The advent of 3D technology

The use of 3D technology in laptops, TVs and other products is growing as is the content needed to support these products including sports and movies. By Manjari Juneja

Over the past 18 months, 3D has gained momentum as a valid, widely adopted entertainment technology. Up until quite recently it was still seen as a fad, but with the raft of 3D TVs launched by every major manufacturer it’s obvious that 3D is here to stay. 3D Blu-Ray has been launched and there is 3D content everywhere, from sports channels broadcasting in 3D to 3D YouTube and cinema.

This is turning out to be the year of 3D. It’s the experience factor that has created demand for the entire ecosystem to add the third dimension to the viewing experience. 3D has had an impact on gaming, virtual worlds, movies, pictures and even broadcasting and this has led to its adoption across industries including PCs, content, consumer electronics and medicine. This is happening across the four screens of cinema, PC, TV and mobile.

3D, heralded as the future of digital technology, is set to transform the way that we perceive interaction with an electronic device such as a TV or a laptop. Innovation is no longer a fantasy, but a perpetual reality in the interaction between the individual and the machine.

Takakiyo Fujita, General Manager, Marketing, Sony India, said, “3D technology is exciting and we are expecting high demand from the consumer side. In fact, we have recently signed an eight-year agreement with FIFA World Cup. 25 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches will be produced using Sony’s 3D professional cameras, which will provide coverage of the action that is unprecedented in depth, vividness and excitement to people around the world.”

Diptarup Chakraborti, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner, said, “Not more than two percent of laptops are using 3D technology as of now. However, it might increase as 3D enabled content becomes available and it will play a symbiotic role. It’s a niche market as of now as it is expensive just the way AIOs used to be sometime back. As with any other new technology, here also there are early adopters and it will take some time for it to become a mainstream technology.”

3D-enabled products

Asus, Clevo and MSI are going to provide high end gaming notebooks that come with 3D Vision right out of the box. In these laptops, the panel is 3D and you put on your goggles and start enjoying the content. Fuji has announced the availability of 3D consumer cameras which will enable people to view their own pictures and videos in 3D.

3D looks like it will be a game changer with regard to how content is viewed and enjoyed. It brings realism to content and people want that on every platform, not just on their desktop PC. Expect to see 3D coming to just about every entertainment and computing device you can imagine in the near future.

With LG, Samsung, Viewsonic, Acer and Alienware coming out with 3D enabled LCD displays this is likely to be the way that people will enjoy content in the future. It is not just games that can be played in 3D; you can view pictures in 3D too. Movies like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland have proved the power of 3D.

Not just this, Internet videos can now be watched in 3D with Youtube announcing support for this technology. There's more. This IPL season, four matches will be broadcasted in full 3D and all matches will be in this format from the next season. NVIDIA's next gen GPUs will have a brand new video processor that adds Blu-Ray 3D support. With all of this, it looks set to become a mainstream technology.

The entire ecosystem—right from the vast majority of display manufacturers to the Internet to pictures to videos to broadcast to games—is starting to utilize 3D. S. Rajendran, CMO, Acer India, said, “The problem with movies released in Digital 3D is that it tends to get lost in translation to Blu-ray or DVD. Without a display that is made for the 3D technology, it probably won’t look as good. Acer is looking to fix that problem with our 3D notebook aimed at entertainment enthusiasts. The Acer 3D Notebook is a revolution in viewing experience and entertainment, offering you a sense of ‘being there.’ The day is not far off before consumers realize the true potential of Stereoscopic 3D. This will change the way that consumers experience technology.”

Benefits of 3D

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging applies the knowledge that humans see things with two eyes that are set slightly apart, to reproduce a sense of depth in addition to horizontal and vertical information. 3D could be used in all image production software where up till now 2D was being used. The benefit of 3D technology is that you get a more realistic image.

There are many applications for this effect. Entertainment is the most obvious, but 3D has also been long used by professionals for applications where information can most usefully be analyzed or manipulated in three dimensions. Seeing their work in 3D can be helpful to a car designer experimenting with a new style or a scientist searching for oil and gas in complex layers of seismic data.

Semiconductor industry developments will drive 3D Chip technology to new heights. Systems, design, implementation and usage are the other parameters where this is of immense use. The movies and other parts of the entertainment industry can make many applications out of this.

Interactive education (e.g. showing things like dissecting frogs without actually killing a frog) is another possibility. Educational content e.g. the study of the universe, of the human body, of objects and shapes in the mathematical field (e.g. geometry) can all be made more interactive and believable with this technology. Medical surgical procedures, civil structure designs and simulations are all possible.

In the field of media, photography-related applications could get a huge fillip. CAD CAM applications will soar to new heights. Gaming and entertainment related activities, satellite education etc. are the growth drivers for 3D.

Gautam Ghosh, Country Manager India, ViewSonic Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., said, “There is a huge market for 3D. The outlook for 3D technology is good, where people aged from 16 to 35 are more interested in gaming and movies and look forward to watching 3D movies and playing games at home. With the help of 3D technology, surgeons can now see inside the human body, without making an incision. 3D airspace simulators enable controllers in an airport to view the activity of an airplane in 3D.”

Nishant Goyal, Head of Sales, South Asia, NVIDIA, said, “The entire ecosystem is transforming by making 3D content available to consumers. We think that growth will come from all verticals. In the professional sector, 3D is already a valuable tool for industries such as oil and gas, automotive and medical imaging and we expect that these will continue to grow as the technology becomes more accessible.”

Challenges in adoption

3D technology still has a number of hurdles to overcome before it enters the mainstream. Lack of sufficient 3D content available in the market and consumer reluctance to upgrade will act as major challenges to the growth of this market.

The challenge that any technology faces is acceptability; people are not ready for change. In the past, the problem has been that it hasn’t been believable. 3D used to be an effect, not an experience.

Another factor that might hold back 3D's potential is the dorky image of 3D glasses. Special glasses are a requirement for all variations of the active-shutter technology that television makers are using.

Goyal, said, “The 3D experience is so visual that it can’t be explained in words. You have to see it to believe it. But once consumers have experienced it, they are blown away! The key is to ensure that people have the opportunity to experience 3D Vision and we are working closely with our partners to achieve this. OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) such as HCL and Connoiseur have taken the initiative to introduce their customers to stereoscopic 3D using industry-standard LCD panels. Many other major brands including Alienware, Acer and ASUS are also investing in the 3D phenomenon.”

Future of 3D tech in India

The consumer electronics industry has been quick in putting the elements for a 3D revolution in place. Every major manufacturer has revealed its 3D plans for 2010, with most companies setting a summer launch timeframe for their 3D-enabled televisions. Simultaneously, 3D-enabled Blu-ray players will also arrive. 3D cameras for filmmakers will arrive in the fall.

Broadcasters are also getting into the act. They are ready with new channels focusing on 3D content. Film content is already available and will be growing thanks to the Avatar effect.

3D is definitely here to stay and will move on to enter the mainstream. It is likely to be the next wave in computer interfaces as it is becoming more intuitive and compelling. It is the extra dimension that makes it a completely immersive experience and will make it seem that you are in the thick of the action. 3D products will be a hit among the entertainment oriented consumers who would love to watch their movies in 3D, as well as hardcore gamers and gaming enthusiasts where the users are transported into the thick of the action.

“We will definitely have a considerable amount of exposure to 3D in our daily lives this year. More 3D movies will be released. The consumer will have greater choice in terms of increased offerings from electronic hardware device manufacturers. Although content is still limited, this technology will find a lot of takers, especially in the home and entertainment segment,” concluded Rajendran.

3D at the cinema

3D technology enabled products are the next big thing in the consumer electronics market. 3D Viewing gives a real life experience with an additional dimension to the normal flat picture, thereby making the television viewing experience more exciting. The growing availability of 3D content will add to the technology’s popularity.

The uptake of 3D at the cinemas has been a little slower in India when compared to the US and other developed markets. Hollywood is 3D crazy right now after the success of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. Indian studios contributed a lot in terms of image processing and visual effects to both these movies. We are now starting to see 3D movies take off with domestic audiences. Reliance MediaWorks recently announced a partnership with In Three, a US lab, establishing the world’s largest facility for converting 2D movies into 3D. This is expected to give a new lease of life to existing titles, drawing audiences back into cinemas to experience their favorites in 3D and allowing movie studios to boost revenues. Looking to the future, it also provides a great back-catalogue of material for enjoying 3D movies at home when 3D TVs become a mainstream standard.

It’s not just games and movies, even Internet video is now available in 3D with the release of a YouTube plugin that lets people enjoy and share 3D content. 3D is everywhere and it’s going to remain one of the major trends for India’s entertainment market in the foreseeable future.

manjari.juneja@expressindia.com