WebProNews

Tag: projectors

  • Roku and 3M Release a Streaming Video Box With a Projector

    Roku and 3M Release a Streaming Video Box With a Projector

    This week, Roku and 3M have teamed up to launch a unique type of streaming video player. The device is what 3M is calling a “Streaming Projector.” It functions as a normal Roku video streaming box, with the requisite Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, and other streaming services. However, the box also has a built-in projector.

    The Streaming Projector is “small enough to fit in your hand,” according to 3M. It is able to project an image of up to 120 inches and can function on battery power for up to 2 hours and 45 minutes. It has build-in stereo speakers, but the audio out for headphones or external speakers is probably a better bet for viewing, considering the device’s size.

    “We’ve worked very closely with the 3M projector team to ensure consumers get the best streaming experience available from a projection device” said Chas Smith, general manager of Roku’s Platform OEM division. “The 3M Streaming Projector creates a big-screen Roku experience for people to enjoy content in any setting.”

    This all sounds amazing, but there some caveats. Most importantly, while the device will display a 120-inch image, the image resolution is only 800 x 480, according to Boy Genius Report. So, this isn’t anywhere near a replacement for an HD projector or display. Also, the device is currently selling for $299, which is far above the price for a normal Roku HD box.

    “With the 3M Streaming Projector, parents can recreate those epic movie memories from their childhoods that can be experienced through the magic of projection,” said Mark Colin, general manager of 3M’s Mobile Interactive Solutions division.

    If anyone reading this can decipher what exactly Colin means by that statement, feel free to leave a comment below and fill the rest of us in.

  • Sony Shows Off Playstation Move “Virtual Reality”

    When Plastic Studios, the developers, along with Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, behind the upcoming PlayStation Network title Datura, was asked by Sony to use Sony’s HMZ-T1 3-D projector headset to make their game more immersive, they took it as a challenge. The company not only used an extra PlayStation Move controller to provide line-of-sight camera movement, they created an entire set-up that looks like something out of a gamer’s dream.

    In the description to the video, Plastic describes why they set up such an elaborate tech demo:

    Just a couple of weeks before GDC 2012 we were asked by Sony to try to write a simple head tracking functionality with the use of Playstation Move motion controller for our PSN title Datura. They said that the virtual hand looks magical in their HMZ-T1 personal projector and we should try to improve the immersion even more so everyone could get a glimpse of what future gaming would look like. Thanks to our friends from Platige Image we were able to prepare even more immersive setup…

    The only problem is, the person playing the game can’t see the massive screen in front of him. The experience, for him, would be the same if he were standing in his own living room, so it’s clear this is mostly a publicity stunt. Still, the demo shows just how far technology has come that the terrible “virtual reality” that was touted in the 90’s finally looks immersive and impressive. The helmet the man is wearing simulates a 150-inch 3-D screen from 12 feet away.

    Datura is being billed as a mystery game, which is rather unique in today’s gaming climate. Players control, using a PlayStation Move controller, a disembodied hand with which they can explore every aspect of Datura‘s environment. The trailer, which you can see below, reminds me of older games such as Myst. Whatever Datura turn out being, it is nice to see game developers playing around with new ideas and technology. Leave a comment below and let me know how you feel about Datura or the future of “virtual reality.”

  • ‘The Hobbit’ to be Released at 48 Frames Per Second

    Cinema’s are scrambling to get their equipment up to date ahead of The Hobbit’s December 14 release, The Hollywood Reporter notes. The film is supposed to be released in a high frame rate of 48 frames per second; most theaters are only equipped to run the standard 24 frames per second.

    Peter Jackson and James Cameron have advocated a change to the higher film rate as a solution to exhibition problems, eliminating judder and other motion artifacts.

    video artifacts
    This is an example of extreme digital artifacts courtesy of digieffects.

    Judder is a video screen artifact that occurs when content recorded on film is shown on a digital format that causes the picture to “jitter” about.

    Theaters using digital projectors are not equipped to support 48 fps, but efforts are being made to upgrade equipment.

    Individual projector companies will have their own methods for dealing with the high frame rate, but the majority will be using an upgrade to current equipment as a cheap(er) solution. Projectors from Christie, Barco and NEC will be using hardware called an Integrated Media Block (IMB) and a software upgrade. The IMB is expected to cost around $10,000 for each projector.

    The high frame rate requires a ton of data support. The Hobbit was shot at a high frame rate, using up 6-12 Terabytes of data per day. The filming schedule for parts one and two of The Hobbit involves 265 days of shooting. Obviously, the final product will be much less, about twice as much as current exhibition data requirements.

    48fps may soon become the norm. James Cameron has said that he will be using the high frame rate on Avatar 2 and 3. With such high profile backing of this new technology, theaters will have to keep up if they expect to make any kind of profit from these huge blockbusters.

    It’s relatively easy for the producers, only having to buy one or two new cameras that shoot at the high frame rate. It’s a different story for the cinema’s, whose 60,000+ projectors have to be upgraded to accommodate them.

    New technology is great, giving movie goers a more enjoyable experience. It’s just a shame theaters are left with the bill on this one. Many small cinemas have already struggled to keep up with digital and 3D. Requiring new technology only a few short years later may be the straw that broke the camel’s back. If a higher frame rate was such an obvious solution to making digital projections function properly, why wasn’t it introduced from the very beginning?