Next 3D Frontier: Bigscreen Ads

After a tentative start, Europe is embracing 3D in-theater advertising. Most territories are lining up 3D spots to catch the Avatar wave in December, with expectations of growth in 2010. Some territories have embraced the potential of having cinema advertising match the films screening, while others have reservations.

In the Netherlands, advertisers are unwilling to invest in the more costly format. And in Italy, ads are shown on different projectors from the main feature, and these are not 3D-ready. Price is commonly mentioned as a barrier, with advertisers worried that 3D spots are expensive to produce, yet only play with a few films on a small proportion of screens.

"Our greatest challenge is to get advertisers (and media agencies) to understand that 3D productions are affordable," says Espen Strand Henriksen, marketing manager with Norway movie ad distribution company CAPA Kinoreklame.

The country's first 3D campaign, for Hennig Olsen ice cream, ran over the summer. France also kicked off a 3D spot from candy company Haribo. In the U.K., cinema ad company Pearl & Dean found the range of 3D options, and therefore costs, too broad for advertisers. Over the past year it has worked with production houses to produce a more structured offer.

"That has given advertisers a bit more confidence, and with the number of screens increasing quite dramatically they are able to get a better return on their 3D commercials than a year ago," says Mike Hope-Milne, enterprise director.

Pearl & Dean also ran its first campaigns during the summer, a promo for Nickelodeon and an ambitious interactive 3D game for telecom company O2.

In Portugal, there's concern that family films, which rep the largest number of 3D releases, aren't the best vehicles for splashy screen ads.

"Most 3D releases, at least in 2009, are family and animation movies, which exclude some important brands and segments. For example alcoholic drinks, which represent a huge percentage of cinema advertising," says Mafalda Malafaya of Screenvision in Lisbon.

In Belgium, Screenvision began wooing advertisers for Avatar in October. Aware that time is short to produce 3D spots, it is suggesting simpler options such as pulling 3D scenes out of 2D spots or adding a 3D logo, with ad costs starting around e10,000 ($15,000).

By Ian Mundell, Variety

3D Screens on Holiday List

Theater owners are scrambling to make sure they have enough 3D screens to make it a happy holiday season. This past year, moviegoers have proved their willingness to pay extra coin for a 3D ticket -- particularly in foreign markets. So exhibs around the globe have been adding screens as fast as they can before the Nov. 6 release of Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, and the Dec. 18 bow of James Cameron's Avatar, from 20th Century Fox.

At the beginning of the year, there were 900 theaters in the U.S. equipped to play 3D titles. That count has more than doubled in the months since, with Robert Zemeckis' Christmas Carol expected to open in approximately 2,000 locations.

Fox expects there to be 2,400-2,500 3D locations in the U.S. by the time Avatar unspools. (Domestically, exhibs tally the number of theater locations, while overseas distributors use screen counts.)

Internationally, the number of 3D screens should more than triple by the end of the year, from 1,000 at the end of 2008 to roughly 3,200. That makes a worldwide screen count of approximately 6,700.

Fox and Disney had hoped for more locations to be in place -- domestically, 3,000 locations would have been ideal -- but not enough theaters had converted in time.

The U.K. and China have the most number of 3D screens of any foreign territory, at 400 each. They are followed closely by France at 380, Germany with 225, and Italy with 200. Russia's count is on the rise, since many of its newly built multiplexes were equipped with digital capability from the start. Presently, Russia has 185 screens, followed closely by Mexico at 180.

Japan, the biggest international box office territory, lags behind with 150 3D screens. Korea has 120 and Australia, 100.

By next spring, there should be enough 3D locations to make studios happier as they fill up the 3D pipeline. There are 16 3D titles slotted already for 2010, starting with Disney's Alice in Wonderland on March 5.

There is a huge advantage to 3D screens, which can outperform a regular screen 3:1. For example, the 3D screen count for Monsters vs. Aliens repped only 20% of the total, yet accounted for 43% of the total gross. Similarly, Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs earned $240 million of its massive $682 million global B.O. from 3D screens, which repped only a fraction of the screen count.

However, the contentious debate between exhibs and studios over who should foot the bill for the conversion has been a major factor in the delay to get screens converted to digital projection. Studios ultimately agreed to pay a "virtual print fee" to U.S. exhibs, which will help offset the cost of switching to digital. Then, just as the three largest U.S. theater chains -- AMC, Cinemark and Regal -- were going to use the VPF deals to secure a $1 billion line of credit for the conversion, the economy crashed. The three circuits are working together through a consortium, Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), which in turn is working with JP Morgan on the credit facilities. Insiders say JPMorgan and DCIP are close to announcing a line of credit valued at somewhere around $500 million.

New Jersey-based Cinedigm Digital Cinema, which works with medium-sized and smaller circuits, found itself in the same boat, but last week announced it had secured a credit line of up to $100 million from GE Capital Media and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking. Monies will be used to install up to 2,133 digital systems as part of Cinedigm's rollout of 10,000 screens.

"In the last six weeks, things seem to have eased. They are doing everything they can to get these screens up and running," says Paramount prexy of international distribution Andrew Cripps who is prepping the release of DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon in March.

Distribs across the Middle East are scrambling to get 3D screens ready for Avatar. In Egypt, there are no 3D-equipped digital projectors, but 15 are expected by December. The United Arab Emirates has only two 3D locations, but will add more by Christmas.

By Pamela McClintock and Ali Jaafar, Variety

Sony Introduces New 4K Digital Projection System

Sony introduced a new 4K digital-cinema projection system that offers enhancements in performance and functionality. The new system features the SRX-R320 4K SXRD projector and LMT-300 Media Block. It incorporates similar features and design elements of its predecessor, the SRX-R220 system, but measures approximately half the size and weight to give exhibitors more installation options.

According to Gary Johns, VP of Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Systems Division. “With extremely high resolution, outstanding security and operational versatility, this new system is ideal for creating an immersive digital cinema experience—in 2D or 3D—on any screen.”

The new system incorporates the 4096 x 2160 resolution of its SXRD counterparts and delivers a high contrast ratio of more than 2000:1. It is designed to be compatible with the same lamps and lenses used for the R220 model. The system is FIPS 140-2 compliant and its secure enclosure design allows the LMT-300 server to be seamlessly integrated into the projector’s chassis, providing a high level of security that meets the SPB-2 anti-tamper regulations stipulated by Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI).

A choice of six optional automated zoom/focus lenses and selectable 4.2 kW, 3.0 kW, and 2.0 kW Xenon projector lamps allows for screen coverage of up to 20 meters (65 feet), providing a SMPTE-standard brightness level of 14 ft-L on a wide screen. Using an optional anamorphic lens (LKRL-A001), screen coverage can be extended up to 21.4 meters (70 feet).

Using Sony’s 3D dual-lens adaptor, the SRX-R320 projector can deliver crisp 3D images on screens up to 15 meters (50 feet side-masked) in width at 4.5 ft-L brightness.

The new system offers the optional STM-100 Theater Management System software suite that allows theatre staff to manage multiple auditoriums from a central PC connected to a theatre’s LAN.

The SRX-R320 4K projector and LMT-300 Media Block are planned to be available in November.

Source: Film Journal International

Moto Imagines a 'Universal' 3DTV Set-Top

3D television broadcasts are years away, but Motorola is already talking about delivering digital set-top boxes that would be able to convert 3DTV video into any other 3DTV format.

In a demo on the show floor here at Cable-Tec Expo, Motorola has a VIP 1225 IP set-top playing U2 concert footage viewable in 3D using active glasses from XpanD. A DCX3400 cable box is playing 3D trailer of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs which uses RealD glasses. While the set-tops can’t convert video from, say, a checkerboard interleaved 3D format to a top/bottom (or side-by-side) technique, there may someday be a need for that.

Jae Hoon Kim, senior staff engineer in Motorola’s San Diego-based advanced technology group, pointed out there’s no industry standard for 3DTV. “Each content provider will have their own preference,” he says. In addition, TV manufacturers are using different 3D rendering technologies — CableLabs’ 3DTV showcase at the show, for example, features demos by Panasonic, LG and Hyundai.

In theory, a 3D-capable TV set could instruct the set-top which format or formats it supports using HDMI. Such a 3D-aware set-top could also produce a 2D version of the video, according to Kim.

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News

Digital Switch Coin Found

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. has secured a line of credit of up to $100 million to help theater owners make the transition to digital, a prerequisite for showing films in 3D. GE Capital Media's Communications & Entertainment business and French company Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking are providing the funds.

Once the deal for the coin is finalized, Cinedigm will use the credit to support the deployment of up to 2,133 digital systems next year as part of its 10,000-screen deployment. GE Capital's commitment covers up to 1,600 digital systems, and Societe Generale's up to 533 systems.

The line of credit was secured after all the major studios agreed to pay exhibs a virtual print fee for digital prints, helping to offset the cost of digital and 3D conversion. Cinedigm's announcement is good news for exhibs and distributors, since it heralds the thawing of credit markets.

Insiders said that the Digital Cinema Implementation Project -- a consortium formed by mega domestic circuits AMC, Cinemark and Regal -- also is close to securing a line of credit that will be used to convert auditoriums to digital. DCIP, through JPMorgan, was trying to secure the facilities when the economy tumbled.

The conversion to digital was a hot topic this week at annual exhib confab ShowEast in Orlando. Also at the confab, 3D cinema technology company RealD announced it has struck a licensing agreement with Look3D, which will design, manufacture and distribute RealD premium eyewear for consumers.

By Pamela McClintock, Variety

Samsung AMOLED 3D Displays

Samsung’s innovative showcase at the FPD 2009 includes the world’s first 30-inch AMOLED TV that supports 3D picture as well as full HD resolution. The panel measures just 2.5mm and is developed by Samsung’s patented Simultaneous Emission with Active Voltage (SEAV) technology. The set also features Crosstalk tech that claims to reduce dizziness and eye fatigue.

Samsung 30-inch AMOLED 3D TV


Samsung 3.3-inch AMOLED WQVGA 3D Display


Samsung 14-inch AMOLED 3D Display

Source: Samsung Hub

3D Demo Upgrade in the Motorola Booth

Back in the spring, Motorola brought its 3D TV demo to The Cable Show, along with information on set-top and encoding requirements. Here at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, the demo’s gotten an upgrade. While before Motorola only showed 3D with active shutter glass technology, today it’s got active and passive 3D side by side. What’s the difference? Active 3D uses a transmitter on top of the TV to communicate with a viewer’s 3D glasses, alternately darkening one eye and then the other according to the screen refresh rate. Passive 3D uses half the image resolution for one eye and half for the other along with polarizing filters to create the 3D effect. The glasses are simpler and require no additional information from a separate transmitter.

In the photo from the Motorola demo above, you see active 3D on the left using an IP set-top, and passive 3D on the right using the QAM-based DCX3400. I tested out both, and my highly technical conclusion was that they both look good. The image from the passive 3D display seemed to delineate pretty clearly between foreground and background, which is something I remember from watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in the movie theater. The image from the active 3D display appeared to make the transition between foreground and background a little more gradual. On the other hand, since the content wasn’t the same on both screens, it’s hard to tell how accurate that perception was.

On the bandwidth side of things, I learned for the first time about the role of Multiview Video Coding (MVC) in bitrate requirements. Without going into detail on how MVC works at the moment, when it’s used, 3D TV only requires about 30% more throughput than traditional 2D. That can easily be made up by moving to MPEG-4 compression. Without MVC, 3D apparently takes up about twice the bandwidth of 2D.

By Mari Silbey, MediaExperience2Go

DVB Embarks on Standardization Projects for 3-D Television and OTT

Industry body the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB) is to develop a set of technical standards for the distribution of three-dimensional video to the television set and the delivery of television content over the open Internet. The organization's steering board last week gave the go-ahead for work to commence on the two standardization projects.

Working groups will now start to set out commercial requirements for both technologies, with work on technical specifications to start shortly after that. The DVB expects to have a 3-D television specification ready in 12 to 18 months' time, with the standards for its broadcast Internet project expected somewhat earlier, in 2010.

Interest in three-dimensional television has grown in recent times and DVB director Peter Siebert said that there was now a "general consensus" among DVB members that 3-D television was an important issue for the future.

"You can argue about when it will come, but it is definitely coming," he said.

In the UK, pay-television operator BSkyB has already announced that it will launch a commercial 3-D television service toward the end of 2010, which will run over the operators' existing high-definition set-top boxes. At the same time, the growing importance of 3-D television for operators' and broadcasters' strategies has prompted calls for industry to agree on common technology standards.

Earlier this year, David Wood, head of new technology of the European Broadcasters' Union, warned that up-and-coming technologies like 3-D television stood little chance of success if Europe's audiovisual industry failed to find compromises and descended into a standards "Wild West".

Siebert said that although standards for displays and the production of 3-D television content were still some way off from being agreed by the industry, the "bit in the middle" that the DVB would work on - the distribution of 3-D content to the television - was less controversial and ready to be standardized. The DVB's 3-D project will focus on "first generation", that is stereoscopic, systems for 3-D television rather than multiview or holographic technologies.

On the "over the top" side, the DVB will work on defining the "architecture" for a "broadcast Internet" system that distributes television content over the open Internet.

"The problem with the Internet is that it is designed for point-to-point traffic," said Siebert. "If you apply that model to broadcasting, it means that every user who watches television over the Internet has, in effect, a separate connection into the studio. That kind of model requires enormous investment from the broadcasters and the network operators.

"The idea is to develop an architecture that makes use of the Internet's infrastructure but, at the same, allows for a more efficient transmission to the end consumer."

Siebert said that the DVB's decision to become involved in standardizing broadcast Internet technologies had been informed by two main factors: the increasing availability of high-speed Internet across Europe - championed by broadband policies such as the UK's Digital Britain agenda and France Numerique 2012 in France - and the fact that chipsets had become cheap enough to viably build the necessary technology into reception devices.

"Many city carriers are also now rolling out their fiber-optic broadband infrastructure to the end consumer," he added. "That is the ideal means of bringing television services into the home."

Source: Informa Telecoms & Media

A Turning Point

Every significant technology overhaul happens in fits and starts and the transition from film to digital in exhibition has been no exception. As with other global technological developments, there have been highlight moments along the way. It will take a few years to be certain but I believe several announcements that came to light at ShowEast 2009 in Orlando will come to be seen as major turning points in the ongoing worldwide adoption of digital cinema. Historically important events typically occur with little or no fanfare and the biggest news, in my mind, to come out of ShowEast 2009 is no exception. While it is still not widely known and there will be no formal announcement, it is not a secret: Christie has manufactured its last 35mm projector.

I learned this during an hour-long one-on-one conversation with Christie’s president Jack Kline. We talked about a wide range of industry topics and when – almost in passing – he mentioned the news about stopping the manufacture of 35mm projectors I confess I was at first shocked. Kline said he understood that the news sounds shocking at first, but said it was one of the easiest business decisions he’s ever had to make. The reason is that for a very long time no one has purchased a new 35mm projector from Christie. Kline said Christie would continue to support its existing film projector customers.

Upon reflection the news makes perfect sense. According to Texas Instruments, as of October 23rd there were more than 14,000 DLP Cinema projectors in the world. Obviously the majority of those replaced existing 35mm projectors, many of which are still in good working order and are available for sale in various places. There is simply no demand for new projectors.

There were three other significant developments discussed at the conference, all of which gain even more importance in the context of the fact that film projection is clearly trending downward:

- Digital Cinema Implementation Partners CEO Travis Reid spoke during a panel discussion on financing and confirmed that JP Morgan recently released the first $525 million of its loan to fund the rollout of 15,000 digital screens over the next few years in Regal, Cinemark and AMC theatres. The corner has been turned. "We're really ready to get going," Reid said.

- Two of the recently announced film-based 3D systems were represented at the show, were the subject of much debate and did not appear to gain any serious traction.

- Kodak Digital Cinema, for all intents and purposes, announced that it is out of the digital cinema business.

First Technicolor, which demonstrated its film-based over-under 3D system to ShowEast attendees. At the demonstration at a local Orlando movie theatre, Technicolor announced that it has aligned with other film companies including Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Eastman Kodak Company, and Fujifilm to provide financial assistance to exhibitors seeking their 3D system. The Silver Screen Fund defers costs associated with the purchase and installation of silver screens by providing financial assistance to exhibitors who deploy the Technicolor 3D solution. Technicolor will manage the fund.

The Silver Screen Fund will finance up to 500 silver screens to be installed at theatres in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Funding is available immediately for qualified exhibitors. When exhibitors complete the terms of the Silver Screen Fund agreement, they will own the silver screen, a necessary component for future digital 3D projection.

“Technicolor is committed to delivering high-quality, affordable 3D solutions, and the creation of the Silver Screen Fund accelerates our promise to our exhibition partners by helping them defer upfront costs associated with the purchase and installation of silver screens,” says Lanny Raimondo, head of Technicolor. “Thanks to overwhelming studio and industry support, we expect to sign up these first 500 screens in the coming weeks, keeping us on track to reach our target of more than 1,000 Technicolor 3D screens by mid-2010.”

According to Technicolor, DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate, Paramount, Overture, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and The Weinstein Company have agreed to support its system and will supply content. But later that same day both Disney and 20th Century Fox said they would not support Technicolor or any of the other proposed film-based 3D systems. If that decision holds firm, the idea of film-based 3D is effectively dead.

Most exhibitors, especially from the more successful chains, do not like the film-based 3D systems – from Technicolor or anyone else. As Cinemark International president Valmir Fernandes told the Hollywood Reporter, "We don't like it. We think it's a step backward."

There may be some exhibitors who – for the sake of getting involved in 3D at a lower cost than digital – will embrace the Technicolor system or the other film-based 3D systems, such as Oculus that was also introduced (at least as a concept) at the show. But the supply of content will be limited and will get even smaller as time passes.

That is because digital cinema has moved from a possibility to inevitability. The DCIP announcement that the company’s rollout is seriously underway puts an exclamation point on this.

Ironically, the fact the digital cinema is now an inevitably is one of the main reasons that Kodak has decided to pull out of the market. Kodak Digital Cinema has limped along from its earliest days. That it no reflection on the people in that division; blame corporate executives in Kodak’s headquarters in Rochester, New York.

Kodak Digital Cinema’s corporate bosses gave them mixed signals from the start, providing financial support and backing one day and pulling it back the next. And, in their ongoing (and understandable) desire to prolong the life of 35mm film, the powers that be at Kodak did all they could behind the scenes to undermine the growth of digital cinema. Just one example: the company waited until Cinedigm (in those days called AccessIT) had begun to implement digital systems and then dropped the price of 35mm film prints.

Worse, from corporate Kodak’s perspective, competing in the new digital cinema world will require a significant financial commitment and, right or wrong, Kodak decided not to make that commitment. The result, Kodak Digital Cinema, which never got a fair shake from its corporate parents, is gone.

The only question that remains for Kodak now is how much longer it will continue to support professional film production and exhibition. The answer is still in years but the number now could conceivably have a single digit, which is a sentence I personally never imagined writing.

By Nick Dager, Digital Cinema Report

AU Optronics Exhibits 8" to 65" Glasses-free 3D Display Panels

With its great advancement in 3D display technologies, AU Optronics (AUO) will showcase a series of 3D display technologies ranging from 8" to 65" at the FPD International. AUO's breakthrough 3D display technology, which does not require special glasses, has introduced technical innovations, for the barrier as well as the lenticular type. As glasses-free 3D displays need an increased number of viewing angles, AUO has leveraged the higher resolution panels and revolutionary pixel arrangement designs so that the audience can appreciate the higher resolution.

AUO's 65" QFHD 2D/3D mixed mode Display uses a lenticular lens. With a 2D/3D switch, 3D images can be perceived in 3D mode while 2D images can be perceived in 2D mode. Providing lifelike 3D images and a clear text display, the product will be the ideal choice for public information display applications for commercial advertisements.

The 46" Real-time Scenario Lenticular 3D Display has eight views. A real-time multi-view system captures simultaneous images of objects from different angles. This image data is re-arranged by AUO's self-developing image process circuit to provide the correct content for the 3D display. This technology can be applied when broadcasting sports contests for presenting vivid, real-time images.

Source: AU Optronics

Mexico Kicks off S3D TV with Soccer

Chalk up another first for S3D TV: Mexico’s first telecast of a major soccer match in the format. Televisa, Mexico’s largest producer of Spanish-language content, teamed with Sony, Binocle 3D and RealD on S3D coverage of Club America’s 1-0 victory Sunday over Chivas of Guadalajara.

The S3D telecast was beamed to four Cinepolis theaters in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, as well as private screenings at Televisa’s San Angel studios in Mexico City and the AMC Burbank Town Center 6. Cinepolis charged 89 pesos ($6.70) per ticket. The regular 2D telecast was expected to draw about 35 million viewers.

Televisa provided the network, transmission and most of the production support; Sony, RealD and Binocle 3D contributed the cameras, projectors and multiplexers.

Televisa plans to present at least one event per financial quarter through the next year, including musical events and a special 3D finale of the telenovela Atrevete a sonar (Dare to Dream) in May in the National Auditorium to a crowd of 10,000. Televisa operations veep Maximiliano Arteaga also indicated the company’s intention to present certain events of the 2012 Olympic Games in London in 3D.

By James Young, Variety

Quality Content Drives 3D Home

The next wave in the stereoscopic 3D revolution isn't coming from cinemas, but in the home -- provided the industry is diligent about keeping quality high for its S3D content.

That was the message of Rob Engle's opening keynote address Tuesday to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers' Tech Conference and Expo. Engle, the senior stereographer and 3D visual effects supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks, predicted gaming and sports would drive early adopters of home S3D TV, and consumers will follow. "Imagine the Super Bowl in 3D," he said.

Engle noted that this generation of S3D has thrived due to the convergence of digital production techniques, including cameras and post, plus digital projection.

"It really is a new medium," he said. "If the technologists and consumer electronics makers come together to produce good content and present it in a good format, we really have the power to change how entertainment is perceived."

He predicted the upcoming Avatar would win over "a lot of converts" among consumers, many of whom still attach a stigma to S3D due to the failed efforts of the 1950s, '70s and '80s.

Engle warned that keeping quality is a must, starting with storytelling. "Don't make 'a 3D film,'" he said. "Nobody says, 'I'm going to make a great color film.' They talk about making a film. You go make a good movie."

And he also warned, "Don't try to do 3D on the cheap. It's a good bet you'll either end up with a lousy product or pay to fix your mistakes later on."

By David S. Cohen, Variety

Digital Cinema Still a Work in Progress

Execs seem almost embarrassed about the prospect of promising too much too soon regarding digital cinema.

Too late.

A decade into a planned industrywide conversion to digital projection, the effort remains a work in progress, with the protracted credit crunch reducing the rollout of d-cinema hardware to a snail's pace for the past year. That's also hampered the related introduction of 3D projection.

But with the financial community finally beginning to rebound, d-cinema proponents here Tuesday politely asked exhibitors attending ShowEast to keep the faith.

"The reason you do this is to add to your business," Bud Mayo, CEO of d-cinema integrator Cinedigm, said during a panel discussion. "It's not just to have cool technology up on your screens. We've seen the incremental increase in revenue that 3D allows."

JPMorgan managing director Andy Sriubas said bankers helping integrators and studios to underwrite installation costs also want to see that "exhibition has some skin in the game." In an earlier round of digital installations, studios footed the bill almost 100%.

Exhibitors seem OK with shouldering a modest portion of installation costs. In fact, some self-financed digital conversions as integrators waited out the credit crunch.

"We didn't want to wait," said Henry McCalmont, who converted half of the six screens in his Mountain Home, Ark., multiplex to digital and added 3D capability to some.

Art Gordon of AG Theatres also jumped quickly into digital and 3D for his two theaters in Guam. "I'm a believer," he said with a shrug.

Even bigger exhibs have continued to convert a select number of screens. But the U.S. big three -- Regal, AMC and Cinemark -- have had to wait for Wall Street support before proceeding with more ambitious rollouts.

"We're really ready to get going," said Travis Reid, CEO of big-three integrator Digital Cinema Implementation Partners.

DCIP and JPMorgan recently went to market with a $525 million loan syndication to fund the rollout of 15,000 screen installations during the next several years. The bigger circuits already had marked considerable progress before the economic troubles set in. But digital screen counts can be confusing, as estimates by any three industryites are likely to yield at least four numbers. Consensus estimates put movie-quality installations at roughly 13,000-14,000 screens globally, with 6,500-7,000 auditoriums boasting 3D capability.

In the meantime, with the industry's conversion to digital and 3D projection going so slowly, Technicolor recently came forward with a stopgap proposal: The film lab is pushing a newly developed format for film-based 3D projection. The film-processing giant today will demo the technology for exhibs here amid broad skepticism. Technicolor is positioning the system as a lower-cost alternative to digital 3D, but Cinemark International president Valmir Fernandes summed up sentiment among skeptics.

"We don't like it," he told THR. "We think it's a step backward."

A handful of studios have lent endorsements, but they are much more bullish on digital 3D, which eventually will do away with distribs' print costs.

For exhibs, every theater operator who opts to go with the Technicolor system would be one less participant in so-called VPF plans, the virtual-print-fee agreements that studios have signed to fund the rollout of digital systems. The way such pacts are written, VPF terms are more generous to exhibs if more theaters participate in the conversions. Technicolor has yet to begin signing up theaters to its plan, so its ShowEast promos could prove key if its technology is to gain traction. But some industryites question even the notion of significant cost savings from film-based 3D.

Certain kinds of 3D glasses will only work with polarized screens of the sort installed in digital auditoriums. So to avoid that $10,000-per-screen conversion cost -- and after all, low cost is the whole appeal of film-based 3D -- exhibs might have to absorb greater upfront costs to buy nondisposable 3D glasses of the kind required with nonpolarized screens.

To overcome such concerns, Technicolor today will announce an initiative by three film-oriented companies to cover screen-conversion costs for the first 500 auditoriums outfitted with film 3D systems. Kodak, Fuji and Deluxe will contribute to the Silver Screen Fund, which will be managed by Technicolor.

"Technicolor is committed to delivering high-quality, affordable 3D solutions, and the creation of the Silver Screen Fund accelerates our promise to our exhibition partners by helping them defer upfront costs associated with the purchase and installation of silver screens," Technicolor topper Lanny Raimondo said.

By Carl DiOrio, The Hollywood Reporter

3D Spotlight

Three-dimensional movie production is about to enter a whole new world. The digital format already has proved its commercial appeal as films released this year in 3D have almost universally received a bump at the boxoffice. But as the Dec. 18 opening of James Cameron's inter-stellar adventure Avatar approaches, the 3D landscape is heating up on the technology side.

In part, this activity can be attributed to a recent increase in equipment manufacturers working to refine and expand 3D production capacity. Such manufacturers as P+S Technik, Element Technica and Binocle have developed 3D camera rigs, and it is now common to find 3D capabilities in leading postproduction systems, from companies including Avid, Autodesk, DVS, the Foundry and Quantel. Panasonic and Sony also are working on a full line of 3D products, aiming to provide the technology and a cost structure that makes 3D viable.

But the production of Avatar is shaping up as a key factor in the evolution of 3D, as the ambitious, $230 million-budgeted live-action/motion-capture film has become a testing ground for several technologies gaining traction in the 3D community.

For instance, the film's live action was lensed using the Fusion 3D camera system, which Cameron invented with Vince Pace, a director of photography on the film. First used to make Cameron's 2003 Imax 3D film Ghosts of the Abyss, the Fusion rigs -- which can be used with a variety of digital cinematography cameras -- are now available for rental via Pace's Burbank-based 3D provider, which continues to develop the system for other productions.

Fusion has been used on such live-action digital 3D titles as this summer's The Final Destination and concert films by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. Those films benefited from the work done to prepare the camera system for the challenging Avatar production.

"This was a very ambitious film," Pace says. "They really became Avatar-specific rigs."

The movie, which is still not quite completed, is expected to be roughly 60% CG, including characters that were animated using new performance capture techniques; and 40% live action with a substantial amount of visual effects elements. Cameron shot the film in Hawaii and New Zealand, where Peter Jackson's Weta handled visual effects. The performance capture was done on a Marina Del Rey stage with the help of advanced technology company Giant Studios.

Insiders in the 3D community have been watching the production because of several innovations on display. The most significant new toy is an algorithm that guides the cinematographer through some of the mathematics of stereo vision.

"It essentially recognizes a focal length and adjusts the controls of the system to provide a starting point," Pace says. He believes this will allow the cinematographer to focus on creative decisions, rather than the technical.

"It will also help minimize the number of bad 3D shots," he adds. "With bad color, you walk away saying, 'That didn't look good.' In stereo, you walk away saying, 'That didn't feel good.' There is a big difference."

Pace and Cameron also tweaked the camera system to make it more manageable for director of photography Mauro Fiore. "The intention was not to have six cameras. It was to have three that could do six different configurations needed to get the job done," Pace explains. "We made some lens and some configuration choices to allow the camera -- this was a big change -- to flip so that whether we wanted it to be hand-held or on a dolly, it was as simple as just inverting the camera."

Meanwhile, Pace president Patrick Campbell developed a balance plate to keep the center of gravity consistent on a Steadicam during the course of the shot. "It was designed so that the Steadicam operator would not feel the movement of the camera rig during the course of a shot," Pace says.

Cameron also developed a new way to marry the performance capture and live-action production. The system, dubbed the Simulcam, allows the user of the Fusion camera system to look into the eyepiece and see the CG elements in real time. This way Cameron could operate the camera as if he was shooting from within the film's virtual world of Pandora.

Pace recalls the first time he was exposed to the Simulcam. It was during a scene in which the lead character Jake (Sam Worthington), a wounded Marine who travels to Pandora as an avatar and meets a race known as the Na'vi, was lying on the ground looking up at Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Pace laid on the ground, pointed the camera upward, and looked into the eyepiece.

"I saw her there, she was looking at me as if I was Jake," he recalls. "I saw a knee in the shot, and I put my knee down, because I thought I was seeing my knee. But the knee was Jake's. From the minute you get behind that eyepiece, you become part of the interaction. It instantly fooled me; I was inside Jake's body."

The Avatar team believes the innovations created for the film will influence future productions because they allow filmmakers to forget about the science behind the creativity.

"It's not about technology; it's about philosophy," producer Jon Landau says. "It's more about a window into a world than a world coming out of a window. The goal of 3D is to duplicate human vision."

But Landau also hopes that this movie helps to prompt a shift in thinking about 3D.

"Our goal is to create the most engaging and immersive movie possible," he says. "I think 3D is something that helps you get there. The limiting factor for 3D has been the technology. With digital production you can now have high quality."

By Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter

Math, Not Cameras, Can Create 3D

3D promises to be a big topic at Cable-Tec Expo in Denver this week. CableLabs and the SCTE are co-sponsoring a 3,400-foot 3D TV Pavilion with demonstrations from some top consumer electronics manufacturers. Considering that CE makers such as Sony, Panasonic, and LG Electronics are participating in the 3D Pavilion, there will probably be an emphasis on their 3D-ready TVs.

But the TV set is just part of the puzzle. Video providers need to ensure the necessary throughput to deliver 3D. And programmers need to create more content in 3D. It’s a bit of a stalemate, with all parties waiting for consumer demand to justify the business case. And the technology itself is costly. It’s expensive to shoot video using two cameras for every view – a left eye view and a right eye view - to create the stereoscopic 3D effect.

HDlogix, a company that provides software for high definition (HD) video, has come up with an innovation that may finally help advance 3D. Rather than shooting video with two cameras, HDlogix has developed mathematical algorithms to take the first view and use it to synthesize a second view. So, rather than cameras doing the work, software creates the 3D effect. The engineers at HDlogix came up with the 3D concept a couple of years ago while working on problems converting standard definition to HD.

“A lot of those same processes applied to 3D,” said William Gaddy, CTO with HDlogix. “We found a new way to apply our existing IP portfolio.”

Another benefit of synthetic 3D is that it holds more potential for auto-stereoscopic 3D in the future. Auto-stereoscopic 3D uses several camera views - typically 7-12 views, according to Gaddy. The benefit is that the viewer doesn’t need to wear any kind of special 3D viewing glasses. The drawback is that viewers often begin feeling nauseous. It’s also extremely difficult to coordinate multiple camera views. Gaddy said figuring out scene geometry in 3D requires synching three things: motion, vanishing point and focus.

For now, HDlogix is focusing on stereoscopic 3D and mainly targeting programmers with the message that they can convert their existing content libraries from 2D to 3D, economically. If programmers decide that synthetic 3D is affordable and can provide new revenue streams, 3D technology may advance into the living room.

By Linda Hardesty, Cable360

Digital Deals Boost 3D

Warner Bros. and Overture Films have inked virtual print fee deals with digital cinema leader Cinedigm in the hopes of accelerating the installation of more 3D screens. Cinedigm announced the deals as theater owners and distributors gather this week in Orlando, Fla., for exhib confab ShowEast.

Exhibs must be digitally equipped in order to screen 3D films, and Overture and other distribs will help subsidize the cost of digital screen conversions with their virtual print fees. The deployment of 3D screens has dominated the discussion at the tradeshow for the past two years, and this year isn't likely to be much different. Cinedigm's deal with Warners and Overture covers as many as 10,000 additional d-cinema projection systems in the U.S. and Canada.

For several years, theater owners and Hollywood studios, as well as indie distribs, were at an impasse over how much distribs should pay in digital print fees. That has changed dramatically in the last year, although Warners has taken longer than other studios to strike deals. Because of the upcharge for 3D tickets, 3D titles are seeing bountiful returns, promoting exhibs to risk the investment.

By Pamela McClintock, Variety

Screenvision Expands its Live Reach

Taking advantage of off-peak movie hours, Screenvision announced Monday it is rolling out its new live feed technology to 300 theaters by the end of 2010. The technology allows Screenvision reach a broader audience with sports, concerts, arts and news events on the 40-foot screen.

"From documentaries, concerts, live sports, comedy we are creating a full spectrum of alternatives to compliment the biggest draw of all, the feature-length movie," said Darryl Schaffer, executive vp of exhibitor relations for Screenvision.

Screenvision has used about 50 of its theaters to attract audiences during off-air with live events on the big screen since 2007. Recent events include Mets at the Movies and the MSNBC Presidential Inauguration of President Obama.

By Katy Bachman, Mediaweek

3-D Blu-ray Spec Expected by Year-End

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is expected to complete a specification for the delivery of 3-D content into the home via Blu-ray discs by the end of the year, a top official said. That word came from the chairman of the BDA's U.S. promotion committee, Andy Parsons, senior vice president of product development and corporate communications at Pioneer Electronics (USA).

The move is important because BDA represents over 180 companies in the consumer-electronics, software, information-technology and content-production community, including the major Hollywood studios. The development of a 3-D spec for Blu-ray discs could speed the introduction of three-dimensional sets and Blu-ray players into the market and reduce potential consumer confusion over competing formats. The latter problem slowed the early deployment of high-definition compact disc players.

"The target date for getting this done is pretty aggressive and we have been working on this at breakneck speed," Parsons said. "When we have a specification that everyone agrees on, it means we don't have to worry about incompatible sets or competing formats. That is fundamental to the success of 3-D."

While the timing for the launch of 3-D capable TVs and Blu-ray players will be up to individual companies, Parsons said that BDA does "expect product to be appearing in 2010."

A number of TV manufacturers who belong to BDA recently demonstrated -3D TV sets at Japan's influential Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies convention earlier this month and the rollout of 3-D technologies is expected to a major theme at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Blu-ray discs and games are widely considered to be the two most likely avenues for 3-D content to make its way into the home. There is already significant amount of 3-D programming that has been created for theatrical-film distribution that could be reformatted for 3-D capable Blu-ray discs and players.

"Some of the exit polls done by the studio have shown there is a very high enthusiasm for 3-D when people are finished with that experience in the theater and it is a natural thing to make that available in the home," Parsons said.

Parsons also said there could be a robust market for the new 3-D HDTVs, though it will obviously take time for penetration to reach significant levels.

"There are a lot of people out there who have already purchased their first HDTV and many may be in the market for a replacement set or an additional set," he said.

Earlier this year, the BDA set up a 3-D task force, which concluded that any spec should offer the best possible high-definition experience with one 1080p channel per eye and that the discs complying with the specification would need to be backwards-compatible. That means consumers will be able to watch 3D Blu-ray discs on the new 3-D sets and Blu-ray players for the full stereoscopic experience but those consumers who have 2-D sets and Blu-ray players will be able to use the discs and view the high def content in 2-D.

"Blu-ray has always been about the very best of high definition, such as DVD was for standard definition, so one of the requirements was the need to do 1080p per eye," which produces a higher quality image than some of the other approaches to stereoscopic video that divide the 1080p signal in half in order to conserve bandwidth, Parsons said.

Blu-ray's capacity also makes it an ideal medium for delivering the large files needed for 3-D HD into the home, he added.

"If you think about delivering 50 gigabytes through an IP connection it doesn't make a lot of sense, especially when you consider that average bandwidth of broadband home is below 5 Mbps," he said. "We see more content being delivered through streaming IP connections like Netflix but if everyone in America decided to watch movies online the backbone couldn't handle it. The optic disc is an ideal vessel for delivering the very best in HD and 3-D."

By George Winslow, Multichannel News

3D HD Future Coming into Focus

The technology to bring full-capability 3D HD movies and sporting events into consumers' homes is expected to be available by 2010, though the business model has yet to be realized. That was the message according to programming and technology executives speaking on a panel at the OnScreen Media Summit Oct. 21 in New York. Production costs, bandwidth and consumer tendencies are some of the biggest challenges facing a large-scale rollout of 3D HD content in the living room.

"Production is obviously very expensive," said Jeff Cuban, executive VP of HDNet/Magnolia Pictures, noting that at this point only one truck, from NEP, is capable of doing a 3D HD live event. To do a quality 3D HD conversion for a movie costs millions of dollars, which is why Cuban says the rollout of 3D HD is likely to be seen with the testing of short-form content or pay-per-view events on satellite and cable.

"It'll be a while before you see people go deep into their library and start converting those films they have done in hi-definition," Cuban said.

But while the costs of quality 3D programming are still high, they may be decreasing. "I expect that other trucks will be built," said Steve Hellmuth, senior VP of operations and technology at NBA Entertainment. "The price point is coming down," he added. Hellmuth has been at the forefront of 3D HD production -- the NBA has aired four events in 3D HD, including the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, the first-ever live sports event in the format.

Hellmuth said he hopes to improve 3D graphics placement, hoping to incorporate graphics on the screen in a way that won't take the viewer out of the picture by losing their depth frame. Hellmuth touted the visual immediacy of sports in 3D, which he says makes announcers less important. "You don't need a constant patter of color and a play-by-play person on top of it," he said. "You don't need so much information from the announcers; you can see it."

Other sports, namely boxing and mixed-martial arts, could be a natural fit for 3D given the pace of the competition and the fact that fights are traditionally placed on pay-per-view tiers, which may be where 3D starts off.

"There's a strong possibility that that could be viable," Cuban said. He hopes for a time when cable operators jump on the 3D bandwagon. "I think if a cable operator is willing to pay us a sub fee for a dedicated 3D channel, then a lot of us will participate in that world."

But the idea of subscriber fees was not one that tickled Steve Necessary, VP of video product for Cox Communications, who joked that he almost acted like "the balloon boy" and threw up when he thought of the prospect of subscriber fees that applied to his entire client base. "That's not something that we're very fond of," Necessary said, though he added that "If enough consumer interest is generated, then, of course, we are interested."

Another hang-up for 3D HD rollout is that getting the signal into a home requires substantially greater bandwidth than a 2D HD signal, Necessary said. HD signals use up four times more bandwidth than a standard-def signal as it is. 3D may not be a top priority for many cable operators since they are still trying to find capacity for all the HD channels that are currently available.

While many of the panelists agreed that offering 3D as part of a cable subscriber's package may not happen immediately, they also agreed that the Internet may be a place to experiment with 3D content.

"I have no doubt that 3D can be delivered to a computer now, and in the future, computer models will be delivered with a screen that is 3D-ready," Hellmuth said. He implored technology vendors such as Panasonic to help franchises creating 3D content like the NBA with sponsorships.

Panasonic CTO Eisuke Tsuyuzaki said the company has TVs coming out early next year with full 3D HD capability. He also said the plans to develop a 3D HD standard for Blu-ray by next year is still moving according to plan.

Nagravision Senior VP of Consumer Electronic Team Ted Grauch said his company was focused on developing a content navigation system that gives users the chance to explore an interactive 3D TV guide. "At first, it's a design study but it's going to move to a real set-top box in the next few months," he said.

Cuban said it remains to be seen whether the novelty of 3D in consumer's homes (and the use of 3D glasses) will blossom into a long-term viable business, but he laid out a rosy picture of 3Ds future. "When it's all said and done, cost comes down, consumers show that they see value in it, then yes, there's a business model."

By David Tanklefsky, Broadcasting & Cable

Acer Delivers Innovative Capabilities with New Aspire 3D Notebook

Acer America announced its new Aspire 5738DG - an innovative notebook with 3D viewing technology. Featuring advanced display capabilities, high-definition graphics engine, premium Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Dolby surround sound, the Aspire 5738DG delivers cinematic images that literally pop from the screen, while maintaining the performance and productivity features of a desktop replacement notebook.

Acer Aspire 5738DG

The Aspire 5738DG features the unique TriDef 3D solution, which includes a 3D screen, software and glasses to enable vibrant 3D visuals. Not only does it handle 3D content with ease, but the Aspire 5738DG also takes 2D content and replicates a vivid 3D experience. It allows customers to easily switch from standard viewing applications like spreadsheets, documents and email to 3D enjoyment with a simple click of the mouse. The TriDef solution includes a simple and intuitive interface, which also allows customers to view 3D multimedia without the need for a special graphics card.

The notebook features a 15.6-inch Acer CineCrystal HD display coated with a special 3D film which clings to the panel pixel by pixel, enabling the LCD technology to deliver a 3D image. Users slip on a pair of included 3D polarizer eyeglasses, which filter 2D images to 3D, and enjoy eye-popping, true cinematic high def playback of movies, video and games. Customers can use the TriDef Media Player for playback of videos and photos in 3D, while the TriDef Ignition tool to enables 2D to 3D conversion for games and applications supporting DirectX 9 and above.

The Acer Aspire AS5738DG-6165 notebook will be available for U.S. customers with Windows 7 Home Premium this week at leading retailers. Pricing begins at $779.99.

Source: Reuters