3D stole the show at CES 2010
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted January 21st 2010 1:15PM
posted January 21st 2010 1:15PM
Who will be the first, the best?
Someone has to be the first to market, and someone the best -- though not necessarily the same company -- but based on CES demos and announcements, that someone appears to be Panasonic. This isn't much of a surprise since Panasonic has been doing lots of 3D demos since CES last year, and it even drove a truck around the country showing it off. But while Panasonic had the best 3D demo this year, it might not be first to market, as DLP fans will tell you they were first (and by years). That said, this new 3D technology isn't exactly the same as what Mitsubishi and Samsung have been doing, but the new formats will be backwards compatible. Mitsubishi announced a new converter box that will allow the newer sequential 3D to checkerboard 3D that its DLP sets support, and it is assumed this same box will work on Samsung DLPs and plasmas. These aren't the only front runners, 'course. In fact Sony, Samsung, LG, Toshiba and Vizio were all talking 3D in press releases and showing live action demos. Like the rest of the HD market, most of the new 3DTVs were LCDs, and although LG did announce new plasmas, none were of the 3D variety like Samsung and Panny. Only Vizio dared to put a price on 3D, and some manufacturers wouldn't even give model numbers, so it's hard to tell exactly when this technology is going to come home (and how badly it'll dent the wallet when it does). Still, we'd be shocked to see ship dates slip beyond 2010, and if we were the betting type, we'd guess that the first wave will land in the summer.
3D Blu-ray players will obviously play an important role as in-home 3D attempts to blossom, and Broadcom was on hand showing off its new chip for these very decks. We're guessing said chip will find a home in the new players announced by Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony, though no one has yet to come clean and make that clarification. Interestingly, the maker of one of our favorite Blu-ray players didn't announce a 3D version, and while we're not sure what LG is waiting for (market acceptance, perhaps?), we'd be shocked if we didn't see one at some point this year.
RealD is a winner, again
Just like in the theater, RealD seemed to have the most traction at home. What's different is that while the RealD glasses you've worn at the theater were less than $1 and of the circular polarized variety, the RealD glasses that Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba are using are active shutter glasses -- only JVC is using circular polarized. There were other glasses on display though -- Gunnar Optiks was showing some more stylish ones, and XpanD was showing active shutter with Bluetooth instead of IR, which is the same tactic that Vizio is using. XpanD also told us that its IR active shutter glasses would work with other 3DTVs, which makes some sense since the main 3D demo at Panasonic's booth was using XpanD glasses, not RealDs.
What about content?
Just ask Samsung or Mitsubishi and they'll tell you that 3DTV is nothing without content. We learned all about the 3D Blu-ray spec and that the PS3 would do 3D before CES, but during the show we were able to dig in deeper and reveal that the Blu-ray spec isn't what it could be. Even before DirecTV had a chance to make an announcement at CES, someone let slip that the carrier would have 3D programming this year -- and it brought a 3D demo (which looked great) to CES. Couple this with announcements from ESPN as well as Sony, IMAX and Discovery, and you've got the promise of some compelling 3D content at home very soon. ESPN has promised World Cup Soccer this year and the BCS National Championship game in 2011 with other events scattered in between, but while we expect a few IMAX movies from Sony and Discovery, so far the exact programming picture is still very cloudy. The only thing we do know is that three animated features will be out on Blu-ray starting with either Monsters vs Aliens or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs this summer, and Disney's A Christmas Carol in December. The one title we don't know about is Avatar, which we just have to believe will be out on 3D Blu-ray this year. We're sure there will be even more 3D content to scope out as the bandwagon grows, and we've already seen streaming services get the 3D itch.
And video games?
Besides movies and sports, games may be the biggest beneficiary of 3D displays. The video game edition of Avatar is already available (and 3D-enabled) on both Sony and Microsoft's boxes, so the PS3 version we played is just like what's available at home right now. While the extra dimension couldn't raise a very average adventure game to the heights of an Assassin's Creed II, the effect did its job of bringing us further into the world and making it seem even more realistic. While a demo run of Gran Turismo 5 was slightly less impressive (varying greatly depending on camera angle), making things blow up in our faces playing Super Stardust HD clearly showed there will be compelling reasons to upgrade with the technology in the right game maker's hands. On the PC side, NVIDIA has been pushing 3D capabilities for quite some time, and while most of our demos consisted of Blu-ray 3D showings from Cyberlink and WinDVD, we got enough gaming in to figure out that shutter glasses will soon be as common as headsets, precision mice and customized keyboards on the desks of shooter fans -- if WoW ever goes 3D, there could be serious problems.
The new "upconverting?"
Even with major content providers on board, native 3D content will be scarce for some time, just like the rollout of HDTV. That's a gap several manufacturers are looking to fill by providing technology for converting 2D to 3D. If that sounds a lot like the scaling buzz applied to DVDs and other standard-definition video, that's because it is, as shown by Toshiba's decision to expand its Resolution+ branding to Cell TV hardware that upscales and can convert from 2D to 3D in realtime. It showed off a demo that did an effective job separating different planes on simulated home video footage to make it 3D. Unfortunately, that didn't make watching someone else's vacation tapes any less boring, and popping elements out like cardboard cutouts seemed like the cheap gimmickry we were hoping to avoid. Samsung had the most effective conversion demo, plugging a standard Xbox 360 into one of its new displays and letting us play Gears of War 2 converted to 3D. While there wasn't any extra detail to be found, it showed a subtle amount of additional depth that brought us even further into the game, especially when launching mortar shells at far off opponents. Sony announced plans to convert significant amounts of Jimi Hendrix footage to 3D for an upcoming Blu-ray release and even demoed some concert video in its CES theater -- in this case the added depth did help the "you are there" feeling of a concert experience, but it still couldn't compare with anything created natively for the new format.
While we're sure someone will attempt to be the "Fox Widescreen" of 3D with converted footage on their broadcasts -- JVC was showing off a rack mounted unit aimed at broadcasters for just this purpose -- it will probably suffer the same fate and eventually go away altogether. The good news? Nothing we saw conjured up memories of the Cowboys Stadium 2D-to-3D disaster, and in some cases it could even be a very useful feature while we wait for content to catch up with displays. But just like DVD upscaling, even if it's a high priced feature now, it will likely spread out across all displays in the future if customers enjoy it. We'll be keeping a careful eye to see who has the best processing technology in real world situations later this year.
The glasses-free option
Ah yes, the nirvana of glasses-free 3D. While it was on display at more than one location this year, there's still a number of factors keeping it from coming into play in our home viewing. Consistent on all three displays was a focus on CGI animations, not any kind of live video or other TV-style content. Though advances in standard HDTVs have increased the resolution behind the lenticular film that enables this technology, most of the progress displayed by Intel and Magnetic3D was on their ability to process and render images so they'll pop out even when viewed from multiple angles. That's useful for their intended use in POS advertisements, slot machines and the like -- and it will surely impress digital signage nuts in the crowd -- but it still suffers lost resolution and requires extra processing power for each viewing angle. With most viewers unwilling to assume a Sheldon Cooper-esque couch position, it's unlikely any content or displays based around this will be breaking into the consumer space anytime soon.
Wrap up
By all indications, 2010 is set to be a flagship year for 3D. There should be plenty of new displays, set-top boxes, glasses and content. Many will be striving to be the first to market, while others will be happy to sit on the sidelines and watch it all develop. We see many parallels between 3D and the development of HD and that combined with the fact that we find the technology very compelling, should make it clear to you that there's going to be more 3D coverage than you could want here on Engadget HD. So regardless of how this turns out, we want to be here to watch it flourish or perish. Now, of course we aren't going to rename the site or anything like that -- some of you might think we did. Now this doesn't mean we're going to let up hitting the HD news, no not at all. We're confident we are up to the challenge of covering both very comprehensively.
@(Unverified)
You are incorrect, we're talking both full HD 3D here as well as partial HD 3D. What do I mean by partial? 960x1080, which is 1 megapixel, which by any definition is still HD (720p is only .9 megapixels).
I am holding out till we have full holographic 3D displays. You know, where you can actually walk around the display and look at Megan Fox's ass literally from behind. Now that is 3D. Or even better, the Holodeck from Star Trek TNG. Holodeck porn, hmmmm, the possibilities.
Gimmick - "quirky feature that distinguishes a product or service without adding any obvious function or value. Thus, a gimmick sells solely on the basis of distinctiveness and may not appeal to the more savvy or shrewd customer"
Fad - "A fad is a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. The nature of fad is individual. It could be called as an individual/individual society's over interest in some thing which is considered to have consist of some virtue i.e. fad diet, exercise etc. The benefit of something considered as fad may not have been scientifically verified or it may lack the rational proof."
Please stop this nonsense now.
I'm all for tech that makes home viewing a better experience, and I could see myself using 3D for solo viewing within 5 years...
But personally I think the evolution of CES' '08 and '09 streaming media are bigger stories. Popbox, Boxee Box, and other devices like that are maturing and are getting better UIs while connecting to more online sources of video content. I'm willing to bet that how we get content (broadcast vs streaming/on demand) will change before how we view the content (3D).
Hopefully we'll still get plenty of support for 2D displays and content (for those of us who don't have stereoscopic vision, and get headaches from 3D content).
Have consumers asked for 3D? No! The manufacturers want 3D. HDTVs have become a commodity. The manufacturers want to add features to find a way to:
1. Increase the price of HDTVs.
2. Convince people who already have an HDTV to buy a new one.
I've blogged this before but, I'll say it again. Similar to the HD/DVD format,I bet that the much hyped 3DTV format will end up being nothing more than a big flop. Anyone who's thinking about buying into this gimmick will thank themselves for holding off on this. You can only wonder if the manufacturers pay any attention to blogs. Obviously not.
@jon0522 The industry thinks it is responding to a consumer demand that is not there.
"Whether or not the technology will be seen in history as a success in the market place is obviously still up in the air..."
Wait, are you talking about that same 3D technology that enabled Avatar to make $1 billion in seventeen days? Sounds like a good start.
@Abe Your premise of 3D/IMAX working for for blockbuster movies such as AVATAR in a "HUGE" move theater does work I will give you that. Great experience. It however does not come close to translate to the small screen and to regular day to day TV/gaming.
So NO, 3D is not the technology we need from our broadcasters or electronics manufacturers.
Thank but no thanks, DON'T WASTE MY MONEY.
3D has been around since the 1950's - still hasn't caught on. just a novelty every generation comes out with a couple of 3d movies then it goes away for a while. the tech industry is grasping, with 3d to catch on.
The product that most manufacturers missed on at this years CES, that actually had some excitement around it was the Courier type notebooks MSI brought. there is an actual form factor that is innovative, could actually open a new market. replace netbooks, laptops & Ereaders with one device.
the larger tablet is also a tried & failed form factor, looking down on a screen is not very ergonomic sucks to hold up something that big to watch a movie etc.., when typing then the screen is down flat and your straining your neck to look straight down at the display. and who wants to carry around a rigid 10" flat plate of glass with them everywhere, the courier device closes small & types like a laptop with the viewing display in a neck friendly orientation, full OS no compatibility issue of a light weight OS, flash etc...
3d porn... finally!!!!
"If WoW ever goes 3D"
By the very nature of the Nvidia 3D vision it already is. Volumetric smoke and a few other tecnhniques were employed over a year ago to make the 3D experience much more appealing whilst playing. Also the depth of field controller on the box I heard was implemented due to the expectation of WoW'ers to be playing for there usual 29 hours straight, and headaches were frequent. Its not difficult to find reviews of WoW in 3D, and most of them have said that the effects and effort to add content for this is only rivalled by left for dead. The question is more wether this technology takes off.
Love the Big Bang reference. Good overview Ben.
@James5mith
Thanks for writing the first positive comment! And Richard wrote that brilliant Big Bang reference.
@BenD
Please don't ignore the sea of negative posts. I hope this helps you with deciding what gets discussed on the podcast since obviously no one shares your and Richards passion on this subject. Thanks for a great podcast other wise.
@dslate
Sorry, but if I listened to commenters I wouldn't be writing for Engadget and if everyone did, HDTV nor Blu-ray would've ever existed.
@BenD
Had no idea so many people didn't care to have a higher resolution and clearer picture when HDTV was coming along. :insert that $1.99 symbol here:
But nice to know you don't care what we have to say.
@dslate
The fact is 1080p is awesome, and there is little hope that consumers will appreciate quality HD to think that cable will ever care to deliver much better than they do now. You can keep holding on to that dream though.
Didn't say I don't care what you have to say, just that I don't respond all the time.
@BenD
Confused about your last sentence I think you forgot what we were talking about?? I can't hope to win a battle of ideas with you as you will surely have the last word on the podcast. :)
One last attempt from a listener from the very begining...
In order to grow your podcast or keep the audience you have you need to structure the topics to reflect what your audience wants. And it looks like they have spoken on this topic.
I think Engadget needs a new section on 3D
Com on does anyone here out their knows if this a gimmick just to make money? Just asking you Engadget if you know bout if it's all fake.