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Sony, IMAX, Discovery To Launch 3D TV Network
adeelarshad82 writes "In a surprising endorsement for 3D display technology, Sony Corp. of America, Discovery Communications and IMAX Corp. have announced plans to form a US television network entirely devoted to 3D programming. The three parties have signed a letter of intent to form the unnamed venture, which is scheduled to launch in 2012. The new network is intended as a sort of carrot to lure buyers to purchase 3D-enabled TVs." Reader jggimi notes NY Times coverage, which points out that this prospective network won't be the first: "Earlier Tuesday, ESPN announced that it would start 'ESPN 3D' in June 2010. The channel will show a minimum of 85 live 3D events during the first year."
We're starting to hit the point where those with damaged eyes who can see somewhat but not perfectly are getting lost. 3D is useless to the people who have lost depth perception... and HD requires a big enough TV for any additional pixels to be meaningful. At this pace, only teenagers will be subscribing to the highest definition TV services.
During the early days of HD, NESN (the Boston-area sports network with Red Sox games) rented out movie theaters and sold tickets to see the HD broadcast (complete with commercials) in the local movie theater for several away games. We'll likely see a repeat of this stunt by the 3D rights holders.
The first HD broadcasts of a Space Shuttle launch were only available at Best Buy stores. No HD sets had been sold at that time, and Best Buy was rolling out the first unbranded disaster of an plasma HD set for $10,000 and all of those were eventually recalled.
Well, the light output of an LCD is naturally polarised, so an LCD using polarised glasses is actually far easier to make than a temporal interlacing design (using shutter glasses). Also, shutter glasses require ridicorously high refresh rates and still cause eye strain, not to mention the glasses are powered and thus are heavier and can run out of batteries.
One thing I think will be interesting is whether there will be enough time for the fixed-perspective "3D" to really take off before "true" 3D becomes practical (using screens whose pixels can emit different light colours in different directions, a la HoloVizio). Generating a display like this is tractable (I presume they're using a lenticular sheet system with multiple columns of pixels behind each lenticular strip) but capturing live video in such a manner will prove an interesting challenge.
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
Let me guess you have no depth perception and are partially blind? Watching Avatar in RealD 3D was quite an experience. It wasn't just me either, people were standing up in the theater trying to grab the RealD introduction out of the air. No flicker, no headaches, no red/blue tinting.
I am not easily impressed.
"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." George HW Bush