Apple patents eye-tracking 3D technology for iPhone, iPad, or Mac
... The patent details a method of using a device’s accelerometer, GPS, compass, and gyrometer to establish a precise point in space for the device. It would then locate the user’s eyes (presumably with the front-facing camera) and combine all of this data to create a precise presentation of 3D content.
The patent continues to display how Apple could use layers of UI elements to contribute to the 3D effect. You may not have noticed, but icons on iOS devices’ homescreens have subtle drop shadows. One simple example of this tech would be to adjust (in real time) the position of the drop shadow in relation to the icon. Voila: instant 3D.
One of the coolest parts of Apple’s patent is that the 3D would be activated with a 3D gesture. ...
Read the full story here: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/apple-patents-eye-tracking-3d-technology-for-iphone-ipad-or-mac-2012029/
FarmVille 3D: Zynga and Hasbro to release real toys, colonize your real life
A new partnership between social gaming behemoth Zynga and toymaker Hasbro is set to plant an entire crop of game tie-in toys that's sure to tempt Zynga's 60 million active daily users.
Zynga is the company behind wildly successful Facebook games like FarmVille and CityVille, which have shot up like so many virtual weeds since the company started its ruthless campaign for free time domination in 2007. Hasbro is best known as a board game manufacturer, and although details are scarce, we wouldn't be surprised in the least if the team-up produced all manner of plush and play-ready merch themed around Zynga's cartoony virtual worlds. After all, it wouldn't be the first time; late last year Best Buy sold FarmVille holiday ornaments for $9.99 a pop, and each plush critter came with a code for in-game perks. See the full story here.
3D – the Next Dimension
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a very good primer on 3D and the current situation.]
Back in December 2009 the blockbuster Avatar was heralded as the biggest thing for the film industry since colour was introduced almost a hundred years before. From now on, it was claimed, the movie-going experience would be one of unprecedented levels of realism thanks to3D technology. It wouldn’t end with the cinema either. Thanks to 3D TVs, 3D cameras, 3D computer displays and 3D games consoles, the world of flat, boring images would become a thing of the past as the world on our screens became ever closer to the real three-dimensional world we inhabit.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE 1: INTRO and A FLASH IN THE PAN?
PAGE 2: VISUAL CUES and OVERCOMING THE DRAWBACKS
PAGE 3: EYE HAVE A HEADACHE and A HOLOGRAPHIC FUTURE?
PAGE 4: CONCLUSION
PAGE 5: STEREOSCOPY – HOW IT WORKS and CREATING IN ANOTHER DIMENSION
PAGE 6: 4D AND 5D EXPERIENCES and THE OCCLUDING PROJECTOR SYSTEM
See the full article here:
“Stalingrad” in IMAX-3D
A popular Russian moviemaker, Fyodor Bondarchuk, is filming an epic war drama, “Stalingrad”. It will be Russia’s first film in the IMAX-3D format.
The son of the outstanding Soviet-era director, Fyodor Bondarchuk is fully aware that his new work won’t escape being compared to his father’s Oscar-winning masterpiece “War and Peace” based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel.
...
The film’s budget is $30 million. When the shooting and montage are over, “Stalingrad” will be converted into the IMAX (Image Maximum) format, which will put it in on a par with such 3D hits as “Harry Potter”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Transformer”.
Read the full story here:
Hands-on with the LG Optimus 3D Gingerbread update
...Nearly six months after our initial review, the device has been updated to Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with a few notable improvements to not only overall performance but its 3D capabilities. ...
Overall Look and Feel
3D Imaging
Because the Optimus 3D uses its two 5MP cameras to form a stereoscopic image, it’s quite interesting to see how much better LG made the photo- and video-taking experience. According to the changelog, HD 3D video is now recorded at 12Mbps, up from around 8Mpbs, and video stabilization has been implemented in both 2D and 3D mode. As well, 3D depth has been increased.
At once we noticed these improvements: not only did the app itself respond better, but 3D photos and videos were noticeably improved in their clarity and delineation between front and background objects. Whereas before if I took a photo of a nearby object it was difficult, in 3D mode, to differentiate it from its background, this is now clearly distinguishable in the new update.
LG included a couple gimmicky features, too, in relation to its 3D imaging capabilities. 2D photos and video can now be converted into 3D, and vice versa, which is likely because even if you’re taking a photo or video with one lens, the other one is capturing the same information; LG just makes it easy to incorporate that data from the second lens in one tap.
3D For Everyone
LG brought two more “big features” to the Gingerbread update: a 3D-capable video editor, and a 2D-to-3D game conversion tool. ...
Read the full review here:
The Pirate Bay makes good on 3D pirated content
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is the start of the great battle over the future of patents, copyrights, and trademarks, since a digital file can now be rendered as audio, a video, or a physical object.]
The Pirate Bay is literally taking digital piracy to the next dimension, and the process has already begun. The online downloading company told users last month that in addition to the requisite slate of movies, music, and TV show content it offered through means of copyright infringement, it wanted to add files that could be used for 3D printers. So in essence, users are now able to swap physical products in addition to digital products, without recognizing the original owner of the content.
See the full article here
Movie Servers at ISE 2012: Europeans Unfazed by Kaleidescape Ruling
[Philip Lelyveld comment: This is ironically funny. I spent countless hours arguing with Studio lawyers that suing Kaleidescape would yield a pyrrhic victory at best. Millions were spent on legal fees, and now the effort dies with a whimper and nothing to show for the money.]
At Integrated Systems Europe,Kaleidescapewas all prepared to address questions about the recent tentative ruling in its lawsuit with the DVD CCA – a decision against Kaleidescape that came down shortly before the show.
“But it didn’t really come up,” says senior marketing director Tom Barnett during the show. Dealers and distributors interviewed by CE Pro during ISE either didn't know about the recent ruling or simply didn't care.
At ISE 2012, the manufacturer of media servers showed a new Blu-ray disc carousel, the DV700 ($5,495), that does not include a built-in disc player. Without the integrated player, says Barnett, the product is “a little less expensive” than the company’s first carousel, the M700 Disc Vault ($6,995).
Barnett says Kaleidescape continues to build its metadata library for Europe, with four people working “day and night” in Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and the U.K. processing data and tagging movie scenes.
See the original post here.
Start-up Finalists Announced for SXSW Interactive Accelerator (3D sharing)
Dozens of tech start-ups are getting ready for their SXSW-style close-up.
The SXSW Interactive Accelerator has named 48 finalists for this year’s conference, after sifting through more than 670 entries. The finalists will showcase their products at the Austin festival on March 12-13.
Product categories include news-related technologies, innovative Web tech, social media, mobile, and more.
A few of the finalists:
- Arqball, in mobile technologies, allows users to share 3D images via phone or tablet.
- .....
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Film survives amid digital world
Indeed, the industry's digital changeover has been dramatic in areas like episodic television, but bigger-budget studio films have been slow to follow the trend. Johnathon Amayo, VP of production and post-production for Moviola Digital, believes the percentage of movies shot on film currently ranges between 50% and 70%, since many established helmers still insist on using film to get a certain look for their project. Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, among others, have persisted with film for various projects for aesthetic reasons. Snyder and d.p. Larry Fong pushed to shoot "300" on film to get the painterly, grainy look they felt would mirror the feeling of the comicbook that inspired the movie.
Panavision alone has more than 600 film cameras it rents out to filmmakers throughout the world. And both Panavision and Arri, which also rents out cameras, can build them for a client who asks. ...
See the full story here
Ready to wire: New Digital Age clothes and accessories let you place a call, write email and stream 3D movies
The hot trend in the not-too-distant future? Tech togs — as in clothing, eyeglasses, headgear and even watches and jewelry that make phone calls, send emails, take pictures, track your location, stream your favorite 3D movie and even monitor your vital signs.
Read the full story here: 