‘TeleHuman’ uses Kinect for 3D holographic chat, bumps up options for contacting Obi-Wan (video)

'TeleHuman' uses Kinect for 3D holographic chat, bumps up options for contacting Obi-Wan (video)

Looks like virtual Tupac might have some company. With Kinect, you are the hologram. Besides logging in lots of quality time at a South Korean theme park, the Kinect is now doing double duty at the Human Media Lab of Queen's University in Canada thanks to a 3D holographic chat system called "TeleHuman." The setup basically creates a life-size rendering of its subject by using six Kinect sensors, a 3D projector and a cylindrical display. This allows the viewer to walk around the cylinder for a 360-degree view of the subject, giving new meaning to having someone's back during a chat. The director of the Human Media Lab says the TeleHuman could be available for $5,000 within five years. In the meantime, the tech is also being used by the research team to create a 3D anatomical model browser called the "BodiPod." The BodiPod can display various layers of the human body, which can be virtually peeled off as the viewer gets closer to the display. Check out all the 3D action for the TeleHuman and BodiPod in plain, old 2D by viewing the video after the break.

Continue reading 'TeleHuman' uses Kinect for 3D holographic chat, bumps up options for contacting Obi-Wan (video)

'TeleHuman' uses Kinect for 3D holographic chat, bumps up options for contacting Obi-Wan (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 03:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile’s 2D videos to another dimension

Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile's 2D videos to another dimension

Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that will let any phone grab pictures and video with some of that third-dimension spice. Using a small attachment with cleverly positioned mirrors, the widget sits atop your phone's plain old 2D camera and breaks the incoming image into two. Once the data has been grabbed, you then send it off to Fujitsu's servers, whereupon it'll be converted into a 3D format. This isn't the first 2D-to-3D idea, but the main advantage, of course, is that your poor phone doesn't have to do all the leg-work -- but it undoubtedly comes at the expense of some quality. The gadget will get properly announced at the IEEE ISCE conference in Harrisburg on June the 4th along with pricing and availability. In the meantime you can step into the Japanese dimension -- i.e. the press release -- below for more info.

Fujitsu Laboratories wants to take your mobile's 2D videos to another dimension originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dolby 3D on prototype 4K display and HTC Evo 3D hands-on (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/18/dolby-3d-hands-on/

Truth be told, we haven't been wildly impressed with the glasses-free 3D solutions we've seen to date, be it because of the limited viewing angles, unconvincing picture or lack of availability here in the US. That could soon change, however, if Dolby's version of the three-dimensional experience makes its way to a production-ready television set. Best known for its audio technologies, the company just launched its own 3D standard in cooperation with Philips, called Dolby 3D. The platform-agnostic solution is far from ready to make its way into your living room, but it's conceptually sound, and the prototype 4K 3D TV and mobile versions being demonstrated at Dolby's NAB booth make us hopeful for the future. As with all displays -- especially those that support 3D -- you'll really need to see to believe, but we had an opportunity to do just that, and walked away very impressed.

The 56-inch 4K prototype display is viewable from nearly any angle, with 24 different viewpoints, though you'll really need to be front and center for the greatest 3D effect. Side viewing is certainly possible; you'll just sacrifice some depth in the process. Even from the front, 3D appears slightly muted compared to what we've seen with passive- and active-glasses equivalents, though we can't say that we mind much, considering that the image is still dramatic enough when you need it to be, such as when displaying scenes with significant depth. The company was also demonstrating Dolby 3D on an HTC Evo 3D along with a nondescript tablet, where an on-screen slider lets you dim the three-dimensional intensity just as you would adjust the volume, enabling you to customize the experience to suit your needs. Since Dolby 3D is merely a display standard, we won't be seeing any branded televisions or smartphones, though perhaps we'll see some third-party adaptations come CES 2013. Jump past the break to see it in action.

Continue reading Dolby 3D on prototype 4K display and HTC Evo 3D hands-on (video)

Dolby 3D on prototype 4K display and HTC Evo 3D hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dolby Labs and Philips unveil Dolby 3D tech, want to deliver glasses-free 3D in HD

Dolby Labs and Philips debut Dolby 3D tech, want to deliver glasses-free 3D in HD
Dolby helped the 3D revolution happen in movie theaters years ago, and now it's teamed up with Philips to do the same for TVs, tablets, laptops and phones. The two companies have created a format and content delivery technology, dubbed Dolby 3D, to bring high definition 3D content to any and all devices with 3D displays, including those that don't require glasses. Its secret sauce automatically optimizes video for different screen sizes and also upgrades half-resolution 3D to full-res. The idea is to provide both broadcasters and OEMs with a way to deliver 3D HD content to customers buying Dolby 3D devices, while remaining compatible with existing 3D gadgets. All that's left is to actually build some hardware that'll let us see all those snazzy suits from Mad Men in high-def and the third dimension.

Continue reading Dolby Labs and Philips unveil Dolby 3D tech, want to deliver glasses-free 3D in HD

Dolby Labs and Philips unveil Dolby 3D tech, want to deliver glasses-free 3D in HD originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube lets you watch 1080p 2D videos in ‘3D’ with your anaglyph specs

Another day, another bit of news out of Mountain View. Stereoscopic 3D videos have been on YouTube for nearly three years, and since last year, the site has given viewers the option to transform "short-form" 2D content to 3D -- with a single click on the settings bar, that is. Today, the beta feature comes to 1080p videos, meaning you'll now be able to watch your favorite Phillip DeFranco and Shay Carl vlogs with extra chromatic impact in full HD. YouTube notes that it's "constantly improving the underlying conversion technology," which figures out how to simulate the effect based on characteristics of the video itself and true 3D videos uploaded to the site. We'd say there's still something slightly amiss about using folding blue and red glasses to watch two-dimensional HD video in faux anaglyph 3D, but you can make the call for yourself by reading up about the magic at the source link below.

YouTube lets you watch 1080p 2D videos in '3D' with your anaglyph specs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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