Most of the S3D news has been centered around stereoscopic, Panasonic, and and the upcoming release of James Cameron’s Avatar. For a few years now, ESPN has been testing its S3D transmission technology to private audiences. In early September 2009, the first open crowd consisting of rabid college football fans and it was received quiet well.
ESPN went with PACE 3D for the stereoscopic HD production. To deliver the S3D game to theaters, a technology that may be replicated on suitably equipped HDTV displays in the future, PACE
use Sony HD cameras in special configurations to generate the “left-eye” and “right-eye” feeds needed to create the stereoscopic 3D effect
On the viewing side, ESPN is proving its dedication to broadcast sports in S3D, by offering stereoscopic viewing with two competing types of screen and glasses combination:
“The Championship Lounge at ESPN Zone had five S3D TVs set up, two Sony flatscreens, two Hyundai flatscreens and a projection model. The Hyundais required RealD polarized glasses; the others were driving active shutter glasses.”
ESPN scores touchdown with S3D – Entertainment News, 3D Entertainment Summit, Media – Variety
Sure, ESPN is hedging its bets but with no clear leader in the industry nor the marketplace, can you really blame them? Both systems claim to have the solution that will win out in the end
RealD, supported by Hyundai, uses polarized glasses. The advantages include:
- synchronization with the TV is not required
- no need to power the glasses (USB charged, battery powered, etc.)
- it is not anaglyph
In the other corner, there are shutter glasses. It would appear to have the deck stacked against it, in terms of synchronization and requiring either batteries or some form of charging, however it is supported by some big names:
- Mitsubishi
- Panasonic
- Sony
and it is also not anaglyph!
As Stewart Wolpin reports in his Panasonic article above, Panasonic’s North America executive VP, Bob Perry
insists its 3D system won’t provoke a 3D format war ala Blu-ray and HD-DVD. While no other Blu-ray or HDTV maker has publicly supported Panasonic’s system, “they support it in private,” Perry reported. “I’m not aware of any manufacturer or studio that says they don’t support it.”
Good enough for you? Maybe now is not a good time to remind you that JVC’s press release a while ago stated that its custom installed solution included polarized glasses from XPol.
Tags: anaglyph, Avatar, ESPN, flatscreens, Football, glasses, HDTV, Hyundai, James Cameron, Mitsubishi, PACE, Panasonic, RealD, Sony, Sports, Stereoscopic, Technology, XPol
After the Transition 
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