Depth Perception or ... 3D in Perspective

A Cure for Upgrade Fatigue

What do I mean by “upgrade fatigue ? ” ? It's the notion that consumers, who recently upgraded to digital or high high-definition television sets, might not be eager to run back out to the big box store and buy a brand new 3D capable television along with the new 3D Blu-ray player, and some rather expensive glasses to go with it. The cost of the glasses alone can be real money if you have some friends over to watch a movie or a football game. “Football game ? ” ? The Blu-ray player doesn't handle broadcast so you will need another new 3D box for that … when it comes. When you consider that the current 3D sets are priced from $2,500 to $6,000 along with the general state of the economy and the unemployment numbers, the 3D television equipment buyers need to be in an elite class certainly throughout this year and probably next. Add to this the mere 20 to 30 3D titles targeting all markets from young children to horror that will be available in the next year. Now, that is a tough market.

It is true that, as with HD sets, economies of scale will bring set prices down … eventually. But, in spite of the hype created by the consumer electronics industry since January 2010 , any change of this magnitude takes time. The best estimates are that it will take several years before the number of sets in homes reaches critical mass, yet that critical mass is essential to the success of a significant Blu-ray 3D movie launch into the consumer market.

The theatrical 3D market is white hot today. Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and other titles are driving demand for 3D content for the home right now and the consumer electronics industry sees a new pot of gold to pursue. Yet the inevitable time that it will take to sell and install that critical mass of 3D equipment in the home means missed opportunities and a lot of money left on the table by content owners.

TrioScopics has a solution to this market problem that can be implemented today.

Three years ago we set about an R&D program to see if we could make an image processing and color science out of the 150 years old notion of anaglyph. The first movie that we released over two years ago was Journey to the Center of the Earth on DVD and Blu-ray. While it was a great commercial success, in our opinion our 3D image quality left a lot to be desired. It is one of those fun titles where today I would love to say, “Let's start over and do that one again . ” Two years is a long time in the field of expert R&D for image processing and color science. Our progress in those two years has been no less than amazing. Coraline is in the same category as Journey . We can achieve stunning results with Coraline images today. Yet even with the relatively mediocre image quality from our image processing 1 ½ years ago, the repeat orders keep coming in for Coraline discs. For example, another 500,000 pairs of our glasses were ordered last month. That puts the total TrioScopics glasses at just over 65 million pairs for Journey to the Center of the Earth , My Bloody Valentine , Coraline and Bob's Big Break (which was a 15 minute 3D short on the 2D Monsters vs Aliens disc). With four pairs of glasses packed with each DVD or Blu-ray disc that makes over 16 million 3D discs that have been sold into a marketplace which keeps on ordering more 3D product without the need for a new TV set or additional hardware.

Please keep in mind that I am the last person to be against new and better hardware. Most of the focus of my career has been in the invention and deployment of new technology. But one of the lessons I have learned, sometimes the hard way, is that you have to be realistic about how long it takes for a real new market to develop. Bottom line: There needs to be a solution to making money for content owners until that new market is large enough to be viable.

We have only demonstrated our new image processing and color science results for one studio. That has resulted in three new titles in production now at TrioScopics with others coming. After two years of highly successful R&D we are open for business again, and on a roll!

Our 3D images today have depth second to no other system, theatrical or home. We have an extremely wide range of colors, both subtle and highly saturated, and skin tones as good as any 2D system. It is essential for you to see these results yourself to believe what I am saying. We'd be happy to do a demo for you. Even better, we'll do a no cost test using five to ten minutes of footage from one of your 3D films. We will then provide you with a demo of your movie that you can play on any DVD or Blu-ray player on any of your own TV displays.

And a final thought on that “upgrade” issue.

There are no plans on the part of the consumer electronics industry to “upgrade” any DVD equipment. Yet there are nearly two billion DVD players in the marketplace with owners who might enjoy 3D. Here is a massive market that can be served with surprisingly good 3D image quality using existing hardware TODAY. Many people have commented that one of the problems with the slow acceptance of Blu-ray is that there is not enough difference between a good DVD up res and Blu-ray. Up res of a TrioScopics 3D DVD, takes this notion a little further yielding results that can be quite amazing.

John D. Lowry

June 2010