The advent of James Cameron’s live-action 3D sci-fi epic Avatar opens up whole new possibilities for 3D TVs

Ohtsubo is confident that Panasonic will be the first to roll out the 3D TV next year.

WHEN

A number of theatres, especially in the United States, began installing expensive new digital projectors with 3D capability.

Then came Bolt late last year, where some 40% of its box-office takings came from 3D screenings.

And this year’s animated tale of adventure and discovery, Up, also performed splendidly at 3D cinemas.

It looks like there’s no turning back for 3D, as seen in the growing number of 3D-ready theatres in the US and Japan. But these are all full-animation movies – cartoons in 3D, if you like.

Enter Avatar, a live-action science-fiction epic that merged first-class computer graphics with human actors. Suddenly, the 3D cinematic experience opens up new possibilities and a bigger audience reach.

Helmed by celebrated director James Cameron (Titanic), Avatar is set for release next month. The plot revolves around a band of humans pitted against a distant planet’s indigenous population rendered digitally. It is being billed as "the most ambitious 3D film ever made", pushing technical limits way beyond what other filmmakers had attempted.

Scenes from Cameron’s upcoming Avatar.

Shutter glasses.

Cinema buffs are not the only ones excited by Cameron’s entry into 3D, as he reportedly had to wait 15 years for the technology to be available to realise his cinematic vision.

(For the record, Hollywood first experimented with 3D in the early 1950s with Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder. Based on technology available at that time, it was ground-breaking. But by today’s standards, it is way down the line.)

Television manufacturers are ecstatic about Avatar, and the future it will usher in – the future of 3D high-definition television and the new marketing frontiers it will open up.

They are hoping Avatar will set a new trend in producing live-action movies in 3D, as this will directly have an impact on 3D TV sales.

Next year, at least nine movies are set for release in the 3D format. And if the Hollywood trend holds, it can only be great news for TV manufacturers.

In fact, the great battleground for consumer electronics starts next year when the first commercially-produced 3D TV is scheduled to roll out.

Scenes from Cameron’s upcoming Avatar.

Guests and visitors trying out the active shutter glasses (left) at the Panasonic booth at Ceatec Japan.

At Japan’s largest consumer electronics exhibition, Ceatec, on Oct 6, Japanese electronics giants like Panasonic, Sony and Sharp were sharpening their claws for the fight ahead. They all displayed their prototype 3D HD TVs which wowed visitors with their clarity and definition.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Samsung and LG are also in the game.

Panasonic boss Fumio Ohtsubo has expressed confidence that the company will be the first to roll out the 3D TV next year, but was silent on the exact date.

Panasonic has developed a 50-inch full HD 3D compatible plasma display panel (PDP) and high-precision active shutter glasses that enable the viewing of theatre-quality images.

Ohtsubo’s confidence is based on the fact that Panasonic’s Hollywood laboratory has had 18 years of experience with Hollywood studios producing over 3,000 DVD titles and is now creating Blu-ray commercial titles with Fox and Disney.

The company also supported the production of Avatar, by offering cutting-edge products to Cameron. It is also in a media promotion tie-up with Avatar to exploit the movie’s pull.

Panasonic believes the 50-inch screen will be the most popular size for home theatres. This product evolved from its world’s first full HD 3D Plasma Home Theatre System developed last year, and comprised a 103-inch plasma display projector (PDP) and a Blu-ray disc player.

The new PDP uses a high-speed 3D drive technology that enables rapid illumination of pixels while maintaining brightness.

The panel also incorporates a crosstalk (or double image) reduction technology, allowing for minimising double image (ghosting) that occurs when left and right eye images are alternately displayed.

In short, the technology is as good as it gets.