It is now official as HP has announced their plans to release the HP ENVY 17 3D, a 3D-capable multimedia laptop for the holiday season this year. There were a lot of rumors going on about HP getting a 3D-capable laptop since quite a lot of time, at first for a professional solution, but now we actually get a quite powerful consumer laptop. And if we are lucky enough we may also see the HP 2310g 120Hz LCD monitor too, as apparently HP is finally ready to also jump on the 3D wave.
It is interesting to note the fact that the HP ENVY 17 3D is actually the first 17-inch notebook to support 1080p 3D, meaning Full HD 120Hz screen for gaming and Blu-ray 3D movie playback apparently. But more interesting is the fact that the laptop is based on an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 graphics card and that means no Nvidia 3D Vision, but an alternative solution also based on active shutter glasses. So that can either be some HP solution developed on their own, or more likely the AMD/ATI stereoscopic 3D solution that we’ve been waiting to see for quite some time now. The powerful video card should be backed by a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, so there should be no problems in using this laptop not only for watching multimedia content in 3D, but also playing games in stereo 3D mode.
Also as a part of HP’s ongoing partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), select models of the HP ENVY 17 3D will include some 3D action from the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Additionally a 3D movie trailer for the upcoming animated film “MEGAMIND” from DreamWorks Animation will be included, which is certainly Ok, but definitely we could use some more 3D video content.
The HP ENVY 17 3D is expected to be available this holiday season with pricing yet to be determined, but considering that the currently available non-3D version of the HP ENVY 17 with similar parameters starts at $1,399.99 USD, the standard configuration of the 3D version of the laptop will most likely be in the range of $1600-$1800 USD.
There is a collaborative project currently going on with the idea to build a custom stereoscopic 3D rig using two Panasonic GH1 cameras, hacked to use the with the amazing custom GH13 firmware hack over at the dvxuser forum. The Panasonic DMC-GH1 is a 12.1-megapixel micro four thirds digital camera with intercangeable lenses that can not only make high-quality photos, but also be used for recording Full HD 1080/24p or HD 720/60p videos with continuous autofocus. And with the help of the custom GH13 firmware hack the full potential of the camera can be realized, so in the end these cameras seem to be a very good choice for capturing high-quality Full HD stereoscopic 3D videos. Of course the issue that needs to be worked around in all custom 3D rigs is the proper synchronization between the two cameras and that is one of the main things that should be considered when working with custom solutions that were not designed to work in pairs for stereo 3D shooting.
Roxio has released their Creator 2011 software suite claiming it to be the world’s first digital media suite to offer a comprehensive feature set for capturing, editing, creating, and sharing personal 3D photos and 3D videos. Of course the software is targeted to non-professional users that just want to quickly and easily create 3D videos from existing 2D or new 3D photos and videos they’ve shot themselves and is not intended as a replacement for a full-fledged professional solution for working with 3D content.
Roxio Creator 2011 makes it easier for enthusiasts and beginners to immediately add a dynamic new dimension to family memories by allowing users to convert standard 2D digital photos and home videos into 3D content (2D to 3D conversion for photos and video), so they may generate immersive, personalized 3D multimedia productions from their existing 2D digital media libraries. Roxio Creator 2011 also supports emerging 3D formats such as side-by-side, over-under, anaglyph, and dual stream as well as 3D-enabled capture devices, computers, HDTVs, and accessories. Consumers may import stereoscopic content directly from 3D cameras such as the Fuji W1 and other capture devices and then create personalized 3D productions complete with transitions, titles, effects, and a sound track that can be viewed on the PC, enjoyed on a 3D-enabled HDTV, or posted and shared via YouTube.
You will be able to begin experimenting with the 3D capabilities of the software out-of-the-box by even using using your existing 2D content, standard computer system and monitor, along with the anaglyph red-cyan glasses that included in the retail package. Roxio has also collaborated with leading technology firms driving 3D such as ATI to offer ATI Stream support, NVIDIA for CUDA GPU acceleration, and RealD and others in order to ensure Creator 2011 is fully compatible with the latest 3D-enabled cameras, systems, displays, technologies, and formats, as well as a full-range of accessories including 3D glasses. And for those seeking more information about working with 3D content the built-in Learning Center includes dozens of video tutorials and step-by-step instructional guides, including detailed information on how to get the best results when working with 3D content.
Unfortunately at this point you will not be able to use 3D Vision to preview the video in stereo 3D format while editing, but you can do pretty well using the anaglyph format and then just export the finished video file into a suitable format that you can open with the 3D Vision Video player for example Side by Side and you can enjoy it with best quality. The 3D video input formats supported ate: over/under full and half height, side-by-side full and half width, anaglyph red/cyan, RealD and Fuji FinePix REAL 3D’s dual stream and the 3D video output formats supported are: anaglyph red/cyan, side-by-side and full and half-width, over/under full and half height and RealD. You will also be able to export the 3D videos to a some sort of 3D-capable optical discs, but as mentioned already no Blu-ray 3D authoring is available even in the Pro version.
Roxio Creator 2011 is already available as a digital download for $99.99 USD and will be introduced early next month in retail stores worldwide. Roxio Creator 2011 Pro, priced at $129.99 USD, also includes the Blu-ray Disc authoring capability plus some additional applications (not Blu-ray 3D however) on top of the features available in the standard version of the software. Now when is that Blu-ray 3D video player coming out…?
is a 12.1-megapixel micro four thirds digital camera with intercangeable lenses that can not only make high-quality photos, but also be used for recording Full HD 1080/24p or HD 720/60p videos with continuous autofocus. And with the help of the custom GH13 firmware hack the full potential of the camera can be realized, so in the end these cameras seem to be a very good choice for capturing high-quality Full HD stereoscopic 3D videos. Of course the issue that needs to be worked around in all custom 3D rigs is the proper synchronization between the two cameras and that is one of the main things that should be considered when working with custom solutions that were not designed to work in pairs for stereo 3D shooting.
