It’s sometimes easy to forget when you’re watching an animated movie just how complex the underlying technology is. In this video, Steve Carell explains the 3D animation processes involved in taking an idea from the storyboard to the movie theater.
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Foursquare enjoys giving its users new ways to visualize all of their check-ins over the years, and they’ve introduced a new feature that makes that happen once again. It’s called Time Machine, and while it may just seem like another feature for Foursquare to use in order to recommend other hot spots to go to,
A lack of interest in 3D viewing at home has claimed one of its first major victims today, as ESPN announced its 3D channel is going to shut down. ESPN 3D launched back in 2010 with coverage of the FIFA World Cup, but it will not make it to the next one, or to see ESPN’s new Monday Night Football deal. In between it’s broadcast everything from golf to the X Games to the NBA Finals, along with college football national championship games and and a one-off news spot on E:60. AT&T’s U-verse dropped the channel in August 2011 after being one of the launch partners, but said it would come back due to a new agreement signed earlier this year. ESPN overcame many technology and cost hurdles to broadcasting 3D over the years, but in the end the chilly reception from the marketplace for 3D at home appears to have been too much to overcome. Another element that likely affected it were recent layoffs by parent company Disney, that Multichannel News reports included some jobs associated with ESPN 3D.
So what’s next for ESPN? According to a statement, “committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates.” That should include the 4K capabilities planned for its new facility in Bristol, but we’ll have to wait until it opens next year to find out. For now ESPN says it will be ready to provide 3D content again “if or when” the viewing format takes off — the release of another Avatar flick or TVs that don’t need glasses for 3D might help — now the question is if / when other early efforts like n3D and 3net could also be shelved.
[Thanks, @defiance]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: ESPN 3D (Twitter)
Sports television network ESPN will be shutting down its 3D channel by the end of the this year. The sports network says that they’re yanking the cord on ESPN 3D due to the lack of adoption of the technology, which is sure to be a blow to the company’s working their hearts out on 3D
While most of us have been pretty content with our 1080P HD displays, consumer electronics makers continue to up the ante, as they start to release their first production 4K resolution displays. One of the first to market with 4K displays is Sony, who recently released their first consumer 4K sets.
The Sony 4K Ultra HD TV series offers over eight million pixels on their 3840×2160 displays. This increased resolution makes for the sharpest picture you’ve ever seen on a television, putting your home theater at nearly the same resolution used in digital movie theaters.
Sony’s 4K TVs also tout a technology called TRILUMINOS which is designed to produce a wider color gamut, increasing the vibrance of colors – especially those occurring in nature and skin tones. Basically, this is a local-dimming backlighting technology which uses RGB LED colors instead of just white.
The displays also include a wide variety of applications for streaming content, including Netflix, HuluPlus, and YouTube, and have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. Of course, all of these displays include 3D support, and also Sony’s unique SimulView tech, so PS3 players wearing 3D glasses can play against each other using the full screen at the same time. (No word of whether or not the PS4 will support this tech.)
Of course, the biggest challenge with 4K displays at this point is the lack of content available in the format. Thankfully these displays can upscale and enhance existing HD content, which does make images sharper and more vibrant than on 1080p displays, and lets you take full advantage of your current movie collection. You can also go for the optional Sony FMP-X1 4K media player if you want true 4K content. This player will sell for $700(USD) when it hits the market later this year, and includes 10 free movies. I wonder how good PS3 and Xbox 360 games look when upscaled on these displays. Of course when the next-gen consoles come out, they’re both going to offer 4K support, so that’s when gaming will really shine.
The XBR 4K Ultra HD series offers displays in 55″, 65″, and 84″ variants. While you can definitely see the difference in image quality on the smaller screens (I can’t believe I’m using the work “smaller” to describe a 55″ or 65″ display), the real benefit of 4K resolution starts to show on 70″ and larger displays – where pixel structure can be visible to the naked eye on today’s HD screens. So the real beaut of this collection is the 84″ model, the XBR-84X900, which sells for a whopping $25,000(USD). For early adopters without pockets quite that deep, there’s the 55″ XBR-55X900A and the 65″ XBR-65X900A, which sell for $5000 and $7000, respectively.
While many remember the moment Dorothy stepped out into the Technicolor land of Oz, Warner is aiming to make that moment even grander with a 75th anniversary Wizard of Oz re-release this fall. The plans call for a week-long IMAX 3D run (similar to recent releases like Jurassic Park and the Oz HD screening back in ’09) beginning September 20th, and a Blu-ray releases hitting shelves October 1st. Digitally remastered and scanned in 8K before being rotoscoped and converted for 3D from the original Technicolor negative, Warner called it a long and complex project which it would not release until “perfect.” The Blu-ray set will come in several versions, with the five disc 75th Anniversary set including Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Ultraviolet versions plus a making of documentary and other special features. That one is currently priced at $73.99 on Amazon, and a 2-disc Blu-ray 3D combo pack goes for $26.99, with Blu-ray and DVD versions also planned. Check after the break for a press release with all the details, plus a video clip of that colorized first step and a documentary from the last time it was remastered, scanned in merely 4K resolution.
Filed under: HD
Source: Amazon
Intel’s Computex 2013 keynote wasn’t all Atom and Core; the company also had a new gadget to show off, the Creative Senz3D camera. Intended to add depth vision to an Intel-powered computer, the add-on camera is set to go on sale next quarter, and brings Kinect-style motion-gesture control to the desktop. However, Intel also has ambitions to integrate it into future systems.
Down the line, Intel VP of marketing Tom Kilroy revealed, the company plans to build 3D depth camera technology directly into future Intel-based devices. Presumably, just where most laptops have a webcam today, that will evolve into a depth-sensor. That’s not likely to happen until the second half of 2014, however, Kilroy conceded.
Before then, add-on devices like Creative’s webcam will be able to bring the same gesture control to existing hardware. The depth-perception is added to other sense-recognition, including touch, voice, and face, and is capable of differentiating between the subject and their environment.
In fact, the software can even remove the backdrop behind the user completely, which could be handy for video calls. Right now it’s reasonably bulky for a webcam, though that’s likely to change as the technology is refined.
Of course, Intel and Creative aren’t the only companies working on this sort of technology. Microsoft has already confirmed that it is readying a new Kinect for Windows for instance, based on the updated sensor-bar included with the Xbox One, for release sometime in 2014.
IMAGE: Steve Paine
Intel reveals Creative Senz3D depth camera: Embedded version in 2014 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Intel’s just announced the Creative Senz3D Peripheral Camera at the company’s Computex keynote in Taipei. The camera lets users manipulate objects on the screen using gestures and is able to completely eliminate the background. It appears to be an evolution of the Creative Interactive Gesture Camera we recently played with at IDF in Beijing. This new 3D depth camera is expected to become available next quarter and Intel plans to incorporate the technology into devices during the second half of 2014. “It’s like adding two eyes to my system,” said Tom Kilroy, VP of marketing. The company’s been talking about “perceptual computing” for some time and this certainly brings the idea one step closer to fruition.
You’ve mostly seen photos of the new Xbox One, but those can seem rather 2D. To remedy that, a 3D render is available to look at, which allows you to get a 360-degree view of the console from any angle by clicking and dragging around the screen to turn the console every which way imaginable.
The 3D rendering comes from Sketchfab, which is a website that makes similar renderings for other popular products, like the Pebble smartwatch, the OUYA portable gaming console, and even Google Glass. Obviously, all of these renderings (including the Xbox One) are completely unofficial, but it’s legitimacy is probably pretty good, as Xbox Live chief Larry Hyrb linked to it himself, calling it “very cool.”
The rendering also gives users a chance to check out the connectivity options on the back, which weren’t shown during the unveiling event (we heard what it includes, but weren’t shown the back of the console). You’ll notice the two HDMI ports for passthrough video, as well as two USB 3.0 ports. There’s also ethernet, optical audio, and what looks to a proprietary port for the Kinect sensor.
The Kinect sensor itself also looks to have a built-in cooling fan on the back, suggesting that there’s some powerful components on the inside that need careful attention so as not to overheat during long gaming sessions off the couch. There’s also a USB port of the left side of the console for easy access, since there don’t seem to be any on the front side.
The Xbox One was announced last week to much fanfare, but since then there’s been a lot of grief as far as the console’s used game policy, as well as whether or not the Xbox One needs to have an active internet connection at all times. Multiple Microsoft reps have said different things about these issues, so there still seems to be a bit of confusion, even on the company’s end. Hopefully, they’ll get it straightened out sooner or later.
VIA: Major Nelson
Xbox One 3D render gives you a closer look at the console is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
While the Xbox One is still a number of months from being released, you can now get up close and personal with the console, viewing it from every possible angle. An interactive 3D model of the console has surfaced for you to play with.
The 3D model was built in Sketchfab and lets you move around the Xbox One, its controller and Kinect on all three axes as well as zoom in and out. For the first time, you can really see the proportions between the console and Kinect (which seems downright huge here) and check out all of the connectors on back too. There’s also a mysterious connector on the left side of the console as well. At the end of the day, it’s still just a black box, but you can now get a sense of all of the depth and texture the diagonal ridges add to the console.
You can check out the Xbox One 3D model in the embedded player below, or if you want to see it full-screen, head on over to Sketchfab.
[via Trey Sharp via Kotaku]
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