There is a bit of interesting information today coming from Digitimes, saying that according to AU Optronics (one of the large LCD panel manufactures) the shipments of Patterned retarder 3D TV LCD panels (passive 3D solutions) will win over the active 3D LCD panels in the second half of this year. The results for the first half are showing 1 million active 3D LCD panels shipped versus about 900K for the passive ones, but AU Optronics (AUO) believes that in the second half of the years the situation will reverse and the passive solutions will prevail. Of course AUO has direct interest for that to happen as they are currently making passive solutions and although the company is apparently ready to produce auto-stereoscopic 3d displays as well, the cost for the production is still considered too high for the mainstream market…
Another big player on the 3D HDTV market going for Patterned retarder or passive 3D HDTV LCD products is LG Electronics with the company currently having a big worldwide marketing campaign promoting on how their passive line of Cinema 3D TVs are better than active solutions. And although they may be right for some things, you should not forget that the passive solutions also have drawbacks that are not present in most active shutter glasses solutions. On the other hand the other two big LCD panel manufacturers Samsung Electronics and Chimei Innolux (CMI) are giving their support for the active 3D LCD panels.
And while the war between passive and active on the 3D HDTV market rages, on the desktop 3D LCD market still the active 3D solutions are the preferred solution by gamers willing to play in either 2D at 120Hz or in stereoscopic 3D mode with Full HD resolution for each eye. And these two things are not available with most mainstream passive solutions which are usually preferred for non-gaming applications. So which technology do you prefer, what for and why…?
According to the U-DECIDE Initiative, a well received study of modern gamers, 93% of survey respondents want to see game developers support stereoscopic 3D technology. The industry answered by starting development of The S-3D Gaming Alliance (S3DGA), a non-profit corporation that is 100% focused on making stereoscopic 3D gaming possible through standards, education, and product adoption.
“We need an industry-wide standard for S-3D gaming, and S3DGA has the drive and experience to push this forward. All developers and manufacturers should participate,” said Habib Zargarpour, Senior Art Director for Electronic Arts Inc.
“S-3D gaming content is available on PC and console, gamers are great viral marketers, and our industry needs to reach out to the early adopters first. Our industry needed a qualified voice, so S3DGA was formed to properly leverage and develop this market,” said Neil Schneider, S3DGA’s Executive Director and Spokesperson.
S3DGA’s current members include LG Electronics, Blitz Games Studios, RealD, Next3D, DDD, Jon Peddie Research, Sensio, TDVision Corp, iZ3D, and more.
Advisory board members include Habib Zargarpour, Senior Art Director for Electronic Arts, Andrew Oliver, CTO and Co-Founder of Blitz Games Studios, and Neil Trevett, President of the Khronos Group & VP of NVIDIA Mobile Content.
S3DGA wanted its first board to be comprised of people without vested interests until there is a member driven nomination or election process. The initial Board of Directors includes:
- Syd Bolton, Interim S3DGA President, is also the Curator of the Personal Computer Museum in Brantford, Ontario. A seasoned expert in gaming and gaming history, Mr. Bolton has been featured on The Space Channel, MuchMusic, Custom PC, Games Magazine, and more.
- Mark Fihn, S3DGA Vice-President, is the publisher of Veritus et Visus. A top analyst and consultant, his company publishes a well respected 3D newsletter that features columns written by top industry executives and pioneers.
- John Merritt, S3DGA Treasurer, is the founder of the Stereoscopic Displays & Applications Conference, the oldest stereoscopic 3D conference in the world. Mr. Merritt is a leading consultant on matters of S-3D quality and immersive experience.
“I really believe that 2010 is the year that 3D will hit at home with consumers more than ever, and having this alliance is more critical than ever to ensure everyone is on the same page,” said Syd Bolton, S3DGA’s President.
The interim Standards Division Chair is Keith Elliott.
“When we are talking about standards in gaming, it’s not just about passing a left and right image to the display — that’s easy. Game developers also need to speak the same language, quality and compliance expectations need to be set, and lots of compatibility politics are going to surface very quickly I’m sure. We wanted a strong people person to head this up, and this individual’s previous work had to be well known. We found that person in Keith Elliott,” Schneider explained.
Keith Elliott is one of the key inventors of the low-cost stereoscopic display architecture used in over two million 3D DLP high-definition (HD) televisions. This high-speed “checkerboard” layout grew popular by offering high-quality 3D HD video at the lowest cost possible. In gaming, it is already supported by DDD, iZ3D, NVIDIA, and multiple game engines. As Director of New Business Technology for the HDTV group at Texas Instruments (TI), Keith was involved in the development of the infrastructure needed to support a wide roll-out of 3D content to the home consumer. He also directed TI’s systems engineering team that delivered DLP technology to HDTV manufacturers around the world. He is currently a founder and technology consultant for Screen’s Edge, LLC.
- To the official S-3D Gaming Alliance website for more information…
Some good new for Christmas, it seems that LG is also very interested in the future of stereoscopic 3D game development with LG Electronics officially becoming a member of the S-3D Gaming Alliance. Now, if you remember not long ago there was an official announcement that LG Display is ready with 23″ 120Hz 3D-ready LCD Panels with Full HD resolution, although we are still yet to see the fist monitors utilizing these new panels. Also it seems that LG already has some 3D-ready HDTVs available, but only on the Korean market so far and we are hoping to have them soon available in other markets too.
- To the official S-3D Gaming Alliance website for more information…l
