MIPCOM … 3D: stereoscopic dispatches from the world’s entertainment content market

Parallax Film Productions President Ian Herring was in Cannes, France last week for MIPCOM, armed with a 3D monitor and ready to showcase our first 3D documentary to the world’s entertainment content market.

Here’s what he found.

I wanted to share Blowdown 3D, our stereoscopic documentary on explosive demolition produced for international broadcast, at this year’s MIPCOM conference in Cannes, France.

My criteria was it had to be an easy and hassle-free viewing experience. NO ACTIVE SHUTTER glasses. I needed the technology to work seamlessly so I could be free to discuss more important things.  My post-production team came up with a brilliant solution – take my own passive 3D monitor to the conference.

The gamble

When we chose LG’s D2342P 23IN 3D LED Backlit LCD Monitor I was taking a chance on alienating my audience and turning them off 3D – counter to everything I have been doing for the past year and a half. Would I be able to get the quality I needed to show our flagship 3D documentary to clients and colleagues at MIPCOM?

The journey

I brought it over from Vancouver, Canada as carry on.   From what I could see I was the only one who carried a computer monitor on board an international and then a European domestic flight.

The destination

The LG monitor was the only one of its kind at a TV conference that hosts 10, 000 buyers and sellers. I walked the floor of the market and saw lots of large 3D TVs, but not many people viewing them. I wondered if this was because the content wasn’t compelling or because people just don’t want to look stupid with glasses on.

The impact

Many of the people we showed a clip of BD 3D had not seen much 3D TV.   It worked.  The discussion came down to not WHY we were doing 3D but our next project.  Here’s one of our clients screening on our LG.  Easy and discrete.

 

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When it comes to 3D, seeing is believing – you have a have a good reason to don glasses and it had better be an amazing the viewing experience or we as content creators are going to have a tough time convincing folks its worth the effort to finance and exhibit.

The last word

Sadly, at the market a major journal profiled 3D and its evolution, technology and got it SO wrong.  A bad joke at a TV market.

–Ian Herring, President

@ianherring

Review: 3D in the boardroom – LG’s 23-inch D2342P monitor a good candidate for showcasing stereoscopic footage

The Parallax post-production team’s latest mission has been to find a portable 3D display so I can easily show our stereoscopic footage to colleagues and broadcasters anywhere in the world.

Brian Mann and Matt Sikka brought in LG’s D2342P 23IN 3D LED Backlit LCD Monitor to see how it would stack up.

Here’s what they found:

-It plays back our flagship stereoscopic documentary, Blowdown 3D, decently from both computer and Blu-ray Disc;

-The viewing angle is key – as with most monitors, the eye-line should be hitting around the top 1/3 of the screen. For boardroom presentations, the monitor’s height has to be adjusted to hit this sweet spot;

-It has limited range side to side, so only a couple people at a time can watch it comfortably;

-Menu is navigable, but not intuitive. If you’re using it for presentations, you’ll want to become familiar with the settings first; and

-This monitor has no built-in speakers. This means if you want to take it into a boardroom situation, you’ll likely need a set of portable speakers.

Overall, the LG D2342P is a good offering for what we’d like to do with it. The price tag for the monitor itself (can be found for sub-$300) and the passive glasses (rarely more than $20), also make this system an appealing option.

For consumers who are able to wait a bit longer and willing pay a bit more to eek out higher quality in every pixel on the screen, it may be better to hold out for LG’s forth coming LG W2363D, which is said to be a superior passive 3D LED monitor (street date currently unknown).

Lugging a monitor around to meetings isn’t exactly ideal. But until there’s a 3D TV in every boardroom, it’s the best way to make sure we get to share the stereoscopic experience.
With a little prep and some extra gear, it looks like this LG model will get the job done.
–Ian Herring, President