All posts by 3DM

3D

Structure Fire and Mop up Operations in #VR3D #3D #VR

This is a 3D SBS video for watching using a VR viewer, Google Cardboard viewer, 3D computer monitor or 3D TV.

When I originally shot this, I was a few blocks away taking still 3D photos of some industrial buildings. I saw a smoke column and then heard sirens so I quickly drove the few blocks over to see what was happening. I actually arrived before the police and fire trucks but did not have my cameras set up until the first units had arrived.

Note – this is side-by-side 3D for VR 3D viewing.

3D

CNET news pronounces #3D TV officially dead #3DTV #VR3D #VR

LG and Sony both announce the end to selling 3D TVs in 2017. Samsung ended 3D support in 2016. Vizio announced it was discontinuing 3D models in 2014.

DirectTV, Sky TV, ESPN, BBC and others who provided 3D content suspended their delivery services over the past 1-2 years.

  • The push is now for 4K, high dynamic range, and may be curved screens.
  • 3D may live on in the form of VR 3D, using low cost Google Cardboard-like viewers. There are VR 3D videos on Youtube with hundreds of thousands of views – someone is watching them. Carboard-like viewers provide a very low cost way to view 3D – whereas 3D TV was not low cost.
  • Low cost 3D capable TV projection systems suitable for home use remain widely available
  • The present era of 3D LCD/OLED TVs is now over.
  • 3D might come back eventually in the form of glasses free 4K 3D. Indeed, each year consumer electronics companies add features to differentiate from the prior years.

For 2017 and probably 2018, 3D TV is itself dead.

Note that CNET also pronounced VR as likely dead too. Which leads to the question: Why should anyone believe any pronouncement from the industry or the media?

Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

After awhile, no one believes anything anyone says about future products and markets. At what point do consumers abandon 4K TV purchases after discovering there is little 4K content available and we repeat the cycle?

Source: Shambling corpse of 3D TV finally falls down dead – CNET

3D, 3D Tech, Business, Virtual Reality 360

CNET thinks #VR is already dead, apparently #VR3D #VR360 #CES2017

The media bad mouthed 3D – falsely referring to eyeglasses as “goggles” – contributing to the stunted market for consumer 3D TV. This CNET story reads like those old stories – just change “3D” to”VR”:

Virtual reality promises to be a mega-trend that upends how we use computers and just plain get along. So why’s it such a snooze at the world’s biggest tech expo?

Source: Virtually boring: VR really disappoints at CES this year – CNET

Yep, it’s 2017 and VR is just a snooze, practically dead, isn’t it?

Reminder – 3D was launched into a market in the midst of a near global economic depression. People who had just upgraded their old TVs to new HDTVs were asked to upgrade to more expensive 3D TVs. That was a non-starter. Second, there was very limited 3D content available. A limited selection of 3D BluRays – plus one or two 3D TV networks available only to a few. With little to watch, there was little reason to upgrade one’s HDTV to a new 3D HDTV.

News reporters, many of whom admitted they did not like 3D movies, invented their own explanation – they proclaimed consumers did not like “3D goggles”, referring to eyeglasses. The same reporters who wrote that then later wrote enthusiastically about Virtual Reality – never mind that VR elevates the “goggles” to literal helmets.

Now some reporters seem to be turning against VR because VR is not already in every home and being used for every possible application. The technology just isn’t roll out fast enough!

VR has something going for it that 3D TV did not – Google Cardboard-style viewers. Low cost, simple viewers that use existing smart phones enable consumers to enjoy VR 360 and VR 3D videos and games – at low cost! No large investment is required – no need to purchase an expensive 3D TV and upgrade your DVD player to 3D BluRay.

Second, content is delivered as gaming applications – no cable TV or satellite network support needed, as was needed for 3D. Users can watch VR 360 and VR 3D videos hosted on Youtube, Facebook and other online sites.

To summarize, VR has going for it:

  • Inexpensive ways to begin using VR today!
  • Access to free and inexpensive VR content, readily available!
  • Can also be used to watch 3D video – as a bonus feature – at no additional cost