3D Vision Blog

When talking about a good general audio and video player three names quickly come up in my mind – Media Player Classic, GOM Player and KMPlayer. All powerful both in terms of features and options available to the user and easily playing back most audio and video formats, but this goes as far as 2D video. The it seems that these players could soon also support 3D video playback, for example the GOM Player has gotten stereo 3D subtitle support some time ago and more recent beta builds of the KMPlayer also do come with support for stereo 3D subtitles as well as stereoscopic 3D video playback capabilities as well. Have in mind though that when talking about stereo 3D subtitles support with these players it means support for plain text file subtitles used for 2D videos that are just being played back properly at screen depth in 3D mode. Regarding the supported stereo 3D input formats the KMPlayer can handle videos in Side by Side or Top/Bottom (Over/Under) and can display them in multiple anaglyph output modes as well as Row or Column Interleaved format. So you wither need a pair of anaglyph 3D glasses or a passive 3D display that can work with direct Row/Column Interleaved input such as LG’s 3D monitors and 3D HDTVs, unfortunately there is no support yet for 3D Vision for example. So next up is Media Player Classic starting to get some stereoscopic 3D support as well…

The KMPlayer also has some sort of an online service for accessing 3D videos called 3D Movie Plus, however I was not able to see any videos available as in the example screenshot above, so this may only be working in Korea for example. And while neither the GOM Player, not the KMPlayer are yet even close to offering what the Stereoscopic Player supports in terms of stereo 3D video, they are still much better in 2D video playback. So if you have never used Media Player Classic, GOM Player or KMPlayer, then I’d recommend to check them out at least because of their 2D multimedia playback capabilities.

- For more information and to download the latest KMPlayer with stereo 3D support…

If you have used the LG Optimus 3D (Thrill 4G) or HTC Evo 3D smartphones or even own one yourself you might not be too happy with the built-in 3D video player that comes with these devices. Unfortunately there aren’t many alternatives available, at least on the Android Marketplace, but I’ve stumbled on one interesting Chinese player called 3DVplayer. The official website of the player is available only in Chinese, but the player itself also comes with English translation of the interface. You need to download it and install it manually on your device, follow the link below to get the APK, then transfer it to your 3D-capable smartphone and install it through a file manager.

The player comes with two modes of operation – one for playing back online 3D videos and a mode to play stereoscopic 3D videos that are available on the device, the online mode brings you a library with some apparently free to watch 3D clips. It works well with Side by Side video stored on the device and the network playback may be a bit slow as apparently the 3D videos are stored somewhere in China and your connection to them may be a bit slow. Still the 3DVplayer is worth checking out if you own an Android-based 3D-capable smartphone such as the Optimus 3D or the HTC Evo.

- To download the 3DVplayer for your Android-bases 3D Smartphone (APK)…

Today CyberLink officially released their new PowerDVD 11 media playback software for PC with the new version being announced as an universal player that is designed to be the only application you’ll need to view Blu-ray and DVD movies, videos, photos and listen to music. PowerDVD 11 comes with a lot of new features including support for playback and transfer of content from iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android phones and tablets to PC. In addition to support for media from smartphones and tablet devices, the new PowerDVD can also play from remote media sources such as DLNA servers and popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Furthermore PowerDVD 11 users owning an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android-based devices can download and install the PowerDVD Remote application that will turn their mobile device into a remote control for the PowerDVD playback functionality tight from the comfort of their sofa.

Among the interesting new 3D-related features you will get in the top version of PowerDVD 11 are for example: Playback of recorded 3D TV (ISDB-T Standard), 3D Photo support (MPO/JPS), TrueTheater 3D functionality for for photos including ones from Facebook and Flickr, and the ability to Upload 3D video to YouTube. I’ll be doing a review of the new functionality added in the PowerDVD 11 Universal Media Player in the next few days, so expect more information about the new version of the PowerDVD media player very soon.

Key Features in the new PowerDVD 11:

- Play any HD media: Whether it’s Blu-ray, upscaled DVDs, videos or photos, PowerDVD 11 can play them all flawlessly with optimized CPU/GPU hardware acceleration. And new ultra-fast Instant Seek lets you search for movie scenes in your DVDs in a flash.
- Play any 3D media: Experience the hottest new movie and video technology with Blu-ray 3D and native 3D video support. You can even convert your 2D DVDs, videos and photos and enjoy them in 3D.
- Play media from anywhere: From Apple and Android devices through to online media, DLNA server content, and Blu-ray and DVD discs, PowerDVD 11 plays it all.
- Play in upscaled quality: CyberLink’s unique TrueTheater enhancements allow you to upscale the image quality of your movies, videos, while TrueTheater Surround gives you a surround sound experience using only stereo speakers.
- Play social media: Watch TrueTheater-enhanced video from YouTube and view Facebook and Flickr photos and slideshows all from the one application. Easy, convenient and a great time-saver – no more searching!

The new PowerDVD 11 is already available online, supporting the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Russian and Portuguese. CyberLink offers OEM versions to PC and CE manufacturing customers, while a free trial download is also available from the CyberLink website. In order to get all the features available, including the Blu-ray 3D movie playback you will need to get the PowerDVD 11 Ultra that is available for $99.95 USD. The slightly more affordable PowerDVD 11 Deluxe version is $69.95 USD and while it still supports most 3D functions, you will not be able to play Blu-ray 3D movies with it. If you own a PowerDVD 10 Ultra license you can do an upgrade to the new 11 Ultra version for $59.95 USD.

- For more information about the new Cyberlink PowerDVD 11 Universal Media Player…