5 reasons 3-D video will come to our living rooms
Let’s face it, there are some skeptics out there when it comes to 3-D. Some point to competing standards, others to the kitsch factor, and almost all point to the glasses. But not everyone’s a hater. In fact, Sony and Panasonic see the technology as a savior for their living room business. So will 3-D make it in the home? Chances are it will, and here are five reasons why:
1. 3-D will become a standard feature. TV makers will put a premium price on anything 3-D in the next few years (much as they did with HD), as Alfred Poor points out in his new 3DTV report at GigaOM Pro (subscription required); but over time, the technology will become just another standard feature. Chances are in five years we’ll see $799 50-inch 3-D TVs from Vizio at Costco.
2. Invasion of the 3-D movie theaters. 3-D movies are bringing in higher per-screen revenues than their 2-D counterparts, and by the end of this year there should be 7,000 3-D screens worldwide. Hollywood has caught 3-D fever, and it’s logical to think the big focus on 3-D in the theater will migrate over time to the living room.
3. Those crazy gamers. Gamers have been enjoying crude 3-D effects since Wolfenstein 3-D, and more and more are being pulled into a new dimension with the latest 3-D technology. Sony has stated that existing game catalogs will be 3-D upgradeable through software, which could build the library of content quickly and justify the cost of accessories such as glasses.
4. Cheap glasses. While active shutter glasses would set you back at least 50 bones today, prices will fall through the floor once they’re manufactured at scale. Think four-packs at Wal-Mart for $25 in about five years.
5. Kids. 3-D’s secret weapon, really. I have to wonder how many 3-D skeptics are child-less. Just as tens of millions of parents came down with Wii tennis elbow in recent years, so will they be donning 3-D glasses in the future.
3-D in the home will continue to be a source of both skepticism and excitement in the coming years. But make no mistake, as both the DVD and HDTV gravy trains continue to slow to a crawl, TV makers and Hollywood are seeing an extra dimension.
See the original article at GigaOm.
Reminder: Theaters showing the 3D versions of Toy Story 1 and 2
Just a reminder to all you Pixar fans – starting October 2, 2009 Toy Story and Toy Story 2 will be shown in certain theaters as a double-feature. These are the new versions re-rendered in 3D. Yup, put on the glasses and enjoy the movies once again.
It’s only in theaters for two weeks so be sure to get your tickets before it’s too late! Now I wish my Toy Story box set was in 3D!
3-D glasses a sticking point for movie industry
More than a dozen 3-D films will hit multiplexes this year, and theaters are installing thousands of digital 3-D systems amid fervid public approval of the fledgling technology.
If the industry could only figure out how to pay for the 3-D glasses.
Complicated virtual-print-fee (VPF) agreements are in place to fund the rollout of digital hardware, enabling theaters to add the 3-D systems. But until reusable 3-D glasses come into greater use or the $1-per-pair cost for disposables is cut substantially, squabbling will continue over millions of dollars in costs tied to the extra-dimensional eyewear.
With an installed base of fewer than 1,400 domestic 3-D screens, distribution has been limited, keeping the cost of outfitting customers in the low- to mid-single-digits. But once 3-D movies start playing in 2,000 or more theaters at a time, that expense is expected to swell quickly to $10 million or more per release.
Such outlays come on top of about $15 million per picture in extra production costs tied to 3-D, as well as multimillion-dollar VPF payments. 20th Century Fox executives quietly spread the word a couple months ago that they intended to rein in their payments on glasses, but details of a new arrangement have yet to emerge. (more…)
Mozilla, graphics group seek to build 3D Web
Wish you could play Crysis in your Web browser? Two influential organizations are banding together to try to bring accelerated 3D graphics to the Web, a move that eventually could improve online games and other Web applications.
The Web is gradually becoming a better foundation for applications with splashy, sophisticated interfaces, but 3D graphics on the Web remain primitive. Now, though, Mozilla, the group behind the Firefox browser, and Khronos, the consortium that oversees the widely used OpenGL graphics interface technology, are trying to jointly create a standard for accelerated 3D graphics on the Web.
In response to a Mozilla proposal, Khronos established an Accelerated 3D on Web working group to create a royalty-free specification. The goal is to produce a first public version within 12 months, Khronos said in an announcement at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco.
Underpinning the proposal is a trend toward significant speed improvements in JavaScript, the programming language used to write many Web-based applications. The proposal involves a mechanism to let JavaScript tap into the OpenGL standard to produce the accelerated graphics.
"Accelerated 3D graphics with the super-fast next-generation JavaScript engines from nearly every Web browser vendor means that we’re going to be able to start to see more and more advanced applications written using open Web technologies," said Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard in a blog post Tuesday. "3D is a huge part of that story and we’re happy to bring our proposal to the table."
Mozilla plans to release the technology first as an extension to its browser sometime after Firefox 3.5 is released.
See the full article at Webware.
People are now playing Quake Live
Quake Live, the upcoming free in-browser version of Quake, is sending out beta invitations to the service. Users are directed to beta.quakelive.com
This is a grand new experiment in gameplay. Instead of charging users a monthly access fee, id Software is teaming with IGA Worldwide to add advertising and sponsorships to the game to make money. Early reviews of the game are a thumbs up, and it looks to be a one way train to zero productivity at work. We’re trying to track down video of the beta environment.
The trailer for Quake Live is here.
