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January 18, 2009
3D TV in Your Home
Samsung, Mitsubishi. Panasonic, Sony and others have recently announced that they plan on launching systems to display movies and other content in 3D for the home starting in 2010. The systems that I have seen require that the viewer(s) wear special "shutter" glasses.
The technology is quite complex, but the concept isn't that complicated.
1) The video is shot with a special camera with two - side by side lenses. In use, one lens captures an image, the next image is taken by the lens beside it. During the entire shoot they switch back and forth - left lens, right lens, left lens, right lens... just like our eyes, spacing the lenses slightly apart gives you two slightly different perspectives of the scene.
2) To watch these 3D movies you will need a 3D source (these could be Blu Ray DVD players, satellite or cable boxes), a 3D enabled TV and the shutter glasses.
3) The TV sends a wireless signal to the glasses to sync the shutters with the picture on the TV. The shutter glasses - which operate electronically, there have no moving parts - shut the view from one eye at a time. When the image taken in step one with the left lens, the view to your right eye is blocked. When an image from the right lens is shown, you can't see through the lens on the glasses for your left eye. This 'shuttering' happens very fast, so fast that you can't tell that you can only see through one side of the glasses at a time.
The effect can be stunning. But it might end up being a 'chicken and egg' problem. There needs to be enough great content available before very many consumers will buy the systems. And the companies that make movies and TV shows are sometimes reluctant to make the investment in creating content for a new format until enough consumers own the necessary equipment.
The first year this equipment comes out it will be expensive, but just like almost everything else in consumer electronics, give it a year or two and prices will come down.
Assuming that there is good equipment and there is a decent amount of quality content, would you be interested? Remember, everyone in the room in the room will need to wear a pair of glasses, if you aren't wearing the glasses and watching something that is in 3D, the picture will be unwatchable.
Posted by Bob Gatton at 5:36 PM | Comments (6)
Hooking this stuff up?
A couple of weeks ago, I met a friend for lunch. After lunch we decided to go to a consumer electronics store to see if there were any after Christmas deals we just couldn't pass up. We both drove, this is America, from the restaurant to the store.
I got all green lights and arrived before my friend, so I was standing in the parking lot waiting for her (it was 60 degrees!). A couple of cars down from me there were three guys with a pickup truck full of home theater stuff. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were discussing how they were going to install this system. They didn't really have a clue on how to hook their stuff up.
Having a couple of minutes to spare, I went over to these guys, explaining that I was in the home theater business. I made some suggestions on how to hook up the system and answered a few questions. I also suggested some additional accessories, such as a universal remote control.
Well Bob, what is the point of this little story. A very simple one. This store sold these guys some fairly pricey equipment - a front projector, a nice Yamaha receiver and other quality components - it was easily a multi-thousand dollar sale. And they let these customers leave the store without even basic instructions on how to hook this stuff up. A diagram would have been nice and it would only take a few minutes to sketch.
Retailers are too often the weakest link in the chain. Consumer electronics continue to get better and cheaper, you don't have to be wealthy anymore to have a really nice home theater system. But if the retailer can't, or won't, offer the customer some basic help on how to hook up the system too many customers will be frustrated. Some will figure it out, some will end up with systems that work, but not that well, and some will return the products.
I do realize that all retailers are under constant pressure to keep their costs down. Often there is not enough staff on the floor, or they might have not received enough training. And I have have received excellent help at this very store in the past. But to let a customer leave the store without any direction is just wrong. A solution could be as simple as giving each customer buying a system a check list. For instance, such a document might include:
- do you have speaker wire?
- how many sources, such as cable boxes, satellite boxes, DVD players and game systems - are you planning on connecting to the system?
- Does the receiver you are buying have enough inputs for these sources? (the guys in the pickup bought a receiver with 2 HDMI inputs and wanted to connect 3 HDMI sources.)
- Do you have right cables?
- and then maybe a couple of generic connection diagrams.
For those of you that are still reading this blog entry, thanks for letting me rant. I feel much better. And FYI, both my friend and myself left the store empty handed, this year's the pre Christmas sales were better than the post Christmas sales at this store.
Comments. Am I off base?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 7:22 AM | Comments (7)
January 15, 2009
DTV Converter Boxes - Are you ready when analog TV ends on February 17, 2009?
Time is running out. Unless the deadline is extended, analog TV broadcasting will end on February 17, 2009. If you are currently getting TV with an antenna and you don't get a DTV converter box after the 17th you won't be able to watch any programming.
It's now about four weeks until the cutoff date. The government has set up a program where you can receive a maximum of two $40 coupons per household to help offset part of the cost of getting a converter box.
So if you are receiving your television signal from an antenna, apply for your coupon(s) now. Its easy, go to DTV2009.gov, and then select "#1 - Apply For a Coupon" and fill in your name and address. I have heard from a few folks that it took about six weeks to receive their coupons (I applied in October and got the coupons in the mail about three weeks later). If you have already applied and received your coupons, remember that they expire 90 days after they were mailed.
Connection to your set is very straightforward. The instructions that came with the converter boxes that I purchased were actually clearly written. If you need some help, here is a link to a quick start guide for connecting your converter box.
What happens if you don't get a converter box? On February 18th, according to National Association of Broadcasters spokesperson Linda Yun, "People who haven't taken any action at all would see snow."
Do you need another reason to request coupons now? According to a Reuters Business and Finance article, demand might exceed supply. There is a budget for this coupon program; once the value of coupons sent equals the budget the program will be put on hold.
Do you need a converter box? Have you applied for your coupons? How long did it take to receive them? And was the converter box easy to hook up and use?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 2:45 PM | Comments (15)
January 8, 2009
Do you want a video projector built into your cell phone?
Its the first part of January and its time for another CES - the Consumer Electronics Show. Almost everyday before a big convention I get tons of press releases from companies that will be introducing products at the show. I try to scan most, but the majority of the products in these are not truly new products, but a refined versions of last years models.
One email that caught my eye, was from a company that I am not familiar with - Logic Wireless. The subject line of the email was "World's first projector phone a breakout hit at CES 09". Alrighty, this is something new.
My first thought was, why would anyone want a little projector built into their cell phone? Just because you have the technology to do something doesn't mean that you should. But after going to the Logic Wireless web site and looking at the specs of their Bolt phone, I started to think that they might be on to something.
For instance, in the field a realtor could show several different homes to a client. Just find a small piece of white wall (or a sheet of paper) and show them a video of other homes. Save your time and the customers by avoiding homes where there won't be an interest.
Builders could show a customers a video clip of features on homes that you built in past. Maybe show them alternative fireplaces, kitchens, bathrooms or decks. Or show a subcontractor a clip of an already completed house to reinforce how you want something done on this one. This might be a great way to quickly and effectively communicate in the field.
Of course this product isn't right for everyone. And I don't know the quality of the projector or the phone. And for this type of application there are alternatives. You could show video clips using a smart phone (but the image will be very small) or a notebook computer (but you have to have it with you and then you have to wait for it to boot up), but assuming the quality is there, this could be an interesting product.
Price is $100 with a two year contract, $600 without a contract. The phone is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile networks and will be available in March of this year.
What do you think? Will your next phone have a built in projector?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 1:01 PM
