One pair of 3D glasses to rule them all
(CNET) — The good news about the 3D TVs coming out this spring and summer is that they’ll come packed with two pairs of 3D lenses. The bad news? Those plastic glasses work only with the brand of TV with which they’re shipped.
That means that if you buy a Panasonic 3D TV, you can’t use the accompanying lenses with your neighbor’s Sony 3D TV, should you want to get together to watch the World Cup in 3D this summer. That’s because each TV brand has a sensor that picks up a signal from the corresponding brand of glasses.
If that seems backwards, it’s because it is. But it’s also the sign of a new technology that hasn’t yet worked out all of its kinks. Thankfully, the burgeoning 3D industry knows that this is a shortcoming and is concocting a fix.
One company that makes 3D eyewear, XpanD, has staked its claim to be the vendor of choice for brand-agnostic 3D glasses. The company has been manufacturing 3D glasses for movie theaters in Europe and Asia for years, and it is now moving to make the glasses work for people’s homes as well.
XpanD has been contracted to produce the lenses that will ship with Panasonic and Vizio’s 3D sets, but the company is also aiming more broadly: to be the provider of one pair of glasses that people buy once and use everywhere. XpanD’s glasses will be available for between $125 and $150, starting June 1 at retailers such as Best Buy and Sears. . . . [Click on title above to go to the rest of the article.]
Many of you have yet to switch over to High Definition Television (HDTV). And, if you have switched over, many of you do not have true HDTV, which is defined as 1080p. Some of you will have 1080i or even 720p television sets. You opted for a cheaper set, because that is what you could afford, but you may not have realized that the reason many sets are cheaper is because they are not actually true HDTV, but are a TV set that can received HD signals and display them in a lesser format. Even more of you still have the old TV set with a converter box attached to it, or your cable (or satellite) company has exchanged your connection box for one that can display HDTV on your old set by simply cutting out a lot of the information sent to your set. The result is that you see the same slightly fuzzy image. Of course, if you have never seen true HDTV, then you do not know that you have been seeing a slightly fuzzy image all your life. Father Orthoduck certainly did not realize that. And, there are a few of you who could care less because you have made the choice that television will simply not be part of your life, or at least a very minor part of your life.
But, now a new TV is about to strike. Beginning this summer, before people have even become accustomed to HDTV, now 3-D TV is coming out. And, we are now back to the old battle that rages on whenever technology changes. Which new standard is better? Is it 8-track or cassette? Is it cassette or CD or iPod or Sony? Is it Beta or VHS. Is it VHS or Blue-Ray? Father Orthoduck predicts several years of confusion, particularly for those who are not even sure what HDTV is all about yet. But, one has to admire the company featured in the article above. It is trying to do a very capitalist thing by seeing the coming demand for multi-TV compatible 3D glasses. And, in the best American fashion, they have already invented a set of 3D glasses that can (gasp) cross over format lines. If it works, Father Orthoduck can see why the CNET writer (most certainly a geek’s geek) picked the nicely geeky headline above. And, since Father Orthoduck is a geek, he quite likes that headline.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Uhm, on second thought maybe Father Orthoduck does not like the headline quite as much as he thought he did. But, he does feel constrained to try to do some free verse.
Three TV’s for the Wal-Marts under skies so blue,
Seven 3D TVs when one adds in the electronic stores,
Nine for those who shop at Nieman Marcus,
One set of 3D glasses from the company who makes them all
In the land of dreams (La-La Land) where the celluloid falls.
One Set of glasses to compatibilize them all, One Set to find them,
One Set to bring them all, and in the living room to idiotize them
In the land of dreams (La-La Land) where the celluloid falls.
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