Panasonic wants 3D in the home Soon

At this time, the 3D technology enjoyed in theaters with such films as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Bolt is not commercially available for home use. One huge obstacle is that there are no agreed upon terms regarding building 3D-capable TV sets that are compatible with all possible content sources, including existing Blu-ray and/or DVD players. For the Blu-ray/DVD market today, studios must downgrade their 3D theatrical releases into anaglyph form, with 3D imagery that’s more crude and blurry compared to big-screen technology.

It appears that James Cameron’s Avatar, set for theatrical release Dec. 18, might be one of the first 3D theatricals to be released in modern 3D form on Blu-ray. Panasonic donated 3D camera and TV display equipment for filming, and the company is expected to stay with the project through all of its various phases.

In a YouTube clip posted on Jan. 25, Cameron thanks Panasonic for its Avatar involvement and remarks, “I look forward to working with Panasonic to bring high-quality 3D onto home screens.”



Panasonic’s Hollywood demo involves a modified BD50 model BD Live player, which runs discs at about twice as fast as its usual rate. Also, the model’s picture-in-picture capabilities have been further amplified. The player is connected to a 3D-ready Panasonic prototype plasma TV that was shown off at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic VP of corporate development and general manager of its Blu-ray Group, says he believes the company will simultaneously launch a 3D-enabled TV display and Blu-ray player in 2010. That rollout also would be supported by available 3D content, potentially hailing from Panasonic’s own recently launched 3D Blu-ray authoring facility at its Hollywood headquarters.