Sony Brings 3D Home

Today, 3D is clearly on its way to the mass market.  As with high definition a few years back, there are a variety of issues yet to be addressed.  But the 3D train is on the track, and we at Sony are ready to drive it home.

On the theatrical side, the number of 3D digital screens in cinemas around the world has increased by nearly 30-fold in the past three years.

It is expected there will be more than 7,000 digital 3D screens worldwide by the end of this year *1.

This rapid expansion is being driven by increased consumer demand for 3D films, as well as higher ticket premiums.

Sony has proven its expertise in 3D in the theatrical release arena with a wide range of products, including our highly touted 4K digital projectors.  In the U.S. the Regal cinema chain plans to install up to 1,500 3D systems across their network of theatres. And we expect other operators, such as AMC, to follow.   Our 4K digital projectors are being installed in cinemas across Europe, including 140 screens in the U.K.’s Apollo Cinema and Germany’s CinemaxX chains, with nearly 100 of those equipped for 3D.

Sony’s technological leadership, together with our ownership and unique understanding of all forms of content, means that we will be able to deliver the entire 3D value chain, both to our customers in the movie creation and distribution business and, of course, to consumers in cinemas, or at home on a variety of Sony devices.

Clearly, 3D has already captured the imagination of filmmakers and content creators.  Sony is moving to bring that magic directly into consumers’ homes with movies, games, and sporting events, all in 3D, in 2010.

We will provide a complete user experience with full HD "BRAVIA" in 3D taking center stage.  In addition to television, Sony will enable more devices, such as Blu-ray *2, VAIO and PlayStation 3, to be 3D compatible.

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Controlling TV with a wave of hand

WASHINGTON - Touch screens are so yesterday.Remote controls?So last century. The future is controlling your devices with a simple wave of the hand. A wiggle of the fingers will change television channels or turn the volume up or down. In videogames, your movements will control your onscreen digital avatar. It's called 3D gesture recognition and while it may not be in sores this Christmas, a number of technology companies are promising that it will be by next year.

Softkinetic, a Brussels-based software company, is one of the leaders in the gesture-control field and has teamed up with US semiconductor giant Texas Instruments and others to make this touch-less vision of the future a reality.Besides TI, Softkinetic has forged partnerships with France's Orange Vallee for interactive TV; another Belgian firm, Optrima, a maker of 3D cameras and sensors; and with Connecting Technology, a French home automation company.

On the consumer side you have three markets-television, videogames and personal computers,"Softkinetic chief executive Michel Tombroff told AFP in  a television phone interview.

On the gaming front, using camera in real time to capture motion and then take the representative avatar from that and play it on a screen with others elements in a virtual world is a pretty compelling experience." he said. US software giant Microsoft demonstrated a gesture recognition program called "Project Natal" for its Xbox 360 videogame console in June and has announced plans to launch it next year.

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