naked-eye 3D TVs for commercial use and the first to carry out 3D recording and broadcast such as for the 2011 Guangzhou Asian Games. In 2011, TCL became the only joint international promotion partner in the global TV industry for the 3D version of “Transformers III”. Its 3D technology was highly praised by Paramount. Recently, TCL became CCTV’s exclusive partner in providing 3D cloud TVs and technical support for the first CCTV Chinese New Year online gala.

The launch of the 3D Channel has boosted demand for 3D TVs in the PRC Market. According to statistics from China Market Monitor Co. Ltd., there is an expected demand for a total of 43 million LCD TV sets in the PRC Market in 2012, with sales volume of 3D TVs estimated to reach approximately 20 million sets, accounting for nearly 50% of the market total.

Mr. Zhao Zhongyao, Chief Executive Officer of TCL Multimedia said, “Our collaboration with CCTV fully demonstrates TCL’s leading position in 3D TV products and technologies. Looking ahead, we will continue to seize the opportunities presented by the growing demand for 3D TV in the PRC Market and to further boost our market share and the proportion of our high-end products.”

Please click the link for the photo: http://ftp.hillandknowlton.com.hk//TCL/TCLMultimedia.rar

About TCL Multimedia

TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited is one of the largest TV manufacturers globally, with products sold all over the world. Headquartered in China, TCL Multimedia operates its manufacturing plants and R&D centres across all major continents. The Group’s largest shareholder is TCL Corporation.

See the original press release here: http://www.prnasia.com/story/57179-0.shtml

[GameSpot]

Tekken 3D Prime Edition is a joint effort between Namco and Arika, with the latter being responsible for the Street Fighter EX series, as well as the 3D revivals like 3D Classics: Excitebike. It’s abundantly clear that the technical performance was a top priority during development, but overall, the amount of content seems to have suffered as a result.  …

Regardless, the fact that the single-player modes support the full frame rate with 3D enabled is an outstanding achievement. It absolutely sets the bar for any future fighting games on the system. …

Read the full review here: http://www.gamespot.com/tekken-3d-prime-edition/reviews/tekken-3d-prime-edition-review-6350420/

[Technabob]

If you’re still not excited about the potential of 3D printing, Enrico Dini would like to have a word with you. Dini founded Monolite UK with one goal in mind – to create stone-like structures using a 3D printer. Architects, hold on to your blueprints.

While most 3D printers use plastic materials to build small items, Dini’s own D-Shape printer – the world’s largest 3D printer – uses ordinary sand and a binding material, fusing them together into a sandstone-like product to create large structures, anything from a statue to a house. The structure above is the world’s biggest 3D printed object, a scale model of a sculpture that Dini also plans on printing. …

Read the full story here: http://technabob.com/blog/2012/02/19/3d-printed-house/

[Wired]

When prepping to film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor put themselves through a hellacious fact-finding mission. The daredevil directors tried out nearly every 3D camera rig on the market, at one point becoming convinced they would need to build custom hardware, bolt by bolt, to capture the type of comic-book action they envisioned.

“We were under the impression,” Taylor told Wired, “as many people are, that [shooting in 3D] was inherently superior to post-converting.” But after their tests, they compared what they could do with 3D cameras to what could be accomplished with computers — and the machines won.

“Now that the software guys are getting to the point where they can do incredible work with anything you shoot, then why wouldn’t you just free up filmmakers to shoot the movie they want to?” said Taylor, whose PG-13 Ghost Rider sequel opens Friday. “The hardware guys and the software guys are sort of in a race — it’s like an arms race for 3D.”  ….

Converting to 3D saves time and headaches on set
Proponents of post-conversion point out that turning everything 3D after the fact makes the filming process easier because directors don’t need to worry about getting a shot perfect while on set — or about wasting actors’ valuable time while complicated 3D shots are set up.  …

To make sure their 3D was badass instead of half-assed, they got their conversion partner — Canadian company Gener8, which has developed its own conversion software called Stereo Composer — on board early.  …

Making 3D rigs with a 2D feel
Even as film-conversion companies hustle to improve their software, the makers of 3D camera rigs — structures that hold the dual cameras necessary to capture a stereo image — are devising ways to make their gear cheaper, smaller, lighter and more like regular camera set-ups. The goal is to make shooting native 3D as inexpensive and easy for directors as employing a room full of nerds at a conversion shop.  …

“They’d like no rigs at all, and ultimately that’s the future,” 3ality CEO Steve Schklair told Wired. “At some point it won’t require a rig to make good 3D images, and those are technologies that we’re working on today and are actually very far along with.”  …

Read the full post here: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-02/20/rise-of-3d-conversion?page=all