Mobile video processor goes 3-D

9/30/2010 11:08 AM EDT

Mobile 3-D is going in the right direction. Unlike 3-D for TV which is having difficulty catching on because there isn't enough actual published content, mobile 3-D will be easier to create content for...This article would be more complete if it had a video demo of the finished product so that we can see what the end user experiences. The multi-media would help generate interest. Though there are new 3-D TV's no glasses required, mobile 3-D with no glasses reaches a larger audience since you can integrate it nicely with social media.

9/30/2010 1:48 PM EDT

But, is it really necessary to have 3-D on mobile device? I feel this 3-D thing is an over-blown. Sometimes engineers just create things for the sake of creation. True, I really enjoyed Avatar, but it took me ~ 20 minutes before I adjusted my perception. And it will still be a good movie without 3-D. Actually, I think 3-D on mobile device may confuse your perception and cause accidents.

9/30/2010 2:00 PM EDT

Mobile device 3-D might actually drive the market and make 3-D desirable on larger displays. The creativity of app developers on the iPhone have revealed unexpected potential for these devices (for example the wonderful digital level on my iPhone). When a creative mind discovers the "killer app" for the 3-D display, everyone will leap on the bandwagon. I'm waiting...

9/30/2010 3:34 PM EDT

I kind of agree with pixies on this, to get the real 3D feeling normally the screen should be big enough to minimize your viewing distraction. That's why the 3D TV manufacturers suggest a min distance to the screen to have a better 3D experience!
I can even feel now how challenging would be for a normal eye (without 3D glasses) to see 3D on mobile screen:)

9/30/2010 4:03 PM EDT

Hmm... what will 3D add to a mobile phone? 3D has been searching for acceptance and adoption as something other than a movie gimmick for decades. All sorts of photographic devices and cameras have been marketed, and of all these, perhaps only the "ViewMaster" toy viewer ever had a really long term run. (Cameras were developed so consumers could make their own ViewMaster disks: now they are just a high-priced collector's item.) An aftershock of accessories arrived after digital cameras were well entrenched. But still no dice, just die.


And it's not that 3D can't add an imaging mode not readily available in 2D. By spacing the taking lenses far apart, an effect called giantism causes large objects to appear to be small models. This effect has been used in movies, but perhaps the neatest wide baseline 3D effects were shot from the Space Shuttle. Images were taken, if I remember correctly, 20 seconds apart, yielding some pretty neat 3D images of clouds as their Creator might have seen them.


Very small objects can also be photographed in 3D. Admittedly, giantism and it's opposite are not killer apps, but I suppose many people keep thinking that 3D will be great if only if...


Also, 3D is one of those things that when it's good, it can be nice, but when it's bad, it's horrid. I remember some 3D Imax film at which I finally just covered one eye. Much better movie at that point.


Will 3D arrive, or fade once more? Stay tuned...

9/30/2010 4:49 PM EDT

Here is a true story for which 3D imaging would have been great at the time.

I had to examine a high voltage module that was occasionally arcing between wires somewhere within the module. The current was really low, so the phenomenon was simply voltage potential breakdown, so no burning was evident.

The module was potted in a clear solid resin. Although you could see into it from the top, it was difficult to see where individual wires were relative to each other. I took 2 Polaroid instant film photos under identical conditions, but slightly separated from each other. Playing on the ViewMaster toy principle, I set them side by side. Voila ! By moving a certain distance a way from the photos, I could see in 3D by focusing one eye on one picture and the other eye on the other picture. In short order I found 2 wires that were too close vis a vis the required spacing. Subsequent breaking apart of the module proved the point, and an ECO fixed the problem permanently.

You can duplicate this effect by looking at small ceramic tiles on a floor or wall. They are substantially the same, but enough different, that when viewed side by side, both will appear to "pop" out of the background giving a 3D appearance to them. Fun...when you have nothing else to do.

Yes..yes. I know I could have just broken the module apart first, but the other way was more or less to prove something to me.

9/30/2010 5:24 PM EDT

i support the comments of pixie and ee.mod that 3D is not going to be extremely popular because of the lack of enough content and other supposedly health related problems. It might be a cool technology and i see some apps for mobile phones but not much more than that.

9/30/2010 6:52 PM EDT

It is almost comical to see the concepts of "converting 2-D video to 3-D in real time, with upscaling and playback of content in HD" and "20 G-flops of processing power" used in the context of mobile devices.

Whatever number of milliwatts a person believes constitutes "reasonable power consumption," it's still going to be more power than a comparable device that doesn't do 2D-3D conversion and upscaling to HD.

Even the most demanding videophiles might prefer to just have the thing run longer on a battery charge...

9/30/2010 7:11 PM EDT

I can barely see my mobile phone display as it is in many light conditions, is this really going to be something of value to the users, or just a "neat feature" concept. I vote for improving the existing quality of the displays before worrying about whether or not I can see 3D images on a 3.7" screen.

9/30/2010 11:21 PM EDT

wow! Sometimes I wonder if someone really uses all these features of mobile phones. It's meant to be a phone where you can be talked to other than landline.

10/1/2010 3:59 AM EDT

"This article would be more complete if it had a video demo of the finished product so that we can see what the end user experiences."

... fixed that for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEZ5uhg76QM

10/4/2010 11:51 AM EDT

Interesting comments. We are seeing a huge demand for 3D multimedia features on mobile devices. We are already engaged with a number of handset OEM's who value our 3D capabilities as a significant differentiator in a crowded market place. Mobile devices are particularly well suited to 3D; the 'sweet spot' to view a 3D video or image is easy to find and maintain, and the auto stereoscopic screen avoids the need for expensive 3D glasses, which are a key barrier to user adoption even for TVs.
In terms of discovering that "Killer App" to drive 3D mobile into the mainstream, the launch of MA1133 means that this hardware is now on the market, enabling innovative developers to create standout features on the next generation of smart phones. Movidius is working closely with developers to kick start the ecosystem that will eventually lead to innovative, fun apps that will compel more people to engage with this fantastic technology.
In the meantime there is huge interest in simply watching videos in 3D on mobile devices including content converted from 2D. According to the mobile 3D video experts we're working with, our solution provides the best user experience for mobile 3D video.