Zune HD owners rejoice.  Crickets?  Microsoft has recently announced that a batch of new 3D games is now available at the Zune MarketPlace.  For Free.  That’s right, the following games are available now for free:  Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Audiosurf Tilt, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, Lucky Lanes Bowling, Piano, and Checkers.

Totally cool for free right!  Hopefully this will help Microsoft move some units this holiday season, but  having not yet seen an actual Zune HD in person, I’m interested in how good the gaming will be on this thing. If you are a Zune HD owner and download these free games and let me know just how 3D they actually are!

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Really?  Apparently not needing 3-D glasses to enjoy, the FujiFilm FinePix REAL 3D W1 camera won’t require anything more than a press of the shutter.  A 2.8-inch LCD on the back of the camera will display images in 3-D as soon as they are shot, and the camera is also capable of shooting good old fashioned 10 megaixel photos if you so choose.  The camera also features a 3x optical zoom as well as an “interval mode” that lets you shoot in 3-D while moving in a plane or another vehicle of your choosing.

Unfortunately, all these features don’t come cheap.  The FinePix REAL 3D W1 will cost around $940 US.  However, if this camera proves that quality 3-D images are capable, we will soon see that market develop and hopefully the price will go down.

I wonder what will this do for porn?

Read

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When Resident Evil 5 arrives on PC this July, it will support NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D Vision Technology and literally make epileptic’s heads explode.  Will this be cool?  Or just another gimmick beheaded for the trashcan?  That could be a very expensive trashcan given NVIDIA’s $200 entrance fee.  While the technology is used in several games, the format is still in its infancy and has yet to be seen as a major factor in game development.  As we’ve aslo seen in movies, 3D can be both good and bad.  Also that 3D spot during the Super Bowl was super lame.  I think RE5 will be a good title to accurately judge NVIDIA so we’ll soon see.

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Panasonic unveiled their 3D HD video camera at NAB today. the P2.  Using a twin lens, the camera captures 3D images on the fly and essentially removes the need to physically connect multiple 2D production devices together to form an equitable image.  Although its not entirely clear how the P2 achieves this feat, its important to understand that today’s 3D videos and imagery depend on our stereoptic vision, which requires more than one angle, or in this case one lens to make the illusion possible.  Panasonic makes no mention of a release date or price, but the P2 is part of their professional 3D Full HD production system that includes a special 3D Plasma TV and all takes aim at the movie industry (and probably video games, etc).

Full release after the ‘leap’

Image courtesy of Gizmodo

Panasonic to Start Development of New Professional
3D Production System
Industry’s First System to Support Efficient Production of 3D Full HD Content

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation, a world leader in High Definition technology, today announced it will start developing a professional 3D Full HD production system. The system, which will be the first of its kind in the industry, consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D-compatible High Definition Plasma display. Panasonic will exhibit concept models of the 3D system at its booth (Central Hall #3712) at NAB 2009 to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 20, 2009.

With Hollywood studios moving towards creation of more 3D entertainment content, Panasonic successfully debuted the world’s first 3D Full HD Plasma Home Theater System based on Plasma display and Blu-ray Disc technologies at the CEATEC trade show in Japan in September 2008. More recently, the company also established the Advanced Authoring Center within Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory in February 2009 to support Hollywood studios in developing 3D Full HD Blu-ray Disc titles.

Production of 3D movies requires a great deal of time and effort. With the new 3D production system, which can enable an easier and more efficient 3D production process and environment, Panasonic will contribute to accelerating the realization of easier high-quality 3D content production.

At present, 3D content producers have to hand-build their own 3D production systems by physically connecting multiple 2D production devices. Panasonic is now starting to work on developing a twin-lens, 3D camera system. Also, Panasonic’s Plasma displays have been used in many post-production facilities in Hollywood, thanks to their high-quality imaging performance, which has been endorsed by leading Hollywood professionals. Technologies and expertise obtained from their use in post-production has enabled Panasonic to further develop high-quality 3D viewing performance in its Plasma technologies. As a result of this process, Panasonic’s 3D Plasma display system will help 3D content producers to quickly and easily evaluate the image quality of 3D content.

Each component of Panasonic’s innovative 3D Full HD production system has unique features. The twin-lens P2 camera recorder enables the capturing of natural and high-quality live 3D images. Thanks to the non-mechanical solid-state construction of the P2 system, the camera recorder will be compact enough to allow more flexible 3D shooting, thereby maximizing the creativity of the filmmakers by eliminating the stress factor from the use of the equipment.

3D Full HD recording using Panasonic’s proprietary P2 system also enables recording of two channels of Full HD images on the P2 card. P2’s non-mechanical construction and compactness will also be incorporated into the company’s 3D image recording and editing equipment to make production in the field highly flexible and efficient.

Panasonic’s 3D Drive System enables the display of Full HD moving pictures for the left and the right eyes, so large screen 3D viewing will become possible. The excellent moving picture performance and accurate color reproduction characteristics achieved by Plasma’s self-illuminating technology enables the realization of high-quality 3D image evaluation capabilities required in the professional content production field.

“Panasonic is continuing its efforts to enable consumers to enjoy 3D movies in the comfort of their own living rooms with its 3D Full HD Plasma Home Theater System, which incorporates a Plasma HDTV and a Blu-ray Disc player,” said Dr. Paul Liao, Chief Technology Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “The professional 3D Full HD image production system we are going to develop will improve the 3D production environment and accelerate creation of 3D titles.”

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That’s not a mouse, this is mouse!  Think Crocodile Dundee for a sec, and you’ll know what I’m getting at.  The 3D Connexion (owned by Logitech) SpacePilot Pro is, as the company calls it, the ultimate professional 3D mouse.  At $499 it’s cost prohibitive for most people, which is a good thing since it’s intended for use with 3D software environments.  At the center of the input device is the 3Dconnexion Cap, which can be yanked in a variety of ways and can detect movements as slight as 4 micrometers (1/25 of a human hair).  Keeping your daily life in order is the LCD Workflow assistant that provides visual access to your calendar, mail, feeds and more.   It’s available now.

[via theinquirer]

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3D is so yesterday.  So what’s next?  4D.  Cinovent, a long time designer and manufacturer of entertainment seating (think amusement parks), has designed and developed a chair that acoustically shakes, shoots air blasts, seat pokes (whatever that is) and can change the ergonomics of the seat to be in sync with the on screen action.  The product’s spec page is a little vague and looks to be ‘conceptual only’, but since they’ve got a track record with this kind of stuff, who can really say.  I really just wanna see how they incorporate fog, spider effects and smell (fire, etc) into the whole getup.

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I don’t know if you noticed, but 2009 is turning out to be the year of 3D. While at CES, we saw a number of 3D enabled TVs as well as companies promising to retrofit games and movies with the tech.  But what about you and I?  Ok, so we probably won’t be creating 3D imagery any time soon – unless you wanna go with the laymen version of blue and red – but at least with the RealView 3D scanner your eBay life will be simplified.  As the tray spins the object 360 degrees, the stereoptic camera captures and builds an image from almost every possible angle.

The website is basically a splash page, but at least you’ll know how to get in touch with the maker.

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Not that 3D printing will show up in your house anytime soon, but the folks at Mcor Technologies are making it a closer reality than ever before.   Their Matrix 3D printer uses regular old A4 paper to build, yes, 3D objects.  It works by gluing the pieces of paper together to form what looks like a relatively sturdy object.

Makes sense, since it’s probably far cheaper (cost per cubic centimeter is $0.0144)  than other 3D printers we’ve seen. But I’d wager a bet that they’re at the top of sone environmentalist’s ‘watch list’.

The Matrix 3D printer will be available in the US Q1 of 2009.  More info here

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Minoru has announced that they will be bringing out a new webcam that hopes to make video calling so much more realistic.

The whole point of video calling is that it feels personal rather than just calling someone so why not make it even more ‘face to face’ with a 3D stereoscopic effect. Minoru have built there new webcam with inspiration from the human eyes. The two webcams are spaced to mimic the effect that we get by having two pictures combined. You will also be able to switch back to 2D mode because as with every invention there is a flaw. To experience ‘3Dness’ you have to put on a pair of 3D glasses so if you loose your glasses and don’t have a secondary pair handy (who doesn’t) then 2D mode could come in handy.

The price is unknown but it should be expected in stores December this year.

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Don’t expect to cruise down to your local Staples and pick up this printer any time soon.  The Alaris 30 Desktop 3D printer requires a CAD file and a $40,000 bank roll.  But once you’ve dragged the 180lb printer back to the office you’ll be knocking out detailed 3D models.

“It works by shooting out photopolymer in thin layers into a tray. These layers are cured right away using UV light. As each layer stacks on top of each other, the form becomes complete. It builds the model right before your eyes.”

Video after the ‘leap’

Official site here

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Telson, which was just acquired by new ownership, is apparently bringing to market an ultra mobile Multimedia PC that will be able to display 3D images via its 4.3-inch touchscreen. Included is a camera dongle, which will purportedly be able to snap 3 dimensional photos. Other specs include a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M processor, 512MB RAM and 30GB hard drive.

No word on pricing or availablity, but I wouldn’t expect it State side anytime soon.

Video and 3D camera dongle photo after the ‘leap’

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