Finally - An Affordable Passive 3DTV

Finally - An Affordable Passive 3DTV

I'm sitting here post-NAB with a mountain of stills, video, notes, and materials from the show. It was a whirlwind tour and it's still going so hopefully make some time next week to get this stuff online. In my opinion, Sony stole the show. They have solutions for everything and some of the new product they were showing was simply mind blowing.

One thing I did notice show-wide was the proliferation of LG passive 3D displays (LG Infinia 47LW5600). The stereo image was fantastic. As good as the very similar JVC GD-463D10U, a 46" passive display that's often used on-set for stereo monitoring. I've had my eye on that screen for awhile but the $6000 price tag was a little prohibitive for such a niche item. When I heard the price on the LG, less than $1500, that's all I needed to know. I'm now sitting in front of one and this is the 3DTV I've been waiting for. The display technology is based off of RealD circular polarization so the glasses you kept from Avatar will work just fine with this screen. I bought it at Best Buy and they even threw in a free 3D BluRay Player! What a bargain. If you're careful with it, this screen can easily be used on-set. It's not a broadcast quality image but it's great for doing stereo alignments and monitoring in general.

The model I bought has a 240Hz "TruMotion" feature that is on by default. I was watching Tron Legacy and the image looked so weird until I turned it off. It looks like video on hyper drive. It's worse than the 6 o'clock news. This industry push to minimize motion blur goes against over 100 years of cinematic visual vocabulary embedded in all viewers whether they're conscious of it or not. If it's the filmmaker's desire to create more discrete motion and the aesthetic pleases them, then so be it. I personally can't stand it. It's the opposite of what I associate high quality motion pictures with. At least for now, it's a feature that can be turned off but when you start capturing at higher frame rates say 48 or 60, that motion rendering is baked in and you're going to have movies that feel a bit more "real," a bit more like CNN for example.

Here's Douglas Trumball presenting a very strong case for "Digital Showscan" or capture and exhbiition as higher than 24 frame rates.

At any rate, this LG TV is awesome and the price is right. 

GoPro Hero 3D

GoPro Hero 3D

Thanks to stereographer, Tim Maupin for the head's up on this. 

I love these little Hero cams. They just create such a unique and dynamic perspective. In this era where jaded viewers have seen it all, I think the Hero cam definitely creates an interesting point of view that isn't part of the usual visual vocabulary. Though I'm not sure the measured distance, this upcoming 3D config sports a pretty tiny Inter-Ocular (IO) seperation so busting eye balls isn't going to be nearly as much of an issue as with other side by side camera setups. It looks like the IO is fixed in the 2 camera housing but hopefully at some point they'll make a housing that will allow the separation to be adjusted. This setup looks like a fun and inexpensive way for people to begin seriously experimenting with stereoscopic images. 

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20027589-283.html

The upcoming LCD BacPac for the cameras is awesome as well. This will make them so much easier to work with though I admit it's kind of fun to not know what you shot until you load it into your system. It's kind of a nice surprise like getting dailies back from the lab ;)

2011 - what's got me excited

2011 - what's got me excited

This -

The list of major features shooting 3D with the EPIC's seems to be growing all the time. To pack a Raw 5K image with oodles of latitude and functionality into such a tiny package is simply incredible. These sort of technological advancements can only help set 3D free and get it out there into the grassroots. The upcoming Atom rig from Element Technica is purpose built for the EPIC cameras and from what it seems to me, for the price, this is going to be the setup to beat for Stereoscopic 3D. I'm a trained ET rig tech myself and the images of the Atom just look great. Very familiar and yet addressing all of the known issues with the Quasar. Going to have to stop by and check one out next time I'm in LA. 

That's all I've got for awhile. 3 blog posts today. Maniac.