Advances In 3-D May Mean No Ridiculous Glasses
[by JEN SANDS-WINDSOR, NPR]
Movies, TV shows, video games — it seems 3-D technology is everywhere these days. It's creating a competitive market for companies trying to improve the way we experience the illusion of depth perception. Dr. Marsh and his team hope for a wider release of the procedure in select cities starting April 1, 2012.
Listen to the audio here: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/01/135033545/3d-surgery
[Philip Lelyveld comment: I'm guessing this is an NPR April Fools prank.]
XPAND 3D Introduces 3D Plug-In for Microsoft PowerPoint
In a development that allows anyone to create interactive 3D content, XPAND 3D today introduced its new PowerPoint 3D plug-in, an application that lets users easily add 3D images, graphics and objects to PowerPoint presentations.
“Our new plug-in literally brings a new dimension to PowerPoint,” said Ami Dror, Chief Strategy Officer of XPAND 3D. “We have proven in various case studies that 3D improves viewer retention by more than 30 percent. 3D PowerPoint presentations are now more interesting and deliver much more impact.”
See the full press releasehere
DirecTV: 4 3D channels in the US
See the full story here.
3D technology gives fashion new dimension
With virtual models and hologram advertisements already restyling the fashion industry, it seems runway shows staged in 3D could be the next big thing.
Armani Exchange in Melbourne has already launched 3D ads in its stores; a video and ad campaign of the label’s autumn/winter collection was shot in 3D, while customers were supplied with special glasses so they could see the images in store.
Grant Pearce, creative director of the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, says 3D is a growing trend in the industry.
Read the full story here.
Nintendo 3DS puts 3-D in your hands
[excerpt]
Philip Lelyveld of the University of Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center said Nintendo's deal with AT&T, and another bringing Netflix video streaming to the 3DS, moves the handheld well beyond games.
"The Nintendo 3DS has the potential of being a game changer because it is going to be most consumers' first personal experience with 3-D," says Lelyveld, program manager of the school's Consumer 3-D Experience Lab. "Up until now, they've gone to the movie theater but haven't spent the thousands for a TV."
Read the full article here.
Orthodox 3D cinema in Murmansk
The metochion of the Trifon Pechenga monastery in Murmansk plans to open an orthodox cinema for religious and educational films.
The cinema will have 70 seats and will be equipped with 3D technology, Murmansk Vestnik reports. The cinema will not only be showing orthodox movies, but also educational films. The first viewers to test the new cinema will be school children, who will be shown a film about traffic safety. This event is organized in cooperation with the traffic police.
See the full post here
HealthFirst: 3D in the operating room
Using the same technology that helped Avatars jump through the screen at the movies, surgeons insert a 3D endoscope through a patient's nose. Then, when they put on polarized glasses, they see a 3D view of the brain.
See the full story here
Army, Air Force Get 3D Battle Planning Technology
The Air Force and Army will receive new 3D holographic technology to assist military leaders in battle planning and design, thanks to a newly completed program by the Department of Defense's research arm.
Through a five-year program called the Urban Phototonic Sandtable Display (UPSD), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) created a real-time, 360-degree, 3D holographic display to help military commanders and mission planners better visualize and plan battles.
See the full story here
Vizio unveils 2011 Theater 3D TV series; starts at $549
Vizio brought its 2011 Theater 3D TV collection to CES 2011, and now pricing has been revealed - and one of the prices might surprise you. The 32-inch E3D320VX is a quality, full HD 1080p screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 200,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, SRS TruSurround HD audio, a trio of HDMI ports and a pair of 3D Vizio glasses. The machine is also 802.11n Wi-Fi-enabled for access to Vizio Internet Apps. Shipping dates haven’t been disclosed yet.
See the full post here
Why 3D Movies Could Be So Much More
The trouble with “3D Movies” is that they’re not 3D movies so much as “binocular movies.” The stereopsis 3D sense is just one of multiple perceptual functions binocular vision gives us, and it is not the most important. Evolutionary cognitive scientist Mark Changizi argues that “3D Movie” makers have been missing out on most of their creative space, because they have not recognized the full range of powers their binocular movies can harness.
See the full post here