Industry analysts expect 3D to become much more important in the education community and professional entertainment venues, such as home theater. Seminars are popping up worldwide about the latest trends and business opportunities involving state-of-the-art developments in hardware and software.
3D imagery enhances the illusion of depth perception and is derived from stereoscopic photography, according to Wikipedia. In this process, a special motion picture camera is used to record the images as seen from two perspectives.
Today, with the aid of the computer technology, it also can be accomplished digitally. The images are then coupled with special projection hardware and/or eyewear to provide the illusion of depth when viewing the images on the film. 3D is not limited to films, but also includes television broadcasts and direct-to-video films.
A 3D television employs the same techniques as film, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D plus depth, and a 3D display, a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field. 3D episodes were popular in the late 1990s, but the technology and broadcast standards were not refined enough for public acceptance.
Since last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the release of the movie “Avatar,” 3D is once again raging like wildfire. There has not been one day since without a major announcement on the release of the next movie, TV, Blu-Ray player or connector.
The most recent example of 3D application is the current Olympic Games broadcast from Vancouver, Canada. If you want to experience the broadcast, go to the Olympics in 3D website. It offers a look down (Google Earth-like) view of the event on your PC and produces a full control 3D experience.
Even though TV broadcast technology is slow to evolve, it’s a safe bet the upcoming 2014 Olympics to be held in Russia will be broadcast in 3D.
There is an increasing emergence to develop unique 3D viewing systems which do not require the use of special viewing glasses. This technique is referred to as autosteroscopic displays.
The first display of this kind emerged in Japan from Hitachi in 2009. China manufacturers are poised to release their version in 2010. As we blog on this topic, manufacturing trials are being run for television and for LCD displays used in PCs.
For the personal computing gaming market, the first commercial applications will likely be handheld gaming devises. These systems are still in development for the film industry.
Panasonic and Samsung are two of the leading electronics companies pushing the frontier for 3D technology. These companies have successfully moved the market from black-and-white to color, and high-definition TV.
But immersive, totally realistic imagery is the last and final frontier, according to Panasonic’s USA CTO Eisuke Tsuyuzaki. Examples of the latest hardware include Panasonic’s new line of full HD 3D products scheduled for release this spring. Should be interesting!
Other areas of opportunity for leading edge 3D technology include:
• 3D Displays
• 3D for Learning Environment & Immersive Teaching
• Light Field & Halo Graphic Displays
• Projector & Stereoscopic 3D Projectors
• 3D Content including games & software
• 3D in Home Theater
• Capitalizing on Glasses-free 3D
• Interactive 3D systems
• Standardization & Measurement of 3D Imaging
We think 3D is poised to become the next and final frontier market for image presentation. And, there’s a lot of room for development and opportunity.
Since HDTV is all but perfected and opportunities are huge, as evidenced by recent blockbuster “Avatar,” consumers are eager and anxious for the once-elusive enigma and holy-grail –- 3D imagery.
The stakes are enormous, and the technology is in place to evolve into the next multi-billion-dollar industry!
This post is courtesy of TechMan who writes about industry and technology trends.
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