CEATEC 2008: Panasonic 3D Blu-ray
HomeCEATEC 2008: Panasonic 3D Blu-ray
Posted September 30, 2008 09:40 AM by Ben Williams
Today at CEATEC Japan, Panasonic unveiled the first public demonstrations of their groundbreaking 3D Blu-ray technology. Hollywood has had a long-standing flirtation with 3D technology, but previous attempts at finding an audience for 3D have had mixed results. Viewers have often complained of 3D's reliance on colored glasses that gave images a strange and disjointed appearance as well as causing headaches and motion sickness. Now, 3D technology has evolved to the point where glasses using different colored lenses are no longer necessary. Today's 3D utilizes polarized lens technology that takes advantage of advances in liquid crystal technology allowing clear lenses and fewer unpleasant side effects.
The demonstration room for Panasonic's new system consisted of their heralded 100" plasma, a surround sound system and a specially modified Blu-ray player. The demonstration began with footage of a team of BMX bikers performing various free-style routines. I was immediately floored by the depth and realism of the image. As the presentation continued, we were treated to the 3D effect on the Disney film Meet the Robinsons, a music video for a teen pop group and, finally, the opening ceremonies of the recent 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. As the demonstration progressed, it was clear that the crowd was witnessing a fully-realized technology and not some one-off publicity stunt.
I've seen many 3D presentations over the years - - mostly from the old and outdated system of colored lenses. I've never been a fan. However, this demonstration was something different. Previous 3D seemed to rely on special effects and gimmicks to place objects into the foreground of the image in order to make them "float" in front of the audience. While this demo had some of those same effects, I was most impressed by the depth of the image. Many will remember the amazing drumming performance from this year's Olympics that featured 2008 percussionists performing in perfect rhythm. Seeing this in 3D opened up the scale of the performance. As the camera panned across the seemingly endless sea of men, the image on the 100" Panasonic plasma seemed to expand without limits beyond the back of the demonstration room. It was as if the screen was several hundred yards deep. The effect was truly mesmerizing.
After the presentation, I spoke briefly with a Panasonic rep about the technology used in the demonstration. He admitted that bringing 3D technology home would probably require a new investment in hardware - - both in the display and the Blu-ray player used. However, he didn't rule out the technology evolving to the point where existing Blu-ray and display technologies could be adapted to bring this exciting new experience home. As a side note, Disney has recently announced that every new animated film from both Disney Animation and Pixar would be exhibited theatrically in 3D. It looks like Blu-ray is, once again, the right format at the right time.
The demonstration room for Panasonic's new system consisted of their heralded 100" plasma, a surround sound system and a specially modified Blu-ray player. The demonstration began with footage of a team of BMX bikers performing various free-style routines. I was immediately floored by the depth and realism of the image. As the presentation continued, we were treated to the 3D effect on the Disney film Meet the Robinsons, a music video for a teen pop group and, finally, the opening ceremonies of the recent 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. As the demonstration progressed, it was clear that the crowd was witnessing a fully-realized technology and not some one-off publicity stunt.
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I've seen many 3D presentations over the years - - mostly from the old and outdated system of colored lenses. I've never been a fan. However, this demonstration was something different. Previous 3D seemed to rely on special effects and gimmicks to place objects into the foreground of the image in order to make them "float" in front of the audience. While this demo had some of those same effects, I was most impressed by the depth of the image. Many will remember the amazing drumming performance from this year's Olympics that featured 2008 percussionists performing in perfect rhythm. Seeing this in 3D opened up the scale of the performance. As the camera panned across the seemingly endless sea of men, the image on the 100" Panasonic plasma seemed to expand without limits beyond the back of the demonstration room. It was as if the screen was several hundred yards deep. The effect was truly mesmerizing.
After the presentation, I spoke briefly with a Panasonic rep about the technology used in the demonstration. He admitted that bringing 3D technology home would probably require a new investment in hardware - - both in the display and the Blu-ray player used. However, he didn't rule out the technology evolving to the point where existing Blu-ray and display technologies could be adapted to bring this exciting new experience home. As a side note, Disney has recently announced that every new animated film from both Disney Animation and Pixar would be exhibited theatrically in 3D. It looks like Blu-ray is, once again, the right format at the right time.