--Will Feature 3D Technology Demos from Sony, CMC, Panasonic, Hyundai IT, LG Electronics
US cable-industry research, development and standardization body, CableLabs, announced Monday that it has teamed with the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and a number of consumer electronics manufacturers to organize a showcase of the latest 3D theater and TV displays as part of next week's SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Denver (October 28-30). The showcase--which will take place in a 3,400-square-foot CableLabs 3D TV Pavilion, co-sponsored by the SCTE--is slated to include a D-Cinema 3D demonstration in a main theater provided by Sony and a home theater experience provided by Panasonic, as well as displays of consumer 3D TV sets from Hyundai IT, LG Electronics and Sony.
As part of the showcase, CableLabs plans to demo for the first time ever transmissions of synchronized, full-color, high-definition stereoscopic 3D video signals over a single cable channel on a real cable system. Unlike the 3D TV delivery of the past that used colored glasses, the organization says, this new system works with the new generation of 3D-ready TV's (which use either polarized or active-shutter glasses) to enable an in-home 3D viewing experience. "Our goal in producing this demonstration is to make the cable industry further aware of the power of 3D theater experience in the home as well as at the movies," CableLabs president and CEO, Paul Liao, said in a prepared statement. "We truly value the willingness of these consumer electronics companies to support this endeavor for our industry and we thank SCTE for making us a part of their valuable engineering event." Added Comcast CTO, Tony Werner: "We think 3D television delivered to the home may be a way for cable operators to differentiate themselves with consumers and we are very interested in the technology on display in this pavilion as a component of that effort."
According to CableLabs, its 3D exhibit will see Comcast Media Center (CMC) delivering 3D content from cable channels to the 3D TV Pavilion. CMC's participation is designed to show how it can deliver 3D and other scalable, revenue-generating advanced video services to small and medium-sized operators that otherwise would not have the resources to offer such services.
Meanwhile, CableLabs says, Sony's Theater demo will feature a 21,000-lumen 4K SXRD projector in an approximately 900-square-foot enclosed theater space. Sony claims that its 4K digital cinema projection systems offer one of the highest picture resolutions of all available projection technologies: 8.8 million pixels--which is slightly more than four times greater than HD. The system employed in the demo also uses a RealD XLS 3D passive stereo optical system that includes the RealD recyclable passive cinema eyewear. Sony also plans to show its prototype 3D-ready LCD flat-screen TV's using 240Hz HFR technology with active shutter glasses to deliver a full HD 3D home-viewing experience.
According to CableLabs, Panasonic plans to demo its full HD 3D home theater experience in a living room setting with a 103-inch plasma TV. The entire setting has been built into a 53-foot 3D tractor trailer which is part of a fleet of trucks that the company is sending to industry events and other destinations to promote its 3D offerings. At the CableLabs exhibit, Panasonic plans to demonstrate 3D delivery over cable systems "by participating in this historic first cable delivery of stereoscopic 3D content to the 3D Plasma screen in the truck," CableLabs says.
Finally, CableLabs says, Hyundai IT will be demo'ing its latest model (S465D) 46-inch LCD full-HD polarized 3D display playing real-time 3D digital content (note: the device is billed as being capable of displaying both 2D and 3D content and as having an integrated real-time 2D-to-3D video processing capability); and LG Electronics will be demoing a 47-inch LCD HDTV model that is billed as allowing viewers to use passive polarized glasses to view the stereoscopic images displayed by the TV. LG says that the new 3D HDTV, which has been available in the consumer market in South Korea since August, uses a high-contrast and high-brightness LCD panel that displays high-quality 1080p "full HD" 2D images and also 3D stereo images that can be delivered over HDMI interface ports in one of many possible formats. The UI presents an intuitive and user-friendly way to select inputs and format, the company claims.
